The Top 50 Selling Graphic Novels for February 2003
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 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 PUBLIC SCRUTINY TP $11.99 MAR 7,468
A great, great comic, featuring a revamp of Spider-Man that doesn't invalidate anything already done by simply starting over and letting the normal Spider-Man book keep going. It shows that the characters of Marvel are still vibrant and interesting and all it takes to going back and remembering what made them fun in the first place. Highly recommended for all super-hero comic book fans and people who liked the Spider-Man movie and want more. Highly Recommended.
2 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 4 HELLFIRE & BRIMSTONE TP $12.99 MAR 5,767
This is one of those comics that may be good, but the art (while pretty) doesn't tell the story and keeps me from enjoying the comic. Although, writer Mark Millar seems to be going out of his way to try and piss off people and call it good writing in his other books, so I don't think I'm missing anything.
3 BATMAN BRUCE WAYNE FUGITIVE VOL 2 TP $12.95 DC 5,104
A good idea for a story by very good creators that is scuttled by poor execution, too much filler and a resolution that doesn't follow the story as well as it should. I wanted to like this story, but in the end felt like it failed.
4 DAREDEVIL VOL 5 OUT TP $19.99 MAR 4,141
Reprinting Bendis's story of the revelation of Daredevil's secret identity in a tabloid, and it surprises by not going for the obvious in any way. Highly recommended, unless you bought the monthly comic, and then it's just something you already have.
5 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL 2 HC $29.99 MAR 3,928
The second year of the series in a very nice Hardcover. If I weren't already buying the monthly comic, I would buy it this way. Recommended for those who don't have it already.
6 MIKE MIGNOLA ART OF HELLBOY HC $49.95 DAR 3,740
Love the comic, don't nice a book for my coffee table going over the art because I don't have a coffee table. And if I did, I'd be filling it with porn and Cheetos. Mm mmm....porn and Cheetos.
7 JLA RIDDLE O/T BEAST SC $14.95 DC 3,390
A softcover version of the hardcover from about a year and a half ago. I read it back then and don't remember much of anything about it. I guess that's a bad review, isn't it?
8 STAR WARS LONG TIME AGO VOL 5 FOOLS BOUNTY TP $29.95 DAR 3,240
Dark Horse continues reprinting Marvel's entire Star Wars series from the 70's and 80's, with these issues taking place after Return of the Jedi. Like most 80's Marvel, the stories are servicable, but not great. Now that we know that Jedi is that last movie, it's odd to see how the creators were just marking time, as if waiting for another movie to come afterwards. Not great, but a must-buy for Star Wars fans.
9 GREEN LANTERN POWER OF ION TP $14.95 DC 2,852
Reprinting some of the recent Judd Winnick issues, these are the ones where Green Lantern gets near infinite power and how he deals with it. Good idea, not well executed and for hard core GL fans only
10 TRANSFORMERS BEGINNINGS GN $16.95 TIT 2,840
It's another collection of Marvel Transformer stories that I thought were unreadable crap the first time they came out. They got no better with age.
11 SHADE THE CHANGING MAN AMERICAN SCREAM TP (MR) $17.95 DC 2,790
This was well recieved by people when I first came out (it's the first 9 or so issue of Shade the Changing Man)but I didn't care for it at all. It was confusingly written to try and appear more serious than it really was, and seemed like it was stretching a four issue miniseries into an entire series.
12 HAWKMAN ENDLESS FLIGHT TP $12.95 DC 2,752
An enjoyable super-hero series gets collected pretty darn quickly. I have liked the new Hawkman series, even though I dislike Hawkman and the "reincarnation" premice that the character seems to be built on. Highly recommended for super-hero fans for its well done stories and amazingly clean, fluid artwork.
13 NIGHTWING HUNT FOR ORACLE TP $14.95 DC 2,752
Reprinting a crossover that sold out at the time because it was the story that got Nightwing and the former Batgirl into a romantic relationship. Awwww...how sweet. Just some standard DC comics, though, and nothing all that special.
14 RUSE VOL 2 SILENT PARTNER TP $15.95 CRO 2,652
15 ASTRO BOY VOL 13 TP $9.95 DAR 2,652
Dark Horse started this reprinting series when Lone Wolf and Cub because the biggest graphic novel hit they had ever had. This work is very inferior and looks ancient, even though it is from the 60's.
16 COSMIC ODYSSEY TP NEW ED $19.95 DC 2,577
The only reason to buy this mess of a book is the masterful Mike Mignola artwork. Mignola has the power and darkness of Kirby's best without being an obvious imitation of his style. This story, however, reads as more of a joke every single year. Taking the loose plot thread from "The New Gods" (Darkseid looking for the Anti-life Equasion) turns the Anti-life equation into a living being that everyone fights and...ok, at this point I actually stopped reading the words and just looked at the art, which I hardly ever do.
17 EXILES VOL 3 OUT OF TIME TP $17.99 MAR 2,477
More of the Marvel series that reads like the old "What if..?" comic with a continuing cast. Recommended by long-time Marvel fans only.
18 SUPERMAN CRITICAL CONDITION TP $14.95 DC 2,452
Reprinting another of the Big Superman stories that I paid no attention to in the regular comic. I will pay no attention to it in this format as well.
19 CHEAT GN (MR) $5.95 ONI 2,439
The guide to winning the Presidential election.
20 ALIAS VOL 2 COME HOME TP (MR) $13.99 MAR 2,414
One of Marvel's best series, and in a lot of way, underappreciated. Brought out with a lot of hype and sensationalism, the first Marvel Mature comic is mature in more than just language, but in having a deeply complex lead character, stories that are more than figuring out who to punch and resolutions that resonate long after you close the covers of the book. If you don't buy the regular series, you should buy this and it's Highly Recommended for all mature comic book readers.
21 X STATIX VOL 1 TP $11.99 MAR 2,364
The first 6 issue story of the re-launched series, and a book that is far more complicated than it looks. Pop sensationalism and media deconstruction disguised as a super-hero comic with art that looks like it is from the mid 60's, and Highly Recommended for all readers except fanboys who want more Jim Lee fight scenes in their comix.
22 FORGE #11 $7.95 CRO 2,314
CrossGen's cheap color reprints of a handfull of their monthly comics. You get 8 issues in a book that reprints 8 issues, there is no better deal in comix. The stories are bland with very glossy art, and at least one of two of the comics in it will be worth reading. Mildly recommended. Also easy to review, since I can cut and paste the review from Edge
23 PHANTOM VOL 4 HUNT GN $6.95 MNS 2,239
24 EDGE #11 $7.95 CRO 2,189
CrossGen's cheap color reprints of a handfull of their monthly comics. You get 8 issues in a book that reprints 8 issues, there is no better deal in comix. The stories are bland with very glossy art, and at least one of two of the comics in it will be worth reading. Mildly recommended. Also easy to review, since I can cut and past the review from Forge.
25 STEAMPUNK DRAMA OBSCURA $14.95 DC 2,027
A series with wonderful art and a mediocre story. Buy it if you like Chris Bachalo drawing clocks and steam everywhere. I know I did.
26 NOBLE CAUSES VOL 1 IN SICKNESS & IN HEALTH TP $12.95 IMA 1,776
Reprinting the recent Image super-team book that seems like most other super-team books.
27 SCRYED VOL 1 GN $9.99 TKP 1,726
28 ANGELIC LAYER VOL 5 GN (Of 5) $9.99 TKP 1,701
29 KODOCHA VOL 6 SANAS STAGE GN (Of 10) $9.99 TKP 1,664
30 PEACH GIRL SOPHOMORE YEAR VOL 1 TP $9.99 TKP 1,639
31 KARE KANO VOL 2 GN (Of 15) (RES) $9.99 TKP 1,626
"Cory, why aren't you reviewing the Tokyo Pop books?"
Because I know nothing about them, don't pay attention to them and know they aren't aimed at me anyway.
"Then why don't you make fun of them?"
Because they serve a audience that I think should be reading comics and are bringing in new readers. They also are a very good value, with over 200 pages for $10, which is a very cool idea.
"That sounds like bullshit to me."
You're right. The last time I made fun of Manga comic book names, I got tons of hate mail that made me feel like no one loved me.
"But Cory, no one DOES love you."
Yeah, but I don't FEEL like it if I'm not getting hate mail and I can live in blissful obviliousness.
32 FIST FULL OF BLOOD HC $14.95 HEA 1,601
The story of what you get if you pick your nose with your entire fist.
33 MYSTIC VOL 4 ALL NIGHT TP $15.95 CRO 1,589
34 WILDCATS BATTERY PARK TP $17.95 DC 1,551
The only time Wildcats was worth reading was when Alan Moore wrote it. Alan Moore did not write the stories in this trade paperback. You have now been officially warned.
35 BATTLE ROYALE (MR) $15.95 VIZ 1,539
Another good thing abotu Tokyo Pop is that they have caused Viz to drop the price on their trade paperbacks. However those prices drop next month. This month you have to pay $6 more. Heh. They sure suckered you.
36 RAGNAROK VOL 6 GN (Of 10) $9.99 TKP 1,526
Why has there been no crappy metal band with this name? I mean we have 100s of variations on the word "Death" but no references to the Norse end of the world? Is it easy to tell I'm stalling because I have no clue what this comic is about?
37 INITIAL D VOL 4 GN (Of 20) (RES) $9.99 TKP 1,501
38 BTVS NOTE FROM UNDERGROUND TP $12.95 DAR 1,439
Dark Horse continues its relentless march to fill the world with bland reprints of the Buffy comic series. Soon the damn things will get up and wander around the comic shop looking to eat brains.
39 PREACHER DEAD OR ALIVE COLLECTED COVERS SC $19.95 DC 1,439
So, they'll take the 70 odd covers and get a whole book out of them. I liked Preacher and the covers well very nice, but I don't think I need them all in a single book.
40 GATEKEEPERS VOL 1 GN $9.99 TKP 1,401
41 SERAPHIC FEATHER TARGET ZONE TP (MR) $17.95 DAR 1,389
42 APACHE SKIES TP (MR) $12.99 MAR 1,351
Marvel's very well done western mini-series from last year. And, none of the characters have been turned into painfully unfunny gay stereotypes in the course of the story, so that's an extra bonus. Highly recommended.
43 STRAY BULLETS VOL 7 TP (MR) $14.95 EL 1,226
An amazingly well done crime fiction comic that shatters any expectations you would have of how a story is told. Stories jump around in time, and yet are not confusing in any way. Highest recommendation of the month.
44 PLANET LADDER VOL 5 GN (Of 5) $9.99 TKP 1,176
45 REBIRTH VOL 1 GN $9.99 TKP 1,151
46 EIGHTBALL DAVID BORING SC (MR) $16.95 FAN 1,126
I know that Dan Clowes is thought of as a comic book genius, but I find his work too hateful to enjoy, with the leavening aspect of humor. He clearly hates the characters he writes about, and it makes the stories he does very hard to read. If you like his work, I can see the technical aspects and how it could be considered great work, but I can't take the relentless anger he has for the medium, his characters and his audience.
47 CLUMSY GN $10.00 TOP 1,126
I had a great review for this book, but I dropped it and it rolled under the couch. Then, when I tried to grab it, I hit my head on the front fo the couch and said "screw it."
48 CROW FLESH & BLOOD COLL (Net) $2.99 BUD 1,113
I know it didn't sell this well when it first came out, as this is one of the many Crow "sequels" done after the movie came out. Bud Plant bought up the run for pennies on the dollar and is selling it at a huge discount. And if anyone is trying to make you pay full price, just walk away, since they got it at a 80% discount.
49 MIRACLE GIRLS VOL 8 PKT TP $9.99 TKP 1,076
50 PRIEST VOL 5 GN (Of 9) $9.99 TKP 1,063