Diamond suspended distribution to comic shops on April 1, but graphic novel distribution to the book channel was not interrupted. The top 20 Superhero graphic novel chart suggests that some readers headed to the bookstore (or online retailer) for their fix: Seven of the top 20 sellers were April releases. That’s an unusually high number, given that only three superhero graphic novels made the top 20 the first month they were released in January and March, and five in February.
In terms of the publisher share, April was a very DC Comics month, with 14 DC titles on the chart, four from Marvel Comics, and one each from Dark Horse Comics and IDW Publishing.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – April 2020 (4/5/20 - 5/2/20) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
WOLVERINE OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC |
CHRIS CLAREMONT |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
4 |
LIFE IS STRANGE VOL. 3: STRINGS |
EMMA VIECELI |
TITAN COMICS |
|
5 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. HC (NEW ED.) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
6 |
HARLEEN HC |
STJEPAN SEJIC |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III HC |
JAMES TYNION IV |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
9 |
BATMAN VOL. 12: CITY OF BANE PART 1 |
TOM KING |
DC COMICS |
|
10 |
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: DAYS OF ENDLESS ADVENTURE |
JIM ZUB |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
11 |
X-MEN BY JONATHAN HICKMAN VOL. 1 |
JONATHAN HICKMAN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
12 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X HC |
JONATHAN HICKMAN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
14 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
BATMAN: DAMNED HC |
BRIAN AZZARELLO |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
DCEASED HC |
TOM TAYLOR |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANN. ED. |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC COMICS |
|
19 |
ASTONISHING X-MEN BY JOSS WHEDON & JOHN CASSADAY OMNIBUS HC |
JOSS WHEDON |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
20 |
TALES OF THE BATMAN: STEVE ENGLEHART HC |
STEVE ENGLEHART |
DC COMICS |
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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A lot of series only make the manga chart when a new volume is released, and sure enough, there are six April releases on the manga chart, and in all six cases, the new book is the only one on the chart. Another nine slots are taken up by different volumes of My Hero Academia, plus Uzumaki, which is to the manga charts what Watchmen is to the superhero charts: Not new, but always there.
That’s all predictable, but here’s something a little different: Volumes 1 and 2 of Beastars and Volumes 1 and 2 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba are in the top 20. Neither one had a new volume out in April, but new readers are coming to both series in sufficient numbers for them to show up on the charts.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – April 2020 (4/5/20 - 5/2/20) |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
2 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
3 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 22 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
4 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 23 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
5 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
6 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 93 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
7 |
KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE VOL. 6 |
TOMOHITO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
8 |
BEASTARS VOL. 1 |
PARU ITAGAKI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
9 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 30 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
|
10 |
UZUMAKI HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
11 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
12 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
13 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 21 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
15 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
16 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 16 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
17 |
PERSONA 5 VOL. 2 |
HISATO MURASAKI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
18 |
BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS VOL. 8 |
UKYO KODACHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
19 |
BEASTARS VOL. 2 |
PARU ITAGAKI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
|
20 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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As for the Author chart, there are lots of familiar faces: Strange Planet, The Adventure Zone, They Called Us Enemy, and The Umbrella Academy all take their usual places. Notably, there is no volume of Rep. John Lewis’s March on the April top 20; usually the first volume is in the mix somewhere.
The April releases include Fight Club 3 and two books with a very similar vibe: Tom Gauld’s Department of Mind-Blowing Theories and Grant Snider’s I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf. Both of these are collections of wry one-page cartoons drawn in a simple but fairly detailed style. Gauld has a lot of fun with the conventions of science, science fiction, and literature in general, while Snider’s is decidedly bookish. Like Strange Planet and Pearls Goes Hollywood, which returns for a second month on this chart, they are likely on the list because we all need a laugh now.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – April 2020 (4/5/20 - 5/2/20) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
STRANGE PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
2 |
FIGHT CLUB 3 HC |
CHUCK PALAHNIUK |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
3 |
NOISE: A GRAPHIC NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY |
KATHLEEN RAYMUNDO |
LIGHTNING SOURCE |
|
4 |
SNUG: A COLLECTION OF COMICS ABOUT DATING YOUR BEST FRIEND HC |
CATANA CHETWYND |
ANDREWS MCMEEL |
|
5 |
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 4 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
6 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
7 |
LOCKE & KEY VOL. 1: WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT |
JOE HILL |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
8 |
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
HARPER LEE |
HARPER |
|
9 |
DEPARTMENT OF MIND-BLOWING THEORIES HC |
TOM GAULD |
DRAWN & QUARTERLY |
|
10 |
I WILL JUDGE YOU BY YOUR BOOKSHELF HC |
GRANT SNIDER |
ABRAMS |
|
11 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: MURDER ON THE ROCKPORT LIMITED! |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
12 |
CRITICAL ROLE VOX MACHINA: ORIGINS VOL. 1 |
CRITICAL ROLE |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
13 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
14 |
MAKING COMICS |
LYNDA BARRY |
DRAWN & QUARTERLY |
|
15 |
ANNE FRANK'S DIARY: THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION |
ANNE FRANK |
PANTHEON BOOKS |
|
16 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
17 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
18 |
PEARLS GOES HOLLYWOOD |
STEPHAN PASTIS |
ANDREWS MCMEEL |
|
19 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 32 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
20 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 3: HOTEL OBLIVION |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of April graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
April 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
April 2020 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:
April 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids 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."