The book in the #2 slot, between those two trades, couldn’t be more different: Am I There Yet? The Loop-De-Loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood, by Instagram personality Mari Andrew, from Clarkson Potter (Martha Stewart’s publisher). This is the third month in a row for this book to be in this particular spot, which shows continued strong sales relative to other titles. One hypothesis: If bookstores are shelving it with other Clarkson Potter books in their lifestyle section, it may be reaching a completely new cohort of readers who are picking it up for the content, not because it’s a comic. Women in their early 20s might buy it because it relates to their lives, older women might enjoy laughing at their former selves, and the title practically screams "Graduation gift from the cool grandma!"
Once we get to the #4 slot we are in manga territory. This month, 10 of the top 20 are manga, down by one from last month. All the manga are from VIZ Media, and five are volumes of My Hero Academia. VIZ’s recent announcement that creator Kohei Horikoshi will be at Comic-Con in San Diego may be helping a bit. A spinoff, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, debuts in print on July 4, although it’s already available digitally.
The RWBY title in the #6 slot is the first volume of a new four-volume series; it’s an anthology (see "Review: ‘RWBY: Official Manga Anthology – Red Like Roses,’ Vol. 1 TP (Manga)") in which each volume focuses on one of the four title characters. VIZ published a one-shot, simply titled RWBY, by creator Shirow Miwa, in January, and VIZ Media Senior Director of Sales and Marketing Kevin Hamric told ICv2 that the first print run sold out in four days (see "ICv2 Interview: Viz Execs on the Manga Market"). The books tie in with the RWBY animated series, an anime-style American cartoon produced by Rooster Teeth.
Down at # 19 is The Philosophy of Snoopy, which made # 8 on last month’s Author Graphic Novels chart; the book came out in mid- March, and the May peak may be because, like Am I There Yet?, it’s highly gift-able.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels – May 2018 (4/30/18 - 5/27/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
INFINITY GAUNTLET |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
2 |
AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC |
MARI ANDREW |
CLARKSON POTTER |
|
3 |
INFINITY WAR |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
4 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 12 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 |
VARIOUS |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
8 |
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 3 |
AKIRA HIMEKAWA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 86 |
ODA EIICHIRO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 4 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 11 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
14 |
BATMAN VOL. 5 (REBIRTH) |
TOM KING |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
SAGA VOL. 8 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
THE PHILOSOPHY OF SNOOPY HC |
CHARLES M. SCHULZ |
RUNNING PRESS |
|
19 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 29 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
20 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of May graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
May 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels
May 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
May 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
NPD BookScan collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more. NPD BookScan covers approximately 85% of the U.S. trade print book market. The ranks on this chart are based on piece sales. Some publishers classify titles that are primarily text, or art books, as graphic novels; we've removed those titles from the ranking above.
For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."
