October 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, Superhero Graphic Novels

We have an interesting debut and another illustration of the power of anime in the charts of the Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for October 2022 (10/2/22-10/29/22) provided to ICv2.

The new volume of Lore Olympus tops the Author chart, or rather both editions do, with the hardcover ahead of the paperback, as is usually the case with this title.  All six books are in the Top 20, as are all five volumes of the other big webtoon-based graphic novel, Solo Leveling.

Volume 10 of Saga is in fourth place.  This new volume is the first since 2018, as creators Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples had put the series on hiatus for a while (see “Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples Are Back on ‘Saga’“).

In fifth place is Catana Chetwynd’s You Are Home, the latest in her series of cozy relationship comics (see also Snug and In Love & Pajamas).  Like the others, You Are Home is an Instagram comic; Chetwynd’s books typically make the Author Top 20 for a month or two after their release, but they don’t have the staying power of the webtoon titles.

There’s another webtoon title in the Top 20: Hyperventilation, a boys love story by the Korean artist Bboungbbangkkyu (see “Manwha in America: Stu Levy of Tokyopop“).  This webtoon does not appear to be currently available in English.

Maia Kobabe’s much-challenged Gender Queer is at number 18 on the chart; Kate Beaton’s Ducks is at number 19 after debuting in September at number 10; and BOOM! Studios gets three titles onto the chart, the first two volumes of BRZRKR and the latest collection of Something Is Killing the Children.

It’s been a while since a title swept the Manga chart as thoroughly as Chainsaw Man. Ten of the 11 volumes in the series are on the chart (Volume 8 somehow didn’t make the cut), and the reason is pretty obvious: The anime debuted on October 11 (see “‘Chainsaw Man’ Voice Cast“).  We saw the same effect with Spy x Family earlier this year (see “April 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels“), with multiple volumes of that series staying on the chart for months.  Chainsaw Man was already doing almost as well without an anime, so it will be interesting to see how long this bump lasts.  As for Spy x Family, it had a good run, but now only Volume 8 is in the Top 20.

Most of the rest of the Manga Top 20 is familiar territory, but there is one new series, debuting at number 15: Volume 1 of Dandadan, a new supernatural-action series from VIZ Media (see “VIZ Announces New Manga“).

There are a couple of notable debuts on the Superhero chart, including The Miracleman Omnibus, by an officially uncredited Alan Moore (see “Marvel Omnibizes ‘Miracleman’“).  That means Moore actually has three titles on the chart, one fewer than Neil Gaiman, four of whose Sandman books remain in the top 20. Also worth noting is G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a deluxe collection that marks the 40th anniversary of G.I. Joe comics but also closes out the IDW Publishing era (see “IDW’s G.I. Joe and Transformers Licenses to Conclude at End of Year“), and the 20th anniversary edition of Batman: Hush.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, which topped the list in July, is back in the number one spot, and Alex Ross’s homage Fantastic Four: Full Circle, which was the top seller in September (see “September 2022 NPD BookScan“), has moved down to number three, with the first of those chunky Sandman volumes in between.

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

Source: ICv2