The top superhero graphic novel, Sean Murphy’s Batman: White Knight is part of DC Comics new Black Label imprint, which will feature self-contained stories by fan-favorite creators (see "DC Launches Imprint for High Profile Stand-Alone Stories"). DC had nine titles on the chart, while Marvel Comics had five, Dark Horse Comics had two, and Titan Comics, Archie Comics, Fantagraphics, and Heavy Metal each had one.
That gave the chart more variety in terms of genre, with new and old Big Two graphic novels rubbing shoulders with comics based on the Bloodborne and Overwatch video games, the Legend of Korra TV show, Star Wars, Persian legends, Iron Maiden, and the vampire version of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
No matter what, though, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Batman: The Killing Joke are always on the chart, which contributes to the high proportion of DC titles. Three older Marvel titles have also been charting consistently in recent months: Volume 1 of Black Panther always makes the top 20, Infinity Gauntlet drops to the number 3 spot this month, after staying in the top two since April, and volume 1 of Ms. Marvel has been in the top 20 since June.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – October 2018 (9/30/18 - 10/27/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC BLACK LABEL |
|
2 |
WONDER WOMAN: EARTH ONE VOL. 2 HC |
GRANT MORRISON |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
INFINITY GAUNTLET |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
4 |
BLOODBORNE: THE DEATH OF SLEEP |
ALES KOT |
TITAN COMICS |
|
5 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
6 |
THE LEGEND OF KORRA: TURF WARS PART 3 |
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
7 |
ACTION COMICS #1000: THE DLX. ED. HC |
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 3 |
CHARLES SOULE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
9 |
DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DLX. ED. HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
10 |
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA |
ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA |
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS |
|
11 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
POP UP-ZAHHAK: THE LEGEND OF THE SERPENT KING HC |
HAMID RAHMANIAN |
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS |
|
13 |
IRON MAIDEN: LEGACY OF THE BEAST |
LLEXI LEON |
HEAVY METAL |
|
14 |
OVERWATCH: ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 HC |
VARIOUS |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
15 |
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN |
FRANK MILLER |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
16 |
DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DARK KNIGHTS RISING HC |
PETER TOMASI |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
VERTIGO |
|
18 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
19 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
MS. MARVEL VOL. 1 |
G. WILLOW WILSON |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The manga chart, on the other hand, is extremely consistent. All 20 top sellers are published by VIZ Media and 11 of them are volumes of My Hero Academia or the spinoff series My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. The first volume of the original series is number 3 on the list, so new readers are still coming in.
The chart is also overwhelmingly male-oriented: all but the last title are shonen or seinen, published in magazines aimed at boys and young men, respectively, in Japan. That doesn’t mean women don’t read them, but males are the target demographic. In last place is the lone shojo (girls) title, the latest volume of the fantasy/adventure romance Yona of the Dawn.
For the most part, any manga that aren’t My Hero Academia tend to show up on the chart only when a new volume comes out; the exception is Tokyo Ghoul, which is still pulling in enough new readers that the first volume ends up in the top 20 every month.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – October 2018 (9/30/18 - 10/27/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 15 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VIGILANTES VOL. 2 |
HIDEYUKI FURUHASHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 14 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
TOKYO GHOUL RE VOL. 7 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
BERSERK OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE MANGA |
|
7 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
FRANKENSTEIN: JUNJI ITO STORY COLLECTION HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
BLEACH VOL. 74 |
TITE KUBO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 4 |
AKIRA HIMEKAWA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VIGILANTES VOL. 1 |
HIDEYUKI FURUHASHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 13 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
BLUE EXORCIST VOL. 20 |
KAZUE KATO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
THE PROMISED NEVERLAND VOL. 6 |
KAIU SHIRAI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
FOOD WARS SHOKUGEKI NO SOMA VOL. 26 |
YUTO TSUKUDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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While the author chart is less consistent than superheroes, there is a clear winner and that’s Image Comics, whose graphic novels account for nine of the top 20. No other publisher appears more than once, which is not that unusual for this category. Image publishes series, but the rest of the graphic novels on this chart are one-offs.
As with manga, a lot of creator-owned titles only make the top 20 when a new volume comes out, but there are a couple of perennials that sell enough units to get on the chart almost every month: Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Jomny Sun’s Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, Book One of March, and Instagram star Mari Andrew’s Am I There Yet? The Loop-de-Loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood. For whatever reason, and it may be different for each one, these books are finding a steady audience, and presumably these are new readers each time, as all but March are one-shots (and the first volume of March is the most likely to be on the charts).
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – October 2018 (9/30/18 - 10/27/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
SAGA VOL. 9 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
2 |
ANTHONY BOURDAIN'S HUNGRY GHOST HC |
ANTHONY BOURDAIN |
BERGER BOOKS |
|
3 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
4 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 30 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
5 |
ANNE FRANK'S DIARY THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION HC |
ANNE FRANK |
PANTHEON BOOKS |
|
6 |
WALKING DEAD BOOK 15 HC |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
7 |
SHEETS |
BRENNA THUMMLER |
LION FORGE |
|
8 |
WICKED + THE DIVINE VOL. 7 |
KIERON GILLEN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
9 |
MONSTRESS VOL. 3 |
MARJORIE LIU |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
10 |
THE COMIC BOOK STORY OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING |
AUBREY SITTERSON |
TEN SPEED PRESS |
|
11 |
MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES HC |
ED BRUBAKER |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
12 |
MARCH BOOK 1 |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
13 |
SABRINA HC |
NICK DRNASO |
DRAWN & QUARTERLY |
|
14 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
15 |
MONSTRESS VOL. 1 |
MARJORIE LIU |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
16 |
SAGA VOL. 8 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
17 |
SAGA VOL. 1 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
EVERYONE'S A ALIEBN WHEN UR A ALIEBN TOO: A BOOK HC |
JOMNY SUN |
HARPER PERENNIAL |
|
19 |
PASSING FOR HUMAN HC |
LIANA FINCK |
RANDOM HOUSE |
|
20 |
AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC |
MARI ANDREW |
CLARKSON POTTER PUB. |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of October graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
October 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
October 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:
October 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sale
October 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
October 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 channel. 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."