Bestsellers: February 2021

It’s almost the end of March which means it’s time to talk about the best-selling board games, comics, and manga for February. Better late than never, right?

Bestselling Board Games for February 2021

Here to Slay: Warriors and Druids

TeeTurtle — makers of novelty t-shirts, reversible plushes, and board games– released Here to Slay in 2020 and the Warriors and Druids expansion in February 2021. Here to Slay was a good seller last year so it wasn’t a surprise that its first expansion was a big hit.

Marvel Champions LCG: Quicksilver

Number two on the list is another expansion. Marvel Champions is the newest addition to Fantasy Flight Games’ Living Card Game engine, a line that includes Arkham Horror, Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings. Quicksilver was the latest expansion.

Ticket to Ride

The only title from the original evergreen trio of Catan, Pandemic and Ticket to Ride to hit the list in February. The staples tend to slow down in the post-holiday season but Ticket to Ride was still hot even as the weather stayed cold.

Azul

Hmmmm…maybe the aforementioned trio should become a quartet…

Codenames Deep Undercover

To the best of my knowledge, the naughty version of Codenames was only available south of the border at Target stores. In February 2021, dirty Codenames came to Canada.

Disney Villainous

I rolled up sales of the original game with its expansions in order to get it on this list. Shhhh…don’t tell anyone.

Forbidden Desert

Matt Leacock , the designer of Pandemic, brought the simple mechanics of that game to family-friendly themes with Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert, and Forbidden Sky. Forbidden Desert was back in fashion in February.

Grounded for Life

When I was a wee lad I distinctly remember not being allowed into my grandmother’s living room one evening because the adults were watching a movie called Jaws. I sooooooo wanted to see what was going on. I wonder if there are wee lads out there now wondering what the adults are doing around the kitchen table with that game of white and black cards. Why is dad blushing? Why is mom cackling? Why did Uncle Jim’s new girlfriend leave the house suddenly? Why did grandma say neighbour Jim is going straight to the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks? Give the youngsters a taste of safe rudeness with Grounded for Life.

Lost Cities

One of the most popular two player games over the years has been Lost Cities. The version we stock now is the latest version, which includes a new, sixth expedition.

Bestselling Manga for February 2021

There were no stand-out graphic novels / trade paperbacks this month in terms of multiple sales so I’ve focused this list on manga. Titles are listed; not individual volumes. Manga are listed based on the total number of volumes sold for the month.

Haikyu

This long-running volleyball themed manga has been around for nine years but it has never enjoyed much success in ComicReaders until last year when it suddenly exploded. A wider popularity in North America means it was hard to get on the shelf, but in early 2021 we were able to start stocking its run. And then most of them sold.

Attack on Titan

Did it end? I think both the manga and the anime have ended or are ending but I don’t want to look because I’m behind in both and I want to avoid spoilers. Sometimes when a series is about to end or does end we see an increase in interest as people look to finish their run or finally want to see what the fuss is about.

My Hero Academia

The only thing surprising about this is that we sold more Attack on Titan and Haikyu. My Hero Academia has had some availability issues so that likely played a role.

One Piece

I started scaling back One Piece because it has slowed down in recent years but here in 2021 its on people’s minds and the volumes are flying off the shelves. This might have been higher on the list had I had more on the shelf. I am trying to remedy that in March.

Naruto

Here is another classic back in fashion.

This list might be prejudiced toward manga with a large number of volumes so let me mention a series that has had a lot of interest in 2020 and now 2021 but does not have as many volumes as the above powerhouses. Goodnight Punpun. 7 volumes. Solid manga. Not for the kiddies.

Bestselling Comics for February 2021

Lots of familiar faces on the best-selling comics for February. Read our January 2021 list to get some commentary on the titles listed below.

Amazing Spider-man
Fantastic Four
King in Black
X-Men
X-Force
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Last Ronin
Venom
King in Black: Gwenom vs Carnage
Star Wars
Justice League
Symbiote Spider-man: King in Black

Bestsellers: January 2021

Things tend to slow down at ComicReaders Downtown at the beginning of a new year. It takes about a month for the store to recover from the holiday season. Product flows back into the store through January though this year it has been more difficult to get some items (Vallejo paint and hobby supplies and Games Workshop spray primer, for example), and things that are available get here a little bit slower, but I think we’ve all learned that patience is a virtue during a pandemic.

Bestselling Board Games for January 2021

Twilight Imperium: Prophecy of Kings
Our top-selling board game was the highly anticipated new expansion for the epic Twilight Imperium. Unfortunately, there were production issues so each customer who purchased a copy from ComicReaders is now waiting to hear the results of an investigation by Fantasy Flight Games as to the extent of the issues in the run and what will be done. Needless to say, we no longer have copies on the shelf and won’t have more until Fantasy Flight Games does a reprint.

Cards Against Humanity
This party game staple had another strong showing. If we included the sales of its expansions in our numbers then the family of Cards Against Humanity would have been our top seller for the month of January.

Codenames Duet
The two-player version of the evergreen Codenames has enjoyed a renewal during the pandemic.

Pandemic
We received a restock of the original Pandemic early in January. I do believe both Regina locations have had to reorder it since. The original Pandemic is still our top-selling cooperative board game after all these years. Accessible, challenging, and now with the added bonus of mirroring the world’s current situation.

Unstable Unicorns
Unstable Unicorns has not surpassed Exploding Kittens as the go-to silly family game featuring cute artwork, but it continues to perform well. It is well supported with multiple expansions, a naughty version, and blind-box vinyl unicorns that come with a card you can add to the game.

Catan
Every year for the past five years, I swear, we say this is the year Catan will slow down. And we were wrong again.

Under Falling Skies
Only during a pandemic would a game you can only play solo make it to the bestsellers list at ComicReaders Downtown. It’s a visually striking game and a challenging one at that. You can set the difficulty to your liking and it comes with a re-playable campaign mode.

Bestselling Graphic Novels for January 2021

Our bestselling graphic novel list is comprised of titles, not individual volumes. We take the combined sales of volumes within a series. This usually means the list is made up of manga, since the most popular manga have many volumes, but we like to include other graphic novels or series of note.

My Hero Academia
No surprise here. My Hero Academia is a powerhouse thanks to it also being a hugely popular anime.

Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is set to wrap soon, but sales continue to be strong as people pick up volumes or dive in for the first time. The final season of the anime is underway, too.

Boruto
A sequel of sorts to the always popular Naruto.

Danganronpa
This title built up some serious steam in the back half of 2020. We were caught by surprise, to be honest. We didn’t have enough copies on the shelves and the distributors ran out. We got volumes back in stock in early January and they’ve been movingly steadily.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
A side series to the popular main title also enjoys a healthy readership.

Gideon Falls volume 5
The final volume of Jeff Lemire’s Gideon Falls hit the list. Gideon Falls is a creepy journey filled with stunning visuals.

Bestselling Comics for January 2021

Our list of bestselling comics is comprised of titles and not individual issues.

Dark Nights: Death Metal
The heavy metal inspired alternate version of the DCU has been popular in all its iterations. Death Metal was the latest miniseries, the final issue of which debuted in January 2021.

Amazing Spider-Man
Spidey has been a bestseller for years and usually enjoys the top spot on the list.

X-Force / X-Men / X-Factor
Jonathan Hickman orchestrated a revival of the X-Men and its titles and it appears as if the quality shall continue in 2021. X-Force, X-Men, and X-Factor are the top three titles. If you are interested in what Hickman has been cooking you can get in on the action by reading the Dawn of X trade paperbacks.

Avengers
This Marvel flagship title continues its successful run.

Fantastic Four
Marvel has brought the Fantastic Four back into the limelight after years of doing next to nothing with the family.

Venom / King in Black
We are lumping the Venom title alongside the King in Black miniseries because they are closely connected. Writer Donny Coates has really become a powerful influence within Marvel. Well earned, too.

The Eternals
A return of The Eternals just in time for the upcoming Marvel movie.

Once & Future
This is the only comic not from DC or Marvel to crack the list. In Once & Future, folks try to prevent the return of King Arthur. Jumping onboard this series in comic form is not recommended. Check it out in trade paperback to get caught up.

Batman: White Knight and Batman: Curse of the White Knight

Batman: White Knight
DC Comics
Writer: Sean Murphy
Artist: Sean Murphy & Matt Hollingsworth
FC, 232 pgs, $19.99 US

Batman: Curse of the White Knight
DC Comics
Writer: Sean Murphy
Artist: Sean Murphy & Matt Hollingsworth
FC, 272 pgs, $29.99 US

It’s difficult to find a good superhero story.

Wait.

Let me back that up.

It is difficult to find a superhero story that can be understood and enjoyed and makes a lasting impact without first requiring you to be intimately familiar with a character’s back catalog. Don’t get me wrong. One of the great joys of comics is following characters issue to issue in familiar situations, fighting familiar faces, with just enough freshness to keep the pages turning. Shake it up a bit. Get a response from the reader. Reset. Creative roster change. Slap a new title on it. New #1. Do it all again. Nothing wrong with that.

But, man, those gems that can be handed to an interested reader, a curious reader, the kind of book that can grip and not let go. Those are rare. I keep mental lists. Most recently it has been Batman. What are the rare gems? Year One, Dark Knight Returns, Batman 100, The Long Halloween, Dark Mirror, Red Rain. There are others but it’s not a long list considering the age of the property.

But there is a new addition: Batman The White Knight by Sean Murphy and now Curse of the White Knight, which is the sequel by the same creative team.

I got into The White Knight because of Sean Murphy’s art. Of course he wants to write Batman. Who wouldn’t, right?! But could he do it? It did not matter to me. I waned to see the art– Murphy’s riffs on iconinc Batman characters and material. I was not disappointed with the visuals.

But the story! Whoah. Solid once he got past the opening action sequences and settled into dialogue and plot. Joker goes straight. Makes Batman look like the bad man. Good hook. I didn’t think it would deliver. It sure did.

The sequel builds on Murphy’s take on Batman and the Joker. He adds new layers, new complications, new surprises. And these will stick. He’s allowed to do his own thing. No reset in this vision.

Former knowledge is welcome but not required. He gives you what you need. Little touches. Gives you the flavour. And let’s be honest– if you’re picking up a Batman comic chances are you know the fundamentals of the character.

I don’t talk about superheroes very often. Other ComicReaders are far more capable. But White Knight and Curse of the White Knight have me yapping. Both will enjoy a long shelf life. (Chad Boudreau)

I, Zombie #1

I, Zombie #1
Vertigo / DC Comics
Chris Roberson
(a) Michael Allred
FC 32 pgs w/ ads $1.00 US / Higher in Canada

The latest ongoing title from Vertigo is this zombie series from writer Chris Roberson (Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love) and artist Michael Allred (Madman). The story follows a young woman called Gwen who is a zombie. But she’s not your standard everyday zombie. She has to eat one brain a month in order to maintain her somewhat normal life. Although for a normal life she’s a grave-digger by day, her best friend is a ghost and the local werewolf has a crush on her. The problem with eating brains is she absorbs the dead person’s memories. Her latest meal was murdered and so now she has to catch the killer.

This series has an intriguing idea – it’s a little off the usually beaten zombie path. I enjoyed Roberson’s Cinderella mini-series and I always enjoy Allred’s art. This series has promise, I just hope that it doesn’t end up with the same short-lived fate that the majority of Vertigo titles seem to suffer. (Shane Hnetka)

The Spirit #1

The Spirit #1
DC Comics
Mark Schultz & Dennis O’Neil
(a) Moritat & Bill Sienkiewicz
FC 40 pgs w/ ads $3.99 US / Higher in Canada

After Frank Miller wrecked the character with his crappy movie, DC has decided to try and relaunch Will Eisner’s Spirit back into his own ongoing series again.

This version of the character is part of Brian Azzarello’s First Wave comic series. The setting is once again more modern but there’s more of a gritty crime noir feel to the comic. The Spirit is still just a vigilante working outside of the law but the Spirit’s love interest Ellen Dolan is more of a do-gooder here while her father, police Commissioner Dolan is more of a corrupt cop on the take.

This issue has the Spirit trying to take down the Octopus and an international crime syndicate. The syndicate have sent an assassin to deal with the Spirit. This isn’t a bad first issue. I like the network of informants that are at the Spirit’s disposal and Moritat’s art is amazing and surprisingly well suited for the Spirit. There’s a black and white back-up story by Dennis O’Neil and Bill Sienkiewicz that was short and effective. It’s not Will Eisner’s Spirit but it’s a thousand times better than Frank Miller’s Spirit. (Shane Hnetka)