Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1: Precious Little Life recaptured the #1 spot in the adult fiction graphic novel category in bookstores in January of 2011 according to data compiled by Nielsen BookScan.  All six Scott Pilgrim graphic novels remained in the top 10 more than two months after the release of the Scott Pilgrim movie on DVD and four months after the movie vanished from theaters.  The longevity of this property, which continues to dominate the bookstore graphic novel market ,is quite astounding.  Sales of the Scott Pilgrim books have slowed somewhat in the direct market where they were white hot for much of 2011, but the manga-influenced action/romance is evidently still tapping into a new audience in the bookstores.

BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in January 2011
Rank	Title	Author	Publisher
1	SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 1	BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY	ONI PRESS
2	HETALIA AXIS POWERS VOL. 2	HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA	TOKYOPOP
3	SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 2	BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY	ONI PRESS
4	SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 3	BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY	ONI PRESS
5	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 13	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
6	SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 4	BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY	ONI PRESS
7	FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL. 24	HIROMU ARAKAWA	VIZ MEDIA
8	SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 6	BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY	ONI PRESS
9	SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 5	BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY	ONI PRESS
10	VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOL. 11	MATSURI HINO	VIZ MEDIA
11	SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE HC	J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI	DC COMICS
12	NARUTO VOL. 49	MASASHI KISHIMOTO	VIZ MEDIA
13	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
14	THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM ONE	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
15	HETALIA AXIS POWERS VOL. 1	HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA	TOKYOPOP
16	FABLES VOL. 14	BILL WILLINGHAM	VERTIGO
17	YOTSUBA&! VOL. 9	KIYOHIKO AZUMA	YEN PRESS
18	BLACK BUTLER VOL. 4	YANA TOBOSO	YEN PRESS
19	BLACK BUTLER VOL. 3	YANA TOBOSO	YEN PRESS
20	SERENITY: THE SHEPHERD'S TALE HC	JOSS WHEDON	DARK HORSE

Meanwhile Tokyopop’s Hetalia Axis Powers Vol. 2 soared to the #2 spot, the best performance by a manga release since Naruto Vol. 49 topped the charts in October of 2010.  The release of Hetalia Axis Powers Vol. 2 also stimulated interest in the first volume in the series, which popped back on the charts at #15.  The same effect held true for Yen Press’ hot Black Butler manga as sales of Vol. 4, which reached #18, helped bring Vol.3 back into the top 20 at #19.  Other new manga titles on the chart include Viz Media’s Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 24 at #7 and Yen Press’ Yotsuba! Vol. 9 at #17.  Viz Media’s Vampire Knight Vol. 11, the top shojo title in the U.S., remained on the list at #10, while Naruto Vol. 49 made the chart for the fourth consecutive month at #12.  The number of manga titles doubled from 4 in December to 8 in January.

 

With the six-episode first season of the TV adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead well over, sales of the Image Comics property, which topped the bookstore charts in December (see “Walking Dead #1 in Bookstores”), cooled a bit, but three Walking Dead titles remained on the list led by Vol. 13: Too Far Gone at #5.  Other non-manga holdovers include JMS’ Superman: Earth One Hardcover from DC at #11, Bill Willingham’s Fables Vol. 14: Witches at #16, and Joss Whedon’s Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale from Dark Horse Comics at #20.

 

For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GNs Index."