There are a lot of returning titles on the charts of the top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for January 2023 (1/1/23-1/28/23) provided to ICv2.

We may be seeing a permanent shift in the Author chart.  It’s not just that webtoon-based comics dominate, it’s that they appear to have staying power.

The hardcover edition of Lore Olympus, Vol. 3, tops the chart for the fourth month in a row, and four other volumes, hardcover and softcover, are scattered among the Top 20.  All five volumes of Solo Leveling are also in the Top 20, as they have been every month.

Of the four other Korean or webtoon-based titles on the chart, Volume 1 of The Remarried Empress and Volume 1 of Villains Are Destined to Die are back for a third month and Volume 2 of Killing Stalking and Volume 1 of My Gently Raised Beast are back for the second time.  All four series made the chart the month they were released, which isn’t unusual; staying on the chart for two or more months is rarer.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – January 2023 (1/01/23 - 1/28/23)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

2

SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 1

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

3

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

4

CRITICAL ROLE: THE MIGHTY NEIN ORIGINS - FJORD STONE HC

CHRIS DOC WYATT

DARK HORSE COMICS

5

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

6

GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR

MAIA KOBABE

ONI PRESS

7

SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 2

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

8

SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 5

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

9

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

10

SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 4

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

11

KILLING STALKING: DELUXE EDITION VOL. 2

KOOGI

SEVEN SEAS ENT.

12

THE ILLUSTRATED AL: THE SONGS OF WEIRD AL YANKOVIC HC

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC

Z2 COMICS

13

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PROD.

14

THE REMARRIED EMPRESS VOL. 1

ALPHATART

IZE PRESS

15

VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 1

GWON GYEOEUL

IZE PRESS

16

SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 3

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

17

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

ALISON BECHDEL

MARINER BOOKS

18

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

19

SAGA VOL. 10

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

20

MY GENTLY RAISED BEAST VOL. 1

YEOSEULKI

IZE PRESS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

Sticking around is more common on the Superhero chart, on which older properties such as Watchmen show up month after month.  But it’s not just the classics: Four 2022 releases have been in the Top 20 more often than not: TMNT: The Last Ronin, Fantastic Four: Full Circle, the Penguin Classics edition of The Amazing Spider-Man, and the new edition of The Sandman.

Dark Horse Comics is having a good month, with four new releases on the Superhero chart, all media-related: The Witcher: Ronin and all three volumes of Avatar: The High Ground.  And Marvel Comics and DC Comics both have high-priced omnibi in the Top 20: Secret Wars and House of M for Marvel, Dark Nights: Metal for DC.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – January 2023 (1/01/23 - 1/28/23)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC

KEVIN EASTMAN

IDW PUBLISHING

2

THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

3

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

4

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 5: THE SHADOW'S SHADOW

GREG PAK

MARVEL COMICS

5

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

6

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

7

THE WITCHER: RONIN

RAFAL JAKI

DARK HORSE COMICS

8

AVATAR: THE HIGH GROUND VOL. 2

SHERRI L. SMITH

DARK HORSE COMICS

9

SECRET WARS OMNIBUS

JIM SHOOTER

MARVEL COMICS

10

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

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

11

AVATAR: THE HIGH GROUND VOL. 3

SHERRI L. SMITH

DARK HORSE COMICS

12

AVATAR: THE HIGH GROUND VOL. 1

SHERRI L. SMITH

DARK HORSE COMICS

13

HOUSE OF M OMNIBUS HC

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS

MARVEL COMICS

14

DARK NIGHTS: METAL OMNIBUS HC

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

15

NIGHTWING VOL. 2: GET GRAYSON HC

TOM TAYLOR

DC COMICS

16

THE SANDMAN BOOK TWO

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

17

FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE HC

ALEX ROSS

HARRY ABRAMS

18

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 2

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS

MARVEL COMICS

19

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

STAN LEE

PENGUIN CLASSICS

20

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

The Manga chart is identical to the January 2022 Adult Top 20, as all of those titles were manga, over half of them volumes of Chainsaw Man.  Check out our earlier coverage for a discussion of January’s manga trends (see "January 2023 NPD BookScan").

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – January 2023 (1/01/23 - 1/28/23)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

2

KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 5

NAOYA MATSUMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

3

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

4

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

5

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 18

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

6

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

7

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 5

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

8

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

9

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 4

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

10

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

11

ONE PIECE VOL. 101

EIICHIRO ODA

VIZ MEDIA

12

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 9

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

13

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 6

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

14

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 10

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

15

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

16

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

17

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 11

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

18

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 8

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

19

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO BEFORE CHAINSAW MAN: 17-21

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

20

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 3

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of January 2023 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
January 2023 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
January 2023 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 2023 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2023 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2023 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."