While 11 of the top 20 were volumes of My Hero Academia and its spinoff, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, VIZ has other strong series as well: Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul: re, One Piece, One-Punch Man, and the RWBY manga, which are made in Japan but based on an American anime-style animated series.
One thing that’s notable is that fans don’t seem to mind sequels and spinoffs: Tokyo Ghoul: re, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, and Dragon Ball Super are all doing well.
|
NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – August 2018 (7/30/18 - 9/2/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 14 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 13 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA: VIGILANTES VOL. 1 |
HIDEYUKI FURUHASHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
DRAGON BALL SUPER VOL. 3 |
AKIRA TORIYAMA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 6 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 2 |
VARIOUS |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 87 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 14 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 12 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 11 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 |
VARIOUS |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
UZUMAKI HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 3 VOL. 8 HC |
HIROHIKO ARAKI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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DC dominates the superhero chart, with 12 DC or Vertigo titles making the top 20. Marvel nabs the top spot with Infinity Gauntlet, which has been either number one or number two since April.
It’s not just DC Comics—there’s an awful lot of Batman on this chart, both new and old. In fact, it’s a pretty diverse array of Batman titles—fans seem to like him in every incarnation, it seems, including when teamed up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (their first appearance on the BookScan charts this year).
Volume 1 of Ms. Marvel has been making its way up the chart; last seen in January, it popped up in the number 15 spot in June, the number eight spot in July, and now it’s at number five—and the volume 9 is on the chart as well.
|
NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – August 2018 (7/30/18 - 9/2/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
INFINITY GAUNTLET |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
2 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
BATMAN VOL. 6 (REBIRTH) |
TOM KING |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DLX. ED. HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
5 |
MS. MARVEL VOL. 1 |
G. WILLOW WILSON |
MARVEL |
|
6 |
DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DARK KNIGHTS RISING HC |
PETER TOMASI |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
8 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
VERTIGO |
|
9 |
STAR WARS VOL. 8 |
KIERON GILLEN |
MARVEL |
|
10 |
INFINITY WAR |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
11 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
HELLBOY OMNIBUS VOL. 3 |
MIKE MIGNOLA |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
13 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNS |
NEIL GAIMAN |
VERTIGO |
|
14 |
TEEN TITANS GO!: THEIR GREATEST JIJINKS |
VARIOUS |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
DARK DAYS: THE ROAD TO METAL HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES HC |
JAMES TYNION IV |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
OVERWATCH: ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 HC |
VARIOUS |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
18 |
MS. MARVEL VOL. 9 |
G. WILLOW WILSON |
MARVEL |
|
19 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS 30TH ANN. ED. |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The author chart is always a mixed bag, and this month is no exception. The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is still at the top, followed by two perennials, Book One of March and Fun Home; chances are that some of those sales are to students who have to read them for coursework.
And then you have… volume 5 of Rat Queens, which is presumably of interest mostly to existing Rat Queens fans; Emil Ferris’s multiple-award-winning My Favorite Thing Is Monsters; Instagram star Mari Andrews’s Am I There Yet?, which most likely appeals to the same people who buy personal journals and self-improvement books; and Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, which stirred up a flurry of attention when it made the longlist for the Man Booker Prize, the first graphic novel to make the cut. My guess is that Rat Queens and Sabrina will probably vanish from the top 20 next month, while the other two will probably still be there, as they seem to be pretty steady favorites, showing up month after month.
After that, it’s Image Comics most of the way down, with fans continuing to pick up volumes of Saga, Paper Girls, and Monstress.
|
NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – August 2018 (7/30/18 - 9/2/18) |
|||
|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
2 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
3 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
4 |
RAT QUEENS VOL. 5 |
KURTIS J. WIEBE |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
5 |
MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS |
EMIL FERRIS |
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS |
|
6 |
AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC |
MARI ANDREW |
CLARKSON POTTER PUB. |
|
7 |
SABRINA HC |
NICK DRNASO |
DRAWN & QUARTERLY |
|
8 |
SAGA VOL. 8 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
9 |
MONSTRESS VOL. 1 |
LIU MARJORIE |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
10 |
SAGA VOL. 1 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
11 |
EAST OF WEST VOL. 8 |
JONATHAN HICKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
12 |
MARCH (TRILOGY SLIPCASE SET) |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
13 |
EVERYONE'S A ALIEBN WHEN UR A ALIEBN TOO: A BOOK HC |
JOMNY SUN |
HARPER PERENNIAL |
|
14 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS (B&N EXC. ED.) |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
15 |
PAPER GIRLS VOL. 1 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
16 |
MARCH: BOOK TWO |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
17 |
SAGA VOL. 2 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
NEIL GAIMAN'S A STUDY IN EMERALD HC |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
19 |
SAGA VOL. 7 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
20 |
KILL OR BE KILLED VOL. 4 |
ED BRUBAKER |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of August graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
August 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
August 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
August 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
August 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
August 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
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."