After getting just one book in the Top 20 in June, the big two U.S. comic book publishers Marvel & DC had two in July, Matt Fraction’s popular Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits from Marvel at #18 and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ perennial Watchmen from DC Comics at #19. DK Publishing’s illustrated books about Marvel and DC’s heroes both made the list. Whether they should even be on the "graphic novel" list or not, the fact is that neither book was published by the big two.
The number of manga titles in the Top 20 declined from 10 in June to 8 in July, but Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon Vol. 12 from Kodansha took the top spot this month, while Viz Media’s Naruto Vol. 61 just slipped a bit from #2 in June to #4 in July. Mention should be made of Kodansha’s Attack on Titan Vol.1, which appeared on the BookScan list in June at #19 and moved up to #12 in July. This is a very hot new manga that was an immediate hit in Japan when it debuted in Japan in 2010, and with Kodansha planning to publish a new volume every month, it appears that Attack on Titan will be a fixture on BookScan lists in the coming months (see "'Attack on Titan' Goes Monthly"). Comic book retailers who only carry the manga "hits" might want to give this series a try based on its popularity in the book channel.
Mention should also be made of a couple of movie-driven titles that made the July BookScan list. Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim has been criticized as a box office underperformer, but there is little doubt that it helped drive sales of Travis Beacham’s Pacific Rim graphic novel from Legendary Comics, which came in at #6 in July. And there is little doubt that the World War Z movie helped boost sales of Max Brooks’ Zombie Survival Guide, which reached #12 in June and slipped to #20 in July as World War Z, which was based on a novel by Brooks, slipped out of the box office Top Ten.
BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in July 2013 | |||
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
1 |
SAILOR MOON VOL. 12 |
NAOKO TAKEUCHI |
KODANSHA COMICS |
2 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 18 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
3 |
SAGA VOL. 2 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
4 |
NARUTO VOL. 61 |
MASASHI KISHIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
5 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
6 |
PACIFIC RIM: TALES FROM YEAR ZERO HC |
TRAVIS BEACHAM |
LEGENDARY COMICS |
7 |
DC COMICS: THE ULTIMATE CHARACTER GUIDE HC |
BRANDON T. SNIDER |
DK PUBLISHING |
8 |
SAGA VOL. 1 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
9 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
10 |
BLUE EXORCIST VOL. 10 |
KAZUE KATO |
VIZ MEDIA |
11 |
MARVEL AVENGERS: THE ULTIMATE CHARACTER GUIDE HC |
ALAN COWSILL |
DK PUBLISHING |
12 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
13 |
ALICE IN THE COUNTRY OF COVER: CHESHIRE CAT WALTZ VOL. 5 |
QUINROSE |
SEVEN SEAS |
14 |
BLEACH VOL. 57 |
TITE KUBO |
VIZ MEDIA |
15 |
BLACK BUTLER VOL. 14 |
YANA TOBOSO |
YEN PRESS |
16 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
17 |
SAILOR MOON VOL. 11 |
NAOKO TAKEUCHI |
KODANSHA COMICS |
18 |
HAWKEYE VOL. 2: LITTLE HITS |
MATT FRACTION |
MARVEL COMICS |
19 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
20 |
THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE: RECORDED ATTACKS |
MAX BROOKS |
BROADWAY BOOKS |
BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GNs Index."