Once again, media tie-ins are a big influence on the top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan data for March 2023 (2/26/23 – 4/1/23) provided to ICv2.

The majority of the titles on the Author list are based on webtoons: six volumes of Solo Leveling (with Volume 6, a March release, at number one), five of Lore Olympus, two of Villains Are Destined to Die, plus one each of The Remarried Empress, The Beginning After the End, and Killing Stalking.  When webcomics first became popular, in the early 2000s, many people wondered how anyone could make money by giving a comic away for free.  The answer seems to be that webtoons are building an audience with serialization, much as monthly comics do, and a good portion of that audience is willing to pay for the collected edition.

One of the outliers, The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour, didn’t make the Adult Top 20 (see "March 2023 Circana BookScan") but is number 2 on the Author chart.

Circana BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – March 2023 (2/27/23 - 4/1/23)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 6

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

2

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE ELEVENTH HOUR

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

3

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

4

VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 2

GWON GYEOEUL

YEN PRESS

5

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

6

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

7

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 5

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

8

THE REMARRIED EMPRESS VOL. 2

ALPHATART

YEN PRESS

9

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

10

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

11

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PROD.

12

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

13

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

14

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

15

THE BEGINNING AFTER THE END VOL. 2

TURTLEME

YEN PRESS

16

GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR

MAIA KOBABE

ONI PRESS

17

MARCH: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PROD.

18

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

19

KILLING STALKING: DELUXE EDITION VOL. 2

KOOGI

SEVEN SEAS ENT.

20

VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 1

GWON GYEOEUL

YEN PRESS

Source: Circana

The manga chart looks a lot like the Adult Top 20, except for the three new titles coming in at the bottom.  That gives Chainsaw Man a plurality, with six volumes on the chart, five of them from the first half of the series.  That shows that readers are not only sampling it but sticking with it.

The top title is Vol. 9 of Spy x Family, with the first three volumes further down the chart, again bearing out the sustained popularity of this series.  Both Spy x Family and Chainsaw Man got significant boosts from anime last year and both seem to have legs.

Likewise, the first and most recent volumes of Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, and Blue Lock, are also in the Top 20.  Volume 5 of Blue Lock was released in February but did not make the February Top 20 (see "February 2023 Circana BookScan").  This series seems to be on the upswing.

Volume 13 of Berserk, the next to last of Dark Horse Comics’ deluxe editions, debuts at number 7, and Volume 17 of Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is on the chart for the second time, at a higher position than last month.

Circana BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – March 2023 (2/27/23 - 4/1/23)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 9

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

2

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 19

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

3

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 33

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

4

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

5

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

6

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

7

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 13

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

8

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

9

TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 17

AIDAIRO

YEN PRESS

10

BLUE LOCK VOL. 5

MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO

KODANSHA COMICS

11

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

12

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

13

BLUE LOCK VOL. 1

MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO

KODANSHA COMICS

14

TOMBS: JUNJI ITO STORY COLLECTION HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

15

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 4

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

16

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

17

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 3

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

18

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 5

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

19

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

20

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

Source: Circana

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin tops the Superhero chart, with Watchmen right behind it, the same as last month.  After that it gets interesting.  Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow moves up to third place from number 15 in February.

Two March releases make the chart: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves—The Feast of the Moon, the prequel to the movie (see "IDW to Publish Prequel to ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Movie"), and Volume 3 of Moon Knight, which is also the only Marvel graphic novel on the chart, although the Penguin Classics compilation of The Amazing Spider-Man returns after dropping off in February.

Circana BookScan Top 20 "Superhero" Graphic Novels – March 2023 (2/27/23 - 4/1/23)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC

KEVIN EASTMAN

IDW PUBLISHING

2

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

3

SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW

TOM KING

DC COMICS

4

THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

5

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES--THE FEAST OF THE MOON

JEREMY LAMBERT

IDW PUBLISHING

6

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

7

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

8

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD'S FINEST VOL. 1: THE DEVIL NEZHA

MARK WAID

DC COMICS

9

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

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

10

V FOR VENDETTA

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

11

BATMAN '89 HC

SAM HAMM

DC COMICS

12

FLASHPOINT

GEOFF JOHNS

DC COMICS

13

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN

GRANT MORRISON

DC COMICS

14

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

STAN LEE

PENGUIN CLASSICS

15

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

16

BATMAN: HUSH (NEW EDITION)

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

17

SUPERMAN: ACTION COMICS VOL. 3: WARWORLD REVOLUTION

PHILLIP K. JOHNSON

DC COMICS

18

MOON KNIGHT VOL. 3: HALFWAY TO SANITY

JED MACKAY

MARVEL COMICS

19

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

20

THE SANDMAN BOOK TWO

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

Source: Circana

For charts of March 2023 graphic novel sales from Circana:
March 2023 Circana BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
March 2023 Circana – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from Circana, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
March 2023 Circana  BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2023 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2023 Circana – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales


Circana (formally NPD) collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more.  Circana 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 Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "Top 20 GN Index."