Superhero titles, which numbered only two in March, made a comeback in April as eight titles with superhero ties made the list including Willow Wilson's second Ms. Marvel collection, which was the highest ranked of any of the new superhero books at #5, a continuing indication that the current vogue for female superheroes in the comic shop market is having a parallel effect in bookstores. The other “new” superhero book on the list was the Rick Remender-penned Avengers: Rage of Ultron, which undoubtedly benefited from the hype for Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron movie (that debuted on May 1), even though Remender’s book is not a movie tie-in (and requires a fair bit of knowledge of the current Marvel Universe). DK’s Marvel The Avengers: The Ultimate Guide reappeared on the list in April, again as a direct result of the growing interest in Whedon’s second Avengers film.
The other superhero books on the list, Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Mark Millar’s Civil War, and Moore’s Watchmen are all perennial sellers that all do especially well in the bookstore market, where sales are in general a bit more backlist-oriented than in the direct market.
The number of manga titles in the top 20 was down from five in March to just four, led by the latest volume of Attack on Titan at #6. Yen Press’ edition of the Big Hero Six manga was the lone new manga title on the April list at #11.
Congressman John Lewis placed two volumes of his civil rights memoir March in the Top 20 again. March Book 1 was the top non-fiction title at #7, followed by Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? at #9, and March Book 2 at #13. Alison Bechdel’s memoir Fun Home returned to list at #18 doubtless due to a Broadway adaptation that should boost sales as long as it runs.
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BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in April 2015 |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
EXPLORING CALVIN AND HOBBES: AN EXHIBITION CATALOGUE |
BILL WATTERSON |
ANDREWS MCMEEL |
|
2 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
3 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
4 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX ED |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
5 |
MS. MARVEL VOL. 2 |
WILLOW G. WILSON |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
6 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 15 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
7 |
MARCH: BOOK 1 |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
8 |
MARVEL THE AVENGERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE HC |
ALAN COWSILL |
DK PUBLISHING |
|
9 |
CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING?: A MEMOIR HC |
ROZ CHAST |
BLOOMSBURY |
|
10 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
BIG HERO 6 VOL. 1 |
HARUKI UENO |
YEN PRESS |
|
12 |
NARUTO VOL. 69 |
MASASHI KISHIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
MARCH: BOOK 2 |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
14 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
15 |
AVENGERS: RAGE OF ULTRON HC |
RICK REMENDER |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
16 |
SAGA VOL. 4 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
17 |
CIVIL WAR |
MARK MILLAR |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
18 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
19 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
MARVEL ENCYCLOPEDIA: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE HC |
MATT FORBECK |
DK PUBLISHING |
For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."