I have noticed an interesting manifestation that’s taken place over the past couple years at Floating World. It appears that the majority of our sales are good quality books that I really like. This was the plan all along, to sell books that are worth reading more than once. It’s a mixed blessing when certain mainstream comics get a lot of media coverage but the books are actually pretty bad. So all you’ve done is show a bunch of potential new customers the worst of what comics can offer. It’s good for my health that the majority of my day isn’t serving the lowest common denominator to shrinking audiences. Portland readers (and readers who visit Portland) have really good taste.

I’ve been looking forward to putting this 2011 bestseller list, mainly out of curiosity. It’s been a strange year for print and comics. The new Kindle has a miniature incinerator which seems a bit aggressive. Yet our sales were up from last year. The business is still growing. I’ve noticed that customers are buying less monthly comics, but trade and graphic novel sales remain strong. Sales are also great for deluxe hardcovers and expensive omnibus collections. People will invest in quality.

But first let’s look at quantity. Which books brought in the most foot traffic?

Best selling DC title (by quantity): ACTION COMICS #1

Best selling Marvel title (by quantity): FEAR ITSELF #1

Best selling titles published by everyone else (by quantity): DIAMOND #6, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN III CENTURY #2, NONPLAYER #1, LOSE #3, I WANT YOU #2, THB COMICS FROM MARS #2, CRICKETS #3, OPTIC NERVE #12, BOYS CLUB #4, A FIELD GUIDE TO THE ALIENS OF STAR TREK TNG, THICKNESS #2, WITCH DOCTOR #1, BUFFY SEASON 9 #1, HELLBOY THE FURY #2, MADMAN NEW GIANT SIZE SUPER GINCHY SPECIAL, GANGSTA RAP POSSE #2

Ok now the list of bestsellers by dollar amount. I multiplied the quantity sold by the retail price, and these are the books that made the most paper in 2011.

1. INCAL CLASSIC COLLECTION HC (Humanoids)
2. HABIBI (Pantheon)
3. MADMAN ATOMICA HC (Image)
4. ANYA’S GHOST (First Second)
5. EMITOWN (Image)
6. BIG QUESTIONS (D&Q)
7. IVY HC (Oni)
8. DAYTRIPPER (DC/Vertigo)
9. METABARONS SLIPCASE (Humanoids)
10. EYES OF THE CAT HC (Humanoids)

11. LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN III CENTURY #2 (Top Shelf)
12. WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM (Image)
13. PAYING FOR IT (D&Q)
14. ORC STAIN VOL. 1 (Image)
15. FINDER LIBRARY VOL. 1 (Dark Horse)
16. TEKKON KINKREET (Viz)
17. DIAMOND #6 (Floating World)
18. FABLES VOL. 15 (DC/Vertigo)
19. CRICKETS #3 (Self published/Fantagraphics)
20. SUPERGODS HC (Spiegel & Grau)

21. ACTION COMICS #1 (DC)
22. WE 3 DELUXE HC (DC/Vertigo)
23. CASANOVA VOL. 2 (Marvel/Icon)
24. CAPACITY (Secret Acres)
25. BATWOMAN ELEGY TP (DC)

Interesting observations about 2011′s list:

Three books by Jodorowsky, two of those are collaborations with Moebius. I think Humanoids had a good year.

Four out of the top five books made by Portland creators (pretty sure Allred was living in Portland at the time).

Not very many superheroes on the list. No Marvel books unless you include their creator owned imprint, Icon. Image had the most publications on the list.

I thought Alan Moore had left the comics industry? He’s still selling lots of them.

Omnibuses. Collect your single issues in a trade. Then collect your trades in an omnibus. Next publishers will offer something called a “Shelf”.

Capacity and Tekkon Kinkreet have made the list three years in a row. Hey Viz: NUMBER FIVE

We made the list with Diamond 6. I look forward to even more publishing in 2012.

Self publishing! Emitown, Big Questions, Ivy, Finder and Capacity all started as self published books that later got picked up by bigger publishers for distribution. Diamond 6 and Crickets #3 were straight up self published.

Seven titles on the list were more than $30. Only two were saddle stitched. One was unbound.

2012 predictions: Nobrow is working out their US distribution with Perseus. Once the books are readily available they are going to blow up even bigger. Humanoids brings a Moebius book back into print, it quickly goes out of print again. There will be more Brandon Graham comics in the world. Hopefully some new books by Julia Gfrörer and Theo Ellsworth. Michael DeForge, Lisa Hanawalt, Matt Furie, and Benjamin Marra continue their streak of awesome. I’m looking forward to McSweeney’s new children’s book imprint, McMullens, with new books illustrated by Matt Furie, Hanawalt, Jordan Crane, Jack Teagle. Koyama Press and Ryan Sands will deliver more excellent work. Jonny Negron and Uno Moralez are next. Battling Boy?

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Maybe this list can serve as an antidote to all the other bestseller lists you’ve seen recently.  Imagine a world where Marvel and DC only hold 6 of the top 25 slots.  19 of our Top 25 were from independent publishers like Oni, D&Q, Dark Horse, Picturebox, Adhouse, IDW… Le Dernier Cri!

6 of our Top 25 bestsellers weren’t even available from Diamond.  But we sold the shit out of them anyway.

This is the world I live in and it’s not by accident.  I knew that Portland could support a store like this; a store that focuses on independent comics just as much as mainstream superhero stuff; a store where you can actually find something cool that you haven’t heard of before.  Customers have remarked that the book selection feels curated, which in turn, curates and attracts the type of customers that would appreciate such a selection.

A couple notes on how the list was compiled.  This is based on dollar amount, so I multiplied quantity sold by retail price.  I also eliminated certain redundancies where applicable.  Meaning, I only let Walking Dead, Grant Morrison’s Batman, Scott Pilgrim, etc… appear on the list once, even though other volumes or issue numbers may have been among the bestsellers.

The List!

1.   SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 6 (Oni)
2.   KICK ASS HC (Marvel/Icon)
3.   TO TEACH: THE JOURNEY IN COMICS (Teachers College Press)
4.   FAMILY MAN VOL. 1 (Self published)
5.   WILSON HC (D&Q)
6.   WALKING DEAD VOL. 11 (Image)
7.   X ED OUT (Pantheon)
8.   BLACKSAD (Dark Horse)
9.   IF N OOF (Picturebox)
10. MESMO DELIVERY SERVICE (Dark Horse)

11. CROSSED VOL. 1 TP (Avatar)
12. PRISON PIT BOOK 2 (Fantagraphics)
13. RICHARD STARK’S PARKER THE OUTFIT (IDW)
14. BATWOMAN HC (DC)
15. THB COMICS FROM MARS #2 (Adhouse)
16. INCOGNITO VOL. 1 TP (Marvel/Icon)
17. TEKKON KINKREET (Viz)
18. BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 (DC)
19. FINAL CRISIS TP (DC)
20. ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #20 (D&Q)

21. CAPACITY TP (Secret Acres)
22. JOHNNY 23 (Le Dernier Cri)
23. POWR MASTRS 3 (Picturebox)
24. NEMESIS #1 (Marvel/Icon)
25. POP GUN WAR CHAIN LETTER 2 (Self published)

Things we learned from 2010′s list:

All of the Marvel books on the list were from Icon.  Bendis’ Scarlet #1 is right there at the 26th spot.

Four of the titles were from book release parties held in 2010.  None of which were 1st Thursday events.  Ryan Alexander-Tanner, Bill Ayers, Dylan Meconis, Brian Chippendale, and C.F. all brought their own crowds.  Congratulations guys!

Theo Ellsworth’s CAPACITY made the list two years in a row (so did Tekkon Kinkreet).  That is awesome.  If you still haven’t heard of this book maybe now you will.

16 of the Top 25 sellers were by auteurs, meaning the book was written and drawn by the same person.  Purity of vision.

10 of the Top 25 books were black and white.  11 if you count Johnny 23.

Garth Ennis’ bestselling book was from Avatar.  I maintain that the books Ennis and Ellis are doing for Avatar are way more interesting than the Marvel work they’re doing.

Our bestselling X-Book was X-Women.

The list is based on dollar amounts, which is is why you’ll see more trades and hardcovers than single issues.  That’s what brought in the most sales.  I read an interview where a retailer referred to customers who wait for the trade as “cheapskates”.  First of all, anyone who spends any money on comics, period, is our friend.  Second, it’s just as common for someone to come to the register with 3 or 4 trades as it is for someone to buy a stack of 5 or 6 single issues.  Which transaction do you think adds up faster?

There’s more interesting indie data just beyond the Top 25 list.  If we were to look a bit further we would see books by Lisa Hanawalt, Tom Neely, Jim Rugg, Matt Furie, Michael Deforge and Benjamin Marra selling just as well as the Fables, Blackest Nights, and Avengers of the world.

I hope this data is useful or encouraging to independent comics makers who didn’t make the Diamond Top 500.  If there’s a demand for good comics here in Portland I know it can happen elsewhere too.  I’ve met retailers like the Daves at Secret Headquarters and Gabe at Desert Island who are forging new markets, creating new readers, and providing cultural hubs for their local comics communities.

Looking forward to an even better 2011 in our new location… right next door in the old Portland Art Center space (32 NW 5th) with twice as much square footage.  New and improved Grass Hut too.  Grand opening is February 3rd with an art exhibit by Mike Allred.

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Edgar Wright’s SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD DVD is arriving DVD and Blu-ray this November and we’re throwing a party with Oni Press to celebrate!

Join us Wednesday night from 6-8pm for a trivia contest and to win raffle prizes. Also we will host a Scott Pilgrim costume contest which will be judged by Bryan Lee O’Malley via the magic of the interwebs!

Prizes include copies of the DVD, signed copies of Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 from Oni Press, and other exclusive t-shirts, posters and merchandise.

LISTING INFORMATION:

WHO: Floating World and Oni Press
WHAT: Scott Pilgrim DVD release party, trivia and costume contest (judged by Bryan Lee O’Malley via internet)
WHEN: Wednesday, November 10th, 6-8pm
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 20 NW 5th Ave #101

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Floating World Animation Fest returns with a new name and trippier mission. We’ve dug even deeper into the vaults of psychedelic animation to curate a heroic dose of visionary video art for this year’s animation fest.

For our fourth annual animation fest it was time to focus on what we liked best from previous shows and continue to seek out films that really embrace the infinite mysteries that resonate with us. The result is DMTV, a program that goes further into experimental realms of video art and abstract visuals.

Rounding out the evening are two of my favorite local bands, Atole and Nice Nice who will perform with live visuals mixed by e*Rock and Yoshi Sodeoka.

DMTV trailer – Floating World Animation Fest, Holocene, Oct. 13th 2010 from Floating World Comics on Vimeo.

LISTING INFORMATION:

WHO: Atole, Nice Nice; films by: Barry Doupe, Michael Robinson, James Mercer, Eurico Coelho, Jacob Ciocci, Milton Croissant, David O’Reilly, Dash Shaw, Dalibor Baric, Kihachiro Kawamoto, Max Hattler

WHAT: FWC’s 4th annual animation fest & live music by Atole, Nice Nice

WHEN: Wednesday, October 13th, 8pm – 1am

WHERE: Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St.

COST: $7 at door, $5 advance tickets at Floating World, 21+

Highlights of this year’s program include:

Travel, aka The Trip (1973) – Kihachiro Kawamoto studied puppet animation in Prague in 1963 before going on to create his own haunting puppet and cut-out animations drawing from his own Japanese heritage. Travel depicts the journey of a young girl into the Dali-esque landscape of her own psyche.

Apeiron (1996) – Eurico Coelho depicts a modern technological labyrinth where society has surrendered to the cold lamps of their computer screens. The entirety of this ten minute film was animated on a Commodore Amiga 4000, giving the film a completely fresh aesthetic that has outlived the technology with which it was created.

The Peace Tape (2008) – With a title hearkening back to the analog era, The Peace Tape is a frenetic remix of old and new “found” video. Culling his sources from thrift stores (countless straight-to-VHS childrens’ programs), the Internet (a single YouTube clip featuring “dog in a dog costume”), and his own designs (flash animation of eyes and mouths, subliminal flickers of text), Ciocci concentrates hours of light entertainment into a dense, four-minute block. Saved from total sensory overload by the musical logic of Extreme Animals’ “A Better Way,” The Peace Tape is cryptic, hypnotic (and above all), empathetic. “Culture is out of control,” Ciocci explains, “but it is ok.”

Whose Toes (2009) – Barry Doupé’s films are as surreal as any Lynch or Jodorowsky movie, but with an added level of weirdness because they are rendered with Sims-like polygon graphics. Showcasing the late Princess Diana and JFK as its main characters, we are invited to return to past events that have caused discomfort, and to re-imagine a misstep in time.

The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D (2009) – This original animated web series is based on graphic novelist and comic book artist Dash Shaw’s latest book of the same title. Shaw’s animation has been widely praised for its eclectic style, innovative design and emotional depth.

(poster design by Drew Marshall)

(more…)

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Katamari creator, Keita Takahashi surveys the artwork he has inspired.

Thanks to everyone for making this such a fun and successful show.  What a dream come true that Keita could visit the store and see the art in person.  He took pictures of everything and even collaborated on Douglas Sherwood’s art, drawing a little Noby Noby Boy sketch onto the original artwork.

All of the auctions for original art and one of a kind archival prints are on eBay now.  They are staggered across 4 days.  The first batch ends Thursday, Sept. 30th.  The last batch ends next Sunday, Oct. 3rd.

View all of the artwork here.

View all of the eBay auctions here.

100% of the proceeds go to JOIN PDX, a local nonprofit that helps connect the homeless with a home.  Have fun bidding on the artwork!

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