There were no Superhero titles on the Adult Top 20 chart for December (see "December 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels"), but if we just look at superhero comics, the top seller is Batman: Three Jokers, which did well enough to make third place on the November chart (see "November 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels"). It is one of three November releases on the chart; the others are the first volumes of Star Wars: Darth Vader and Star Wars: Bounty Hunters. One December release debuted on the chart: Wonder Woman: Dead Earth.
There are five Marvel titles on the chart, all Star Wars. Seven of the 14 DC titles are Batman, and there is one lone Oni Press graphic novel, the crossover title Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – December 2020 (11/29/20 - 1/2/21) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
BATMAN: THREE JOKERS HC |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER BY GREG PAK VOL. 1: DARK HEART OF THE SITH |
GREG PAK |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
5 |
HARLEEN HC |
STJEPAN SEJIC |
DC COMICS |
|
6 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANN. ED. |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
WONDER WOMAN: DEAD EARTH HC |
DANIEL JOHNSON |
DC COMICS |
|
9 |
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF KYLO REN |
CHARLES SOULE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
10 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 1: VADER |
KIERON GILLEN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
13 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW ED.) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
14 |
RICK AND MORTY VS. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS |
PATRICK ROTHFUSS |
ONI PRESS |
|
15 |
BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS VOL. 1: GALAXY'S DEADLIEST |
ETHAN SACKS |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
18 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC COMICS |
|
19 |
WATCHMEN: THE DLX. ED. HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER: DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 1: IMPERIAL MACHINE |
CHARLES SOULE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The Manga chart once again is heavy on VIZ Media, heavy on shonen, and heavy on backlist. The first four volumes of My Hero Academia show up in order in the first five slots, interrupted by Volume 1 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. There are only three December releases on the chart: Junji Ito’s Remina, Volume 2 of Chainsaw Man, and Volume 19 of Demon Slayer. What isn’t there? The latest volumes of Dragon Ball Super and One Piece, both of which came out in December. Instead, there are a lot of first volumes of older series.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – December 2020 (11/29/20 - 1/2/21) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
UZUMAKI HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 1 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
8 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 24 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
REMINA HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
HAIKYU!! VOL. 1 |
HARUICHI FURUDATE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
13 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 25 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
DEATH NOTE BLACK ED. VOL. 1 |
TSUGUMI OHBA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
NARUTO (3-IN-1 EDITION) VOL. 1 |
MASASHI KISHIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 3 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 19 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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Strange Planet tops the Author chart, with the sequel Stranger Planet at number 3, and the graphic adaptation of Dune between them at number 2. No December releases debuted on the chart, but there were three from November: Dune, the library edition of Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins, and Meichi Ng’s Barely Functional Adult, which is based on an Instagram comic.
So four of the Author titles are based on webcomics (Strange Planet and Stranger Planet also are on Instagram, while Fangs ran on the webcomics platform Tapas), four are gamer-adjacent (The Adventure Zone and Critical Role: Vox Machina), five are original works that were adapted for TV (The Umbrella Academy, The Boys, and The Walking Dead), and two are adaptations of prose works (Dune, Sapiens, and Slaughterhouse Five). Three are memoirs with a social-justice slant (March, both book one and the box set, and They Called Us Enemy).
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – December 2020 (11/29/20 - 1/2/21) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
STRANGE PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
2 |
DUNE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL BOOK 1 HC |
FRANK HERBERT |
ABRAMS COMICARTS |
|
3 |
STRANGER PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
4 |
SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY: THE BIRTH OF HUMANKIND VOL. 1 |
YUVAL NOAH HARARI |
HARPERCOLLINS |
|
5 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
6 |
CRITICAL ROLE: VOX MACHINA ORIGINS LIBRARY ED.: SERIES I & II COLL. HC |
CRITICAL ROLE |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
7 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
8 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
9 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
10 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: PETALS TO THE METAL |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
11 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 3: HOTEL OBLIVION |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
12 |
FANGS |
ANDERSEN, SARAH |
ANDREWS & MCMEEL |
|
13 |
THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 1 |
GARTH ENNIS |
DYNAMITE ENT. |
|
14 |
BARELY FUNCTIONAL ADULT: IT'LL ALL MAKE SENSE EVENTUALLY HC |
MEICHI NG |
HARPER PERENNIAL |
|
15 |
MARCH (TRILOGY SLIPCASE SET) |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
16 |
NOISE: A GRAPHIC NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY |
KATHLEEN RAYMUNDO |
LIGHTNING SOURCE |
|
17 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
18 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
19 |
CRITICAL ROLE: VOX MACHINA ORIGINS VOL. II |
CRITICAL ROLE |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
20 |
SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
RYAN NORTH |
ARCHAIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of December graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
December 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
December 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:
December 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
December 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
December 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."
