Multiple volumes of the same series, hardcovers that outsell paperbacks, and the lingering effect of media adaptations are some of the trends we’re seeing on the charts of the top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for July 2022 (7/3/22-7/30/22) provided to ICv2.

Let’s start with superheroes.  The top seller in July was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, which did well enough to make the Adult chart (see "July 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels").  At number two is Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point, which has been on the list pretty consistently since it was released in September 2021.  This is the first of six Batman titles on this month’s chart, and also the newest.

Next up is the first volume of The Sandman, which gets an obvious boost from the Netflix series, although it’s early interest because the series didn’t debut until August 5.  The second volume is also on the chart.  These are the new, heftier editions released by DC Comics in April (see "April 2022 NPD BookScan").

At number 4 is the hardcover Penguin Classics edition of The Amazing Spider-Man. The Marvel Penguin Classics debuted in June with three titles, The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, and Black Panther, in both hardcover and paperback (see "Penguin Classics to Publish Marvel Comics").  In June, the hardcover editions of all three, as well as the paperback of The Amazing Spider-Man, made the superhero chart.  This month, both editions of Spider-Man and the hardcover of Captain America made the cut.

Finally, three volumes of Stranger Things were included in the Top 20, one fewer than in June 2022.  The second half of the fourth season launched on July 1.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – July 2022 (7/3/22 – 7/30/22)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC

KEVIN EASTMAN

IDW PUBLISHING

2

BATMAN/FORTNITE: ZERO POINT HC

CHRISTOS GAGE

DC COMICS

3

THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

4

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN HC

STAN LEE

PENGUIN CLASSICS

5

STRANGER THINGS AND DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

JODY HOUSER

DARK HORSE

6

WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION)

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

7

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

FRANK MILLER

DC COMICS

8

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN TP

STAN LEE

PENGUIN CLASSICS

9

THOR: THE SAGA OF GORR THE GOD BUTCHER

JASON AARON

MARVEL COMICS

10

STRANGER THINGS: ZOMBIE BOYS

GREG PAK

DARK HORSE COMICS

11

THE SANDMAN BOOK TWO

NEIL GAIMAN

DC COMICS

12

SUPERMAN '78 HC

ROBERT VENDITTI

DC COMICS

13

MS. MARVEL: NO NORMAL

G. WILLOW WILSON

MARVEL COMICS

14

BATMAN: HUSH (NEW EDITION)

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

15

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

ALAN MOORE

DC COMICS

16

STRANGER THINGS LIBRARY ED. VOL. 1 HC

JODY HOUSER

DARK HORSE COMICS

17

MOON KNIGHT BY LEMIRE & SMALLWOOD: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

MARVEL COMICS

MARVEL COMICS

18

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

JEPH LOEB

DC COMICS

19

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC

SCOTT SNYDER

DC COMICS

20

CAPTAIN AMERICA HC

JACK KIRBY

PENGUIN CLASSICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

On the Author chart, four of the top five sellers are volumes of Lore Olympus, with, again, hardcovers outselling paperbacks.  This series built a huge following on the Webtoon platform, which is clearly carrying over to print.

Four volumes of Solo Leveling are in the Top 20, which is typical for this series, and with an anime in the works (see "‘Solo Leveling’ Anime"), that trend is likely to continue.

The third season of Amazon’s The Boys premiered in July, and three volumes of the collected edition are in the T op 20.  All three are paperback; the oversized hardcovers that Dynamite published in July were on track to sell out early in the month (see "‘The Boys Oversized Omnibus’ Update").

Further down, we see the long tail of the media effect with multiple volumes of Invincible on the chart; the animated series launched last year and a second season is in the works.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – July 2022 (7/3/22 – 7/30/22)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

2

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

3

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE HC

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

4

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

5

LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE

RACHEL SMYTHE

DEL REY

6

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

7

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

8

THEY CALLED US ENEMY

GEORGE TAKEI

TOP SHELF PUB.

9

SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3

CHUGONG

YEN PRESS

10

MARCH: BOOK ONE

JOHN LEWIS

TOP SHELF PUB.

11

GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR DLX. ED.

MAIA KOBABE

ONI PRESS

12

INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

13

THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 1

GARTH ENNIS

DYNAMITE ENT.

14

THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 2

GARTH ENNIS

DYNAMITE ENT.

15

THE KITE RUNNER GRAPHIC NOVEL

KHALED HOSSEINI

RIVERHEAD BOOKS

16

THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOL. 3

GARTH ENNIS

DYNAMITE ENT.

17

DEVIL'S CANDY VOL. 2

REM

VIZ MEDIA

18

INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

19

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC

HARPER LEE

HARPERCOLLINS

20

INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 3

ROBERT KIRKMAN

IMAGE COMICS

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

Anime usually gives manga a push, and the lingering effect is obvious on the Manga chart, with four volumes of Spy x Family still in the Top 20.  This series barely charted at all until the anime launched in April, at which point it had a surge that lasted for three months.  Four volumes are fewer than in those three months, but more than the series ever had in the top 20 at the same time in the past.

The new volume of My Hero Academia tops the chart, but only one other volume makes it into the Top 20.  The rest of the chart is a mix of titles, some of which have anime currently running, but others (including Kaiju No. 8 and Chainsaw Man) do not.  What gave both those titles a boost was digital distribution: they were both serialized online and in VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump app.  Like Lore Olympus, they attracted a following in digital form before making the leap to print.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – July 2022 (7/3/22 – 7/30/22)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 31

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

2

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

3

KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 3

NAOYA MATSUMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

4

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

5

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 11

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

6

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 16

GEGE AKUTAMI

VIZ MEDIA

7

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 7

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

8

TOKYO REVENGERS VOL. 1-2 (OMNIBUS)

KEN WAKUI

SEVEN SEAS ENT.

9

THE LIMINAL ZONE

JUNJI ITO

VIZ MEDIA

10

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2

KOYOHARU GOTOUGE

VIZ MEDIA

11

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 11 HC

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

12

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 10

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

13

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA--STORIES OF WATER AND FLAME

RYOJI HIRANO

VIZ MEDIA

14

MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1

KOHEI HORIKOSHI

VIZ MEDIA

15

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 HC

KENTARO MIURA

DARK HORSE COMICS

16

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 6

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

17

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2

TATSUYA ENDO

VIZ MEDIA

18

DEADPOOL: SAMURAI VOL. 1

SANSHIRO KASAMA

VIZ MEDIA

19

TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 1

AIDAIRO

YEN PRESS

20

CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2

TATSUKI FUJIMOTO

VIZ MEDIA

Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of July 2022 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
July 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
July 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:
July 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
July 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
July 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."