It’s a new year and a new lineup for the Superhero chart.
The holidays are over, so it’s not surprising that A Vader Family Sithmas, which has topped the chart for the past two months, is gone; the number two title in December, the collected edition of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye, has slipped off the chart as well. Two returning titles, Nightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping Into the Light and Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 2: The Heart of Drengir, both of which debuted in December, stay on the chart but lower down than last month (see "December 2021 NPD BookScan").
With no new blockbuster to take the top spot, older titles fill the gap. The 2019 edition of Watchmen tops the chart, followed by Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point, Batman: Year One, and V for Vendetta, all of which have been out for a while. Then Spider-Man: Life Story appears in fifth place; this book was released at the end of December.
There were three January releases on the chart, although two of them, Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1 and Bloodborne: 1-3 Boxed Set, are older material in new formats. The brand-new book is Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, Vol. 3.
As always, the chart is heavy on Batman titles, but there are four Star Wars trades up there as well. DC Comics has 11 titles on the chart, Marvel Comics has six, and Titan Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and IDW Publishing have one each.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – January 2022 (1/2/22 - 1/29/22) |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
BATMAN/FORTNITE: ZERO POINT HC |
CHRISTOS GAGE |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
5 |
SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY HC |
CHIP ZDARSKY |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
6 |
HARLEEN HC |
STJEPAN SEJIC |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
BATMAN: THREE JOKERS HC |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
9 |
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC |
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
10 |
BLOODBORNE: 1-3 BOXED SET |
ALES KOT |
TITAN COMICS |
|
11 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
THE WITCHER OMNIBUS |
PAUL TOBIN |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
13 |
STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS |
CHARLES SOULE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
14 |
STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS VOL. 3: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS |
ETHAN SACKS |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
15 |
NIGHTWING VOL.1: LEAPING INTO THE LIGHT HC |
TOM TAYLOR |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC VOL. 2: THE HEART OF DRENGIR |
CAVAN SCOTT |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
17 |
TRANSFORMERS/BACK TO THE FUTURE |
CAVAN SCOTT |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
18 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
19 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER BY GREG PAK VOL. 3: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS |
GREG PAK |
MARVEL COMICS |
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The Author chart, on the other hand, has stayed pretty consistent. Lore Olympus is still at the top, followed by Volumes 1 and 3 of Solo Leveling. Both Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Book One of March are back on the chart after a brief hiatus, as is Run, the sequel to March. Books that charted in December but not January include Strange Planet and Stranger Planet, as well as the graphic adaptations of 1984 and Dune.
However, there’s an intriguing new title at number 15: Volume 1 of The Abandoned Empress, a new Korean series that has all the ingredients of an isekai manga except that it’s not Japanese: when the woman who was prophesied to be the next empress is elbowed aside by someone else who was prophesied to be the next empress, she died and is reincarnated as a ten-year-old, ready to fight for her crown. So far, most of the manhwa (Korean comics) we have seen have been action titles like Solo Leveling, so this is something new.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – January 2022 (1/2/22 - 1/29/22) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOLUME ONE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
2 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOLUME ONE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
3 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
4 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
5 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
6 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
7 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
8 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
9 |
RUN: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
ABRAMS |
|
10 |
BRZRKR VOL. 1 |
MATT KINDT |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
|
11 |
IN LOVE & PAJAMAS: A COLLECTION OF COMICS ABOUT BEING YOURSELF TOGETHER HC |
CATANA CHETWYND |
ANDREWS & MCMEEL |
|
12 |
SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN VOL. 4 |
JAMES TYNION IV |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
|
13 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
14 |
SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY VOL. 1: THE BIRTH OF HUMANKIND |
YUVAL NOAH HARARI |
HARPER PERENNIAL |
|
15 |
THE ABANDONED EMPRESS VOL. 1 |
INA |
YEN PRESS |
|
16 |
CRITICAL ROLE: THE MIGHTY NEIN ORIGINS--JESTER LAVORRE |
SAM MAGGS |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
17 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4 (B&N EXCLUSIVE) |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
19 |
SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY VOL. 2: THE PILLARS OF CIVILIZATION |
YUVAL NOAH HARARI |
HARPER PERENNIAL |
|
20 |
GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR |
MAIA KOBABE |
ONI PRESS |
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The January 2022 Manga Top 20 is identical to the Adult Top 20, so check out our earlier coverage for a discussion of January’s manga trends (see "January 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels").
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – January 2022 (1/2/22 - 1/29/22) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA--STORIES OF WATER AND FLAME |
RYOJI HIRANO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 0 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
DRAGON BALL SUPER VOL. 15 |
AKIRA TORIYAMA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 4 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 3 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 5 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA: TEAM-UP MISSIONS VOL. 2 |
YOKO AKIYAMA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 34 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
16 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 8 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 6 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 13 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 12 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of January 2022 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
January 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
January 2022 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:
January 2022 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2022 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2022 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."
