Free Comics! From Neil Gaiman

Okay... here's a few to get your juices flowing.

Let's start with the Patron Saint of Graphic Novels. (Yes, I know he's Jewish. Yes, I know Will Eisner has a claim to that title as well. Yes, I know he was Jewish as well. Okay okay... Mr. Gaiman is one of the 36 unselfish people who keep comics going. Happy?)

Coraline (Graphic Novel) by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell (Illustrator), Lovern Kindzierski (Illustrator)
$18.99 List price
(Hardcover - Graphic Novel Edition)

(Hmmm.... the view pops up, but nothing is visible past the front cover! Even the page slider, at the bottom, which shows thumbnails, shows blank pages. Perhaps HarperCollins has removed the images? Most everything else from Gaiman's HarperCollins catalog is available for preview.
HarperCollins has a functional preview here. 38 pages!)

Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman, Charles Vess (Illustrator)
List price: $17.99

(Thirteen pages available to all, fifteen with account)

Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman, Dave Mckean (Illustrator)

List price: $18.99

(Thirteen pages available to all, sixteen with account)

The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman, Gris Grimly (Illustrator)

List price: $17.99

(Ten pages for everyone, twelve with account)

Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman, Dave Mckean (Illustrator) , Dave McKean (Illustrator)
Online price: $6.99

(Only the cover! Hardcover is the same. HarperCollins has a preview here. Fourteen pages! Heh..."Browse inside the Wolves in the Wall...)

Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman, Dave Mckean (Illustrator) , Dave McKean (Illustrator)
List price: $17.99

(Cover only! HarperCollins has a preview available here. Sixteen pages!)

Children's Crusade (Books of Magic Series #3) by Carla Jablonski, Neil Gaiman (Created by) , John Bolton (Created by)

(Oh. It's a novelization of the comicbooks. Should have known better... DC doesn't post previews on BN.com.)

Free Comics! Introduction

Much discussion has occurred online over comics being converted into digital e-books.

Well, over on Amazon and BarnesAndNoble.com, publishers have been offering previews of regular books for the past five years or so. A few publishers have also begun to offer actual e-books which can be downloaded to e-readers, cellphones, and computers.

So... I will feature a few here, courtesy of BarnesAndNoble.com (I like their reader more than Amazon's, and since I have an account there, I can sometimes read the ENTIRE book when I log on.) Yes, I work for them, but I'm not doing this as an employee, just as a professional Seducer of the Innocent, letting other fans enjoy some comics they might not realize they might enjoy.

If you click through on the links below, I will not earn anything from BN.com. I'm not on their affiliate network, and they'd probably look sideways at me if I sold books for them 9 to 5, then sold books again online.

Yeah, I'm doing this out of shear love for the medium of comics and graphic novels. Of course, if you DO appreciate this service I provide, my BN wishlist is available here.

BN.Com Top 1000 Graphic Novels and Comics Bestsellers 12.13.2009

BN.com Top 1000 titles Graphic Novels and Comics
Sunday 13 December 2009

Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #4) by Jeff Kinney

ISBN-13: 9780810983915
Sales Rank: 22
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $13.95
Online price: $8.37
Member price: $7.53


Diary of a Wimpy Kid Four Book Set by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9781615579181
Sales Rank: 31
Pub. Date: December 2009
List price: $52.80
Online price: $34.32
Member price: $30.88

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #1) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810993136
Sales Rank: 78
Pub. Date: April 2007
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32

Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #2) by Jeff Kinney

ISBN-13: 9780810994737

Sales Rank: 113

Pub. Date: February 2008

List price: $12.95

Online price: $10.36

Member price: $9.32

The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #3) by Jeff Kinney

ISBN-13: 9780810970687
Sales Rank: 124
Pub. Date: January 2009
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb by R. Crumb

ISBN-13: 9780393061024

Sales Rank: 138

Pub. Date: October 2009

List price: $24.95

Online price: $16.21

Member price: $14.58

Celebrating Peanuts : 60 Years by Charles Schulz
ISBN-13: 9780740785481
Sales Rank: 321
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $75.00
Online price: $45.00
Member price: $40.50

Marvel Encyclopedia 2009 by DK Publishing
ISBN-13: 9780756655303
Sales Rank: 718
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $40.00
Online price: $26.00
Member price: $23.40

Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid (Tales from the Crypt Series #8) by David Gerrold, Stefan Petrucha, Rob Vollmar, Jim Salicrup, John L. Lansdale
ISBN-13: 9781597071635
Sales Rank: 841
Pub. Date: November 2009
Online price: $7.95
Member price: $7.15

The Fine Print:

While I am an employee of Barnes & Noble, Inc., the data presented below is general information from the public website. I have not researched any proprietary sales data, nor do I speak in any official capacity for Barnes & Noble. You can do the same thing I am doing, using the bookmarks listed below. (The easiest way: enter “graphic novels” in the search bar at BN.com. On the left side, you will see a frame titled "Browse Graphic Novels". Click on “bestsellers”. The website sorting differs from the sales ranking (probably due to differing algorithms), so scroll through the listing of ten titles. Unlike other searching, where a user can show 100 titles at a time, this screen can only showcase ten. Click on “next” to continue your research.)

I have no knowledge on how sales rankings are calculated. I hypothesize that since the site refreshes periodically throughout the day, that a rolling calculation of sales is performed, where recent sales are weighted more heavily than older sales. Also, sales are in relation to other titles, not a set number of copies sold. The sales rank is sequential. Just as two football teams can be undefeated in a football poll and one may be rated higher than the other, so too are the titles here listed sequentially in relation to everything else. Of course, analysis can only be compared to the titles NOW. Retail sales were difficult last year, and with the media dubbing “Black Friday” as “Grey Friday” this year because of reduced consumer spending, this year will be just as challenging.

I will survey the BN.com website weekly (and daily if possible) and at approximately the same time. Here are the bookmarks I use to survey results:

http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?env=web&endecaid=&visgrp=fiction&bncatid=1133349&cds2Pid=16864&linkid=1511365

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?SZE=100&SRT=S&WRD=comic%20book

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?SZE=100&SRT=S&WRD=comic%20strip

http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?bncatid=1133350&visgrp=fiction&isendeca=y&Ns=SALESRANK_SORT&sid=65213F09810C&act=M9

Razza Fracken...

God is laughing...

I figure... let's go to the Library of the Performing Arts, where I can reserve a computer for 45 minutes. I'll go through my old floppy disks, and cull some old files which I can post here.

Guess what? None of the terminals here have floppy drives. USB, DVD-RW... no problem. Floppies? Ancient history. Now I know they have some old Edison cylinders in the collection, not to mention vinyl (both Edison and RCA), magnetic tapes of various widths and tracks, and probably even some old player piano scrolls and a few music boxes. Probably almost all of that has been digitized for mass consumption, but if I want to do it, it looks like I'll have to go over to Kinko's and rent a computer for $18/hour. Or use my desktop at work.

Que Sera Sera, as Doris Day would say...

BN.Com Top 1000 Graphic Novels and Comics Bestsellers 12.11.2009

BN.com Top 1000 titles Graphic Novels and Comics
Friday 11 December 2009


Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #4) by Jeff Kinney
* ISBN-13: 9780810983915
* Sales Rank: 11
* Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $13.95
Online price: $8.37
Member price: $7.53


Diary of a Wimpy Kid Four Book Set by Jeff Kinney
* ISBN-13: 9781615579181
* Sales Rank: 34
* Pub. Date: December 2009
List price: $52.80
Online price: $34.32
Member price: $30.88


Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney
* ISBN-13: 9780810979772
* Sales Rank: 39
* Pub. Date: October 2008
List price: $10.95
Online price: $8.76
Member price: $7.88


Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #1) by Jeff Kinney
* ISBN-13: 9780810993136
* Sales Rank: 69
* Pub. Date: April 2007
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #3) by Jeff Kinney
* ISBN-13: 9780810970687
* Sales Rank: 84
* Pub. Date: January 2009
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #2) by Jeff Kinney
* ISBN-13: 9780810994737
* Sales Rank: 109
* Pub. Date: February 2008
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb by R. Crumb
* ISBN-13: 9780393061024
* Sales Rank: 187
* Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $24.95
Online price: $16.21
Member price: $14.58


Celebrating Peanuts : 60 Years by Charles Schulz
* ISBN-13: 9780740785481
* Sales Rank: 210
* Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $75.00
Online price: $45.00
Member price: $40.50


Marvel Encyclopedia 2009 by DK Publishing
* ISBN-13: 9780756655303
* Sales Rank: 240
* Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $40.00
Online price: $26.00
Member price: $23.40


Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid (Tales from the Crypt Series #8) by David Gerrold, Stefan Petrucha, Rob Vollmar, Jim Salicrup, John L. Lansdale
* ISBN-13: 9781597071635
* Sales Rank: 314
* Pub. Date: November 2009
Online price: $7.95
Member price: $7.15


Pokemon : Ultimate Handbook by Cris Silvestri
* ISBN-13: 9780545078863
* Sales Rank: 930
* Pub. Date: October 2008
Online price: $9.99
Member price: $8.99


The Fine Print:
While I am an employee of Barnes & Noble, Inc., the data presented below is general information from the public website. I have not researched any proprietary sales data, nor do I speak in any official capacity for Barnes & Noble. You can do the same thing I am doing, using the bookmarks listed below. (The easiest way: enter “graphic novels” in the search bar at BN.com. On the left side, you will see a frame titled "Browse Graphic Novels". Click on “bestsellers”. The website sorting differs from the sales ranking (probably due to differing algorithms), so scroll through the listing of ten titles. Unlike other searching, where a user can show 100 titles at a time, this screen can only showcase ten. Click on “next” to continue your research.)

I have no knowledge on how sales rankings are calculated. I hypothesize that since the site refreshes periodically throughout the day, that a rolling calculation of sales is performed, where recent sales are weighted more heavily than older sales. Also, sales are in relation to other titles, not a set number of copies sold. The sales rank is sequential. Just as two football teams can be undefeated in a football poll and one may be rated higher than the other, so too are the titles here listed sequentially in relation to everything else. Of course, analysis can only be compared to the titles NOW. Retail sales were difficult last year, and with the media dubbing “Black Friday” as “Grey Friday” this year because of reduced consumer spending, this year will be just as challenging.

I will survey the BN.com website weekly (and daily if possible) and at approximately the same time.
Here are the bookmarks I use to survey results:

http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?env=web&endecaid=&visgrp=fiction&bncatid=1133349&cds2Pid=16864&linkid=1511365

http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?bncatid=1133350&visgrp=fiction&isendeca=y&Ns=SALESRANK_SORT&sid=65213F09810C&act=M9

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?SZE=100&WRD=comics&SRT=S

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?SZE=100&WRD=comic+strip&SRT=S

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?SZE=100&WRD=comic+books&SRT=S

BN.com Graphic Novel and Comics Top 1000 titles for 12.10.2009

BN.com Graphic Novel and Comics Top 1000 titles
10 December 2009
(posted via email)

I am employed by Barnes & Noble, but do not speak for them.
All rankings shown below were found on their public website at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/index.asp .

Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #4) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810983915
Sales Rank: 8
List price: $13.95
Online price: $8.37
Member price: $7.53


Diary of a Wimpy Kid Four
Book Set by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9781615579181
Sales Rank: 47
Pub. Date: December 2009
List price: $52.80
Online price: $34.32
Member price: $30.88


Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #1) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810993136
Sales Rank: 81
Pub. Date: April 2007
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #3) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810970687
Sales Rank: 94
Pub. Date: January 2009
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


Celebrating Peanuts : 60 Years by Charles Schulz
ISBN-13: 9780740785481
Sales Rank: 97
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $75.00
Online price: $45.00
Member price: $40.50


Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy
Kid Series #2) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810994737
Sales Rank: 99
Pub. Date: February 2008
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb by R. Crumb
ISBN-13: 9780393061024
Sales Rank: 135
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $24.95
Online price: $16.21
Member price: $14.58


Marvel Encyclopedia 2009 by DK Publishing
ISBN-13: 9780756655303
Sales Rank: 361
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $40.00
Online price: $26.00
Member price: $23.40


Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
(Tales from the Crypt Series #8) by David Gerrold, Stefan Petrucha, Rob Vollmar, Jim Salicrup, John L. Lansdale
ISBN-13: 9781597071635
Sales Rank: 363
Online price: $7.95
Member price: $7.15


Dumbheart : A Get Fuzzy
Collection by Darby Conley
ISBN-13: 9780740791895
Sales Rank: 644
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $12.99
Online price: $10.39
Member price: $9.35


Bone : Out from Boneville (Bone
Series #1), Vol. 1 by Jeff Smith, Jeff Smith (Illustrator)
ISBN-13: 9780439706407
Sales Rank: 893
Pub. Date: January 2005
List price: $10.99
Online price: $8.79
Member price: $7.91


The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks
ISBN-13: 9780307405777
Sales Rank: 936
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $17.00
Online price: $11.05


Pokemon : Ultimate Handbook by Cris Silvestri
ISBN-13: 9780545078863
Sales Rank: 968
Pub. Date: October 2008
Online price: $9.99
Member price: $8.99

BN.com Graphic Novel and Comics Bestsellers 12.09.2009

Barnes & Noble online
Graphic Novel and Comics Bestsellers
09 December 2009
(Posted via email)

Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #4) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810983915
Sales Rank: 6
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $13.95
Online price: $8.37
Member price: $7.53


Diary of a Wimpy Kid Four Book Set by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13:9781615579181
Sales Rank: 39
Pub. Date:December 2009
List price:$52.80
Online price:$34.32
Member price:$30.88


Celebrating Peanuts : 60 Years by Charles Schulz
ISBN-13: 9780740785481
Sales Rank: 43
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $75.00
Online price: $45.00
Member price: $40.50


The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #3) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810970687
Sales Rank: 62
Pub. Date: January 2009
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #2) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13: 9780810994737
Sales Rank: 69
Pub. Date: February 2008
List price: $12.95
Online price: $10.36
Member price: $9.32


Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #1) by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13:9780810993136
Sales Rank: 77
Pub. Date:April 2007
List price:$12.95
Online price:$10.36
Member price:$9.32


The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb by R. Crumb
ISBN-13: 9780393061024
Sales Rank: 155
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $24.95
Online price: $16.21
Member price: $14.58


Marvel Encyclopedia 2009 by DK Publishing
ISBN-13: 9780756655303
Sales Rank: 372
Pub. Date: October 2009
List price: $40.00
Online price: $26.00
Member price: $23.40


Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney
ISBN-13:9780810979772
Sales Rank: 500
Pub. Date:October 2008
List price:$10.95
Online price:$8.76
Member price:$7.88


Bone: The Great Cow Race (Bones Series #2), Vol. 2 by Jeff Smith
ISBN-13: 9780439706391
Sales Rank: 806
Pub. Date: July 2005
Online price: $9.99
Member price: $8.99


Bone: Ghost Circles (Bone Series #7) by Jeff Smith
ISBN-13: 9780439706346
Sales Rank: 861
Pub. Date: February 2008
List price: $10.99
Online price: $8.79
Member price: $7.91


Bone: The Dragonslayer (Bone Series #4), Vol. 4 by Jeff Smith
ISBN-13: 9780439706377
Sales Rank: 862
Pub. Date: July 2006
List price: $10.99
Online price: $8.79
Member price: $7.91


FINE PRINT
While I am an employee of Barnes & Noble, I do not speak for them.
These sales rankings are found on the Barnes & Noble public website, using the following bookmarks:
http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?env=web&endecaid=&visgrp=fiction&bncatid=1133349&cds2Pid=16864&linkid=1511365

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?SZE=100&SRT=S&WRD=comic%20book

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?SZE=100&SRT=S&WRD=comic%20strip

http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?bncatid=1133350&visgrp=fiction&isendeca=y&Ns=SALESRANK_SORT&sid=65213F09810C&act=M9

No proprietary sales data is used in the creation of this list, nor do I have any knowledge as to how the sales rankings are calculated.