March 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels

There was a seismic change in March to the top 20 Kids graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for March 2022 (2/27/22-4/2/22) provided to ICv2.

For the first time since we started keeping these charts, not one but five of Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man books didn’t get into the top 20. And also for the first time, the chart includes five volumes of Wings of Fire, the graphic adaptation of Tui T. Sutherland’s children’s novels of the same name.

Coincidence? Maybe…

With regard to Dog Man, the volumes that didn’t make the chart are the middle volumes of the series, volumes 2 to 6. That’s not an unusual pattern; new readers like to start with the early volumes, while longtime fans pick up the most recent. Of course, Dog Man is not a series per se, as each volume stands on its own.

Wings of Fire, on the other hand, is very much a series, and the fifth volume closes out the first story arc. Often a new volume, especially an important new volume, will spur sales of earlier titles, but for all five to hit the chart is remarkable, especially as the fifth volume came out in December, so presumably the excitement has cooled down a bit.

That said, Wings of Fire has a lot going for it: The prose novel series from which it is adapted is a blockbuster, with 15 volumes in print (plus spinoffs) that have racked up over 120 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. It’s consistently one of the top kids’ graphic novel franchises (see “Top Kids Graphic Novel Franchises – Fall 2021“), and a Netflix series is in the works (see “‘Wings of Fire’ Netflix Series“).

One key to the popularity of Wings of Fire may be the fact that it is a graphic adaptation, as is The Baby-Sitters Club (which also has five volumes on this month’s chart). Kids who are fans of the originals are a natural audience for the adaptations, and parents who are not familiar with graphic novels may feel more confident buying titles based on familiar prose series.

The other thing that may be cutting into Dog Man’s sales a bit is the number of similar books on the market, including Pilkey’s own Cat Kid Comic Club series. These have not sold as well as Dog Man in the past, but they are holding their own on the chart, and they may be drawing readers away. Each new volume of John Patrick Green’s InvestiGators series, which has a similar vibe to Dog Man, sells well enough to make it into the top 20 for a month or two before dropping down to the long tail, and the same is true of the venerable Big Nate. Both make an appearance on this month’s chart.

Pilkey’s next Cat Kid Comic Club book is due out on April 12, and we’ll be watching the chart next month to see what changes it brings.

For charts of March 2022 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
March 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novel
March 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
March 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 2022 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
March 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.”