Diamond’s top 100 comic book and graphic novel lists are up at Newsarama. In the GN category, there aren’t really any surprises in terms of manga. Here are the nine books that made the cut:
- #52: FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 1 TP, $9.99, VIZ
- #53: FRUITS BASKET VOL 7 GN (Of 14), $9.99, TKP
- #56: SAMURAI EXECUTIONER VOL 3 TP (MR), $9.95, DAR
- #72: FRUITS BASKET VOL 10 GN (Of 14), $9.99, TKP
- #74: FRUITS BASKET VOL 9 GN (Of 14), $9.99, TKP
- #81: FRUITS BASKET VOL 8 GN (Of 14), $9.99, TKP
- #83: GHOST I/T SHELL 2 VOL 1 MAN MACHINE INTERFACE TP (MR), $24.95, DAR
- #85: NARUTO VOL 6 TP, $7.95, VIZ
- #94: FRUITS BASKET VOL 11 GN (Of 14), $9.99, TKP
Okay, I’m a little surprised that there aren’t more volumes of Naruto in there. Maybe it’s because the anime-driven boost was relatively recent, and Vol. 6 has had most of the year to benefit from re-orders, like Vol. 1 of Fullmetal Alchemist. The solid presence of Fruits Basket makes sense, as it’s been a steady performer since it debuted. Were I to guess, I’d say other volumes of Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist aren’t much farther down past the 100 mark.
Samurai Executioner is a perennial favorite from Dark Horse, and while the Ghost in the Shell book is on the pricey side, it’s also over 300 pages long, associated with a popular anime, printed in full color, and has a nearly naked woman on the cover.
As a side note, some digest-sized collections from Image and Marvel also did well, including the third volume of Marvel’s Runaways series.
Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that people are trying to decide if Diamond is a mildly irritating quasi-monopoly or the arch-nemesis of art and beauty and joy.