The March 5^th edition of The New York Times ArtsBeat features the first of a new weekly bestsellers feature to focus on graphic novels, providing invaluable mainstream exposure for the medium.  

Timed to coincide with the film release of Watchmen, the new graphic books bestsellers feature is comprised of three separate lists, reflecting the top ten performing hardcovers, softcovers and manga of the prior week. The list is compiled by George Gene Gustines, and includes commentary on the ranking titles.

The bestselling Hardcovers list is topped by DC Comics’ Starman Omnibus Vol. 2 (9781401221942), Dark Horse Comics’ Eerie Archives Vol. 1 (9781595822451) and DC Comics’ Watchmen : Absolute Edition (9781401207137).

DC’s Watchmen TP (9780930289232) also tops the Softcover list, followed by Marvel Comics’ Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers (9780785132660) and Secret Invasion: Black Panther (9780785133971).

The Manga list is dominated by Viz’s Naruto, with Vol. 38 (9781421521749) ranking first and Volumes 34-41 securing every spot but #5 and #10, which went to Dark Horse Comics’ MPD-Psycho Vol. 8 (9781595822635) and Eden Vol. 11 (9781595822444), respectively.

The New York Times Graphic Books Bestseller lists reflects sales for the past week compiled from thousands of different venues, including independent bookstores, national and regional chains, online retailers, newsstands and comic shops. The lists will be updated every Thursday on the New York Times ArtsBeat blog. The current entry is available here.