#1 in August
Tokyo Ghoul, the new horror manga series from VIZ Media, is demonstrably a hit, with both volumes in the Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels chart of bookstore bestsellers in August, based on info provided exclusively to ICv2.com by Nielsen BookScan.  The series by Sui Ishida launched in June (see "VIZ Media Announces ‘Tokyo Ghoul’"), and the first volume has been a top five title ever since.  This month, the first volume was joined by the second; they rank #4 and #5 in the book channel in August.

Manga had a good month in general, with the last two volumes of the mighty Naruto at #2 and #15, two Attack on Titan volumes at #19 and #20, and the latest Monster Musume at #6, for a total of seven volumes in the Top 20.

Batman: The Killing Joke Deluxe Edition HC was #1 for the second month in a row, one of three DC classics (along with Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) in the Top 20.  If The Killing Joke sales are an impact of the Jared Leto version of the Joker in Suicide Squad (see "’Suicide Squad’ Sizzle Reel Released"), the movie impact is big and early.

DC Comics had five titles (including one from Vertigo) and Marvel had three (if you include a DK volume), for a total of eight superhero titles in the Top 20.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl, from North Atlantic Books, was the surprise among the five author titles in the Top 20.  A new edition of the hybrid text/graphic novel on which the movie is based was released in July, and placed at #16.

BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in August 2015

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX ED

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

2

NARUTO VOL. 71

MASASHI KISHIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

3

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

ALISON BECHDEL

MARINER BOOKS

4

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

5

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 2

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

6

MONSTER MUSUME VOL. 7

OKAYADO

SEAVEN SEAS

7

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE

GENE LUEN YANG

MACMILLAN

8

FABLES VOL. 22

BILL WILLINGHAM

VERTIGO

9

CIVIL WAR

MARK MILLAR

MARVEL COMICS

10

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

11

WATCHMEN

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

12

WYTHES VOL. 1

SCOTT SNYDER

IMAGE COMICS

13

MARVEL THE AVENGERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE HC

ALAN COWSILL

DK PUBLISHING

14

SAGA VOL. 1

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

15

NARUTO VOL. 70

MASASHI KISHIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

16

THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL (REVISED ED.)

PHOEBE GLOECKNER

NORTH ATLANTIC BOOKS

17

HAWLEYE VOL. 4

MATT FRACTION

MARVEL COMICS

18

BATMAN VOL. 1: THE COURT OF OWLS

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

19

ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 16

HAJIME ISAYAMA

KODANSHA COMICS

20

ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1

HAJIME ISAYAMA

KODANSHA COMICS

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