Now it’s time to take a deeper 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 (4/5/20-5/2/20) provided to ICv2.

Diamond suspended distribution to comic shops on April 1, but graphic novel distribution to the book channel was not interrupted.  The top 20 Superhero graphic novel chart suggests that some readers headed to the bookstore (or online retailer) for their fix: Seven of the top 20 sellers were April releases.  That’s an unusually high number, given that only three superhero graphic novels made the top 20 the first month they were released in January and March, and five in February.

In terms of the publisher share, April was a very DC Comics month, with 14 DC titles on the chart, four from Marvel Comics, and one each from Dark Horse Comics and IDW Publishing.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – April 2020 (4/5/20 - 5/2/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH HC

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

2

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

3

WOLVERINE OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC

CHRIS CLAREMONT

MARVEL COMICS

4

LIFE IS STRANGE VOL. 3: STRINGS

EMMA VIECELI

TITAN COMICS

5

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

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

6

HARLEEN HC

STJEPAN SEJIC

DC COMICS

7

BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III HC

JAMES TYNION IV

DC COMICS

8

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

9

BATMAN VOL. 12: CITY OF BANE PART 1

TOM KING

DC COMICS

10

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: DAYS OF ENDLESS ADVENTURE

JIM ZUB

IDW PUBLISHING

11

X-MEN BY JONATHAN HICKMAN VOL. 1

JONATHAN HICKMAN

MARVEL COMICS

12

V FOR VENDETTA

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

13

HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X HC

JONATHAN HICKMAN

MARVEL COMICS

14

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

15

BATMAN: DAMNED HC

BRIAN AZZARELLO

DC COMICS

16

DCEASED HC

TOM TAYLOR

DC COMICS

17

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

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

18

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

SEAN MURPHY

DC COMICS

19

ASTONISHING X-MEN BY JOSS WHEDON & JOHN CASSADAY OMNIBUS HC

JOSS WHEDON

MARVEL COMICS

20

TALES OF THE BATMAN: STEVE ENGLEHART HC

STEVE ENGLEHART

DC COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

A lot of series only make the manga chart when a new volume is released, and sure enough, there are six April releases on the manga chart, and in all six cases, the new book is the only one on the chart.  Another nine slots are taken up by different volumes of My Hero Academia, plus Uzumaki, which is to the manga charts what Watchmen is to the superhero charts: Not new, but always there.

That’s all predictable, but here’s something a little different: Volumes 1 and 2 of Beastars and Volumes 1 and 2 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba are in the top 20.  Neither one had a new volume out in April, but new readers are coming to both series in sufficient numbers for them to show up on the charts.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – April 2020 (4/5/20 - 5/2/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

2

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

3

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 22

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

4

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 23

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

5

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

6

ONE PIECE VOL. 93

EIICHIRO ODA

VIZ MEDIA

7

KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE VOL. 6

TOMOHITO ODA

VIZ MEDIA

8

BEASTARS VOL. 1

PARU ITAGAKI

VIZ MEDIA

9

ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 30

HAJIME ISAYAMA

KODANSHA COMICS

10

UZUMAKI HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

11

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 21

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

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

TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 16

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

17

PERSONA 5 VOL. 2

HISATO MURASAKI

VIZ MEDIA

18

BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS VOL. 8

UKYO KODACHI

VIZ MEDIA

19

BEASTARS VOL. 2

PARU ITAGAKI

VIZ MEDIA

20

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

As for the Author chart, there are lots of familiar faces: Strange Planet, The Adventure Zone, They Called Us Enemy, and The Umbrella Academy all take their usual places.  Notably, there is no volume of Rep. John Lewis’s March on the April top 20; usually the first volume is in the mix somewhere.

The April releases include Fight Club 3 and two books with a very similar vibe: Tom Gauld’s Department of Mind-Blowing Theories and Grant Snider’s I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf.  Both of these are collections of wry one-page cartoons drawn in a simple but fairly detailed style.  Gauld has a lot of fun with the conventions of science, science fiction, and literature in general, while Snider’s is decidedly bookish.  Like Strange Planet and Pearls Goes Hollywood, which returns for a second month on this chart, they are likely on the list because we all need a laugh now.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – April 2020 (4/5/20 - 5/2/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

STRANGE PLANET HC

NATHAN W. PYLE

MORROW GIFT

2

FIGHT CLUB 3 HC

CHUCK PALAHNIUK

DARK HORSE COMICS

3

NOISE: A GRAPHIC NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY

KATHLEEN RAYMUNDO

LIGHTNING SOURCE

4

SNUG: A COLLECTION OF COMICS ABOUT DATING YOUR BEST FRIEND HC

CATANA CHETWYND

ANDREWS MCMEEL

5

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

6

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PROD.

7

LOCKE & KEY VOL. 1: WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT

JOE HILL

IDW PUBLISHING

8

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

HARPER LEE

HARPER

9

DEPARTMENT OF MIND-BLOWING THEORIES HC

TOM GAULD

DRAWN & QUARTERLY

10

I WILL JUDGE YOU BY YOUR BOOKSHELF HC

GRANT SNIDER

ABRAMS

11

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: MURDER ON THE ROCKPORT LIMITED!

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

12

CRITICAL ROLE VOX MACHINA: ORIGINS VOL. 1

CRITICAL ROLE

DARK HORSE COMICS

13

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

14

MAKING COMICS

LYNDA BARRY

DRAWN & QUARTERLY

15

ANNE FRANK'S DIARY: THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION

ANNE FRANK

PANTHEON BOOKS

16

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

17

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

ALISON BECHDEL

MARINER BOOKS

18

PEARLS GOES HOLLYWOOD

STEPHAN PASTIS

ANDREWS MCMEEL

19

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 32

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

20

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 3: HOTEL OBLIVION

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of April graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
April 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
April 2020 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 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2020 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."