It’s time to take a look at the list of the Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for April (4/7/19-5/4/19) provided to ICv2.

The superhero chart has had a bit of a shakeout.  Infinity Gauntlet is back on top, and Jim Starlin’s Infinity War returns to the chart in ninth place.  Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons is in second place, as it was last month, and another March release, the deluxe hardcover of Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman, is at number 3.

Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame Prelude, an obvious movie tie-in released in April, takes the number 4 spot.  Two books that tie in to the Shazam! movie show up further down; Shazam! Origins was released in March but didn’t chart that month, while Shazam!  Volume 1 is an older title from the "New 52" era.

What’s interesting is what’s not on the chart. Tom King’s Mister Miracle, which debuted in the number one spot in February and showed up at number 7 in March, is absent in April.  Also among the missing: The first trade of Brian Michael Bendis’s Superman and any Captain Marvel titles (there were two in the March top 20).

Marvel Comics has eight titles on the chart, while DC Comics and its imprints account for nine.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – April 2019 (4/7/19 - 5/4/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

INFINITY GAUNTLET

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

2

RICK AND MORTY VS. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

PATRICK ROTHFUSS

IDW PUBLISHING

3

DETECTIVE COMICS: 80 YEARS OF BATMAN DLX. ED. HC

VARIOUS

DC COMICS

4

MARVEL'S AVENGERS: ENDGAME PRELUDE

VARIOUS

MARVEL COMICS

5

WATCHMEN

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

6

STAR WARS VOL. 10: THE ESCAPE

KIERON GILLEN

MARVEL COMICS

7

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

8

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

SEAN MURPHY

DC BLACK LABEL

9

INFINITY WAR

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

10

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA

ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA

ARCHIE COMIC PUB.

11

SHAZAM!: ORIGINS

GEOFF JOHNS

DC COMICS

12

SHAZAM! VOL. 1 (N52): FROM THE PAGES OF JUSTICE LEAGUE

GEOFF JOHNS

DC COMICS

13

MS. MARVEL VOL. 10: TIME AND AGAIN

G. WILLOW WILSON

MARVEL COMICS

14

FIREFLY: THE UNIFICATION WAR VOL. 1 HC

GREG PAK

BOOM! STUDIOS

15

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

16

THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANNI. ED.

NEIL GAIMAN

VERTIGO

17

AVENGERS BY JASON AARON VOL. 1: THE FINAL HOST

JASON AARON

MARVEL COMICS

18

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 4

CHARLES SOULE

MARVEL COMICS

19

V FOR VENDETTA

ALAN MOORE

VERTIGO

20

SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES VOL. 1

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS

MARVEL COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

In terms of manga, it’s a very VIZ Media month: 11 volumes of My Hero Academia plus one of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes; the first volume of Tokyo Ghoul and the most recent volume of Tokyo Ghoul: Re; the latest collection of short stories by horror master Junji Ito; plus the first volumes of One-Punch Man and The Promised Neverland, two series that seem to have grown legs.

Kodansha Comics represents with the latest volume of Attack on Titan, and Dark Horse Comics makes the chart with the new volume of Mob Psycho 100, by the creator of One-Punch Man.  Marie Kondo tidies up in the number 20 slot, as her book is still getting a boost from the Netflix series.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – April 2019 (4/7/19 - 5/4/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 18

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

2

SMASHED: JUNJI ITO STORY COLLECTION HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

3

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

4

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

5

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 17

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

6

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

7

ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 27

HAJIME ISAYAMA

KODANSHA COMICS

8

TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 10

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

9

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

10

MY HERO ACADEMIA: VIGILANTES VOL. 4

HIDEYUKI FURUHASHI

VIZ MEDIA

11

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 16

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 15

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

14

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

15

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 14

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

16

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 1

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

17

THE PROMISED NEVERLAND VOL. 1

KAIU SHIRAI

VIZ MEDIA

18

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

19

MOB PSYCHO 100 VOL. 2

ONE

DARK HORSE COMICS

20

THE LIFE-CHANGING MANGA OF TIDYING UP: A MAGICAL STORY

MARIE KONDO

TEN SPEED PRESS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

The first two volumes of The Umbrella Academy top the Author chart, and the graphic adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is right behind them in the number three slot. Both got obvious boosts from streaming TV, the former on Netflix, the latter on Hulu.  Batting cleanup is the latest volume of The Walking Dead.

Giraffes on Horseback Salad, a March release, makes the chart for a second month at number 9.  This book has a fascinating backstory: It’s the graphic adaptation of a never-produced screenplay by Salvador Dali and the Marx Brothers.

Among the April releases that debut on the chart are Emily Carroll’s gothic horror story When I Arrived at the Castle and the second volume of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – April 2019 (4/7/19 - 5/4/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

2

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

3

THE HANDMAID'S TALE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

MARGARET ATWOOD

NAN A. TALESE

4

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 31

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

5

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

6

HELLBOY OMNIBUS VOL. 1: SEED OF DESTRUCTION

MIKE MIGNOLA

DARK HORSE COMICS

7

AMERICAN GODS VOL. 2: MY AINSEL HC

NEIL GAIMAN

DARK HORSE COMICS

8

MARCH: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PROD.

9

GIRAFFES ON HORSEBACK SALAD: SALVADOR DALI, THE MARX BROTHERS, AND THE STRANGEST MOVIE NEVER MADE HC

JOSH FRANK

QUIRK BOOKS

10

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

HARPER LEE

HARPER

11

AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC

MARI ANDREW

CLARKSON N POTTER

12

ANNE FRANK'S DIARY THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION HC

ANNE FRANK

PANTHEON BOOKS

13

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

ALISON BECHDEL

MARINER BOOKS

14

SAGA VOL. 9

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

15

SHEETS

BRENNA THUMMLER

LION FORGE

16

PAPER GIRLS DELUXE EDITION VOL. 2 HC

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

17

GIDEON FALLS VOL. 2: ORIGINAL SINS

JEFF LEMIRE

IMAGE COMICS

18

MONSTRESS VOL. 1

MARJORIE LIU

IMAGE COMICS

19

SAGA VOL. 1

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

20

WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE CASTLE

CARROLL, EMILY

KOYAMA PRESS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan


For charts of April graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
April 2019 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
April 2019 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
April 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2019 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."