In addition to an overview of 2024 graphic novel sales (see “ComicsPRO Sneak Peek”), Circana Senior Executive Director Kristen McLean gave a brief overview of graphic novel trends at ComicsPRO’s Pre-Conference Sneak Peek virtual session on February 13, 2025.  Her analysis was based on unit sales as measured by Circana BookScan.

The fastest growing manga series are Dandadan, Delicious in Dungeon, One Piece, The Apothecary Diaries, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and One Piece: Ace’s Story—The Manga. While One Piece is evergreen, the other series all launched in 2020 or later, and all have anime series that are even more recent (see "A Look at Spring 2024 Anime").  "There are a lot of new series on the rise in manga," McLean said.  "That makes me feel like there's an active readership that is seeking out new content that's still curious and interested."  Box sets also continue to be popular.  "I think that tastes are evolving, but this core customer that we built during the pandemic is still with us, and there's still really good momentum in the market," she said.

McLean also pointed to the continuing globalization of the U.S. market, as readers embrace not just manga but also light novels, manhwa, and manhua and donghua (Chinese comics and animation, respectively).  Solo Leveling was the top-growing series in BookScan in 2024, she said, and continues to be strong in both anime and print.  The best-selling light novel series is The Apothecary Diaries, while Heaven’s Official Blessing dominates the small but growing manhua sector.

Horror is another growth category, with 2024 sales of horror graphic novels up 20% from 2023 and 50% from 2019, according to McLean’s figures.  The fastest growing series here were Jujutsu Kaisen, The Walking Dead, Killing Stalking, American Vampire, Choujin X, Tales of the Crypt, Universal Monsters: Dracula, and Dark Gathering.  Horror ties in with other trends, including escapism, McLean said; Universal is planning a horror theme park and already has horror nights at its Universal Studios parks, and gamers are rediscovering psychological horror games that are two decades old.  "There’s a nostalgia aspect to horror as well, which you can see here with Tales from the Crypt," she added.

McLean also touched on other trends that may be relevant to retailers whose inventory goes beyond comics and graphic novels: High-end editions of romance and fantasy novels, family journals, activity books for children, and the super-cute Japanese aesthetic kawaii.