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."