Only two superhero titles cracked the Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels chart for March, based on info provided exclusively to ICv2.com by Nielsen BookScan.  The newer of the two, Marvel’s Civil War, is eight years old; DC’s Killing Joke was released 27 years ago.  Both the paucity of superhero titles in the Top 20 and the age of the titles that did make it are extreme examples of recent trends; it’s been tough for new superhero titles to sell numbers comparable to the top "author" and manga titles in the book channel, where the broadest audience shops.

Five of the Top 20 titles were manga, and 13 were "author" titles.

The mighty Naruto took the #1 slot with the latest volume, Vol. 69, while the new volume of Attack on Titan placed at #5, relative positioning that can be at least partially explained by Naruto’s release at the beginning of the month, vs. Attack on Titan’s two weeks later.  The other manga titles were Seven Seas’ Monster Musume Vol. 6, the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s volume, and the first Attack on Titan.

The top author title in March, at #2 overall, was Exploring Calvin and Hobbes: An Exhibition Catalogue, which was tied to the one-of-a-kind exhibition at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University in 2014.  Cartoonists were slipping into Columbus throughout the run of this show, and apparently fans are also now sharing in the experience by buying this unique catalogue, which includes an in-depth interview with creator Bill Watterson and art from cartoonists he identified as influential in his development.

Interest in The Walking Dead was at a late-season peak, with six volumes in the Top 20.  The rest of the author titles were familiar.  The two March volumes are hanging tough behind steady support appearances by Representative John Lewis, and Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Saga, Sex Criminals, and The Sculptor all contributing one volume each.

BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in March 2015
Rank	Title	Author	Publisher
1	NARUTO VOL. 69	MASASHI KISHIMOTO	VIZ MEDIA
2	THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
3	EXPLORING CALVIN AND HOBBES: AN EXHIBITION CATALOGUE	BILL WATTERSON	ANDREWS MCMEEL
4	THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 2	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
5	ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 15	HAJIME ISAYAMA	KODANSHA COMICS
6	MONSTER MUSUME VOL. 6	OKAYADO	SEVEN SEAS
7	CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING?: A MEMOIR HC	ROZ CHAST	BLOOMSBURY
8	MARCH: BOOK 1	JOHN LEWIS	TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
9	BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX ED	ALAN MOORE	DC COMICS
10	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 22	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
11	MARCH: BOOK 2	JOHN LEWIS	TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
12	THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 11 HC	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
13	SAGA VOL. 4	BRIAN K. VAUGHAN	IMAGE COMICS
14	YU-GI-OH! 5D'S VOL. 7	MASAHIRO HIKOKUBO	VIZ MEDIA
15	SEX CRIMINALS VOL. 2	MATT FRACTION	IMAGE COMICS
16	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
17	ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1	HAJIME ISAYAMA	KODANSHA COMICS
18	CIVIL WAR	MARK MILLAR	MARVEL COMICS
19	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 21	ROBERT KIRKMAN	IMAGE COMICS
20	THE SCULPTOR HC	SCOTT MCCLOUD	FIRST SECOND

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