The Walking Dead volumes took the top two spots, three of the top five, and five of the Top 20 adult graphic novels sold in bookstores in December, according to the Nielsen BookScan bestseller chart.  That's the first time since July that an American title has taken the top spot (the bestselling title in July was also The Walking Dead).

The latest Naruto volume took the #3 slot, and Yen Press's new Maximum Ride volume took #4.

Craig Thompson's Habibi, from Pantheon, is holding strong at #6; it has been in the top 10 since its launch in September.

Kodansha's Sailor Moon slipped a little, after three months on top (see "'Sailor Moon' Pulls Off a Hat Trick"), but still placed three titles in the Top 10, including Sailor Moon Vol. 2 at #9.

BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in December 2011

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

2

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 15

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

3

NARUTO VOL. 53

MASASHI KISHIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

4

MAXIMUM RIDE: THE MANGA VOL. 5

JAMES PATTERSON

YEN PRESS

5

THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 1 HC

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

6

HABIBI HC

CRAIG THOMPSON

PANTHEON BOOKS

7

BATMAN: NOEL HC

LEE BERMEJO

DC COMICS

8

HARK! A VAGRANT

KATE BEATON

DRAWN & QUARTERLY

9

SAILOR MOON VOL. 2

NAOKE TAKEUCHI

KODANSHA COMICS

10

DIABLO III: BOOK OF CAIN HC

DECKARD CAIN

INSIGHT EDITIONS

11

THE WAKLING DEAD VOL. 1

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

12

FABLES VOL. 16

BILL WILLINGHAM

VERTIGO

13

SAILOR MOON VOL. 1

NAOKE TAKEUCHI

KODANSHA COMICS

14

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL. 27

HIROMU ARAKAWA

VIZ MEDIA

15

BATMAN: THE BLACK MIRROR HC

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

16

THE BATMAN FILES HC

MATTHEW MANNING

ANDREWS MCMEEL

17

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

18

THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 2 HC

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

19

BLEACH VOL. 37

TITE KUBO

VIZ MEDIA

20

CODENAME: SAILOR V VOL. 2

NAOKE TAKEUCHI

KODANSHA COMICS


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