On March 5, 2009, the New York Times began publishing for the first time, a Manga Best Seller List. In recognition of the fact that “comics have finally joined the mainstream”, the New York Times has added three new graphic books best seller lists to their well-known and well-respected weekly lineup of best seller lists. This list comes out every Friday, and it reflects the sales for the week ending the previous Saturday. One of the unique aspects of this new list is that it includes sales not just at large and independent retailer of a variety of books, but also specialty shops and many other outlets, both online and brick-and-mortar. A detailed description of how where the data was obtained can be found below the actual list.
Graphic Books Best Seller List (Manga)
1 NARUTO, Vol. 43, by Masashi Kishimoto. (VIZ Media, $7.95.)
2 NARUTO, Vol. 42, by Masashi Kishimoto. (VIZ Media, $7.95.)
3 NARUTO, Vol. 44, by Masashi Kishimoto. (VIZ Media, $7.95.)
4 NEGIMA! (MAGISTER NEGI MAGI), Vol. 21, by Ken Akamatsu. (Del Rey, $10.99.)
5 NEGIMA!? NEO, Vol. 1, by Takuya Fujiyama and Ken Akamatsu. (Del Rey, $10.99.)
6 XXXHOLIC, Vol. 13, by Clamp. (Del Rey, $10.99.)
7 NARUTO, Vol. 41, by Masashi Kishimoto. (VIZ Media, $7.95.)
8 FRUITS BASKET, Vol. 22, by Natsuki Takaya. (TokyoPop, $10.99.)
9 NARUTO, Vol. 40, by Masashi Kishimoto. (VIZ Media, $7.95.) A journey to the Land of Rain unveils a secret.
10 NARUTO, Vol. 39, by Masashi Kishimoto. (VIZ Media, $7.95.)
Rankings reflect sales of graphic novels, for the week ending April 4, at many thousands of venues where a wide range of books are sold nationwide. These include hundreds of independent book retailers (statistically weighted to represent all such outlets); national, regional and local chains; online and multimedia entertainment retailers; university, gift, supermarket, discount department stores and newsstands. In addition, these rankings also include unit sales reported by retailers nationwide that specialize in graphic novels and comic books.
Source: NY Times Graphic Books Best Seller List (4/10/09)
