There’s some divergence in buying patterns on the Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels in the book channel, based on Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan data for November (10/29/23 – 11/25/23) provided to ICv2, with a wide range of different titles on the Author and Superhero charts and a very narrow range on the Manga best-seller list.
The Author chart covers an unusually broad range of types of books, including The Mysteries, Bill Watterson and John Kascht’s dark fable; Roz Chast’s I Must Be Dreaming, the latest of the New Yorker cartoonist’s nonfiction books; and Penny: A Graphic Memoir, Karl Stevens’ 2021 graphic novel about his cat. This is the first time Stevens’ book has appeared in the Top 20, although his recent gig as the artist for Jamie Lee Curtis’s graphic novel Mother Nature (see “Preview: ‘Mother Nature’“) may have brought him some new fans. More likely responsible for the sales bump is the fact that humor writer David Sedaris is recommending it at every live event he does, and in other venues.
Then there’s a superhero story (Invincible), an action story (Solo Leveling), the graphic adaptation of Watership Down, a Calvin and Hobbes collection, and a whole lot of romance, including several that fall into the new category of “romantasy,” plus a boys-love romcom (The Dangerous Convenience Store) and a webtoon collection about polyamory (Boyfriends).
Missing from the chart are frequent Author best-sellers They Called Us Enemy, Gender Queer, Anne Frank’s Diary, and Fun Home. On the other hand, many November titles are on the chart for a second or third time, so these newer books may be growing legs of their own.
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Circana BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – November 2023 (10/29/23 – 11/25/23) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
THE MYSTERIES HC |
BILL WATTERSON |
ANDREWS MCMEEL |
|
2 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
3 |
THE DANGEROUS CONVENIENCE STORE VOL. 1 |
945 |
SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
|
4 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. FIVE HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
INKLORE |
|
5 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. FOUR HC |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
INKLORE |
|
6 |
SOLO LEVELING VOL. 7 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
7 |
I MUST BE DREAMING HC |
ROZ CHAST |
BLOOMSBURY |
|
8 |
VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 5 |
GWON GYEOEUL |
IZE PRESS |
|
9 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. FIVE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
INKLORE |
|
10 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
11 |
THE CALVIN AND HOBBES PORTABLE COMPENDIUM SET 1: VOL. 1 |
BILL WATTERSON |
ANDREWS MCMEEL |
|
12 |
SOLO LEVELING, VOL. 1 |
CHUGONG |
YEN PRESS |
|
13 |
PENNY: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR |
KARL STEVENS |
CHRONICLE BOOKS |
|
14 |
LORE OLYMPUS VOL. FIVE (B&N EXCLUSIVE) |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
INKLORE |
|
15 |
LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE |
RACHEL SMYTHE |
INKLORE |
|
16 |
7FATES: CHAKHO VOL. 1 |
HYBE |
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP |
|
17 |
WATERSHIP DOWN: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC |
RICHARD ADAMS |
TEN SPEED PRESS |
|
18 |
BOYFRIENDS VOL. ONE |
REFRAINBOW |
WEBTOON UNSCROLLED |
|
19 |
A STEPMOTHER’S MARCHEN VOL. 1 |
SPICE&KITTY |
SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
|
20 |
INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
Source: Circana |
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The Superhero chart is similarly varied, with a manga-style spinoff of The Nightmare Before Christmas topping the chart for the third month in a row, followed by two TMNT graphic novels, Jeffrey Brown’s latest all-ages take on Star Wars, and a manga-style Rick and Morty graphic novel. There are classics such as Watchmen and brand-new stories such as Vol. 2 of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, which originally ran as a webtoon. Like the Author chart, it’s a real mix of styles and genres, although there are more older books in the Superhero category.
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Circana BookScan Top 20 “Superhero” Graphic Novels – November 2023 (10/29/23 – 11/25/23) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
DISNEY MANGA: TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS – THE BATTLE FOR PUMPKIN KING |
DAN CONNER |
TOKYOPOP |
|
2 |
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC |
KEVIN EASTMAN |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
3 |
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN—LOST YEARS HC |
KEVIN EASTMAN |
IDW PUBLISHING |
|
4 |
THE MANDALORIAN AND CHILD HC |
JEFFREY BROWN |
CHRONICLE BOOKS |
|
5 |
RICK AND MORTY: THE MANGA VOL. 1 — GET IN THE ROBOT, MORTY! |
ALISSA M. SALLAH |
ONI PRESS |
|
6 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
WATCHMEN: THE DELUXE EDITION HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
8 |
BATMAN: YEAR ONE |
FRANK MILLER |
DC COMICS |
|
9 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
10 |
WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
STRANGER THINGS GRAPHIC NOVEL BOXED SET (ZOMBIE BOYS, THE BULLY, ERICA THE GREAT) |
GREG PAK |
DARK HORSE |
|
12 |
THE SANDMAN BOOK TWO |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
BLUE BEETLE: GRADUATION DAY |
JOSH TRUJILLO |
DC COMICS |
|
14 |
BODIES (NEW EDITION) |
SI SPENCER |
DC COMICS |
|
15 |
BATMAN: WAYNE FAMILY ADVENTURES VOL. TWO GN |
CRC PAYNE |
DC COMICS |
|
16 |
THE RIDDLER: YEAR ONE |
PAUL DANO |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
THE WITCHER OMNIBUS |
PAUL TOBIN |
DARK HORSE |
|
18 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
19 |
MOON KNIGHT BY LEMIRE & SMALLWOOD: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION |
JEFF LEMIRE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
20 |
BATMAN ’89 HC |
SAM HAMM |
DC COMICS |
|
Source: Circana |
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The Manga chart, on the other hand is pretty uniform: All the series in the Top 20 are seinen or shonen, although there’s a mix of humorous and darker stories, and all are series that have been around for a while, with enough fans picking up the first volume, the newest volume, and the occasional box set to keep them on the chart most of the time.
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Circana BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – November 2023 (10/29/23 – 11/25/23) |
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|
Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 104 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 21 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 12 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
4 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 10 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 14 HC |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE |
|
6 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 0 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 HC |
KENTARO MIURA |
DARK HORSE |
|
9 |
MY DRESS-UP DARLING VOL. 10 |
SHINICHI FUKUDA |
SQUARE ENIX |
|
10 |
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 |
TATSUKI FUJIMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 20 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 |
TATSUYA ENDO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 103 |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
[OSHI NO KO] VOL. 4 |
AKA AKASAKA |
YEN PRESS |
|
16 |
KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 8 |
NAOYA MATSUMOTO |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
DEMON SLAYER COMPLETE BOX SET |
KOYOHARU GOTOUGE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
ONE PIECE VOL. 1 (OMNIBUS EDITION) |
EIICHIRO ODA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 3 |
GEGE AKUTAMI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 35 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
Source: Circana |
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For charts of November 2023 graphic novel sales from Circana:
November 2023 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
November 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:
November 2023 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
November 2023 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
November 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
