We share here the rankings for the Top 20 Graphic Novels in three adult subcategories, Superhero, Manga, and Author, based on NPD BookScan data for March (3/3/19-4/6/19) provided to ICv2.  We find that DC Comics had a big month on the Superhero chart, My Hero Academia continues to dominate Manga, and new titles are showing up on the Author chart.

DC had a great month on the Superhero chart, accounting for half of the Top 20.  It’s got a number of volumes of recent vintage that are showing some staying power, including Mister Miracle, Batman: White Knight, and Dark Nights: Metal.  We’ll see whether the first Brian Michael Bendis Superman collection, which hit the chart this month, can join that group.  Three of DC’s titles in the Top 10 were Alan Moore volumes from the 80s.

Of Marvel Comics’ seven titles in the Top 20, four were movie-powered:  Infinity Gauntlet, which has been hanging near the top of the chart for a year; two Captain Marvel volumes; and Spider-Man: Miles Morales Vol. 1, tied to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.  The Captain America collection featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates stories debuted at #10, nowhere near as strong as his Black Panther volumes were, but it’s early.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – March 2019 (3/3/19 - 4/6/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

DETECTIVE COMICS: 80 YEARS OF BATMAN DLX. ED. HC

VARIOUS

DC COMICS

2

RICK AND MORTY VS. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

PATRICK ROTHFUSS

IDW PUBLISHING

3

INFINITY GAUNTLET

JIM STARLIN

MARVEL COMICS

4

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL

MARGARET STOHL

MARVEL COMICS

5

WATCHMEN

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

6

THE LEGEND OF KORRA: TURF WARS LIBRARY ED. HC

MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO

DARK HORSE COMICS

7

MISTER MIRACLE

TOM KING

DC COMICS

8

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

SEAN MURPHY

DC BLACK LABEL

9

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

10

CAPTAIN AMERICA BY TA-NEHISI COATES VOL. 1: WINTER IN AMERICA

TA-NEHISI COATES

MARVEL COMICS

11

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 4

CHARLES SOULE

MARVEL COMICS

12

SPIDER-GEDDON

CHRISTOS GAGE

MARVEL COMICS

13

BATMAN VOL. 9: THE TYRANT WING

KING, TOM

DC COMICS

14

CAPTAIN MARVEL VOL. 1: HIGHER, FURTHER, FASTER, MORE

KELLY SUE DECONNICK

MARVEL COMICS

15

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS VOL. 7

KYLE HIGGINS

BOOM! STUDIOS

16

V FOR VENDETTA

ALAN MOORE

VERTIGO

17

SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES VOL. 1

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS

MARVEL COMICS

18

SUPERMAN VOL. 1: THE UNITY SAGA: PHANTOM EARTH

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS

DC COMICS

19

THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANN. ED.

NEIL GAIMAN

VERTIGO

20

DARK NIGHTS: METAL

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

My Hero Academia continues to dominate the Manga chart, taking 12 of the Top 20, including the top four.  Those 12 slots made up the majority of the 17 slots taken by VIZ Media, with one each for Dark Horse Comics, Ten Speed Press, and Kodansha Comics.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – March 2019 (3/3/19 - 4/6/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 18

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

2

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

3

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 17

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

4

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

5

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 HC

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

6

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

7

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 16

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

8

THE LIFE-CHANGING MANGA OF TIDYING UP: A MAGICAL STORY

MARIE KONDO

TEN SPEED PRESS

9

BORUTO VOL. 5

UKYO KODACHI

VIZ MEDIA

10

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

11

MY HERO ACADEMIA: VIGILANTES, VOL. 4

HIDEYUKI FURUHASHI

VIZ MEDIA

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 15

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1

SUI ISHIDA

VIZ MEDIA

14

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

15

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 14

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

16

RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 4

VARIOUS

VIZ MEDIA

17

DRAGON BALL SUPER VOL. 4

TORIYAMA, AKIRA

VIZ MEDIA

18

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

19

THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME VOL. 9

FUSE

KODANSHA COMICS

20

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 1

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

The new adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale shows up more on this chart than on the Adult chart, at #4, with great potential to reach a top position when new episodes of the TV series once again begin to air.  Hellboy Omnibus Vol. 1 was another media-driven title in the Top 20.  We note the appearance of new releases A Fire Story from Abrams ComicArts and Giraffes on Horseback Salad from Quirk Books.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – March 2019 (3/3/19 - 4/6/19)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

2

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 31

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

3

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS

GERARD WAY

DARK HORSE COMICS

4

THE HANDMAID'S TALE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

MARGARET ATWOOD

NAN A. TALESE

5

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

6

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

HARPER LEE

HARPER

7

SUNSTONE VOL. 6

STJEPAN SEJIC

IMAGE COMICS

8

ANNE FRANK'S DIARY THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION HC

ANNE FRANK

PANTHEON BOOKS

9

KID GLOVES: NINE MONTHS OF CAREFUL CHAOS

LUCY KNISLEY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

10

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE VOL. 8

KIERON GILLEN

IMAGE COMICS

11

MARCH: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PROD.

12

SAGA VOL. 9

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

IMAGE COMICS

13

A FIRE STORY HC

BRIAN FIES

ABRAMS COMICARTS

14

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

ALISON BECHDEL

MARINER BOOKS

15

SHEETS

BRENNA THUMMLER

LION FORGE

16

GIRAFFES ON HORSEBACK SALAD: SALVADOR DALI, THE MARX BROTHERS, AND THE STRANGEST MOVIE NEVER MADE HC

JOSH FRANK

QUIRK BOOKS

17

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 30

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

18

HELLBOY OMNIBUS VOL. 1: SEED OF DESTRUCTION

MIKE MIGNOLA

DARK HORSE COMICS

19

MONSTRESS VOL. 1

MARJORIE LIU

IMAGE COMICS

20

GOING INTO TOWN: A LOVE LETTER TO NEW YORK

ROZ CHAST

BLOOMSBURY PUB.

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan


For other NPD BookScan charts for graphic novel sales in March:
March 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2019 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
March 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2019 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2019 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."