We may be seeing a permanent shift in the Author chart. It’s not just that webtoon-based comics dominate, it’s that they appear to have staying power.
The hardcover edition of Lore Olympus, Vol. 3, tops the chart for the fourth month in a row, and four other volumes, hardcover and softcover, are scattered among the Top 20. All five volumes of Solo Leveling are also in the Top 20, as they have been every month.
Of the four other Korean or webtoon-based titles on the chart, Volume 1 of The Remarried Empress and Volume 1 of Villains Are Destined to Die are back for a third month and Volume 2 of Killing Stalking and Volume 1 of My Gently Raised Beast are back for the second time. All four series made the chart the month they were released, which isn’t unusual; staying on the chart for two or more months is rarer.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – January 2023 (1/01/23 - 1/28/23) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
2 |
SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 1 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
3 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
4 |
CRITICAL ROLE: THE MIGHTY NEIN ORIGINS - FJORD STONE HC |
CHRIS DOC WYATT |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
5 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
6 |
GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR |
MAIA KOBABE |
ONI PRESS |
|
7 |
SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 2 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
8 |
SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 5 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
9 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
10 |
SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 4 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
11 |
KILLING STALKING: DELUXE EDITION VOL. 2 |
KOOGI |
SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
|
12 |
THE ILLUSTRATED AL: THE SONGS OF WEIRD AL YANKOVIC HC |
WEIRD AL YANKOVIC |
Z2 COMICS |
|
13 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
14 |
THE REMARRIED EMPRESS VOL. 1 |
ALPHATART |
IZE PRESS |
|
15 |
VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 1 |
GWON GYEOEUL |
IZE PRESS |
|
16 |
SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 3 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
17 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
18 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
19 |
SAGA VOL. 10 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
20 |
MY GENTLY RAISED BEAST VOL. 1 |
YEOSEULKI |
IZE PRESS |
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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Sticking around is more common on the Superhero chart, on which older properties such as Watchmen show up month after month. But it’s not just the classics: Four 2022 releases have been in the Top 20 more often than not: TMNT: The Last Ronin, Fantastic Four: Full Circle, the Penguin Classics edition of The Amazing Spider-Man, and the new edition of The Sandman.
Dark Horse Comics is having a good month, with four new releases on the Superhero chart, all media-related: The Witcher: Ronin and all three volumes of Avatar: The High Ground. And Marvel Comics and DC Comics both have high-priced omnibi in the Top 20: Secret Wars and House of M for Marvel, Dark Nights: Metal for DC.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superheroes' Graphic Novels – January 2023 (1/01/23 - 1/28/23) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC |
KEVIN EASTMAN |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
2 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 5: THE SHADOW'S SHADOW |
GREG PAK |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
5 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
6 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
THE WITCHER: RONIN |
RAFAL JAKI |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
8 |
AVATAR: THE HIGH GROUND VOL. 2 |
SHERRI L. SMITH |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
9 |
SECRET WARS OMNIBUS |
JIM SHOOTER |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
10 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. (NEW EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
AVATAR: THE HIGH GROUND VOL. 3 |
SHERRI L. SMITH |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
12 |
AVATAR: THE HIGH GROUND VOL. 1 |
SHERRI L. SMITH |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
13 |
HOUSE OF M OMNIBUS HC |
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
14 |
DARK NIGHTS: METAL OMNIBUS HC |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
NIGHTWING VOL. 2: GET GRAYSON HC |
TOM TAYLOR |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK TWO |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE HC |
ALEX ROSS |
HARRY ABRAMS |
|
18 |
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 2 |
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
19 |
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN |
STAN LEE |
PENGUIN CLASSICS |
|
20 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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The Manga chart is identical to the January 2022 Adult Top 20, as all of those titles were manga, over half of them volumes of Chainsaw Man. Check out our earlier coverage for a discussion of January’s manga trends (see "January 2023 NPD BookScan").
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – January 2023 (1/01/23 - 1/28/23) |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 5 |
NAOYA MATSUMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 18 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 5 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 4 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 101 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 9 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 6 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 10 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
17 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 11 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 8 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO BEFORE CHAINSAW MAN: 17-21 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 3 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of January 2023 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
January 2023 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
January 2023 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:
January 2023 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2023 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2023 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."