It’s time to break out the lists of the Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for November (12/1/19-1/4/20) provided to ICv2.  We found HoX/PoX, manga superheroes, the Mueller Report, and quizzical aliens.

DC Comics dominates the superhero list with 13 titles, including four different editions of Watchmen, plus the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, five Batman books, DCeased, V for Vendetta, and Volume 1 of The Sandman.  That’s… not a lot of range, and also not a lot of new titles.

Marvel Comics has the number 2 book: sandwiched between two editions of Watchmen is House of X/Powers of X, the collected edition of the two miniseries that reset the X-Men (see "Paired Hickman X-Men Series Launch in July"). The first issues of House of X and Powers of X were among the top 10 comic books of 2019 (see "DC Has Top Comic, Graphic Novel of 2019").

Two books that debuted on the November charts didn’t make it back in December: The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire Part Two, which was number 4 on the BookScan chart and number 6 on the Diamond Comic Distributors chart last month, and Frank Miller’s Superman: Year One, which was number 6 on the BookScan chart and number 5 on the Diamond chart.

And hats off to Tom Taylor, the writer of two Top 20 books on this month’s chart, one for DC (DCeased) and one for Marvel (Star Wars: Age of Resistance – Villains).

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – December 2019 (12/3/19 - 1/4/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

2

HOUSE OF X / POWERS OF X HC

JONATHAN HICKMAN

MARVEL COMICS

3

WATCHMEN: THE DELUXE EDITION HC

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

4

DCEASED HC

TOM TAYLOR

DC COMICS

5

WATCHMEN: INTERNATIONAL EDITION LENTICULAR

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

6

BATMAN: DAMNED HC

BRIAN AZZARELLO

DC BLACK LABEL

7

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

8

DOOMSDAY CLOCK PART 1 HC

GEOFF JOHNS

DC COMICS

9

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW ED.)

ALAN MOORE

DC BLACK LABEL

10

RICK AND MORTY VS. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

PATRICK ROTHFUSS

RANDOM HOUSE

11

V FOR VENDETTA

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

12

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

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

13

DESTINY COMIC COLLECTION VOL. ONE HC

BUNGIE INC.

BUNGIE INC.

14

THE WITCHER OMNIBUS

PAUL TOBIN

DARK HORSE COMICS

15

WATCHMEN (DC MODERN CLASSICS EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

16

INFINITY GAUNTLET

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

17

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 1

KIERON GILLEN

MARVEL COMICS

18

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

19

STAR WARS: AGE OF RESISTANCE - VILLAINS

TOM TAYLOR

MARVEL COMICS

20

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

The manga chart has 19 Viz titles and one from Kodansha.  The chart is mostly shonen titles, with some seinen, and there are 11 volumes of My Hero Academia. Junji Ito’s adaptation of Osamu Dazai’s novel No Longer Human debuts at number 6, and Ito’s Uzumaki is at number 14. Several of these titles get a boost from anime, notably Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Volume 1, a 2015 release; the latest Jojo anime started running on Adult Swim’s Toonami block in October.

Not getting a boost from anime: Komi Can’t Communicate, which doesn’t have an anime yet.  What it does have is a pretty big fanbase, big enough to put the fourth volume, a December release, in 14th place.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – December 2019 (12/3/19 - 1/4/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

2

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 22

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

3

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

4

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

5

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 18

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

6

NO LONGER HUMAN HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

7

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

8

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

9

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOL. 7

AKIRA TORIYAMA

VIZ MEDIA

10

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

11

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 21

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 20

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE VOL. 4

TOMOHITO ODA

VIZ MEDIA

14

UZUMAKI HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

15

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL, 6

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

16

JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 1--PHANTOM BLOOD VOL. 1 HC

HIROHIKO ARAKI

VIZ MEDIA

17

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 17

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

18

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 19

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

19

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

20

ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 29

ISAYAMA, HAJIME

KODANSHA COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

Top of the Author chart is Strange Planet.  Gentle aliens with a sideways view of the English language are what America needs right now, apparently.

In second place is the graphic adaptation of the Mueller Report.  We’re seeing some interest in graphic novels tied to current events, and more are on the way now that we’re in an election year; last month, it was Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration that made the list, along with a history of feminism.

Chris Ware’s Rusty Brown made the top 20 Adult Graphic Novels list in September, the month it was released, and has stayed consistently on the Author charts since then.  That’s a nice little run for a book that, unlike most of the rest of this list, doesn’t have a cross-media tie-in or celebrity creator to boost sales.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – December 2019 (12/3/19 - 1/4/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

STRANGE PLANET HC

NATHAN W. PYLE

MORROW GIFT

2

THE MUELLER REPORT ILLUSTRATED: THE OBSTRUCTION INVESTIGATION

THE WASHINGTON POST

SCRIBNER

3

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: MURDER ON THE ROCKPORT LIMITED!

CLINT MCELROY

MACMILLAN

4

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

5

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PROD.

6

CRITICAL ROLE VOX MACHINA: ORIGINS VOL. 1

MATTHEW MERCER

DARK HORSE COMICS

7

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS

CLINT MCELROY

MACMILLAN

8

MAKING COMICS

LYNDA BARRY

DRAWN & QUARTERLY

9

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 3: HOTEL OBLIVION

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

10

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

11

RUSTY BROWN HC

CHRIS WARE

PANTHEON BOOKS

12

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL

HARPER LEE

HARPER

13

THE HANDMAID'S TALE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

MARGARET ATWOOD

NAN A. TALESE

14

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

15

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SNOOPY HC

CHARLES M. SCHULZ

HACHETTE

16

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 32

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

17

SHEETS

BRENNA THUMMLER

LION FORGE

18

NEIL GAIMAN'S SNOW, GLASS, APPLES HC

NEIL GAIMAN

DARK HORSE COMICS

19

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

20

NOISE: A GRAPHIC NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY

KATHLEEN RAYMUNDO

LIGHTNING SOURCE

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan


For charts of December graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
December 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
December 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:
December 2019 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
December 2019 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
December 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."