The charts of the Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan data for May (4/30/23-5/27/23), provided to ICv2, include a compilation of comics that first ran on Instagram, a spicy BL manga, and the DC Pride anthology.
Webtoons and manhwa continue to dominate the Author chart; 10 titles in the Top 20 are from Yen Press or its manhwa imprint, Ize Press, and four more are volumes of Lore Olympus. Seven Seas also has two volumes of manhwa in the Top 20.
The only new non-manhwa title is Advice from a Blob, a collection of simple, pithy one-panel self-help cartoons that first ran on Instagram, where the singly-named author Lennie has 1.6 million followers, and on Tik Tok, where they have 3.1 million.
| Circana BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – May 2023 (4/30/23 – 5/27/23) | |||
|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 6 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
2 |
THEY CALLED US ENEMY |
GEORGE TAKEI |
TOP SHELF PROD. |
|
3 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
4 |
ADVICE FROM A BLOB: HOW TO FIND PEACE IN THIS MESSY, BEAUTIFUL, CHAOTIC EXISTENCE |
LENNNIE |
HARPERCOLLINS PUB. |
|
5 |
VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 1 |
GWON GYEOEUL |
IZE PRESS |
|
6 |
VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 3 |
GWON GYEOEUL |
IZE PRESS |
|
7 |
GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR |
MAIA KOBABE |
ONI PRESS |
|
8 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
9 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
10 |
WHO MADE ME A PRINCESS VOL. 1 |
PLUTUS |
SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
|
11 |
A BUSINESS PROPOSAL VOL. 1 |
HAEHWA |
IZE PRESS |
|
12 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
13 |
LOVE IS AN ILLUSION! VOL. 2 |
FARGO |
SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
|
14 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
15 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
DEL REY |
|
16 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
17 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
18 |
THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE ELEVENTH HOUR |
CLINT MCELROY |
FIRST SECOND BOOKS |
|
19 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 5 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
20 |
THE REMARRIED EMPRESS VOL. 1 |
ALPHATART |
IZE PRESS |
|
Source: Circana |
|||
In the Manga category, the long chain of VIZ Media titles is getting broken up a bit at the bottom of the chart by some new series that are making inroads, including Blue Lock (both Volume 1 and Volume 6 are in the Top 20), [Oshi No Ko], with Volume 2 on the chart, and Volume 3 of The Titan’s Bride.
What’s going on here? Two of these titles are getting a boost from anime. The first volume of Blue Lock was released in June 2022, but it didn’t show up in the Top 20 until December of that year (see “December 2022 NPD BookScan“); the anime premiered on Crunchyroll in late October. The [Oshi No Ko] anime launched in May 2023 on Hidive, which may explain why Volume 2 made the chart when Volume 1 didn’t.
The Titan’s Bride is a different situation – it’s a sexually explicit BL manga that was initially published in English on the digital site Coolmic, which also has the anime. Seven Seas is publishing the uncensored version, and apparently it has built up enough of a following to earn the third volume a spot on the Manga chart, the first appearance for this series.
| Circana BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – May 2023 (4/30/23 – 5/27/23) | |||
|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 34 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 25 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 9 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
9 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 102 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 6 |
NAOYA MATSUMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
|
14 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 19 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
DEMON SLAYER COMPLETE BOX SET: INCLUDES VOLS. 1-23 W/ PREMIUM |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
BLUE LOCK VOL. 6 |
MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
18 |
[OSHI NO KO] VOL. 2: VOL. 2 |
AKA AKASAKA |
YEN PRESS |
|
19 |
BLUE LOCK VOL. 1 |
MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
20 |
THE TITAN’S BRIDE VOL. 3 |
ITKZ |
SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
|
Source: Circana |
|||
There are two Star Wars: The High Republic titles on the Superhero chart, one from Marvel and one from VIZ; the VIZ title, Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance: Precedent, is written by Daniel Older, who is American, with manga-style art by a Japanese artist. A similar book, Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance, Volume 1, appeared on the September 2021 chart (see “September 2021 NPD BookScan“).
Nine May releases debuted on the Superhero chart, including DC Pride: The New Generation, the first Pride special to make the charts.
| Circana BookScan Top 20 “Superhero” Graphic Novels – May 2023 (4/30/23 – 5/27/23) | |||
|
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 |
BLACK PANTHER: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET BOOK 1 |
BRIAN STELFREEZE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
4 |
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC PHASE II VOL. 1 – BALANCE OF THE FORCE |
ARIO ANINDITO |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
5 |
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC, THE EDGE OF BALANCE: PRECEDENT |
DANIEL OLDER |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
DC PRIDE: THE NEW GENERATION |
VARIOUS |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
9 |
POISON IVY VOL. 1: THE VIRTUOUS CYCLE |
G. WILLOW WILSON |
DC COMICS |
|
10 |
DARK WEB |
ADAM KUBERT |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
11 |
SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW |
TOM KING |
DC COMICS |
|
12 |
BATMAN VOL. 1: FAILSAFE |
CHIP ZDARSKY |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS |
RYAN NORTH |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
14 |
SPIDER-MAN 2099 OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC |
RICK LEONARDI |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
15 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS |
SCOTT SNYDER |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
FLASHPOINT |
GEOFF JOHNS |
DC COMICS |
|
18 |
THE SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE COMPENDIUM ONE |
MATT WAGNER |
DC COMICS |
|
19 |
SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE |
MARK RUSSELL |
DC COMICS |
|
20 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: Circana |
|||
For charts of May 2023 graphic novel sales from Circana:
May 2023 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
May 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:
May 2023 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2023 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
May 2023 Circana – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
Circana 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
