Diamond Comic Distributors has released its list of its bestselling graphic novels, manga, and videos of the year, showing which pop culture products have been most popular among the clientele of the comic and other stores serviced by Diamond during 2005.
Sin City was the strongest graphic novel property in comic stores, with the #1, #3, #4, #5, #9, #13, and #18 positions. Dark Horse had another winner with its Star Wars Episode III trade paperback at #6. DC's Identity Crisis and the two Batman Hush volumes were its contributions to the top 10, and Image cracked the top 10 with its Walking Dead Volume 1 at #10 (and also placed Volume #3 at #11). Marvel's top-selling graphic novel was Astonishing X-Men Volume 1 at #12.
The graphic novel lifetime achievement award goes to Watchmen, which placed at #15 on the best-selling graphic novels of 2005, nearly 20 years after the comic maxi-series was published.
The top-selling manga title in comic stores was the same as the #1 in bookstores, Viz's Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 1, although it placed at #52 over-all in comic stores vs. its #1 showing out of all graphic novels in bookstores. Fruits Basket was close behind, followed by Samurai Executioner, with the top Naruto volume not appearing until #8.