Despite the weakness in the new season’s ratings (see "’TWD’ Hits Ratings Low"), the latest volume of The Walking Dead was still the bestselling Adult Graphic Novel on the chart of the Top 20, based on NPD BookScan data for September (9/2/18-9/29/18) provided to ICv2.  But unlike the property in its heyday, not a single other The Walking Dead volume made the Top 20.

The difference between Direct Market and book channel graphic novel release dates came into play this month, as Saga Vol. 9, which easily topped the graphic novel chart in comic stores in September (see "Top 500 Graphic Novels – September 2018"), did not hit bookstores until the first week of October.

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins dropped to the #2 slot this month.

There was no new My Hero Academia volume this month, so the hit series took only three of the Top 20 slots.

Lion Forge broke into the Top 20 with Brenna Thummler’s Sheets, the publisher’s first appearance on the BookScan chart with a for-profit title (its Puerto Rico benefit book was its only other appearance in the Top 20).

NPD BookScan Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels – September 2018 (9/2/18 - 9/29/18)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 30

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

2

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

3

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 4

AKIRA HIMEKAWA

VIZ MEDIA

4

MONSTRESS VOL. 3

MARJORIE LIU

IMAGE COMICS

5

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 14

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

6

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

7

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

8

BORUTO VOL. 4

UKYO KODACHI

VIZ MEDIA

9

SPLATOON VOL. 4

SANKICHI HINODEYA

VIZ MEDIA

10

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 3

CHARLES SOULE

MARVEL COMICS

11

SAILOR MOON ETERNAL EDITION VOL. 1

NAOKO TAKEUCHI

KODANSHA COMICS

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

SABRINA HC

NICK DRNASO

DRAWN & QUARTERLY

14

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL 13

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

15

INFINITY GAUNTLET

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

16

SHEETS

BRENNA THUMMLER

LION FORGE

17

STAR WARS: THRAWN

JODY HOUSER

MARVEL COMICS

18

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL 4

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

19

RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 2

VARIOUS

VIZ MEDIA

20

MARCH BOOK 1

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of September graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
September 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels
September 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:
September 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
September 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
September 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Manga, Superhero, and 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."