Diamond's Top 300 Graphic Books Chart had 141 new books and 159 backlist books which had been on the charts before. Of those 159, 71 were Marvel books which seemed to be part of a big sale, including 35 different softcover Marvel Masterworks volumes, a few of which shipped more copies last month than they did in their initial month of publication. Of the remaining 88, there are 68 which have been on the charts enough over the last two years or since they've been published (whichever is shorter) that I
classify them as perennials, including 36 which have been on the charts every month of their availability in that period.
So that leaves a more manageable list of 20 books which merit some greater attention.
The first group have been on the chart every month since they were published, that just wasn't long enough ago to qualify for the perennial list. Some of them will continue to appear on the list and join that list (almost certainly the WALKING DEAD and DEADPOOL books, based on past history) while others will drop off for the most part and only occasionally sell enough to make the Top 300, including the hardcovers which will eventually be replaced by softcovers by their publishers' normal marketing patterns.
WALKING DEAD TP VOL 19 MARCH TO WAR (IMA) : 1956 books
UNCANNY AVENGERS TP VOL 01 RED SHADOW (MAR) : 1317 books
SECRET SERVICE TP (MAR) : 1094 books
LOCKE & KEY HC VOL 06 ALPHA & OMEGA (IDW) : 998 books
ZERO TP VOL 01 AN EMERGENCY (IMA) : 728 books
DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL TP (MAR) : 654 books
DEADPOOL TP VOL 03 GOOD BAD AND UGLY NOW (MAR) : 612 books
INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US HC VOL 01 (DC) : 572 books
FATALE TP VOL 04 PRAY FOR RAIN (IMA) : 524 books
A few other recent books haven't made the list every month since they were published. MANHATTAN PROJECTS might continue to appear most months, like the first two books do. GUARDIANS will almost certainly fall off in this format after the softcover edition come out in a few months. HIP HOP FAMILY TREE is an interesting case. It sold out on publication last November, and the second printing came out (and sold out) in March. So there's a good chance it'll show up again in a few months when the third printing comes out. It's not the type of material that typically becomes a permanent fixture in the direct market Top 300, but then neither is John Lewis' autobiographical MARCH which has been on the chart 7 of 8 months since it was published.
MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 03 (IMA) : 649 books
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY PREM HC VOL 02 ANGELA (MAR) : 743 books
HIP HOP FAMILY TREE GN VOL 01 (FAN) : 671 books
The last group are books more than a year old which show up on the list occasionally, but less than half the time. Sometimes it's obvious why they showed up in this month, like that WINTER SOLDIER book which ties in to a movie that just came out, or that DAREDEVIL book out the same month as the book relaunches with the same writer. That first ATTACK ON TITAN book is a special case, having been on the list for the last six months after being off the chart for over a year after it was first published. It's the only one of these likely to eventually fall into what I define as a perennial, the rest will show up a few times a year and sell steadily at the
sub-Top 300 level the other months.
DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID TP VOL 01 (MAR) : 1376 books
ATTACK ON TITAN GN VOL 01 (RAN) : 817 books
CAPTAIN AMERICA WINTER SOLDIER ULTIMATE COLLECTION TP (MAR) : 1029 books
MARVEL ZOMBIES TP VOL 01 (MAR) : 678 books
FABLES TP VOL 03 STORYBOOK LOVE (DC) : 540 books
SERENITY HC VOL 01 THOSE LEFT BEHIND (DAR) : 537 books
SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING TP BOOK 01 (DC) : 666 books
ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP (DC) : 514 books
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