Six of the top eight Author titles (the category we use for titles driven by their creators rather than corporate-owned properties) in May are from webtoon apps with Korean roots: Solo Leveling, which originated on the Tapas family of apps and is published in print by Yen Press, and Lore Olympus, which originated on Webtoon and is published in print by Del Rey. The fourth volume of Solo Leveling, which was released in May, topped the Author chart, and placed #3 on the chart of all Adult Graphic Novels for May (see "May 2022 NPD BookScan").
Three other volumes with web roots appear in the top 20 in May. Gender Queer was originally published serially by creator Maia Kobabe on Instagram and collected in graphic novel form. It’s currently getting a sales boost from publicity surrounding its frequent school and library bans (see "‘Gender Queer’ Was Most Frequently Challenged"). Fangs also originated on Instagram, and After: The Graphic Novel, was an adaptation of a webnovel originally released by Webtoon sister company Wattpad and published by Wattpad Books imprint Frayed Pages.
Andrews McMeel, has clearly found parallels between its core business of newspaper comic strip collections and collections of comics that originate on digital platforms. Last April, for example, three titles on the Top 20 Author Graphic Novels were Andrews McMeel collections of Instagram comics (see "April 2021 BookScan"), and the publisher also recently inked a deal to publish collections of Studio Tapas webtoons (see "Tapas Media Teams Up with Andrews McMeel").
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – May 2022 (5/1/22 – 5/28/22) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
2 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
3 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOLUME ONE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
4 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
5 |
GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR |
MAIA KOBABE |
ONI PRESS |
|
6 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
7 |
AFTER: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL VOL. 1 |
ANNA TODD |
FRAYED PAGES |
|
8 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOLUME ONE TP |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
9 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
10 |
MISS BUTTERWORTH AND THE MAD BARON: A GRAPHIC NOVEL |
JULIA QUINN |
AVON |
|
11 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
12 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
13 |
FANGS HC |
SARAH ANDERSEN |
ANDREWS MCMEEL |
|
14 |
RUN: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
ABRAMS |
|
15 |
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
HARPER LEE |
HARPER |
|
16 |
DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH VOL. 3: FREE COUNTRY |
JAMES TYNION IV |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
17 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
1984: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
GEORGE ORWELL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
19 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
20 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The number of Batman titles on the Superhero chart is down to eight, from 11 in April and 15 in March. That’s closer to the normal number of Batman books on this chart, before the mini-surge caused by the movie The Batman (see "‘The Batman’ Approaches $500M"). Meanwhile, the number of Moon Knight titles is back down to three. Since the usual number is zero, this indicates that the Netflix series is still spurring sales.
With the Netflix adaptation in the works, and hefty new omnibi on the shelves, readers were flocking to Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman as well. DC Comics released a new compilation of the series in four volumes, each over 500 pages, in April and May. The first volume charted in April (see "April 2022 NPD BookScan"), and two more made it into the top 20 this month. Volumes 2 and 3 are more expensive than Volume 1, but 500+ pages for $34.99 is still a pretty good deal. Volume 1 of the 30th Anniversary Edition, which is half the size of the new volumes, has a lower pages-to-dollars ratio, but enough people bought it anyway that it shows up at number 19.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – May 2022 (5/1/22 – 5/28/22) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
MOON KNIGHT BY LEMIRE & SMALLWOOD: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION |
JEFF LEMIRE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
3 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK TWO |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
5 |
MOON KNIGHT VOL. 1: THE MIDNIGHT MISSION |
JED MACKAY |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
6 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC VOL. 3: JEDI'S END |
CAVAN SCOTT |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
8 |
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC: EDGE OF BALANCE VOL. 2 |
SHIMA SHINYA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
10 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
BATMAN VOL. 1: THE COURT OF OWLS (THE NEW 52) |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
MOON KNIGHT: LEGACY - THE COMPLETE COLLECTION |
MAX BEMIS |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
13 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
14 |
BATMAN: HUSH (NEW EDITION) |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK THREE |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
BATMAN/FORTNITE: ZERO POINT HC |
CHRISTOS GAGE |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
BATMAN VOL. 2: THE CITY OF OWLS (THE NEW 52) |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
MS. MARVEL VOL. 1: NO NORMAL |
G. WILLOW WILSON |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
19 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANN. ED. |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
HARLEEN HC |
STJEPAN SEJIC |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For once, the Manga chart is not identical to the Adult Top 20, because one volume of Solo Leveling made it onto the Adult chart. That pulls up Volume 2 of Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun onto the Manga chart at number 20. This is one of those series where the first volume makes the chart almost every month, but the others seldom do. It seems to have been picking up momentum, however, and there are three volumes in the May top 20.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – May 2022 (5/1/22 – 5/28/22) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
DEATH NOTE SHORT STORIES |
TSUGUMI OHBA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 7 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
6 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 4 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 6 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 10 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 0 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 1 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
11 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 99 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 5 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
MY DRESS-UP DARLING VOL. 5 |
SHINICHI FUKUDA |
SQUARE ENIX |
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA--STORIES OF WATER AND FLAME |
RYOJI HIRANO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 30 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
SAILOR MOON VOL. 1 (NAOKO TAKEUCHI COLLECTION) |
NAOKO TAKEUCHI |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
18 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 13 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
19 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 2 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of May 2022 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
May 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
May 2022 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:
May 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2022 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."