Books tied to politics made up four of the top five titles in August, although only one is directly tied to this year’s U.S. election. The newest March, Vol. 3, came in at #2, and the other two volumes were #3 and #5. The series has been building momentum with each new volume, helped by regular release on an annual schedule. And 76-year-old Congressman John Lewis, who co-wrote this story of his civil rights activism as a young man, has been indefatigable in promoting the book, from cosplaying himself at San Diego Comic-Con (see "San Diego Comic-Con Photos, Part 9") to crowdsurfing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week.
The graphic novel adaptation of Clinton Cash, the bestselling book by Brietbart Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer, in turn based on a documentary of the same name was the #4 title in August, with a quick sell-out perhaps keeping the title from scoring even higher (see "Trump Beheaded, Clinton Excoriated").
Batman: The Killing Joke was back up to #1, behind not only its association with Suicide Squad, which opened big the first week of August, but also the August 2 home video release of the OVA based on the graphic novel. And two Harley Quinn volumes and Suicide Squad Vol. 1 rounded out the four titles tied to the film in the Top 20.
With seven titles from DC and its Vertigo imprint, August was the best month for the publisher that once dominated graphic novel sales in bookstores in a long while. DC’s four Suicide Squad tie-ins were joined by Preacher, behind the new TV series, the classic Watchmen, and a coloring book.
On the flip side, there were only two Image titles in the Top 20, Saga and Monstress, which were both released in July and hung on for a second month.
Two Tokyo Ghoul volumes and the latest My Hero Academia from Viz, and the latest Attack on Titan volume from Kodansha made up the four manga titles in the Top 20 in August.
Two stand-alone volumes reappeared on the Top 20: American Born Chinese and Fun Home. The Tony Award-winning musical based on Fun Home is finishing its Broadway run next month and starting to tour, undoubtedly bringing new attention to the graphic novel in more markets.
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BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novels in August 2016 |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX ED HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
MARCH: BOOK THREE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
3 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
4 |
CLINTON CASH: A GRAPHIC NOVEL |
CHUCK DIXON |
REGNERY PUBLISHING |
|
5 |
MARCH: BOOK TWO |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
6 |
SAGA VOL. 6 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
7 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 8 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
HARLEY QUINN VOL. 1 (N52) |
JIMMY PALMIOTTI |
DC COMICS |
|
9 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE |
LUEN GENE YANG |
SQUARE FISH |
|
11 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 19 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
12 |
HARLEY QUINN'S GREATEST HITS |
VARIOUS |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
MONSTRESS VOL. 1 |
MARJORIE LIU |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
14 |
SUICIDE SQUAD VOL. 1 (N52) |
ADAM GLASS |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 3 |
KIERON GILLEN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
17 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
PREACHER BOOK ONE |
GARTH ENNIS |
VERTIGO |
|
19 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
20 |
COLOrING DC: BATMAN: MAD LOVE |
PAUL DINI |
DC COMICS |
For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."