There's a new sheriff in town, but it still eats human flesh; Tokyo Ghoul took the #1 slot in the Top 20 Adult Fiction Graphic Novels for February, according to the list provided exclusively to ICv2 by Nielsen BookScan.  That's the first time the hit VIZ Media series has been at #1, although it's been steadily rising over the past year.  Four volumes of Tokyo Ghoul appeared in the Top 20 in February.

Three volumes of One-Punch Man, VIZ's other big new hit, two post-series Naruto volumes (one of which is actually a prose novel), and the latest volume of Monster Musume from Seven Seas Entertainment brought the number of manga volumes in the Top 20 to 10.  It's not the kind of dominance of the top of the chart that manga used to pull off during its heyday, but still a strong showing for a resurgent category.

The top American series in February was The Walking Dead, with the three Compendium volumes in the Top 20.  That's seven total volumes of flesh-eating goodness in the Top 20, if you’re keeping track.

Batman: The Killing Joke Dlx. Ed. is getting even hotter, placing at #3 for the month.  We're starting to believe that when Suicide Squad comes out (this August, see "Best in Shows, Q3 2016"), this 28-year-old material will top the chart.

Deadpool made the Top 20 with two volumes, as the unbelievably hot film (see "’Deadpool’ Sends ‘Gods of Egypt’ Back to the Granaries") drove up interest.  That’s the first time the character has appeared in the Top 20 Graphic Novels sold in bookstores.  Star Wars, on the other hand, has cooled off significantly, with no appearances (there were three titles in the Top 20 just last month).  Civil War continues to shine; will it be #1 in May?

The latest volume of Dark Horse Comics' Plants Vs. Zombies placed at #7, the first time the title has hit the Top 20.

The fact that the new Philippa Rice webcomic collection Soppy: A Love Story, from Andrews McMeel, was the #16 title in February, a surprise to us, but not, we assume, to its fans on Tumblr, where it has over 500,000 notes.

BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in February 2016

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 5

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

2

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 3

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

3

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX ED

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

4

MONSTER MUSUME VOL. 8

OKAYADO

SEAVEN SEAS

5

NARUTO: THE SEVENTH HOKAGE & THE SCARLET SPRING

MASASHI KISHIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

6

BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: THE GREATEST BATTLES

VARIOUS

DC COMICS

7

PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES VOL 4: GARDEN WARFARE HC

PAUL TOBIN

DARK HORSE COMICS

8

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 1

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

9

DEADPOOL: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION VOL. 1

DANIEL WAY

MARVEL COMICS

10

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

11

NARUTO: SHIKAMARU'S STORY (NOVEL)

AKIRA HIGASHIYAMA

VIZ MEDIA

12

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

13

CIVIL WAR

MARK MILLAR

MARVEL COMICS

14

DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE

CULLEN BUNN

MARVEL COMICS

15

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 4

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

16

SOPPY: A LOVE STORY

PHILIPPA RICE

ANDREWS MCMEEL

17

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 4

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

18

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 2

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

19

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 2

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

20

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 2

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."