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

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Source: ICv2