Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1: Precious Little Life recaptured the #1 spot in the adult fiction graphic novel category in bookstores in January of 2011 according to data compiled by Nielsen BookScan.  All six Scott Pilgrim graphic novels remained in the top 10 more than two months after the release of the Scott Pilgrim movie on DVD and four months after the movie vanished from theaters.  The longevity of this property, which continues to dominate the bookstore graphic novel market ,is quite astounding.  Sales of the Scott Pilgrim books have slowed somewhat in the direct market where they were white hot for much of 2011, but the manga-influenced action/romance is evidently still tapping into a new audience in the bookstores.

BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in January 2011

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 1

BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY

ONI PRESS

2

HETALIA AXIS POWERS VOL. 2

HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA

TOKYOPOP

3

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 2

BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY

ONI PRESS

4

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 3

BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY

ONI PRESS

5

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 13

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

6

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 4

BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY

ONI PRESS

7

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL. 24

HIROMU ARAKAWA

VIZ MEDIA

8

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 6

BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY

ONI PRESS

9

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 5

BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY

ONI PRESS

10

VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOL. 11

MATSURI HINO

VIZ MEDIA

11

SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE HC

J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

DC COMICS

12

NARUTO VOL. 49

MASASHI KISHIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

13

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

14

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM ONE

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

15

HETALIA AXIS POWERS VOL. 1

HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA

TOKYOPOP

16

FABLES VOL. 14

BILL WILLINGHAM

VERTIGO

17

YOTSUBA&! VOL. 9

KIYOHIKO AZUMA

YEN PRESS

18

BLACK BUTLER VOL. 4

YANA TOBOSO

YEN PRESS

19

BLACK BUTLER VOL. 3

YANA TOBOSO

YEN PRESS

20

SERENITY: THE SHEPHERD'S TALE HC

JOSS WHEDON

DARK HORSE


Meanwhile Tokyopop’s Hetalia Axis Powers Vol. 2 soared to the #2 spot, the best performance by a manga release since Naruto Vol. 49 topped the charts in October of 2010.  The release of Hetalia Axis Powers Vol. 2 also stimulated interest in the first volume in the series, which popped back on the charts at #15.  The same effect held true for Yen Press’ hot Black Butler manga as sales of Vol. 4, which reached #18, helped bring Vol.3 back into the top 20 at #19.  Other new manga titles on the chart include Viz Media’s Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 24 at #7 and Yen Press’ Yotsuba! Vol. 9 at #17.  Viz Media’s Vampire Knight Vol. 11, the top shojo title in the U.S., remained on the list at #10, while Naruto Vol. 49 made the chart for the fourth consecutive month at #12.  The number of manga titles doubled from 4 in December to 8 in January.
 
With the six-episode first season of the TV adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead well over, sales of the Image Comics property, which topped the bookstore charts in December (see “Walking Dead #1 in Bookstores”), cooled a bit, but three Walking Dead titles remained on the list led by Vol. 13: Too Far Gone at #5.  Other non-manga holdovers include JMS’ Superman: Earth One Hardcover from DC at #11, Bill Willingham’s Fables Vol. 14: Witches at #16, and Joss Whedon’s Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale from Dark Horse Comics at #20.
 
For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GNs Index."