Once again, media tie-ins are a big influence on the top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan data for March 2023 (2/26/23 – 4/1/23) provided to ICv2.
The majority of the titles on the Author list are based on webtoons: six volumes of Solo Leveling (with Volume 6, a March release, at number one), five of Lore Olympus, two of Villains Are Destined to Die, plus one each of The Remarried Empress, The Beginning After the End, and Killing Stalking. When webcomics first became popular, in the early 2000s, many people wondered how anyone could make money by giving a comic away for free. The answer seems to be that webtoons are building an audience with serialization, much as monthly comics do, and a good portion of that audience is willing to pay for the collected edition.
One of the outliers, The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour, didn’t make the Adult Top 20 (see “March 2023 Circana BookScan“) but is number 2 on the Author chart.
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Circana BookScan Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels – March 2023 (2/27/23 – 4/1/23) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 6 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
2 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE ELEVENTH HOUR |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
3 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
4 |
VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 2 |
GWON GYEOEUL |
YEN PRESS |
|
5 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
6 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
7 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 5 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
8 |
THE REMARRIED EMPRESS VOL. 2 |
ALPHATART |
YEN PRESS |
|
9 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
10 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
11 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
12 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
13 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
14 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
15 |
THE BEGINNING AFTER THE END VOL. 2 |
TURTLEME |
YEN PRESS |
|
16 |
GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR |
MAIA KOBABE |
ONI PRESS |
|
17 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
18 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
19 |
KILLING STALKING: DELUXE EDITION VOL. 2 |
KOOGI |
SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
|
20 |
VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 1 |
GWON GYEOEUL |
YEN PRESS |
|
Source: Circana |
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The manga chart looks a lot like the Adult Top 20, except for the three new titles coming in at the bottom. That gives Chainsaw Man a plurality, with six volumes on the chart, five of them from the first half of the series. That shows that readers are not only sampling it but sticking with it.
The top title is Vol. 9 of Spy x Family, with the first three volumes further down the chart, again bearing out the sustained popularity of this series. Both Spy x Family and Chainsaw Man got significant boosts from anime last year and both seem to have legs.
Likewise, the first and most recent volumes of Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, and Blue Lock, are also in the Top 20. Volume 5 of Blue Lock was released in February but did not make the February Top 20 (see “February 2023 Circana BookScan“). This series seems to be on the upswing.
Volume 13 of Berserk, the next to last of Dark Horse Comics’ deluxe editions, debuts at number 7, and Volume 17 of Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is on the chart for the second time, at a higher position than last month.
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Circana BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – March 2023 (2/27/23 – 4/1/23) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 9 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 19 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 33 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 13 |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
8 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 17 |
AIDAIRO |
YEN PRESS |
|
10 |
BLUE LOCK VOL. 5 |
MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
11 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
BLUE LOCK VOL. 1 |
MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
14 |
TOMBS: JUNJI ITO STORY COLLECTION HC |
JUNJI ITO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 4 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 3 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 5 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: Circana |
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin tops the Superhero chart, with Watchmen right behind it, the same as last month. After that it gets interesting. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow moves up to third place from number 15 in February.
Two March releases make the chart: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves—The Feast of the Moon, the prequel to the movie (see “IDW to Publish Prequel to ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Movie“), and Volume 3 of Moon Knight, which is also the only Marvel graphic novel on the chart, although the Penguin Classics compilation of The Amazing Spider-Man returns after dropping off in February.
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Circana BookScan Top 20 “Superhero” Graphic Novels – March 2023 (2/27/23 – 4/1/23) |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC |
KEVIN EASTMAN |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
2 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
3 |
SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW |
TOM KING |
DC COMICS |
|
4 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
5 |
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES–THE FEAST OF THE MOON |
JEREMY LAMBERT |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
6 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST VOL. 1: THE DEVIL NEZHA |
MARK WAID |
DC COMICS |
|
9 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
10 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
BATMAN ’89 HC |
SAM HAMM |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
FLASHPOINT |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN |
GRANT MORRISON |
DC COMICS |
|
14 |
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN |
STAN LEE |
PENGUIN CLASSICS |
|
15 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
BATMAN: HUSH (NEW EDITION) |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
SUPERMAN: ACTION COMICS VOL. 3: WARWORLD REVOLUTION |
PHILLIP K. JOHNSON |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
MOON KNIGHT VOL. 3: HALFWAY TO SANITY |
JED MACKAY |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
19 |
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN |
JEPH LOEB |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK TWO |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: Circana |
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For charts of March 2023 graphic novel sales from Circana:
March 2023 Circana BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
March 2023 Circana – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from Circana, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
March 2023 Circana BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2023 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2023 Circana – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
Circana (formally NPD) collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more. Circana 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 Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the “Top 20 GN Index.”
Source: ICv2
