In what could very well be the Rosetta Stone for graphic novel sales analysis, The Book Standard takes a look at their Comics & Graphic Novel Chart which is taken from the Bookscan sales chart, which tracks actual book stores sales.

The rankings on the Book Standard’s Comics & Graphic Novels Chart fluctuate week after week: At any given moment manga publishers could release the latest volume of a popular series that grabs the No. 1 spot, only to be replaced shortly by a competing brand or the next volume in the same series. Also, movies based on superheroes could bump existing graphic novels that have been in stores for years to the top. One thing is consistent, however: TokyoPop and VIZ dominate, the majority of their titles reaching No. 1.

This week, TokyoPop’s cash cow, Fruits Basket, story and art by Natsuki Takaya, sits atop the Comics & Graphic Novels Chart with its 14th volume for the second consecutive week. The powerhouse Fruits topped the chart 15 weeks in 2005-more than any other brand on the chart-and six so far this year.


The story includes the actual Top 100 2005 COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVEL SELLERS. For your convenience, here’s the top ten:

1. FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: VOL. 1, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ, 1591169208, $9.99)
2. NARUTO: VOL. 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ, 1569319006, $7.95)
3. NARUTO: VOL. 6, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ, 1591167396, $7.95)
4. NARUTO: VOL. 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ, 1591161789, $7.95)
5. SIN CITY: THE HARD GOODBYE, Frank Miller (Dark Horse, 1593072937, $17.00)
6. STAR WARS, EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH, Miles Lane (Dark Horse, 1593073097, $12.95)
7. NARUTO: VOL. 7, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ, 1591168759, $7.95)
8. FRUITS BASKET: VOL. 7, Natsuki Takaya (TokyoPop, 159532402X, $9.99)
9. FRUITS BASKET: VOL. 10, Natsuki Takaya (TokyoPop, 1595324054, $9.99)
10. NARUTO: VOL. 3, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ, 1591161878, $7.95)


Now, all you have to do is check out the leaked Bookscan chart here, and you know, within the ballpark, how much these titles sold. Just to ruin the suspense, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL. 1 is listed as selling 67,781 copies on the leaked chart. Bookscan generally reports about 70% of sales, so adjust ballpark accordingly.