Marvel Comics' Ultimate Universe relaunch, DC Comics' Compact Comics, anime, podcasts, and scary/cute horror all show up on the September charts of the Top 20 best-selling Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels according to Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan data for September 2024 (9/1/24 – 10/5/24) provided to ICv2.

Changes in the comics world are making their way onto the Superhero chart: Marvel kicked off its new Ultimate Universe in January (see "New Marvel Ultimate Universe Titles Announced"), and Ultimate Spider-Man, the first trade in that best-selling series, is in third place; it also topped this month’s ComicHub charts (see "Top 20 Graphic Novels").

Five of DC’s Compact Comics paperbacks make the Top 20, down from six in August (see "August 2024 Circana BookScan").  These have really put DC back on the charts.  And Deadpool vs. Wolverine, which was released in March but didn’t hit the Top 20 until June, makes the chart for the fourth month in a row on the continuing strength of the blockbuster movie (see "‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Passes $300 Million").

On the other hand, history repeats itself at the top of the chart, where TMNT: The Last Ronin has been knocked out of the number one spot by the Nightmare Before Christmas "manga," just as happened last year (see "September 2023 Circana BookScan").

Circana BookScan Top 20 "Superhero" Graphic Novels – September 2024 (9/1/24 – 10/5/24

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

DISNEY MANGA: TIM BURTON'S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS - THE BATTLE FOR PUMPKIN KING

DAN CONNER

TOKYOPOP

2

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC

KEVIN EASTMAN

IDW PUBLISHING

3

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN BY JONATHAN HICKMAN VOL. 1: MARRIED WITH CHILDREN

JONATHAN HICKMAN

MARVEL COMICS

4

WATCHMEN: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

5

BATMAN: HUSH: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

6

BATMAN: THE COURT OF OWLS SAGA: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

7

DEADPOOL VS. WOLVERINE

LARRY HAMA

MARVEL COMICS

8

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION

GRANT MORRISON

DC COMICS

9

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN--LOST YEARS HC

KEVIN EASTMAN

IDW PUBLISHING

10

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

11

HARLEY QUINN & THE GOTHAM CITY SIRENS: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION

PAUL DINI

DC COMICS

12

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

13

DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE

CULLEN BUNN

MARVEL COMICS

14

BATMAN/FORTNITE: ZERO POINT HC

CHRISTOS GAGE

DC COMICS

15

TRANSFORMERS VOL. 1: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE

DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON

IMAGE COMICS

16

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG HC

BRIAN BUCCELLATO

DC COMICS

17

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES X STRANGER THINGS

CAMERON CHITTOCK

IDW PUBLISHING

18

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

19

NIGHTWING VOL. 5: TIME OF THE TITANS HC

TOM TAYLOR

DC COMICS

20

SECRET WARS

JONATHAN HICKMAN

MARVEL COMICS

Source: Circana

Almost every title in the Manga Top 20 is there because of anime, but there are some especially notable volumes this month.  The new Trigun Stampede anime helped build an audience for the deluxe edition of the original manga, which debuted this month (see "Dark Horse to Publish Deluxe Editions of ‘Trigun’ and ‘Trigun Maximum’").  The Uzumaki anime, which premiered at the end of September, helped propel the complete edition, which is over a decade old, back onto the chart.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End appears on the chart for the first time with Vol. 11, doubtless with a boost from the anime.  The ALA Graphic Novels Roundtable named it one of the Top Ten Series for Adults (see "ALA Releases Top Graphic Novels for Adults List"), it has been nominated for a 2024 Harvey Award (see "Harvey Awards"), and Circana’s Kristen McLean named it as one of the fastest growing manga in the first half of 2024 (see "ComicsPRO").

Circana BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – September 2024 (9/1/24 – 10/5/24

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 16

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

2

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 23

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

3

TRIGUN DELUXE EDITION HC

YASUHIRO NIGHTOW

DARK HORSE COMICS

4

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 HC

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

5

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 39

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

6

ONE PIECE OMNIBUS EDITION VOL. 1

EIICHIRO ODA

VIZ MEDIA

7

KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 11

NAOYA MATSUMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

8

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

9

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 12

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

10

TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 20

AIDAIRO

YEN PRESS

11

THE APOTHECARY DIARIES VOL. 12

NATSU HYUUGA

SQUARE ENIX

12

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 2 HC

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

13

UZUMAKI (3-IN-1 DELUXE EDITION) HC

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

14

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 0

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

15

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

16

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 22

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

17

FRIEREN: BEYOND JOURNEY'S END VOL. 11

KANEHITO YAMADA

VIZ MEDIA

18

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 3 HC

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

19

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

20

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 15

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

Source: Circana

The Author chart has more variety than the other two, so it’s a bit harder to tease out the trends, other than the continuing popularity of webtoons (Lore Olympus, Solo Leveling, Under the Oak Tree), but if we look at the rest of the chart, some interesting patterns emerge: MrBallen and The Adventure Zone are based on podcasts, The Road and The Hobbit are adaptations of popular novels, and Breaking the Chain picks up a storyline from the Mutts comic strip, so crossovers seem to be bringing in the readers.

One budding trend is mixing cozily familiar visuals with bloody horror, as Jay Stephens did in Dwellings. Patrick Horvath’s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, described by IDW Publishing as "Dexter meets Richard Scarry's Busy Town," fits into that category.  The first trade was the number two title on the September ComicHub charts, so it’s doing well in the direct market as well as the book channel.

Circana BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – September 2024 (9/1/24 – 10/5/24

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

MRBALLEN PRESENTS: STRANGE, DARK & MYSTERIOUS: THE GRAPHIC STORIES HC

MRBALLEN

TEN SPEED GRAPHIC

2

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. SEVEN HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

INKLORE

3

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 9

CHUGONG

IZE PRESS

4

UNDER THE OAK TREE: VOL. 1 HC

SUJI KIM

INKLORE

5

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PROD.

6

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1

CHUGONG

IZE PRESS

7

MRBALLEN PRESENTS: STRANGE, DARK & MYSTERIOUS: THE GRAPHIC STORIES

MRBALLEN

TEN SPEED GRAPHIC

8

BREAKING THE CHAIN: THE GUARD DOG STORY HC

PATRICK MCDONNELL

HARRY ABRAMS

9

THE ROAD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL ADAPTATION HC

CORMAC MCCARTHY

HARRY ABRAMS

10

THE HOBBIT: A GRAPHIC NOVEL

 J. R. R. TOLKIEN

WILLIAM MORROW

11

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. SEVEN

RACHEL SMYTHE

INKLORE

12

GRANDMASTER OF DEMONIC CULTIVATION: MO DAO ZU SHI, VOL. 7

MO XIANG TONG XIU

SEVEN SEAS ENT.

13

SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 6

CHUGONG

IZE PRESS

14

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE SUFFERING GAME

GRIFFIN MCELROY

FIRST SECOND

15

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE

RACHEL SMYTHE

INKLORE

16

BENEATH THE TREES WHERE NOBODY SEES

PATRICK HORVATH

IDW PUBLISHING

17

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 7

CHUGONG

IZE PRESS

18

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 8

CHUGONG

IZE PRESS

19

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2

CHUGONG

IZE PRESS

20

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4

CHUGONG

IZE PRESS

Source: Circana

For charts of September 2024 graphic novel sales from Circana:
September 2024 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from Circana, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
September 2024 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
September 2024 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales


Circana 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."