Let’s do some compare and contrast between the BookScan Top 20 and the top sellers in the direct market (see "Top 500 Graphic Novels—November 2019"). In BookScan, seven of the top 20 titles are by Alan Moore, and four of those (including the top two) are different editions of Watchmen. In the direct market, on the other hand, only one Watchmen edition makes the top 20. The top non-Watchmen title in BookScan is Tom Taylor’s DCeased, which is the top seller on the Diamond chart.
Other titles that overlap in the two top 20s are The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, Part Two, Superman: Year One, Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Allegiance, and Volume 12 of Star Wars.
Doomsday Clock, Part 1, which topped the Diamond chart in October, has sunk to number 136 this month, while it remains in the BookScan top 20 for the second month in a row.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – November 2019 (11/3/19 - 11/30/19) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
WATCHMEN: THE DELUXE EDITION HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
DCEASED HC |
TOM TAYLOR |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
THE LEGEND OF KORRA: RUINS OF THE EMPIRE PART TWO |
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
5 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
6 |
SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE HC |
FRANK MILLER |
DC BLACK LABEL |
|
7 |
MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: SHATTERED GRID DLX. ED. |
KYLE HIGGINS |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
|
8 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
VERTIGO |
|
9 |
BATMAN: DAMNED HC |
BRIAN AZZARELLO |
DC BLACK LABEL |
|
10 |
RICK AND MORTY VS. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS |
PATRICK ROTHFUSS |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
11 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK PART 1 HC |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY |
CHIP ZDARSKY |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
13 |
JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - ALLEGIANCE |
ETHAN SACKS |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
14 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW ED.) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
LIFE IS STRANGE VOL. 2: WAVES |
EMMA VIECELI |
TITAN COMICS |
|
16 |
WATCHMEN HC (DC MODERN CLASSICS EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
WATCHMEN: INTERNATIONAL EDITION LENTICULAR |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
19 |
STAR WARS VOL. 12: REBELS AND ROGUES |
GREG PAK |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
20 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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While Nathan Pyle’s Strange Planet tops the BookScan top 20 Author chart, it only reached number 196 in Diamond’s top 500 for November. George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy, the number two title in BookScan, doesn’t make the Diamond top 500 at all, and neither does the number three title, Lynda Barry’s Making Comics.
Meanwhile, the top author graphic novel on the Diamond chart, Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier’s November, Volume 1, doesn’t appear on the BookScan Top 20. Neither do Middlewest Volume 2 or Little Bird Fight for Elders Hope, both of which are in the top 20 slots on the Diamond list.
What does overlap? Volume 5 of The Boys Omnibus takes the number 12 spot on both charts, and Critical Role: Vox Machina: Origins is in both top 20s. Other titles in the BookScan top 20 are much further down the Diamond chart: Volume 4 of The Walking Dead Compendium, all three volumes of The Umbrella Academy, both volumes of The Adventure Zone. Of the two new nonfiction titles on the chart, Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights was number 10 in BookScan and number 371 in Diamond, and Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration, number 11 in BookScan, didn’t make the Diamond top 500 at all.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – November 2019 (11/3/19 - 11/30/19) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
STRANGE PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
2 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
3 |
MAKING COMICS |
LYNDA BARRY |
DRAWN & QUARTERLY |
|
4 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
5 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: MURDER ON THE ROCKPORT LIMITED! |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
6 |
CRITICAL ROLE VOX MACHINA: ORIGINS VOL. 1 |
MATTHEW MERCER |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
7 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 3: HOTEL OBLIVION |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
8 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
9 |
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
HARPER LEE |
HARPER |
|
10 |
AMAZONS, ABOLITIONISTS, AND ACTIVISTS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF WOMEN'S FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS |
MIKKI KENDALL |
TEN SPEED PRESS |
|
11 |
OPEN BORDERS: THE SCIENCE AND ETHICS OF IMMIGRATION |
BRYAN CAPLAN |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
12 |
THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 5 |
GARTH ENNIS |
DYNAMITE ENT. |
|
13 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
14 |
RUSTY BROWN HC |
CHRIS WARE |
PANTHEON BOOKS |
|
15 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
16 |
THE HANDMAID'S TALE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
MARGARET ATWOOD |
NAN A. TALESE |
|
17 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 32: REST IN PEACE |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
SHEETS |
BRENNA THUMMLER |
LION FORGE |
|
19 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
20 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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There are no manga in the Diamond top 20; the best-selling manga in the direct market in November was Volume 2 of My Hero Academia Smash, which was number 38 (and didn’t make the BookScan top 20 at all).
So let’s take a look at what’s happening with this chart. It’s still very VIZ Media-heavy, with all but two titles from the San Francisco-based powerhouse. But only nine volumes of My Hero Academia appear on this month’s list, compared to 11 (plus one volume of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes) in October. When My Hero Academia slips into single digits, you have to wonder what’s up. This month, what’s up is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, which has three volumes on the chart: Volumes 1, 2, and 9 (the most recent). Since the anime recently began streaming in English, it’s likely that readers are discovering the series and picking up the first two volumes. (These volumes, plus Volume 3, all show up in the Diamond top 500 as well.)
There’s one shojo title on the BookScan top 20, and it’s Volume 3 of Fruits Basket Another, Natsuki Takaya’s sequel to Fruits Basket, which was one of the top selling manga in the U.S. in the mid-2000s. The fact that this, the final volume of the series, made the top 20 (it’s number 219 on the Diamond chart as well) speaks to the continuing popularity of this Takaya and the world she created.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – November 2019 (11/3/19 - 11/30/19) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 3 HC |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
3 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 9 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 21 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
UZUMAKI HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 92 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 4--DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE VOL. 3 HC |
HIROHIKO ARAKI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 20 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
BORUTO VOL. 7: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS |
UKYO KODACHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
BEASTARS VOL. 3 |
PARU ITAGAKI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
FRUITS BASKET ANOTHER VOL. 3 |
NATSUKI TAKAYA |
YEN PRESS |
|
18 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 17 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
DR. STONE VOL. 8 |
RIICHIRO INAGAKI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 19 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of November graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
November 2019 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
November 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:
November 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
November 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
November 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids 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."
