Graphic novel sales were down vs. the year ago period in Q3, while hobby game sales were up, according to the market reports in ICv2 Insider’s Guide #69 (see “ICv2 Releases ‘ICv2 Insider’s Guide #69’”).   The decline in the graphic novel market was due almost entirely to the drop-off in Watchmen sales now that both the movie and DVD release windows are over, so there’s still plenty of fundamental strength there.  But there are storm clouds on the horizon in the form of sales impacts from the piracy of manga. 

In the hobby game market, distributors and retailers are almost uniformly predicting an up holiday season after multiple quarters of a strengthening market.  In the CCG category, Magic: The Gathering is red-hot, and the other staples of the category are also doing well.  Boardgames is the other main area of strength, with continuing increases across the board.  But miniatures, behind improving sales from category leader Games Workshop, and RPGs, behind the new excitement associated with Paizo’s Pathfinder RPG, are also doing well.     

For the lists of the bestselling Collectible Games in the hobby channel, in the mass channel, and over-all, click here.

For the bestselling board, card, and family games in the hobby channel, click here.

For the bestselling RPGs in the hobby market, click here.

For the bestselling non-collectible miniature games in the hobby channel, click here.

The new ICv2 Insider’s Guide also includes Q3 bestseller lists for a number of graphic novel categories:
"Top 10 Superhero Properties--Q3 2009"
"Top 10 Genre Properties--Q3 2009"
"Top 10 Fiction & Reality Titles--Q3 2009"
"Top 5 Humor/Strip Properties--Q3 2009"
"Top 10 Kids & Tweens Properties--Q3 2009"
"Top 25 Manga Properties--Q3 2009"
"Top 10 Shojo Properties--Q3 2009"
"Top 10 Shonen Properties--Q3 2009"

For info on how to get your copy of the ICv2 Insiders Guide #69, with the full market reports, Pick Hits of the best upcoming releases, and reviews, see “ICv2 Releases 'ICv2 Insider's Guide' #69.”