We predicted back in February that The Killing Joke would hit #1 in bookstores before the release of the film on August 5 (see "Best in Shows – Q3 2016"). Last month it was #2 (see "April 2016 BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels"), and in May it hit #1, a position it may hold until August.
The Killing Joke was one of three DCs in the Top 20, along with another Alan Moore classic, Watchmen, and the Batman vs. Superman collection released to tie into the film.
VIZ Media was the publisher with the most titles in the Top 20 in May, with eight, including three volumes of Tokyo Ghoul, two of One Punch Man, and one volume each of Naruto, One Piece, and My Hero Academia.
Image Comics had five volumes in the Top 20, with four volumes of The Walking Dead plus the latest volume of Rat Queens.
Marvel Comics had two movie tie-ins in the Top 20: Civil War (surprisingly only at #3, given that the movie was such a big hit), and Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe. The Deadpool property has been getting another boost from the home video release; it's been the #1 home video title for the last three weeks.
And The White Donkey: Terminal Lance, a webcomic-based graphic novel about Iraq by a veteran, gained strength in its second month of release, moving up from #17 to #12.
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BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in May 2016 |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX ED |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 6 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
CIVIL WAR |
MARK MILLAR |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
4 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 6 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
NARUTO: SAKURA'S STORY |
AKIRA HIGASHIYAMA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 25 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
7 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
PREACHER BOOK ONE |
GARTH ENNIS |
VERTIGO |
|
9 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: THE GREASTEST BATTLES |
VARIOUS |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
12 |
THE WHITE DONKEY: TERMINAL LANCE HC |
MAXIMILIAN URIARTE |
LITTLE BROWN |
|
13 |
DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE |
CULLEN BUNN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
14 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 1 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 78 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
17 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 2 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
RAT QUEENS VOL. 3 |
KURTIS J. WIEBE |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
20 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."