Diamond's Top 300 Graphic Novels for August 2011

Media Release -- Dark Horse Comics returned to Joss Whedon's fan-favorite Serenity universe in August with Serenity: Better Days and Other Stories, a collection of mini-series and specials in an omnibus hardcover, giving the Oregon-based publisher the month's best-selling graphic novel to comics retailers.

Overall, Dark Horse has a strong month for graphic novels in August, with three of the month's top ten books. Also in the top ten were Star Wars Adventures: Chewbacca and the Slavers of the Shadowland, a graphic novel for young readers, at #2, and B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth Volume 1: The New World at #4.

DC Comics also had three graphic novels in the top ten. Their top book for the months was the WE3 Deluxe Edition, a hardcover collection of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's acclaimed story about three animals turned into weapons for the military, which ranked #3 for the month. Also in the top ten were Paul Dini's Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories at #5 and Batman: Under the Red Hood, the collected edition of the storyline that inspired the recent direct-to-DVD animated movie, at #9.

Marvel Comics had two books in the top ten — FF by Jonathan Hickman Volume 1, collecting the first six issues of the new series about the Future Foundation, at #6, and Invincible Iron Man Volume 6: Stark Resilient, Book 2 at #10.

Image Comics rounded out the top ten with two volumes of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead. Volume 14, No Way Out, ranked #7 for August, and volume 1, Days Gone Bye, ranked #8.

Finishing off the premier publishers, IDW Publishing's top-selling book for August was Infestation Volume 1, collecting the first half of the publisher's zombie crossover event that encompassed Transformers and G.I. Joe; the book ranked #50 for the month.

How does Diamond calculate the charts? It all starts at the comic book shop.

Data for Diamond's sales charts – which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts – are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from a universe of over 3,500 accounts, comprised of comic book specialty shops and other merchant stores and buyers. The shops are primarily located in North America, with a percentage of sales also to international stores and buyers located throughout the world. The account base includes not only brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, but also Internet stores, chain stores, and other specialty stores.

Unit and dollars sales are calculated based upon orders invoiced and shipped to Diamond accounts during any given month, which comprises initial pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable.

About the Diamond Sales Index: The Sales Index of selected monthly Best Seller Charts is presented as a comparative tool for retailers and publishers. It presents Diamond's monthly sales for individual titles in relation to Diamond's total sales for the issue of DC Comics' monthly Batman comic book. (Batman is used as the control title – with a value of 100 – because sales of Batman usually remain relatively stable.) This allows for easy comparison to other titles and helps retailers gauge their orders for all other titles. This formula is only a guide, other factors may impact a titles' ability to sell in certain locations and clientele.