What were comics folks reading while they were staying home? Here’s a look at the top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for May (5/3/20-5/30/20) provided to ICv2.

Last month, we noted an unusually high number of new graphic novels on the Superhero list (see "April 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, Superhero Graphic Novels").  This month’s list only has three 2020 releases: Batman: Last Knight on Earth, which debuted in the number 1 spot last month; Harleen, which debuted in the number 1 spot in February and has stayed on the chart since then; and Firefly: The Unification War, a Whedonverse trade that just came out in May.  And the top seller in May 2020?  Watchmen.  So it’s back to the Golden Oldies for this chart.

As usual, DC Comics dominates the BookScan chart, with 13 titles compared to Marvel Comics’ five titles.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – May 2020 (5/3/20 - 5/30/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

2

BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH HC

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

3

HARLEEN HC

STJEPAN SEJIC

DC COMICS

4

V FOR VENDETTA

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

5

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

6

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

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

7

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

SEAN MURPHY

DC COMICS

8

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

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

9

STAR WARS: DARTH MAUL - SON OF DATHOMIR

JEREMY BARLOW

MARVEL COMICS

10

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

11

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

12

DCEASED HC

TOM TAYLOR

DC COMICS

13

JOKER HC (DC BLACK LABEL ED.)

BRIAN AZZARELLO

DC COMICS

14

RICK AND MORTY VS. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

ROTHFUSS & ZUB

IDW PUBLISHING

15

INFINITY GAUNTLET

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

16

BATMAN: DAMNED HC

BRIAN AZZARELLO

DC COMICS

17

FIREFLY: THE UNIFICATION WAR VOL. 3

JOSS WHEDON

BOOM! STUDIOS

18

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER: DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 1: IMPERIAL MACHINE

CHARLES SOULE

MARVEL COMICS

19

HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X HC

JONATHAN HICKMAN

MARVEL COMICS

20

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 2: LEGACY'S END

CHARLES SOULE

MARVEL COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

There’s no contest for the top publisher on the Manga chart: VIZ Media takes all 20 slots with a mix of title that slants heavily toward shonen action stories.  But not entirely! Shout-out to The Way of the Househusband, a quirky comedy about a former yakuza (organized crime) boss who goes all melty and domestic when he marries a career woman.  The joke in this series is that he still looks like a gangster and he acts like one too, sometimes when he’s shopping for groceries, sometimes when he’s facing a squad of his former rivals.  Volume 3 makes the chart, and volume 1 charted when it came out last September, so it has a readership.  The first two volumes made a decent showing on the Diamond charts as well, and it was just nominated for an Eisner Award in the Best Humor category, so it’s likely more people will discover the series now.  There are currently four volumes out in Japan, and it’s still ongoing, so there are more to come.

Wacky romcoms aside, the rest of the chart is familiar territory: 10 volumes of My Hero Academia, three of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, two of Beastars, two Junji Ito stories, and the latest volumes of Splatoon and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – May 2020 (5/3/20 - 5/30/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 12

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

2

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

3

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

4

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

5

UZUMAKI HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

6

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 23

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

7

BEASTARS VOL. 6

PARU ITAGAKI

VIZ MEDIA

8

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 22

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

9

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

10

SPLATOON VOL. 9

SANKICHI HINODEYA

VIZ MEDIA

11

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

BEASTARS VOL. 1

PARU ITAGAKI

VIZ MEDIA

14

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

15

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 21

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

16

JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 4--DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE VOL. 5

HIROHIKO ARAKI

VIZ MEDIA

17

THE WAY OF THE HOUSEHUSBAND VOL. 3

KOUSUKE OONO

VIZ MEDIA

18

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

19

TOMIE HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

20

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 7

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

There are two May releases on the Author chart: the graphic adaptation of Bong Joon Ho’s award-winning movie Parasite and the third volume of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Snotgirl.  Tom Gauld’s Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, which debuted in April, is back for a second month, and the only other 2020 book on the chart is Catana Chetwynd’s Snug.  Once again, Strange Planet tops the chart, but there’s more to the Author list than humor and horror: May’s top sellers also include all three volumes of The Umbrella Academy, the first two volumes of Locke and Key, and the graphic adaptations of Anne of Green Gables, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – May 2020 (5/3/20 - 5/30/20)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

STRANGE PLANET HC

NATHAN W. PYLE

MORROW GIFT

2

PARASITE: A GRAPHIC NOVEL IN STORYBOARDS HC

BONG  JOON HO

HACHETTE BOOK GROUP

3

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PROD.

4

SNUG: A COLLECTION OF COMICS ABOUT DATING YOUR BEST FRIEND

CATANA CHETWYND

ANDREWS MCMEEL

5

THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

6

NOISE: A GRAPHIC NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY

KATHLEEN RAYMUNDO

LIGHTNING SOURCE

7

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A GRAPHIC NOVEL

MARIAH MARSDEN

ANDREWS MCMEEL

8

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: MURDER ON THE ROCKPORT LIMITED!

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

9

MARCH: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PROD.

10

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

11

CRITICAL ROLE VOX MACHINA: ORIGINS VOL. 1

CRITICAL ROLE

DARK HORSE COMICS

12

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

13

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 3: HOTEL OBLIVION

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

14

LOCKE & KEY, VOL. 1: WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT

JOE HILL

IDW PUBLISHING

15

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

ALISON BECHDEL

MARINER BOOKS

16

DEPARTMENT OF MIND-BLOWING THEORIES

TOM GAULD

DRAWN & QUARTERLY

17

THE HANDMAID'S TALE (GRAPHIC NOVEL)

MARGARET ATWOOD

NAN A. TALESE

18

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL

HARPER LEE

HARPER

19

SNOTGIRL VOL. 3: IS THIS REAL LIFE?

BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY

IMAGE COMICS

20

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

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