DC, Image, VIZ Top Their Categories

NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – December 2018 (12/2/18 - 12/29/18) Rank Title Author Publisher 1 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 16 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 2 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 3 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 4 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 5 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 15 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 6 ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 26 HAJIME ISAYAMA KODANSHA COMICS 7 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 4 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 8 SPLATOON VOL. 5 SANKICHI HINODEYA VIZ MEDIA 9 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 5 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 10 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 4 AKIRA HIMEKAWA VIZ MEDIA 11 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 14 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 12 TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 SUI ISHIDA VIZ MEDIA 13 RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 3 VARIOUS VIZ MEDIA 14 MONSTER MUSUME VOL. 14 OKAYADO SEVEN SEAS 15 TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 8 SUI ISHIDA VIZ MEDIA 16 ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 1 ONE VIZ MEDIA 17 MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 6 KOHEI HORIKOSHI VIZ MEDIA 18 RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 VARIOUS VIZ MEDIA 19 RWBY: OFFICIAL MANGA ANTHOLOGY VOL. 2 VARIOUS VIZ MEDIA 20 SPLATOON VOL. 1 SANKICHI HINODEYA VIZ MEDIA Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

Here’s a closer look at the top December 2018 adult graphic novels in the book channel, with category breakdowns, based on NPD BookScan data for December (12/2/18-12/29/18) provided to ICv2.On the Manga chart, it’s a very VIZ Media world, with that publisher taking 18 out of 20 spots. My Hero Academia took nine of those spots, and the first runner-up is RWBY: The Official Manga Anthology, with three volumes on the chart (because that’s all there are at the moment). The only other title with more than one volume in the top 20 is Splatoon, a younger-skewing title based on the video game of the same name. It has the same combination of quirky characters, friendships, and action as other shonen manga, but it’s a bit more lighthearted, and the battles are with colored inks, not swords or ninja techniques.Kodansha Comics has one title on the chart, the newest volume of Attack on Titan. This series was a huge seller a couple of years ago, boosted by the anime, but has slacked off since the American releases caught up with Japan, and new volumes are now months apart. In addition, the third season of the anime is currently on hiatus, with part 2 premiering in April.Monster Musume, the other non-VIZ title, is a genre that publisher Seven Seas Entertainment sort of specializes in: Sexy monster girls. This is a niche genre, but it must be a decent-sized niche, judging from the number of monster-girl titles currently on the market.

Onward to Author graphic novels, a very diverse category, especially this month. Image Comics dominates, with nine titles, five of which are volumes of The Walking Dead, plus two volumes of Saga and one each of Monstress and Paper Girls.



Drawn and Quarterly has two books on the chart, and neither of them is a light read. Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, which made the longlist for the Man Booker prize, has actually been on the Author chart every month since July. Jason Lutes’ Berlin, published in September, is a collected edition of the long-running series.



Another notable title is Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts, which made the Adult Top 20 in October, its release month, and slipped off but stayed on the Author chart in November and December. The collected edition was published posthumously.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – December 2018 (12/2/18 - 12/29/18) Rank Title Author Publisher 1 THE ADVENTURE ZONE: HERE THERE BE GERBLINS CLINT MCELROY FIRST SECOND BOOKS 2 SAGA VOL. 9 BRIAN K. VAUGHAN IMAGE COMICS 3 AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC MARI ANDREW CLARKSON POTTER PUB. 4 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC HARPER LEE HARPER 5 EVERYONE'S A ALIEBN WHEN UR A ALIEBN TOO: A BOOK HC JOMNY SUN HARPER PERENNIAL 6 THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 30 ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 7 PAPER GIRLS VOL. 5 BRIAN K. VAUGHAN IMAGE COMICS 8 ANTHONY BOURDAIN'S HUNGRY GHOST HC ANTHONY BOURDAIN BERGER BOOKS 9 ANNE FRANK'S DIARY THE GRAPHIC ADAPTATION HC ANNE FRANK PANTHEON BOOKS 10 SABRINA HC NICK DRNASO DRAWN & QUARTERLY 11 BERLIN HC JASON LUTES DRAWN & QUARTERLY 12 SHEETS BRENNA THUMMLER LION FORGE 13 THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 14 MONSTRESS VOL. 1 MARJORIE LIU IMAGE COMICS 15 SAGA VOL. 1 BRIAN K. VAUGHAN IMAGE COMICS 16 THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 17 THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 29 ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 18 THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 15 HC ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 19 SCOTT PILGRIM PRECIOUS LITTLE BOX SET [W/ POSTER] BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY ONI PRESS 20 FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC ALISON BECHDEL MARINER BOOKS Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

The Superhero Top 20 includes several corporate-owned titles that are not strictly superhero comics, including the #4 title, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and #5, the first issue of Faith Erin Hicks’ arc of Avatar: The Last Airbender.



DC takes half the chart with 10 titles, leading off with Batman: White Knight, part of its Black Label line, and including one Vertigo title. Marvel has seven titles in the top 20, with its top seller, Infinity Gauntlet, in the #2 slot. Dark Horse Comics, Archie Comics, and BOOM! Studios each take one spot.



In terms of characters, Batman definitely leads the pack. In fact, Batman is the only franchise other than Marvel’s Infinity crossover that gets more than one title on the chart.

NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – December 2018 (12/2/18 - 12/29/18) Rank Title Author Publisher 1 BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT SEAN MURPHY DC BLACK LABEL 2 INFINITY GAUNTLET JIM STARLIN MARVEL COMICS 3 WATCHMEN ALAN MOORE DC COMICS 4 CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA ARCHIE COMIC PUB. 5 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER-IMBALANCE PART 1 FAITH ERIN HICKS DARK HORSE BOOKS 6 DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DLX. ED. HC SCOTT SNYDER DC COMICS 7 BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC ALAN MOORE DC COMICS 8 SABAN'S POWER RANGERS: SOUL OF THE DRAGON KYLE HIGGINS BOOM! STUDIOS 9 INFINITY WAR JIM STARLIN MARVEL COMICS 10 BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET TA-NEHISI COATES MARVEL 11 V FOR VENDETTA ALAN MOORE DC COMICS 12 DARK NIGHTS: METAL: DARK KNIGHTS RISING HC PETER TOMASI DC COMICS 13 VENOM BY DONNY CATES VOL. 1 DONNY CATES MARVEL 14 JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 1 SCOTT SNYDER DC COMICS 15 DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE CULLEN BUNN MARVEL 16 THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES (NEW ED.) NEIL GAIMAN VERTIGO 17 BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS FRANK MILLER DC COMICS 18 STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - DARK LORD OF THE SITH VOL. 3 CHARLES SOULE MARVEL 19 CIVIL WAR MARK MILLAR MARVEL 20 AQUAMAN: WAR FOR THE THRONE GEOFF JOHNS DC COMICS Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of December graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:

December 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels

December 2018 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:

December 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales

December 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales

December 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author 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."