Once again, as happened in September, ten of the top 20 books are creations of the fevered brain of Dav Pilkey: nine Dog Man books and The Horrifyingly Haunted Hack-A-Ween, which stars Captain Underpants, a Pilkey creation. While this particular book’s star may fade in November, Pilkey’s next book, Cat Kid Comic Club, is due to be released on December 1.
Dav Pilkey, the gift that keeps on giving.
Also on this month’s chart: Class Act, by Jerry Craft, a follow-up to his New Kid. The story of a Black student at a predominantly white, affluent prep school, New Kid pushed the envelope a bit, showing how even well-meaning people can make hurtful assumptions, and Class Act lives up to its name by introducing some class-based awkwardness into the mix. The popularity of these books lies in the fact that Craft is a skillful observer (they are partly based on his own experiences), so his stories are funny, relatable, and free from preachiness. New Kid has charted pretty consistently, and Class Act is likely to do so as well.
There’s often a cumulative effect, especially with kids graphic novels, where the popularity of titles increases as more books are added to the series. The first Baby-Sitters’ Little Sister book, for instance, made the Top 20; the second topped the Top 20.
With that, we note that John Patrick Green’s InvestiGators: Take the Plunge also made the chart. This is the second book in the series, a goofy caper comedy with a whiff of Dog Man to it. The first book charted once and then disappeared, but the new book, which came out on September 29, may give the first one a bump.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels – October 2020 (10/4/20 - 10/31/20) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
DOG MAN: GRIME AND PUNISHMENT HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
2 |
DOG MAN: FETCH-22 HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
3 |
CLASS ACT |
JERRY CRAFT |
HARPERCOLLINS |
|
4 |
DOG MAN: FOR WHOM THE BALL ROLLS HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
5 |
DOG MAN HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
6 |
DOG MAN: BRAWL OF THE WILD HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
7 |
GUTS |
RAINA TELGEMEIER |
GRAPHIX |
|
8 |
NEW KID |
JERRY CRAFT |
HARPERCOLLINS |
|
9 |
DOG MAN: LORD OF THE FLEAS HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
10 |
DOG MAN UNLEASHED HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
11 |
THE HORRIFYINGLY HAUNTED HACK-A-WEEN (CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS) |
MEREDITH RUSU |
GRAPHIX |
|
12 |
DOG MAN: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
13 |
THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH HC |
MAX BRALLIER |
VIKING BOOKS |
|
14 |
DOG MAN AND CAT KID HC |
DAV PILKEY |
GRAPHIX |
|
15 |
BABY-SITTERS LITTLE SISTER: KAREN'S ROLLER SKATES |
KATY FARINA |
GRAPHIX |
|
16 |
INVESTIGATORS: TAKE THE PLUNGE HC |
JOHN PATRICK GREEN |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
17 |
DRAMA |
RAINA TELGEMEIER |
GRAPHIX |
|
18 |
GHOSTS |
RAINA TELGEMEIER |
GRAPHIX |
|
19 |
SISTERS |
RAINA TELGEMEIER |
GRAPHIX |
|
20 |
SMILE |
RAINA TELGEMEIER |
GRAPHIX |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of October graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
October 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
October 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
October 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
October 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
October 2020 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."