Top 50 Best-Selling GRAPHIC NOVELS Of 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels of 2018 based strictly on pre-order sales through Diamond Distribution. It’s interesting to note how IMAGE COMICS dominates this category compared to the monthly best seller list that Diamond puts out. MARVEL and DC crowd out almost every other publisher on that list, yet there’s not a single MARVEL or DC Graphic Novel in these best-sellers. 

Information shared courtesy of Diamond Booksellers . . . . . . . . . 

Based on data collected by our retailer network and retailer partners, Diamond has provided the Top 50 Best-Selling Graphic Novels of 2018 from our publishers. In 2018, Saga Volume 1 and Monstress Volume 1 spent the most time in the Top 10. 

Titles Ranking in the #1 Spot for 2018

• Saga Volume 8 
• Saga Volume 9
• The Walking Dead Volume 29
• Pathfinder Playtest Rule Book
• Snotgirl Volume 2
• The Walking Dead Volume 30

Titles Featured in the Best-Sellers list every month of 2018

• Brandon Sanderson's White Sand Volume 1
• Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting
• Monstress Volume 1-2
• Pathfinder Core Rulebook
• Paper Girls Volume 1-2
• Saga Book 1-2
• Saga Volume 1-8
• Snotgirl Volume 1
• Starfinder Core Rulebook
• The Walking Dead Volume 28

Top 50 Best-Selling Graphic Novels of 2018

Title	ISBN	Retail	Publisher
Saga Volume 8	9781534303492	$14.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 9	9781534308374	$14.99	Image Comics
The Walking Dead Volume 29: Lines We Cross	9781534304970	$16.99	Image Comics
The Walking Dead Volume 30: New World Order	9781534308848	$16.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 1	9781607066019	$9.99	Image Comics
Monstress Volume 1: Awakening	9781632157096	$9.99	Image Comics
Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting	9781934547847	$34.95	Green Ronin
Monstress Volume 3	9781534306912	$16.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 7	9781534300606	$14.99	Image Comics
Paper Girls Volume 1	9781632156747	$9.99	Image Comics
Paper Girls Volume 4	9781534305106	$14.99	Image Comics
The Walking Dead Volume 28: A Certain Doom	9781534302440	$16.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 2	9781607066927	$14.99	Image Comics
Starfinder Roleplaying Game: Starfinder Core Rulebook	9781601259561	$59.99	Paizo Inc.
The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1	9781607060765	$59.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 3	9781607069317	$14.99	Image Comics
Snotgirl Volume 2: California Screaming	9781534306615	$15.99	Image Comics
The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye	9781582406725	$14.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 6	9781632157119	$14.99	Image Comics
The Walking Dead Book 15	9781534308503	$34.99	Image Comics
Monstress Volume 2: The Blood	9781534300415	$16.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 4	9781632150776	$14.99	Image Comics
Saga Volume 5	9781632154385	$14.99	Image Comics
Brandon Sanderson's White Sand Volume 2	9781524103422	$24.99	Dynamite Entertainment
Saga Book One	9781632150783	$49.99	Image Comics
Snotgirl Volume 1	9781534300361	$9.99	Image Comics
The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 3	9781632154569	$59.99	Image Comics
Paper Girls Volume 2	9781632158956	$12.99	Image Comics
Paper Girls Volume 3	9781534302235	$12.99	Image Comics
Saga Book Two	9781632159038	$49.99	Image Comics
Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 48	9781603602211	$29.95	Gemstone
The Walking Dead: Here's Negan	9781534303270	$19.99	Image Comics
The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2	9781607065968	$59.99	Image Comics
Sheets	9781941302675	$12.99	Lion Forge
The Wicked + The Divine Volume 6	9781534304734	$16.99	Image Comics
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Pocket Rulebook	9781601258878	$24.99	Paizo Inc.
The Walking Dead Volume 27: The Whisperer War	9781534300521	$14.99	Image Comics
Paper Girls Volume 5	9781534308671	$14.99	Image Comics
Starfinder Roleplaying Game: Pact Worlds	9781640780224	$44.99	Paizo Inc.
Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook	9781640780842	$29.99	Paizo Inc.
Rat Queens Volume 5: The Colossal Magic Nothing	9781534306776	$16.99	Image Comics
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Rulebook	9781601251503	$49.99	Paizo Inc.
The Wicked + The Divine Volume 7	9781534308404	$17.99	Image Comics
Creature Codex	9781936781928	$49.99	Paizo Inc.
Starfinder Roleplaying Game: Armory	9781640780415	$39.99	Paizo Inc.
Dark Souls III: Design Works	9781772940640	$49.99	Udon
Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico	9780692092217	$19.99	Somos Arte
Mega Man X: Official Complete Works HC	9781772940756	$39.99	Udon
Lulu Is A Rhinoceros	9780692070987	$16.99	Wicked Cow
Starfinder Roleplaying Game: Alien Archive	9781601259752	$39.99	Paizo Inc.

Gary Scott Beatty on Snowbound, Steampunk, And Vincent Price

EDITOR’S NOTE:  I don’t think I’ll be receiving or posting these ramblings from friend Gary on a daily basis, but when he keeps touching on subjects near and dear to me (steampunk and Vincent Price) it’s hard not to share.  Read on and enjoy . . . . . . . . .

GUEST COLUMN BY GARY SCOTT BEATTY

BURIED. We're buried in snow today on the west coast of Michigan, and will most likely be buried-plus tomorrow. Looking out from inside warmth, it's easy to see how close humans are to destruction. Mother nature is a bitch, and all we have are systems for warmth and protection few of us fully understand. New today, over at the Gods of Aazurn webcomic, Ms. Vedma has a visitor. We now know a reason the Vedma Cult exists. GO TO: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/gods-of-aazurn/list?title_no=202820 Read and enjoy, but know the end of this storyline is revealed in the Gods of Aazurn: Witches graphic novel, now up on Kickstarter at StrangeHorror.com. GO TO: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/garyscottbeatty/gods-of-aazurn-creepy-cosmic-horror-comics-lovecra/ You can show your enthusiasm for the work and the free stuff you get all year from these emails at the Kickstarter.   STEAMPUNK APOCALYPSE. You may already know about Kevin LaPorte of Inverse Press. His Clown Town stories appeared way back in my own Indie Comics Magazine #3. Kevin and company are in the last days of a Kickstarter, Last Ride for Horsemen: It's the Apocalypse in Steampunk. "In Last Ride for Horsemen, the Apocalypse falls on the last town in creation, and the Four Horsemen descend on the place one at a time to slowly, painfully eradicate it and all its denizens. The monstrous plowman Famine razes their crops amidst a swarm of cyborg locusts. The snake oil salesman Pestilence gifts them faux medicine to poison their water supply. Now, the Lady War sets the starving, cannibalistic townspeople against the aristocrats who hoard what remains. But salvation may lie with these privileged few - an arrogant tycoon, a socialite mayor, a hardened sheriff, and a grizzled hired gun. Can these mere humans survive the onslaught of the very forces of the end times?" You will like this comic. Hell, you will like all three of these comics, all offered in this Kickstarter.  GO TO:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laporte/last-ride-for-horsemen-war-sets-the-apocalypse-to   FREE VINCENT PRICE. I'm surprised how many Vincent Price fans don't know that, from 1944 to 1951, he was the voice of Leslie Charteris' character Simon Templar, better known as The Saint. Velvet-voiced Price was perfect for the character. In an era when radio was filled with hard boiled detectives and police procedurals, The Saint stood out. Self confident, with looks, wealth and wit, Simon Templar was a bit of a dandy, enjoying the finer things in life. Yes, I enjoy Roger Moore's Saint on television, 1962 to 1969. But I have read many of the pulp stories, which began in 1928, and Vincent Price the actor comes much closer to The Saint character I envisioned in print.   The radio plays can be listened to or downloaded from the Internet Archive here:   https://archive.org/details/TheSaintVincentPriceOTR  Unfortunately, there are misnamed duplicates included. But, hey, it's free. If you don't know who Vincent Price is, well, I just don't know what to do with you -- Take care, do good things for yourself and others, listen to music, and lift up your head to look around occasionally -- you deserve the big picture. In glorious service to our Aazurn overlords, Gary Scott Beatty StrangeHorror.com

Copyright © 2019 Aazurn Publishing, All rights reserved.  If you're new here and forgot why you subscribed, I'm Gary Scott Beatty, author and/or illustrator of several fine genre fantasy books, including Wounds, Jazz: Midnight, Worlds, and, Bleeding Cool claims, one of the best indie comics of 2014, Number One. Add gary@indiecomicsmagazine.com to your address book and these won't be branded as sp7m-robot generated evil. If you enjoy these ramblings, feel free to send friends to http://strangehorror.com so they can become indoctrinated into the temple of Aazurn.  Our mailing address is:  Aazurn Publishing 1509 Princeton Rd. Muskegon, MI  49441

Sneak Peek: Cyberpunk THIS OFF BEAT TOWN. Visit It This Summer.

from the official Devil’s Due press release . . . . CHICAGO: This Summer, Devil’s Due will release This Off Beat Town: Vol. 1, a collected edition of the up and coming writer/artist Jake Smith's four issue miniseries.  This Off Beat Town is a science fiction action comic taking place in the Hong Kong-esque dystopian city Nero. A city full of aliens, robots, and its lead protagonist, a genetically engineered talking chimp named Felix, who also happens to be a freelance mercenary. “I am so stoked to have This Off Beat Town coming out through Devil’s Due!" said Jake Smith. "I couldn’t think of a better publisher for this book! I’ve been dying to get it into comic shops so everyone can enjoy it.” "Jake Smith is a talent to keep your eyes on, and I'm excited that he's brought his passion project to our line", said Devil's Due Commander-in-Chief Josh Blaylock. "I hope this is the beginning of much more to come." This June, Smith also lends his talents to Blaylock's own series Mercy Sparx, in a limited edition variant cover illustration for issue #13, also available through Devil's Due Comics. About:  Devil’s Due Comics is a North American based comic book publisher founded by author and artist Josh Blaylock in 2000. Famous for its diversity of styles and genres, in both corporate licensed and creator-owned comics, Devil’s Due’s titles are found globally, under the shared umbrella of Devil’s Due / 1First Comics. Jake Smith is a comic book creator from Nashville, Tennessee, and the creative force behind the groundbreaking comic This Off Beat Town. He has also contributed to Spook House, TMNT Universe and MetalShark Bro! Keep on the look out for this up and coming visionary artist's future projects!  Cover by Tradd Moore (above).

THE SYNTHETICS #0 Is Looking For Your Support

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm posting this request because I'm a supporter of THE SYNTHETICS and would love to see it completed. If you wish there were more quality science-fiction themed comics (that didn't feature super-heroes) then you will want to check out the Kickstarter here:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/martianlit/the-synthetics-0-make-100/posts/2399344?ref=ksr_email_backer_project_update_registered_users#comments
Just Six Days Left!
Posted by Martian Lit (Creator)
We've got just six days left for our Kickstarter for The Synthetics #0, a single-issue comic about a robot sex worker on Mars who just might play a role in the Robot Revolution!

We're currently sitting at 60% funded, and we need to raise just under $1000 to make this a reality and keep our comics going.

We're working hard to spread the word and reach our goal. If you get a chance to spread the word, please know that it's appreciated!

This comic is a real labor of love, and we can't thank you enough for your support! It means more than you know! :)

Thanks and All My Best,

Julian

RED STYLO MEDIA Readies For Ten Years As Indie Publisher

“…brought to you by the numbers 2 and 9.”

A 2018 re-cap from RSM editor-in-chief, Enrica Jang

Dec 31, 2018 | Blog, Breaking News, Red Team Roundup, Spotlight On, The Making Of...

This is my annual reel of where we’ve been this past year and where we’re going. I’ll usually make myself go back to the previous year’s wrap-up, partly to see how we did compared to what we had planned, partly to compare the years as they pass. This year, I realized we’re coming up on a serious milestone: next year, Red Stylo Media will turn ten. 

We approach the decade mark with some startling stats: 

• Over 300 artists and writers published
• Nearing 1000 pages of comics and art, over 600 of which are from anthologies
• 16 titles published (not counting those in production)
• 6 Kickstarter campaigns
• 3 new editors
• 1 Harvey nomination
• 1 publishing imprint
• 1 Patreon

There’s more, of course, and it can’t all be summed up in a list of stats or highlights. But I’ve enjoyed the look back–even on the times I’m just glad are over. Especially those, in fact, because it means we made it through! So here’s to the ninth notch in our belts. 2019 was another great year, and there are more truly great things on the way.

Double Your Pleasure, Double The Fun

In some ways, A Soul Divided/Caged In Flesh, our newest anthology inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was a homecoming. This was a book that I’d wanted to do years ago but at the time, on the heels of three literature-inspired collections, it would have felt forced. Fresh eyes and a new editorial team later, not only did we return to literature as inspiration for the new Red Stylo Presents annual anthology, we decided to tackle a double-side format suitable to the double-sided personality of the main character. 

Putting together one book with two sides is not technically any different than putting together any other book, but you are doing everything twice. Two titles, two logos, two covers, two formats for the book, two story slates— two times the work. And still those things must complement one another as two halves of a whole. In one of the smartest moves RSM made, then, was quadruple the number of editors to put this sucker together! Jekyll & Hyde was our very first team edit with Genevieve Trainor and myself wrangling the story slate, and the book packaged by dynamic production team duo, Mark Mullaney and Laura Guzzo.  Very special thanks to Laura for pulling the final package together!

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Thirty creators split over two teams created a dueling-personality collection for the ages (or psych ward rolls, depending on your POV.) I asked Genevieve to sum up her experience as editor, working with creators on this book (and no, I didn’t pay her to say any of this stuff):

“Working with the RSM team was a dream; the skill and drive poured into the project were astounding. There’s nothing better than the feeling of brainstorming with brilliant, like-minded folks and being able to trust them to lift up the good ideas and honestly shoot down the ideas born of lack of sleep or experience. 

A Soul Divided/Caged in Flesh appealed to the horror nerd in me. I don’t like long-form horror (I’m a big chicken at the tamest horror films), but I love horror in short stories and especially comics. The writers and artists we brought on board for the book delivered on that desire in many cases—but they also surprised me by teasing other delightful stories out of the source material. It was a joy to spend 2018 buried in this world. I’m thrilled to see what 2019 brings!”

We went back to the well with a Kickstarter campaign for this collection and thanks to 118 backers, the book debuted at New York Comic Con in October. For anyone who missed it, consider checking out our Patreon this January: we’ll be releasing stories from the collection (plus some erstwhile Ninja Bear episodes!) every two weeks.

 

Year of Poe

Another homecoming—and literary inspiration, come to that–was the inaugural year of The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards in Baltimore. And even though New York Comic Con was the same weekend and we had to muster a team of volunteers to cover both shows, RSM wasn’t about to miss out on the Poe action. Jason Strutz was a featured artist at this brand-new event and we brought Poe Twisted and The House of Montresor (our sequel to Poe’s Cask of Amontillado) to the thousands of Poe heads who descended for the festival, coming away with new readers and fans.

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In publishing, there’s a tendency to feel like books, once sent out into the world, are done and buried. But as any publisher of indie might tell you, you can’t underestimate the number of people who have never heard of you and so anything you show them can be brand new once more. It’s a gift to get to feel ye old excitement for a title, and also an excellent springboard for new inspiration: in 2019, look for new Poe-inspired one shots from RSM alums, Andrew Jerz and James McGee.

 

Pressing On

Two new titles from Red Stylo Press in 2018: 

R. Robert Pollak’s Ellen’s Adventures at the Shadowland compendium, collecting the time-travelling, ghost-romancing, space alien-encountering, wildly theatrical adventures of Ellen Allan from “The Phantom of Sam’s Point”, “My Alien Pal”, and “Star Struck!” Congratulations to Robert for coming full circle on this collection, and we look forward to your new adventures in years to come!

A new comic anthology inspired by the music of Florence + the Machine. A special edition of COSMIC LOVE debuted a tFlame Con in August and we’re finally ready to see the book in print for wider distribution. Editor, Jennie Wood, has had an incredible year, and the timing could not be better to get this book out to the cosmos. Keep an eye out in late January as we Kickstart the release!

 

Crossing The Equator

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Returning fans and NEW READERS helped fund two new issues of CROSSING in June, and we had the next chapters of this six-issue mini at San Diego Comic Con in July. This is the halfway mark and the big question looming over all:  can we finish the series in 2019? 

Gonna have to leave THAT question as a cliffhanger in this wrap-up… But I can confirm that we will be returning to SDCC this year. But when have we ever shown up empty-handed?

 

Head Down, Eyes UP!

So, another year come and gone. And next year we turn ten. How the hell did that happen? 

Oh, I know! It happened because of you. Brilliant creators, faithful readers, heroic friends, long-suffering handsome husbands, patient and gloriously beautiful wives, and all the other people, patrons, backers, offspring, the muses that nurture our creative lives.  Doing this work is not always fun, but it is ALWAYS gratifying.  And so, I remain grateful, every year, every day, every moment, for you. 

Thank you,

Enrica J.

Dec 31, 2018