And Now for Something Completely Different

As we get closer to the release date, which as far as I can determine is officially August 30th, the buzz continues to build on Lost Girls. I've now had several customers ask if we're planning to carry it (we are) and what my thoughts are. Not having read it, the only thing I can do is point to Neil Gaiman's review for Publisher's Weekly.

If nothing else, it looks like we're going to get something of a curiosity, something that stretches some boundaries and something more than a little post-modern (and therefore something that appears to have little regard for its source material because of the efforts to deconstruct it). Personally, I've gone from wondering if I'd get around to reading it to hoping I'll enjoy (or at least appreciate) it as much as the advance reviewers seem to.

As for the book's sales, they were supposedly brisk at Comic-Con and the book was up to 130 among all books on Amazon (where even with the discount it comes in at $40+) a few days ago. That puts it as the #2 best selling graphic novel through Amazon at the moment, second only to V for Vendetta (which along with Watchmen, gives Alan Moore 3 of the top 4 spots).

I always struggle with how many copies of these deluxe format books to order, but with the Absolute editions (i.e. Watchmen, Sandman, Dark Knight, etc.) we're dealing with reprints of previously published material (which is technically true of the first section of Lost Girls, but not in the same way). This is a whole different beast with a much more unusual appeal than epic superhero yarn. Maybe it will perform like Absolute Sandman, but seeing as Absolute Sandman is not due for release for another couple months, that's not much help. But I've gone from wondering if it was the smartest thing to order two shelf copies to upping that to three after hearing several customers voice their interest. We'll have to see if I've lost my mind on this one.