We’re digging a bit deeper into three categories of comics with the list of the Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for May (5/5/19-6/1/19) provided to ICv2.

Let’s start with the superhero chart (our term for titles based on intellectual properties owned by companies), which is remarkable because 9 of the 20 graphic novels are based on media properties, not superheroes: Stranger Things, Life is Strange, Star Wars, League of Legends, Rick and Morty.

As is frequently the case, the May chart is dominated by newer titles: 12 of the titles are May 2019 releases, and 2 more were released in the last two months and were on the April chart as well.  Readers of superhero and media comics like their content fresh, it seems.

On the other hand, the older properties on the chart certainly have staying power. Infinity Gauntlet tops the chart for the second consecutive month, and it was the number one property a year ago as well (see "May 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels").  In fact, for most of the past year, it has been in the top 3, and it has never moved lower than number 6.  The other two older books that have charted every month for the past year are Watchmen and Batman: The Killing Joke.

In terms of publishers, Marvel has nine slots on the chart, DC Comics has four, Dark Horse Comics has three, and Legendary, Titan Comics, IDW Comics, and BOOM! Studios have one each.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – May 2019 (5/5/19 - 6/1/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

INFINITY GAUNTLET

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

2

STRANGER THINGS VOL. 1: THE OTHER SIDE

JODY HOUSER

DARK HORSE COMICS

3

GODZILLA AFTERSHOCK HC

NELSON, ARVID

LEGENDARY COMICS

4

THE LEGEND OF KORRA: RUINS OF THE EMPIRE PART ONE

MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO

DARK HORSE COMICS

5

WATCHMEN

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

6

LIFE IS STRANGE VOL. 1: DUST

EMMA VIECELI

TITAN COMICS

7

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER: IMBALANCE PART TWO

FAITH ERIN HICKS

DARK HORSE COMICS

8

RICK AND MORTY VS. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

PATRICK ROTHFUSS

IDW PUBLISHING

9

MARVEL'S AVENGERS: ENDGAME PRELUDE

VARIOUS

MARVEL COMICS

10

JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 2: GRAVEYARD OF GODS

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

11

SHURI: THE SEARCH FOR BLACK PANTHER

NNEDI OKORAFOR

MARVEL COMICS

12

INFINITY WAR

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

13

STAR WARS: AGE OF THE REPUBLIC - VILLAINS

JODY HOUSER

MARVEL COMICS

14

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

15

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS VOL. 8

KYLE HIGGINS

BOOM! STUDIOS

16

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

SEAN MURPHY

DC BLACK LABEL

17

IMMORTAL HULK VOL. 3: HULK IN HELL

AL EWING

MARVEL COMICS

18

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: ASHE - WARMOTHER

ODIN AUSTIN SHAFER

MARVEL COMICS

19

STAR WARS: AGE OF THE REPUBLIC - HEROES

JODY HOUSER

MARVEL COMICS

20

CIVIL WAR

MARK MILLAR

MARVEL COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

With no new volume of My Hero Academia this month, the other superhero manga, One-Punch Man, tops the chart, followed by the first volume of the deluxe edition of Berserk. Berserk isn’t a manga you hear a lot about, but it is one of Dark Horse’s best-selling properties of all time.  The series has been running in Japan since 1989 and is still going, with 40 volumes completed so far.

The chart is dominated by shonen manga, including such perennials as My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Super, and One Piece, but it’s worth noting the new shojo (girls) series that debuts on the May chart: Snow White with the Red Hair, which stars an herbalist who leaves the country rather than marry the prince.  It plays with the elements of the traditional Snow White to come up with a very different type of story, although it’s no surprise to learn that the kingdom that Snow White travels to is home to another prince, this one more handsome and more chill than the one she was fleeing.

Junji Ito is having a bit of a moment, thanks in part to the Junji Ito Collection anime, and not only does his new book Smashed make the chart, but the older Uzumaki does as well.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – May 2019 (5/5/19 - 6/1/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 16

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

2

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

3

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOL. 5

AKIRA TORIYAMA

VIZ MEDIA

4

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

5

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

6

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 18

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

7

JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 4--DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE VOL. 1 HC

ARAKI, HIROHIKO

VIZ MEDIA

8

ONE PIECE VOL. 90

EIICHIRO ODA

VIZ MEDIA

9

SMASHED: JUNJI ITO STORY COLLECTION HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

10

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

11

BLACK CLOVER VOL. 15

YUKI TABATA

VIZ MEDIA

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 17

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

14

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

15

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 16

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

16

SNOW WHITE WITH THE RED HAIR VOL. 1

SORATA AKIDUKI

VIZ MEDIA

17

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 15

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

18

SAILOR MOON ETERNAL EDITION 4

NAOKO TAKEUCHI

KODANSHA COMICS

19

UZUMAKI HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

20

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

As always, the Author chart is a mixed bag, with old and new graphic novels in a variety of genres bumping up against one another.  The Umbrella Academy still leads the list, followed by March: Book One, The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins.  Mari Andrew’s Am I There Yet? The Loop-De-Loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood, missing from the Adult Top 20, is here at number 7.

Three Image Comics titles debut on the chart: Rat Queens, volume 9; East of West, volume 9; and Blackbird, volume 1.  Also making the chart in its release month is The Ghost of Ohio, a horror story by Andy Biersack, frontman of Black Veil Brides, which ties into their album of the same name.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – May 2019 (5/5/19 - 6/1/19)

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

MARCH: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PROD.

4

THE HANDMAID'S TALE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

MARGARET ATWOOD

NAN A. TALESE

5

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

6

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

HARPER LEE

HARPER

7

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

MARI ANDREW

CLARKSON N POTTER

8

RAT QUEENS VOL. 6

KURTIS J. WIEBE

IMAGE COMICS

9

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 31

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

10

EAST OF WEST VOL. 9

JONATHAN HICKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

11

SHEETS

BRENNA THUMMLER

LION FORGE

12

THE ADVENTURES OF ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT HC

ANDREA WULF

PANTHEON BOOKS

13

ANNE FRANK'S DIARY: THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION HC

ANNE FRANK

PANTHEON BOOKS

14

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

BECHDEL, ALISON

MARINER BOOKS

15

SAGA VOL. 1

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

16

SAGA VOL. 9

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

17

THE GHOST OF OHIO

ANDY BIERSACK

Z2 COMICS

18

HELLBOY OMNIBUS VOL. 1

MIKE MIGNOLA

DARK HORSE BOOKS

19

I WAS THEIR AMERICAN DREAM: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR

MALAKA GHARIB

CLARKSON N POTTER

20

BLACKBIRD VOL. 1

SAM HUMPHRIES

IMAGE COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of May graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
May 2019 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
May 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:
May 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 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."