On the Manga chart, it’s a very VIZ Media world, with that publisher taking 18 out of 20 spots. My Hero Academia took nine of those spots, and the first runner-up is RWBY: The Official Manga Anthology, with three volumes on the chart (because that’s all there are at the moment). The only other title with more than one volume in the top 20 is Splatoon, a younger-skewing title based on the video game of the same name. It has the same combination of quirky characters, friendships, and action as other shonen manga, but it’s a bit more lighthearted, and the battles are with colored inks, not swords or ninja techniques.
Kodansha Comics has one title on the chart, the newest volume of Attack on Titan. This series was a huge seller a couple of years ago, boosted by the anime, but has slacked off since the American releases caught up with Japan, and new volumes are now months apart. In addition, the third season of the anime is currently on hiatus, with part 2 premiering in April.
Monster Musume, the other non-VIZ title, is a genre that publisher Seven Seas Entertainment sort of specializes in: Sexy monster girls. This is a niche genre, but it must be a decent-sized niche, judging from the number of monster-girl titles currently on the market.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – December 2018 (12/2/18 - 12/29/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 16 |
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. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 15 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 26 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
7 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
SPLATOON VOL. 5 |
SANKICHI HINODEYA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 4 |
AKIRA HIMEKAWA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 14 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 3 |
VARIOUS |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
MONSTER MUSUME VOL. 14 |
OKAYADO |
SEVEN SEAS |
|
15 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 8 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 1 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 |
VARIOUS |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 2 |
VARIOUS |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
SPLATOON VOL. 1 |
SANKICHI HINODEYA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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Onward to Author graphic novels, a very diverse category, especially this month. Image Comics dominates, with nine titles, five of which are volumes of The Walking Dead, plus two volumes of Saga and one each of Monstress and Paper Girls.
Drawn and Quarterly has two books on the chart, and neither of them is a light read. Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, which made the longlist for the Man Booker prize, has actually been on the Author chart every month since July. Jason Lutes’ Berlin, published in September, is a collected edition of the long-running series.
Another notable title is Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts, which made the Adult Top 20 in October, its release month, and slipped off but stayed on the Author chart in November and December. The collected edition was published posthumously.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – December 2018 (12/2/18 - 12/29/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
2 |
SAGA VOL. 9 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
3 |
AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC |
MARI ANDREW |
CLARKSON POTTER PUB. |
|
4 |
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
HARPER LEE |
HARPER |
|
5 |
EVERYONE'S A ALIEBN WHEN UR A ALIEBN TOO: A BOOK HC |
JOMNY SUN |
HARPER PERENNIAL |
|
6 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 30 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
7 |
PAPER GIRLS VOL. 5 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
8 |
ANTHONY BOURDAIN'S HUNGRY GHOST HC |
ANTHONY BOURDAIN |
BERGER BOOKS |
|
9 |
ANNE FRANK'S DIARY THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION HC |
ANNE FRANK |
PANTHEON BOOKS |
|
10 |
SABRINA HC |
NICK DRNASO |
DRAWN & QUARTERLY |
|
11 |
BERLIN HC |
JASON LUTES |
DRAWN & QUARTERLY |
|
12 |
SHEETS |
BRENNA THUMMLER |
LION FORGE |
|
13 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
14 |
MONSTRESS VOL. 1 |
MARJORIE LIU |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
15 |
SAGA VOL. 1 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
16 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
17 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 29 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 15 HC |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
19 |
SCOTT PILGRIM PRECIOUS LITTLE BOX SET [W/ POSTER] |
BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY |
ONI PRESS |
|
20 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The Superhero Top 20 includes several corporate-owned titles that are not strictly superhero comics, including the #4 title, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and #5, the first issue of Faith Erin Hicks’ arc of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
DC takes half the chart with 10 titles, leading off with Batman: White Knight, part of its Black Label line, and including one Vertigo title. Marvel has seven titles in the top 20, with its top seller, Infinity Gauntlet, in the #2 slot. Dark Horse Comics, Archie Comics, and BOOM! Studios each take one spot.
In terms of characters, Batman definitely leads the pack. In fact, Batman is the only franchise other than Marvel’s Infinity crossover that gets more than one title on the chart.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – December 2018 (12/2/18 - 12/29/18) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC BLACK LABEL |
|
2 |
INFINITY GAUNTLET |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
3 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA |
ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA |
ARCHIE COMIC PUB. |
|
5 |
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER-IMBALANCE PART 1 |
FAITH ERIN HICKS |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
6 |
DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DLX. ED. HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
SABAN'S POWER RANGERS: SOUL OF THE DRAGON |
KYLE HIGGINS |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
|
9 |
INFINITY WAR |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
10 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL |
|
11 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DARK KNIGHTS RISING HC |
PETER TOMASI |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
VENOM BY DONNY CATES VOL. 1 |
DONNY CATES |
MARVEL |
|
14 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 1 |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE |
CULLEN BUNN |
MARVEL |
|
16 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES (NEW ED.) |
NEIL GAIMAN |
VERTIGO |
|
17 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 3 |
CHARLES SOULE |
MARVEL |
|
19 |
CIVIL WAR |
MARK MILLAR |
MARVEL |
|
20 |
AQUAMAN: WAR FOR THE THRONE |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of December graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
December 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
December 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:
December 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
December 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
December 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."