Bent Corner

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Comic book retailing news site ICv2 posted an article yesterday about the sentencing of Pittsburgh Comicon organizer and comic book retailer Michael George.

They make a rather huge factual error:

With no witnesses, physical evidence, or confession (see “Greed, Sex, and Power”), the prosecutors basically convicted George on motive (a $130,000 insurance police), opportunity (by casting doubt on alibi), and his behavior after his wife’s death (he reportedly hit on a woman at his wife’s funeral). This sensational cold case trial gained nationwide attention as the result of a feature on NBC’s Dateline.

No witnesses? The reason doubt was cast on his alibi is because the prosecution had a witness that put Michael George on the scene at around the time of Barbara’s murder. Michael Renaud testified that he called the comic book shop at around the time of the murder and spoke to Michael George on the phone.

To say that there were not witnesses is really kind of silly. It makes me think that whoever wrote the article over ICv2 never watched the Dateline feature they referred to.

Tags: Barbara George, Comic Book Murder Trial, Dateline, ICV2, Michael George, Michael Renaud, Pittsburgh Comicon

ICv2 has posted the BookScan numbers for April. Unlike those top-300 lists that ICV2 also posts that show how many comic books “sold” in any given month, the BookScan numbers actually show what consumers are buying. The top-300 lists only show what comic book retailers order weeks or months before the books are released.

Here is the top-20 graphic novels for April:

1. NARUTO VOL. 28
2. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOL. 4
3. FRUITS BASKET VOL. 19
4. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
5. HANA-KIMI VOL. 23
6. DEATH NOTE VOL. 1
7. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOL. 1
8. FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL. 16
9. DEATH NOTE HOW TO READ VOL. 13
10. NARUTO VOL. 27 W/ STICKER
11. DEATH NOTE VOL. 2
12. NARUTO VOL. 26
13. WATCHMEN
14. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOL. 3
15. FAIRY TAIL VOL. 1
16. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOL. 2
17. NARUTO VOL. 1
18. I.O.N
19. THE BEST OF POKEMON ADVENTURES: RED
20. TAIL OF THE MOON VOL. 10

All but two of these books are Japanese Manga. From the ICv2 article:

The biggest “new” American title on the list was Batman: The Killing Joke, a new hardcover edition of the Alan Moore and Brian Bolland story.

I’m not so sure I would describe either one of these as being “American”. Both books are from English writer Alan Moore and two English artists; one (Watchmen) being Dave Gibbons and the other (Batman: The Killing Joke) by an English artist who’s name I will not mention on this blog ever again.

I guess you could argue that since Watchmen and Batman: The Killing Joke are published by DC Comics and DC Comics is headquartered in the United States, both books technically are American. The only problem with that logic is the Viz Media — the publisher that published 16 out of the 20 books on this list — is headquartered in San Fransisco. It is not a Japanese company.

On a side note, I actually contributed to this list. Last month I bought my first ever Manga book, Death Note Vol. 1. I haven’t read it yet. I had one of those 25% off coupons from Borders and I didn’t want it to go to waste. I didn’t see anything in the comic book section that looked interesting, so I decided to buy a Manga book. I then promptly forgot all about it. I didn’t remember buying it until I read this list.

Tags: 20-Top Graphic Novels, Alan Moore, BookScan, Death Note, ICV2, Manga, Viz Media