The first thing to note is that manga sales were so dominant that we don’t have a list of the top 20 Superhero graphic novels this month – just a top 18.
For the second month in a row, the Superhero chart includes four debut titles: Volume 4 of The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus, Volume 3 of Wonder Woman: Earth One, and two non-Big Two titles, the Carl Barks classic Uncle Scrooge: Island in the Sky, which is part of Fantagraphics’ Carl Barks Disney Library, and Cyberpunk 2077 Volume 1: Trauma Team, a tie-in to the video game, by Cullen Bunn. In addition, two February books are back on the chart: Batman Volume. 2: The Joker War and The Joker War Saga, both written by James Tynion IV.
Batman: Three Jokers, which topped the chart from November through January, is in second place, behind Watchmen.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – March 2021 (2/28/21 - 4/3/21) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
BATMAN: THREE JOKERS HC |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
BATMAN VOL. 2: THE JOKER WAR HC |
JAMES TYNION IV |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
5 |
BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
6 |
THE JOKER WAR SAGA HC |
JAMES TYNION IV |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
HARLEEN HC |
STJEPAN SEJIC |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
THE UNCANNY X-MEN OMNIBUS VOL. 4 HC |
CHRIS CLAREMONT |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
9 |
INFINITY GAUNTLET |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
10 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW ED.) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
WONDER WOMAN: EARTH ONE VOL. 3 HC |
GRANT MORRISON |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
14 |
WALT DISNEY'S UNCLE SCROOGE ISLAND IN THE SKY: THE COMPLETE CARL BARKS DISNEY LIBRARY VOL. 24 HC |
CARL BARKS |
FANTAGRAPHICS |
|
15 |
CYBERPUNK 2077 VOL. 1: TRAUMA TEAM |
CULLEN BUNN |
RANDOM HOUSE |
|
16 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANN. ED. |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
WATCHMEN: THE DELUXE EDITION HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
19 |
xxx |
xxx |
xxx |
|
20 |
xxx |
xxx |
xxx |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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Unlike the Superhero chart, the Manga chart is short on new titles. Only one book, Volume 4 of Spy x Family, is a March 2021 release, and only two others are 2021 releases: Volume 26 of My Hero Academia and Volume 3 of Chainsaw Man.
What’s intriguing about this chart is the number of early volumes: Eight first volumes, four second volumes, and three third volumes, which means readers are sampling older series and staying with them. The top title is Volume 1 of Chainsaw Man, which came out last October and doesn’t have an anime yet. Others, such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Attack on Titan, and The Promised Neverland, do have anime, which is probably generating interest in the manga.
Only six volumes of My Hero Academia show up on the chart, and that’s actually up from four in February. VIZ Media released a new volume in early April, so it will be worth watching the chart next month to see if it gives the other books in the series a boost.
Sometimes what’s not on the chart is as interesting as what is. The first volume of the spinoff My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions came out in early March but did not make the chart; as we have seen with My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, the spinoffs don’t seem to be as popular as the main series.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – March 2021 (2/28/21 - 4/3/21) |
|||
|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
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 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
6 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 1 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
7 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 26 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
THE PROMISED NEVERLAND VOL. 1 |
KAIU SHIRAI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
HAIKYU!! VOL. 1 |
HARUICHI FURUDATE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 4 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 3 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 24 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
THE PROMISED NEVERLAND VOL. 2 |
KAIU SHIRAI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 2 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
19 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
UZUMAKI HC |
UNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The top title on the Author chart is Solo Leveling, which is a webtoon from Korea. The style is reminiscent of manga, although the comic is in full color.
There are three March 2021 releases on the Author chart: Volume 1 of Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell’s Norse Mythology; Volume 1 of James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds’ Department of Truth; and The Umbrella Academy spin-off You Look Like Death. As noted above, Tynion also is the author of two Superhero titles, so he had three graphic novels on the charts in March.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – March 2021 (2/28/21 - 4/3/21) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
2 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
3 |
IN LOVE & PAJAMAS: A COLLECTION OF COMICS ABOUT BEING YOURSELF TOGETHER HC |
CATANA CHETWYND |
ANDREWS & MCMEEL |
|
4 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
5 |
DUNE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL BOOK HC |
FRANK HERBERT |
ABRAMS |
|
6 |
NORSE MYTHOLOGY VOL. 1 HC |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DARK HORSE |
|
7 |
STRANGE PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
8 |
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HISTORY |
DAVID F. WALKER |
TEN SPEED PRESS |
|
9 |
SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY: THE BIRTH OF HUMANKIND |
YUVAL NOAH HARARI |
HARPERCOLLINS |
|
10 |
THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH VOL 1.: THE END OF THE WORLD |
JAMES TYNION IV |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
11 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
12 |
STRANGER PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
13 |
CRITICAL ROLE: VOX MACHINA ORIGINS LIBRARY ED.: SER. I & II COLL. HC |
CRITICAL ROLE |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
14 |
FANGS HC |
SARAH ANDERSEN |
ANDREWS & MCMEEL |
|
15 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
VIKING |
|
16 |
GORILLAZ ALAMANAC HC |
GORILLAZ |
Z2 COMICS |
|
17 |
TALES FROM THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: YOU LOOK LIKE DEATH VOLUME 1 |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
18 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
19 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
20 |
MARCH (TRILOGY SLIPCASE SET) |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of March 2021 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
March 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
March 2021 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:
March 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2021 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."
