New releases by Keanu Reeves, N.K. Jemisin, and Ed Brubaker made the lists of the top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for October 2021 (10/3/21-10/30/21) provided to ICv2.

The Superhero list is remarkably fresh, with five October releases and three September titles in the top 20. Batman/Fortnite Zero Point tops the list for the second month in a row, and the number 3 title is Far Sector, a Green Lantern story by sci-fi/fantasy writer N.K. Jemisin and Naomi artist Jamal Campbell.  This book was also the top superhero title in the direct market Top 20 for October (see "Top 20 Graphic Novels – October 2021").  Batman/Fortnite Zero Point also made both lists but was down at number 12, in terms of unit sales, in the direct market.

Jeffrey Brown’s holiday take on Star Wars is at number 5, and VIZ Media’s Star Wars: The High Republic original graphic novel is back for a second month at number 11.

DC Comics is having some success in generating interest in the source material with its release of two animated features based on the storyline; two different editions of Batman: The Long Halloween show up on the chart: the original, which came out 10 years ago, and DC’s new deluxe edition (see "Deluxe Edition of ‘Batman: The Long Halloween’").

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – October 2021 (10/3/21 - 10/30/21)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

BATMAN / FORTNITE: ZERO POINT HC

CHRISTOS GAGE

DC COMICS

2

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

3

FAR SECTOR

N.K. JEMISIN

DC COMICS

4

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

5

STAR WARS: A VADER FAMILY SITHMAS HC

JEFFREY BROWN

CHRONICLE BOOKS

6

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

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

7

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

8

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

9

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS

SCOT SNYDER

DC COMICS

10

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN DLX. ED. HC

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

11

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC: EDGE OF BALANCE VOL. 1

SHIMA SHINYA

VIZ MEDIA

12

SPIDER-MAN: THE SPIDER'S SHADOW

CHIP ZDARSKY

MARVEL COMICS

13

INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US YEAR ONE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

TOM TAYLOR

DC COMICS

14

V FOR VENDETTA

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

15

HARLEEN HC

STJEPAN SEJIC

DC COMICS

16

THE SANDMAN VOL. 2: THE DOLL'S HOUSE 30TH ANN. ED.

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

17

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

SEAN MURPHY

DC COMICS

18

BATMAN: THREE JOKERS HC

GEOFF JOHNS

DC COMICS

19

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC VOL. 1: THERE IS NO FEAR

CAVAN SCOTT

MARVEL COMICS

20

DAREDEVIL BY CHIP ZDARSKY VOL. 6: DOING TIME

CHIP ZDARSKY

MARVEL COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

The top Author in the BookScan chart is also the top title on the direct market chart, Brzrkr, possibly due to the star power of Matt Kindt’s co-writer, comics newcomer Keanu Reeves (see "Keanu Reeves to Make Comics Debut with ‘Brzrkr’").  This is somewhat predictable, as the first comic in the series had the second-highest orders of the 21st century (see "‘BRZRKR’ #1 Orders at 616,841"), and the subsequent issues have had good sales as well.

There were two other October debuts on the Author chart: Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History, and Destroy All Monsters: A Reckless Book.  The first volume of Sapiens made the Author chart a number of times, so it’s not surprising to see the second on here.  As for Destroy All Monsters, it’s not a kaiju story but the latest Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips hard-boiled crime graphic novel, and it topped the direct market Top 20.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – October 2021 (10/3/21 - 10/30/21)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

BRZRKR VOL. 1

MATT KINDT

BOOM! Studios

2

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

3

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

4

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PROD.

5

INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

6

DUNE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL BOOK 1 HC

BRIAN HERBERT

ABRAMS

7

1984: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

GEORGE ORWELL

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

8

I WAS THEIR AMERICAN DREAM: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR

MALAKA GHARIB

CLARKSON POTTER

9

SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY VOL. 2: THE PILLARS OF CIVILIZATION

YUVAL NOAH HARARI

HARPERCOLLINS

10

MARCH: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PROD.

11

THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM

CLINT MCELROY

FIRST SECOND BOOKS

12

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS: A RECKLESS BOOK HC

ED BRUBAKER

IMAGE COMICS

13

STRANGE PLANET HC

NATHAN W. PYLE

MORROW GIFT

14

INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

15

RUN: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

ABRAMS

16

FANGS HC

SARAH ANDERSEN

ANDREWS MCMEEL

17

INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 3

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

18

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC

ALISON BECHDEL

MARINER BOOKS

19

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

HARPER LEE

HARPER

20

MONSTRESS VOL. 6: THE VOW

MARJORIE LIU

IMAGE COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

Once again, the Manga Top 20 is identical to the Adult Top 20 (see "October 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales"), but there’s always something to add.  We pointed out earlier that this month’s list is more diverse than usual, in terms of publishers, and that readers seem to be picking up the latest volume of a larger variety of different series.  The days of the chart being dominated by My Hero Academia are over, and in fact, there are five volumes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba in the Top 20, compared to just three of My Hero Academia.

There’s an interesting convergence between the direct market and the book channel this month, with two titles, Volume 7 of Chainsaw Man and Junji Ito’s Sensor, appearing on both Top 20 lists.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – October 2021 (10/3/21 - 10/30/21)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

2

ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 34

HAJIME ISAYAMA

KODANSHA COMICS

3

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 12

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

4

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

5

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 29

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

6

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

7

WOTAKOI: LOVE IS HARD FOR OTAKU VOL 5

FUJITA

KODANSHA COMICS

8

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 6

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

9

ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 23

ONE

VIZ MEDIA

10

TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 10

AIDAIRO

YEN PRESS

11

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 23

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

12

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

13

TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 1

AIDAIRO

YEN PRESS

14

ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1

HAJIME ISAYAMA

KODANSHA COMICS

15

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 4

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

16

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 3

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

17

KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE VOL. 15

TOMOHITO ODA

VIZ MEDIA

18

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE

19

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

20

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 7

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of October 2021 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
October 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
October 2021 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 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
October 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
October 2021 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.