There’s a distinct lack of novelty to the Author chart, with ten volumes of Solo Leveling, four of Invincible, two editions of Vol. 8 of Lore Olympus, one new volume of Saga, and Author Chart perennials The Hobbit and They Called Us Enemy. It's good news that people are picking up the latest volume of long-running series and checking out older titles, but there's only one really new graphic novel on the chart, and that's Spent, by Alison Bechdel. While her new book is a stand-alone, she's certainly well known to the Author graphic novel audience.
Circana BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – May 2025 (5/4/25 – 5/31/25) | |||
Rank | Title | Author | Publisher |
1 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 12 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
2 | LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. 8 HC | RACHEL SMYTHE | INKLORE |
3 | SAGA VOL. 12 | BRIAN K. VAUGHAN | IMAGE COMICS |
4 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
5 | SPENT: A COMIC NOVEL HC | ALISON BECHDEL | MARINER BOOKS |
6 | INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 | ROBERT KIRKMAN | IMAGE COMICS |
7 | LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. 8 HC | RACHEL SMYTHE | INKLORE |
8 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 11 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
9 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 9 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
10 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 10 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
11 | THE HOBBIT: A GRAPHIC NOVEL | J. R. R. TOLKIEN | WILLIAM MORROW |
12 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 8 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
13 | INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 | ROBERT KIRKMAN | IMAGE COMICS |
14 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
15 | INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 | ROBERT KIRKMAN | IMAGE COMICS |
16 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
17 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 7 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
18 | INVINCIBLE VOL. 1 (NEW EDITION) | ROBERT KIRKMAN | IMAGE COMICS |
19 | THEY CALLED US ENEMY | GEORGE TAKEI | TOP SHELF PROD. |
20 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
Source: Circana | |||
One could argue that the manga chart is getting a little stale; 14 of the 20 slots are occupied by Shonen Jump titles that have anime adaptations. There are some interesting titles nonetheless: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and The Apothecary Diaries are shonen and seinen series, respectively, that focus more on character and story than action. Both seem to have a sizeable female audience, and both were adapted into anime that run on Crunchyroll. The second season of the Frieren anime will premiere in January 2026. Blue Lock is another manga that has risen onto the charts since the anime premiered.
On the other hand, there are two manga, from different publishers and with different demographics, that are doing quite well without anime: Kagurabachi, a Shonen Jump title, and The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All, a yuri slice-of life manga from Yen Press. Anime have been announced for both series, but no details have been revealed. Both got a good promotional push when they launched, so they found their audience quickly.
Circana BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – May 2025 (5/4/25 – 5/31/25) | |||
Rank | Title | Author | Publisher |
1 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 26 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
2 | CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 18 | TATSUKI FUJIMOTO | VIZ MEDIA |
3 | JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 7--STEEL BALL RUN VOL. 1 | HIROHIKO ARAKI | VIZ MEDIA |
4 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 25 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
5 | KAGURABACHI VOL. 3 | TAKERU HOKAZONO | VIZ MEDIA |
6 | BLUE LOCK VOL. 1 | MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO | KODANSHA COMICS |
7 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
8 | ONE PIECE OMNIBUS EDITION VOL. 1 | EIICHIRO ODA | VIZ MEDIA |
9 | FRIEREN: BEYOND JOURNEY'S END VOL. 13 | KANEHITO YAMADA | VIZ MEDIA |
10 | BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 HC | KENTARO MIURA | DARK HORSE |
11 | DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 | KOYOHARU GOTOUGE | VIZ MEDIA |
12 | KAGURABACHI VOL. 1 | TAKERU HOKAZONO | VIZ MEDIA |
13 | DRAGON BALL SUPER VOL. 23 | AKIRA TORIYAMA | VIZ MEDIA |
14 | BLUE LOCK VOL. 18 | MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO | KODANSHA COMICS |
15 | THE GUY SHE WAS INTERESTED IN WASN'T A GUY AT ALL VOL. 1 | SUMIKO ARAI | YEN PRESS |
16 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 24 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
17 | CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 17 | TATSUKI FUJIMOTO | VIZ MEDIA |
18 | THE APOTHECARY DIARIES VOL. 1 | NATSU HYUUGA | SQUARE ENIX |
19 | DANDADAN VOL. 1 | YUKINOBU TATSU | VIZ MEDIA |
20 | SAKAMOTO DAYS VOL. 17 | YUTO SUZUKI | VIZ MEDIA |
Source: Circana | |||
The Superhero chart is a good example of a category with both fresh, new content in old franchises and classic stories in new formats. At the head of the list is Kevin Eastman's reinvention of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles story, and other new spins on older franchises include Marvel Comics' new Ultimates line, Image Comics' (Skybound) Transformers comics, and a kid-friendly take on The Witcher. On the other hand, Marvel's Premier Collections and DC's Compact Comics are also selling well and bringing older stories to new readers.
Circana BookScan Top 20 "Superhero" Graphic Novels – May 2025 (5/4/25 – 5/31/25) | |||
Rank | Title | Author | Publisher |
1 | TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN | KEVIN EASTMAN | IDW PUBLISHING |
2 | DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION] | FRANK MILLER | MARVEL COMICS |
3 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION] | ED BRUBAKER | MARVEL COMICS |
4 | TRANSFORMERS VOL. 3: COMBINER CHAOS | DANIEL JOHNSON | IMAGE COMICS |
5 | KINGDOM COME: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | MARK WAID | DC COMICS |
6 | ALL-STAR SUPERMAN: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | GRANT MORRISON | DC COMICS |
7 | BATMAN: HUSH: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | JEPH LOEB | DC COMICS |
8 | TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: 40TH ANN. COMICS CELEBRATION--THE DLX ED | JIM LAWSON | IDW PUBLISHING |
9 | ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN BY JONATHAN HICKMAN VOL. 1: MARRIED WITH CHILDREN | JONATHAN HICKMAN | MARVEL COMICS |
10 | BATMAN: THE COURT OF OWLS SAGA: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | SCOTT SNYDER | DC COMICS |
11 | TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN--LOST YEARS HC | KEVIN EASTMAN | IDW PUBLISHING |
12 | ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN BY JONATHAN HICKMAN VOL. 2: THE PAPER | JONATHAN HICKMAN | MARVEL COMICS |
13 | SECRET WARS | JONATHAN HICKMAN | MARVEL COMICS |
14 | THE LITTLE WITCHER HC | RAFAL BABRAJ | RANDOM HOUSE |
15 | TRANSFORMERS DELUXE EDITION BOOK ONE HC | DANIEL JOHNSON | IMAGE COMICS |
16 | WATCHMEN: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | ALAN MOORE | DC COMICS |
17 | THE SENTRY (NEW PRINTING) | PAUL JENKINS | MARVEL COMICS |
18 | BATMAN: YEAR ONE | FRANK MILLER | DC COMICS |
19 | ULTIMATE X-MEN BY PEACH MOMOKO VOL. 2: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM | PEACH MOMOKO | MARVEL COMICS |
20 | WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) | ALAN MOORE | DC COMICS |
Source: Circana | |||
For charts of April 2025 graphic novel sales from Circana:
May 2025 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from Circana, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
May 2025 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2025 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."
