There’s another way to look at this chart, though: eight out of the top 20 are superhero properties of one sort or another, showing that the genre continues to be popular whether it’s coming from America or Japan.
The superhero properties include the three volumes of My Hero Academia, a spoof set in a school for superheroes, as well as the most recent volume of One-Punch Man, another superhero satire. Both rely on over-the-top heroes and villains, but they also pack in plenty of the ingredients fans love in DC Comics and Marvel stories: lots of action, plenty of wisecracks, memorable characters with flaws as well as powers, and a bit of human drama.
DC Comics' anthology of Superman comics, celebrating the 80th anniversary of Action Comics #1, takes the number 3 spot, and three Marvel titles, only one of which is new, make the chart as well.
For the second month in a row, Instagram star Mari Andrew’s Am I There Yet? The Loop-de-Loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood HC held the number two spot.
Image Comics had three books on the top 20: Vol. 29 of The Walking Dead appears for the second month in a row, moving from # 1 in March to #6; vol. 8 of Saga, charting for its fourth month, is at #14; and vol. 4 of Paper Girls, a new release, is at #9.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels – April 2018 (4/2/18 - 4/29/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 12 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC |
MARI ANDREW |
CLARKSON POTTER |
|
3 |
ACTION COMICS: 80 YEARS OF SUPERMAN HC |
VARIOUS |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 4 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
INFINITY GAUNTLET |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
6 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 24 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
7 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 29 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
8 |
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 3 |
AKIRA HIMEKAWA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
PAPER GIRLS VOL. 4 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
10 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
11 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
MARVEL'S AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PRELUDE |
WILL CORONA PILGRIM |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
13 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 11 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
SAGA VOL. 8 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
15 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 3 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
CARDCAPTOR SAKURA: CLEAR CARD VOL. 3 |
CLAMP |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
17 |
HOMESTUCK: BOOK 1: ACT 1 & ACT 2 |
ANDREW HUSSIE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 13 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of April graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
April 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels
April 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
April 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels with Actual Numbers
NPD BookScan collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more. NPD BookScan covers approximately 85% of the U.S. trade print book market. The ranks on this chart are based on piece sales. Some publishers classify titles that are primarily text, or art books, as graphic novels; we've removed those titles from the ranking above.
For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."