The top seller in the Superhero category is Doomsday Clock: The Complete Collection, which came out in mid-October. There were two other October debuts on the list: Batman, Volume 1: Their Dark Designs, by James Tynion IV, and the Sandman box set. Trick ‘R Treat Omnibus, which debuted in September, is back on the chart but will probably slide off now that Halloween is over. The only other non-DC title on the chart is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which was number 2 last month.
DC dominates the list with 18 of the 20 titles and Batman dominates the DC listings, although Watchmen, Harley Quinn, and Sandman sneak in as well.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – October 2020 (10/4/20 - 10/31/20) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
|
1 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
|
2 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
|
3 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
|
4 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
|
5 |
BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC COMICS |
|
|
6 |
BATMAN: DAMNED HC |
BRIAN AZZARELLO |
DC COMICS |
|
|
7 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
|
8 |
STAR WARS: GALAXY'S EDGE |
ETHAN SACKS |
MARVEL |
|
|
9 |
SANDMAN BOX SET |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
|
10 |
TRICK 'R TREAT OMNIBUS |
MICHAEL DOUGHERTY |
LEGENDARY |
|
|
11 |
HARLEEN HC |
STJEPAN SEJIC |
DC COMICS |
|
|
12 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANN. ED. |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
|
13 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
|
14 |
BATMAN: HUSH (NEW EDITION) |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
|
15 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT |
SEAN MURPHY |
DC COMICS |
|
|
16 |
BATMAN VOL. 1: THEIR DARK DESIGNS HC |
JAMES TYNION IV |
DC COMICS |
|
|
17 |
DCEASED HC |
TOM TAYLOR |
DC COMICS |
|
|
18 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
|
19 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
|
20 |
BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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As usual, the Manga chart is almost entirely VIZ Media titles, although there is one Kodansha Comics volume in the mix, the latest volume of Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. It is remarkable to see this josei (created for young women) rom-com on a chart so heavily dominated by shonen action series, but it’s not unprecedented; the yaoi manga Given has popped up as well from time to time.
Still, shonen action series are the backbone of the manga market in the book channel, and this month is no different, with nine volumes of My Hero Academia, three of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and a handful of other titles. The only VIZ book that wouldn’t qualify as shonen action is Komi Can’t Communicate, which is shonen romance.
As has been noted before, readers are going back to older series. Chainsaw Man is a new series, but the other Volume 1s on the chart are older series that people are checking out years later. It’s an interesting trend.
There’s usually one Junji Ito title in the top 20, and after a couple of months of that being Venus in the Blind Spot, we’re back to Uzumaki, which for some reason is more consistently popular than his other books. (Both Venus and Uzumaki charted in August, which was when Venus was released.)
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – October 2020 (10/4/20 - 10/31/20) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 25 |
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 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 17 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 21 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 24 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
UZUMAKI HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA, VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
WOTAKOI: LOVE IS HARD FOR OTAKU VOL. 4 |
FUJITA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
12 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE VOL. 9 |
TOMOHITO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
THE PROMISED NEVERLAND VOL. 1 |
KAIU SHIRAI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 23 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 22 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM VOL. 1 |
YUSEI MATSUI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The top seller on the Author chart is the slipcased trilogy of March, with Book One in third place and the other two a bit further down but still in the top 20. In between is Strange Planet, rebounding to number 2 after spending some time in the lower portion of the chart. Fangs, the top seller in September, drops to number 4.
There are a couple of notable October releases on the chart. Volume 5 of Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, debuts at number 5. This series launched in single issues in November 2015 and still has an audience. Two more new books appear near the bottom of the chart, both with self-explanatory names: Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Humankind, the first volume of the graphic adaptation of the nonfiction book of the same name, and I Hope This Helps: Comics and Cures for 21st Century Panic.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – October 2020 (10/4/20 - 10/31/20) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MARCH (TRILOGY SLIPCASE SET) |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
2 |
STRANGE PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
3 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
4 |
FANGS HC |
SARAH ANDERSEN |
ANDREWS & MCMEEL |
|
5 |
MONSTRESS VOL. 5 |
MARJORIE LIU |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
6 |
THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 1 |
GARTH ENNIS |
DYNAMITE ENT. |
|
7 |
STRANGER PLANET HC |
NATHAN W. PYLE |
MORROW GIFT |
|
8 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE |
|
9 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
10 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: PETALS TO THE METAL |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND |
|
11 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE |
|
12 |
THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 2 TPB |
GARTH ENNIS |
DYNAMITE ENT. |
|
13 |
THE OLD GUARD BOOK TWO: FORCE MULTIPLIED |
GREG RUCKA |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
14 |
CRITICAL ROLE: VOX MACHINA ORIGINS VOL. II |
CRITICAL ROLE |
DARK HORSE |
|
15 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 3: HOTEL OBLIVION |
GERARD WAY |
DARK HORSE |
|
16 |
MARCH: BOOK TWO |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
17 |
MARCH: BOOK THREE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
18 |
SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY: THE BIRTH OF HUMANKIND (VOL. 1) |
YUVAL NOAH HARARI |
HARPERCOLLINS |
|
19 |
THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 3 |
GARTH ENNIS |
DYNAMITE ENT. |
|
20 |
I HOPE THIS HELPS: COMICS AND CURES FOR 21ST CENTURY PANIC |
TOMMY SIEGEL |
ANDREWS & MCMEEL |
|
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 Kids 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 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
October 2020 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
October 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."