The Top 50 Selling Graphic Novels for July 2002

This list comes from digging through sales figures, asking too many questions and using Diamond Comics information. The snotty comments in white are mine.

1  LONE WOLF & CUB VOL 24 IN THESE SMALL HANDS TP (MR)  $9.95   13,064

Still the best graphic novel being printed, and nearing the end.  An amazingly wonderful story of a Samurai and his son in feudal Japan in search of redemption and vengeance.  Highly recommended, as always.

2  CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS TP  $14.95   8,516

This is actually an VERY high ranking for a comic that reprints a bunch of Silver Age comics, a bunch of the Justice League and Justice Society team ups.  I'm guessing that everyone at DC was shocked by this, since there is a feeling that Silver Age stuff only sells when it's in a hardcover. 

3  ULTIMATES VOL 1 TP  $12.99  7,100 

The new version of the Avengers in the Ultimate Marvel universe.  The last part of the story isn't even out yet, and the trade containing it is supposed to be out the week after the last part of the story ships.  Good idea, and I hope it keeps working, since Graphic Novels are the way to go with comics, I feel.  Story-wise?  It moved WAY too slow as a monthly 22 page comic, so maybe it will work better in this format.

4  LIBERTY MEADOWS VOL 1 EDEN TP  $14.95  6,806 

A great comic strip that I ignored for far too long because it seemed too much like a rip-off of Bloom County.  I was wrong, and this one stands on its own merits.  If you don't already have the comics it is reprinting, it's Highly Recommended.

5  AUTHORITY EARTH INFERNO & OTHER STORIES TP  $14.95 6,764 

Reprinting most of the Mark Millar stories which got a better sales and critical reception, but I didn't like as much as Warren Ellis's stuff.  Maybe because Millar was trying too hard to make the characters into a "Squadron Supreme" and having us try to figure out who each character was supposed to be instead of just going all out and showing Big Super-Hero stories.

6  AMAZING SPIDER-MAN REVELATIONS TP  $8.99  6,600 

Reprinting 3 issues of Amazing Spider-Man (the 9/11 story and the story where Aunt May discovers that Peter Parker is Spider-Man), all good stories, but three comics in a $9 trade that clocks in at less than 90 pages?  Wait a bit longer, Marvel, and make the trades feel like real books instead of a Prestige Format special.

7  CATWOMAN SELINAS BIG SCORE HC  $24.95 5,274 

DC took the character of Catwoman, who was pretty much a "bad girl" type with a huge chest and standard super-hero stories and gave her to a team that completely reimagined her in the "crime noir" mold that is hot now, and it worked.  The character works perfectly in that sort of story and is a joy to read.  Highly recommended.

8  GI JOE VOL 3 TP  $24.99  5,048 

Marvel keeps pumping out the reprints, and who can blame them.  I am pretty sick of the "nostalgia for the crap toys of the 80's" trend that has taken over comics (see the top 300 for more comments on this), especially since these stories were all pretty damn bad.  But it's easier and cheaper than digging through the back issue bins, I guess.

9  ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 1 HC  $34.99  4,300 

A hardcover of the paperback reprint of the comic books...you can't say Marvel isn't getting their money's worth out of the Ultimate books.  Oh, and even in this third version of these stories, I STILL hate the art, thanks.

10  ASTRO BOY VOL 6 TP  $9.95  4,158

11  GODDESS TP (RES) (MR)  $19.95 3,695 

A nearly overlooked Garth Ennis story done when Preacher was still not selling very well.  It's VERY violent, without the dark humor that normally fills Ennis's work, so if you are picking this up expecting the black humor of Punisher or Preacher, you'll be disappointed.  Still a solid read though, and I STILL don't know what 9/11 have to do with delaying the damn thing.  Mildly recommended.

12  RUSE VOL 1 ENTER DETECTIVE TP  $15.95  3,442 

One of the few Crossgen books I can say that I really enjoy, but you are buying Edge and Forge, you have these stories already.  For those who don't know, this is Mark Waid's version of a Sherlock Holmes type character in the CrossGen universe, which means that there are people with super-powers but no costumes.  Recommended unless you are buying Edge and Forge.

13  ANIMAL MAN VOL 2 ORIGIN O/T SPECIES TP (MR)  $19.95 3,353 

Grant Morrison first came to my attention with this book, since I didn't care for Arkham Asylum when it came out.  Compared to a lot of his later works, this is incredibly straightforward and linear, but starts building toward an examination of the writer/character relationship.  At the time, one of the most innovative comics on the stands, but now just a good solid read.  Highly recommended.

14  RANMA 1/2 VOL 20 TP  $15.95  3,337 

More of the same sit-com situations and martial arts humor.  If you haven't read it by now, you prolly won't.

15  ROAD TO PERDITION SC NEW ED (MR)  $13.95 3,116 

A few years ago, DC dropped a bunch of original graphic novels on the market with very little advertising and no store support.  This one, but mystery novelist Max Allen Collins was one of the best of those (with Brooklyn Dreams a close second) and it was optioned for a movie.  It takes a movie coming out for it to be back into print, and I recommend this as my pick of the month...yesh, even over Lone Wolf and Cub, due to the depth and historical accuracy of the story.  Collins is one of my favorite novelists, and his comics work has always been rewarding.  I think that it is interesting that the "non-superhero" stuff being made into movies from comics is starting to get a lot of notice...maybe this will mean that comics will become more than just panties and capes.

16  FORGE #4 (Note Price)  $11.95  3,100 

CrossGen raises the price on their reprint series, but even at $11.95, you get 7 - 9 comics in one package, making it worthwhile.  Sadly, I find most of the CrossGen stuff to be pretty but bland, but I like how they make it very easy to get their stuff at a low price, so I'll support it.

17  DAREDEVIL UNDERBOSS TP  $14.99  3,100 

Bendis on Daredevil, but this is only PART of the story he's done since becoming the "permanent" writer.  This is a great story, with a gritty crime feel beyond even what Frank Miller injected into the series when he worked on it, but you are missing the second half which deal with all the repercussions of the events in this story.  Recommended, but reminding that it's not complete.

18  OH MY GODDESS! LEADER O/T PACK TP  $13.95  3,021

More Japanese sit-com type comics, and this is pretty much geared at fanboys at this point, since the story is so convoluted its hard to explain to newcomers.

19  EDGE #4 (Note Price)  $11.95  2,995

See what I wrote about Forge.  Wonder why this one sells 100 less.

20  COWBOY BEBOP VOL 3 GN  $9.99  2,921

A hit on Cartoon Network, I would imagine that this will sell a lot better in regular stores than comic shops.  Myself, I haven't watched or read it.  I can't read EVERYTHING.

21  OUT THERE VOL 1 EVIL WITHIN TP (MR)  $12.95 2,869

The new comic by the team who did Crimson, and this one is just as enjoyable as that book.  A horror comic with manga style art and kinetic action, but nothing I am overwhelmed by.

22  LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN HC (STAR12324)  $24.95 2,732

DC reprints the best Alan Moore story he's done since Watchmen, where a group of literary characters from the late 1800's are gathered together.  There's no way I can do this justice, but like most of Moore's best work he puts a deeper meaning on pulp sensibilities and plots to get the reader to think differently about the characters and situation talked about.  Soon to be a shitty movie, just like Moore's other brilliant work "From Hell."  Highly recommended and worth getting in hardcover even for non-comics fans.

23  ALL STAR COMICS ARCHIVES VOL 8 HC  $49.95 2,669

More reprints of the Justice Society stories from the 40's, and my second favorite of the Archive (Plastic Man is the best stuff they have reprinted), but for nostalgia buffs and Golden Age fans only.  The art hasn't ages well, and the stories are silly for the most part, but the sheer fun of the book shines through if you can get past those things.

24  STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL 11 BRAVE NEW WORLD TP  $8.95  2,663

25  CONAN SKETCHBOOK BY MARK SCHULTZ  $5.95  2,469

I remember Mark Schultz's Cadillacs and Dinosaurs with incredible fondness, even when he could only pout out an issue a year.  His stuff since then has been either been him writing bland stories or this sketchbook.  I would LOVE it if he would come back and just do a comic a year again, but I think he and follow wonderful but slow artist Dave Stephens are never going to give us another reason to wait for their work again.

26  LOVE HINA VOL 4 GN  $9.99  2,390

27  WOLVERINE BEST THERE IS TP  $12.99  2,326

More reprints of recent Wolverine issues.  I didn't buy them as comics and I don't care about them as a trade paperback either.  Odd, when I was a kid, Wolverine was my favorite character, because of his inner conflicts.  Now that he's just a killing machine, I couldn't care less.

28  QUIMBY THE MOUSE SC (RES)  $14.95  2,153

More brilliant work by Chris Ware (Acme Comics Library).  Recommended for non-comics fans as it reprints his Quimby strips that not only play with the comics FORM, but do it in a way that makes it simple and readable, which usually is impossible for experimental  artists.

29  STAR WARS DARKNESS TP  $12.95  2,142

*shrugs* I have given up trying to figure out what is going on in Dark Horse Star Wars comics, since 90% of them feature characters I have never heard of, and I'm a Star Wars fan.

30  X-MEN & SPIDER-MAN SAVAGE LAND TP  $9.95  2,111

Reprinting the first 4 issues of Marvel Fanfare from the early 80's, and a very good story before Claremont became a parody of himself and BRILLIANT art by Paul Smith and Michael Golden.  Highly recommended for super-hero fans.

31  DRAGONBALL Z VOL 9 TP  $12.95  2,095

32  ELEKTRA LIVES AGAIN HC NEW PRTG  $24.99  2,048

Reprinting Frank Miller's last Daredevil story, and I have to be honest, I liked this a lot more than Dark Knight Returns.  The story is emotional, exciting and drawn with a skill that Miller hasn't shown since, despite his working in new styles.  I know his other work have overshadowed this, but if you haven't read this story (which was out of print for YEARS), pick it up.  Miller was at his peak in this book, and this is Highly Recommended.

33  PROMETHEA BOOK THREE HC  $24.95 2,042

Alan Moore's best regular series, maybe ever.  It does get very deep into his mystical beliefs, and at times isn't even a story any more, but a lesson on Magick, but the ideas being put forward are fascinating and compelling.  It's not for everyone, and is NOT a light read, but demands your full attention.  Highly Recommended with those provisions.

34  MERIDIAN VOL 3 TAKING SKIES TP  $15.95  2,016

35  TOMB RAIDER VOL 3 CHASING SHANGRI LA TP  $12.95  1,995

36  GUNDAM ORIGIN #2  $7.95  1,979

37  MAD ARCHIVES VOL 1 HC  $49.95 1,879

However good this is, it won't be as good as the Russ Cochran MAD reprints, at the same size as the original art, slipcased with notes and commentary on each issue.  If you are going to buy this, just look for the box set by Cochran instead, and it only runs $120 and is the only EC set in color.  Why do I say only?  This reprints 6 issues, so to get the first 23 issues in the Archives format would cost you $199.80 for a lesser product.

38  WISH VOL 1 GN  $9.99  1,816

39  PUNISHER WAR ZONE VOL 1 TP  $15.99  1,769

Punisher's hot again, so why not reprint the stuff from when he was over-exposed?  Because it's pretty damn bad.  This isn't HORRIBLE, but with a bland script by Dixon, and fairly good Romita Jr. art, it just doesn't come close to the Garth Ennis stuff.  This actually treats the Punisher seriously, instead of the over-the-top character Ennis has recreated him to be.

40  X-MEN EVOLUTION VOL 1 TP  $8.99  1,742

The cartoon has been cancelled, and it didn't make a lot of sense to me because they messed with the gaes of all the X-Men characters, making them different from the comic AND the movie.  This is the comic based on the cartoon, if you like that sort of thing.

41  CARDCAPTOR SAKURA VOL 1 PASSAGES GN  $9.99  1,726

42  BASTARD VOL 1 TP (MR)  $14.95  1,611

43  WEREWOLF APOCALYPSE CHILDREN OF GAIA GN (MR)  $6.95  1,579

44  TRANSFORMERS VOL 4 MATRIX QUEST PX HC GN  $24.99  1,574

More British reprints of the last issues of the book when it was being printed under Marvel.  I never game a damn about the Transformers.  Sorry.

45  VIOLENT MESSIAHS VOL 1 BOOK OF JOB TP  $24.95  1,558

46  3 X 3 EYES SUMMONING O/T BEAST TP  $14.95  1,558

47  REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA VOL 2 TO PLANT TP  $15.95  1,537

48  BTVS UGLY LITTLE MONSTERS TP  $12.95  1,526

A reprint of about 4 issues of the Buffy comic, which could be a lot better. 

49  SERAPHIC FEATHER SEEDS OF CHAOS TP  $17.95  1,516

50  GTO VOL 5 GN  $9.99  1,495

That's it. All done.  Go play on the rest of the comics page.