It is that time of the month where we get to check out the latest graphic novels sales numbers. As always, ICv2 is the best source for these sales numbers. ICv2 released several sales charts for October 2021 including the Top 20 Superheroes Graphic Novels, Top 20 Author Graphic Novels, Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels, and Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels.
The Top 20 Superheroes Graphic Novels, Top 20 Author Graphic Novels, Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels, and Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels sales charts are all based on NPD BookScan numbers. 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.
October 2021 Top Author Graphic Novels
- BRZRKR VOL. 1 (BOOM) 6,887 units
- SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 (YEN PRESS) 5,973 units
- SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2 (YEN PRESS) 4,867 units
- THEY CALLED US ENEMY (TOP SHELF PROD.) 4,326 units
- INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 (IMAGE) 2,543 units
- DUNE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL BOOK 1 HC (ABRAMS) 2,455 units
- 1984: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN) 1,944 units
- I WAS THEIR AMERICAN DREAM: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR (CLARKSON POTTER) 1,941 units
- SAPIENS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY VOL. 2: THE PILLARS OF CIVILIZATION (HARPERCOLLINS) 1,905 units
- MARCH: BOOK ONE (TOP SHELF PROD.) 1,860 units
- THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM (FIRST SECOND BOOKS) 1,740 units
- DESTROY ALL MONSTERS: A RECKLESS BOOK HC (IMAGE) 1,638 units
- STRANGE PLANET HC (MORROW GIFT) 1,614 units
- INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 (IMAGE) 1,558 units
- RUN: BOOK ONE (ABRAMS) 1,455 units
- FANGS HC (ANDREWS MCMEEL) 1,436 units
- INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 (IMAGE) 1,371 units
- FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC (MARINER BOOKS) 1,349 units
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: A GRAPHIC NOVEL HC (HARPER) 1,345 units
- MONSTRESS VOL. 6: THE VOW (IMAGE) 1,154 units
October 2021 had softer sales for Author Graphic Novels than September 2021. In October 2021, the sales numbers are in the 2,000 unit range by the number 5 spot. In September 2021, the sales numbers did not slip into the 2,000 unit range until the number 7 spot. In October 2021, the sales numbers slipped into the 1,000 unit range by the number 7 spot. In September 2021, the sales numbers did not drop into the 1000 unit range units the number 12 spot.
Top 10
Yen Press and Top Shelf tied for first place in the Top 10 with two titles apiece. All other publishers only had one title apiece in the Top 10.
Top 20
Image won the Top 20 with 5 titles in the Top 20. Yen Press, Top Shelf, and Abrams all had two titles in the Top 20. All the other publishers placed one title in the Top 20.
The Author Graphic Novels sales chart continues to show great diversity among the various publishers in the industry. In general, the category for these graphic novels continues to be low. As an Invincible fan, I have to admit that it is cool to see Invincible still on this chart even after all of these years. I would imagine that the Invincible cartoon on Amazon may have helped boost some sales numbers.
October 2021 Top 20 Superheroes Graphic Novels
- BATMAN / FORTNITE: ZERO POINT HC (DC COMICS) 4,366 units
- BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) (DC COMICS) 2,293 units
- FAR SECTOR (DC COMICS) 2,032 units
- WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) (DC COMICS) 1,950 units
- STAR WARS: A VADER FAMILY SITHMAS HC (CHRONICLE BOOKS) 1,625 units
- THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES 30TH ANN. ED. (DC COMICS) 1,486 units
- BATMAN: YEAR ONE (DC COMICS) 1,368 units
- BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN (DC COMICS) 1,248 units
- THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS (DC COMICS) 1,140 units
- BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN DLX. ED. HC (DC COMICS) 961 units
- STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC: EDGE OF BALANCE VOL. 1 (VIZ MEDIA) 951 units
- SPIDER-MAN: THE SPIDER’S SHADOW (MARVEL COMICS) 949 units
- INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US YEAR ONE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION (DC COMICS) 915 units
- V FOR VENDETTA (DC COMICS) 890 units
- HARLEEN HC (DC COMICS) 825 units
- THE SANDMAN VOL. 2: THE DOLL’S HOUSE 30TH ANN. ED. (DC COMICS) 727 units
- BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT (DC COMICS) 715 units
- BATMAN: THREE JOKERS HC (DC COMICS) 697 units
- STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC VOL. 1: THERE IS NO FEAR (MARVEL COMICS) 672 units
- DAREDEVIL BY CHIP ZDARSKY VOL. 6: DOING TIME (MARVEL COMICS) 665 units
The sales for October 2021 were much softer than the September 2021 Top 20 Superhero Graphic Novels chart. In September, Batman/Fortnite Zero Point took the number one spot with 16,584 units. In October, Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point took the number one spot with a mere 4,366 units.
In October, sales dropped into the 1,000 unit range by the number 4 spot. In September, sales dropped into the 1,000 unit range by the number 8 spot. In October, sales dropped into the hundreds by the number 10 spot. In September, sales dropped into the hundreds by the number 16 spot.
Top 10
DC Comics absolutely obliterated Marvel Comics by taking the Top 4 spots and placing a stunning 9 out of 10 titles in the Top 10. Marvel placed 0 titles in the Top 10. Marvel may be pummeling DC Comics to death in the single-issue sales charts, but DC Comics continues to get revenge in the graphic novels sales charts.
Top 20
DC Comics continued their domination by placing a whopping 15 titles in the Top 20. Marvel places a pathetic 2 titles in the Top 20. October 2021 presented DC Comics with a massive win over their arch-rival Marvel.
Now, not is all good news for DC. Out of DC’s 15 titles, 5 were stories that were 30 years or older. There were 2 titles from 25 years ago. There was 1 title from 10 years ago. Out of DC’s 15 titles, only 4 titles were published in the last 5 years. This should be incredibly troubling for DC. Again, it seems that DC has been unable to connect with what their readers desire over the past several years.
Another concerning trend is that DC Comics is struggling to create any fan interest in any of their franchise outside of the Batman franchise. The Batman franchise accounted for 9 of DC’s 15 titles.
Marvel? Well, they just had to take their beating and ask for another this month. Marvel’s three titles were spread out evenly among the Spider-Man franchise, the Star Wars franchise, and the Daredevil franchise.
Overall, sales continue to be soft for superhero graphic novels. There were no impressive sales numbers anywhere in this Top 20 chart. Seeing sales numbers in the 1,000 unit range by the number 4 spot and in the hundreds by the number 10 spot should be concerning for DC Comics and Marvel.
October 2021 Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7 (VIZ MEDIA) 38,883 units
- ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 34 (KODANSHA COMICS) 38,714 units
- JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 12 (VIZ MEDIA) 29,827 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 (VIZ MEDIA) 26,268 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 29 (VIZ MEDIA) 19,669 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 (VIZ MEDIA) 16,466 units
- WOTAKOI: LOVE IS HARD FOR OTAKU VOL 5 (KODANSHA COMICS) 15,804 units
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 6 (VIZ MEDIA) 15,802 units
- ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 23 (VIZ MEDIA) 13,356 units
- TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 10 (YEN PRESS) 12,298 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 23 (VIZ MEDIA) 11,870 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 (VIZ MEDIA) 11,476 units
- TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 1 (YEN PRESS) 11,043 units
- ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1 (KODANSHA COMICS) 10,765 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 4 (VIZ MEDIA) 10,026 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 3 (VIZ MEDIA) 8,618 units
- KOMI CAN’T COMMUNICATE VOL. 15 (VIZ MEDIA) 7,623 units
- BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 (DARK HORSE) 7,511 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 (VIZ MEDIA) 7,376 units
- JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 7 (VIZ MEDIA) 7,362 units
Sales may be poor for American superhero comics, but they are still strong for manga. Having said that, October 2021 Manga Graphic Novels sales chart posted softer numbers compared to the September 2021 sales chart.
September posted a higher number one sales number with My Hero Academia Vol. 29 selling 51,321 units. That is much higher than the title in the number one spot for October. However, in October, sales did not drop into the upper 10,000 unit range until the number 5 spot. In September, sales dropped into the upper 10,000 unit range by the number 4 spot. In October, sales numbers did not drop into the sub-10,000 unit range until the number 16 spot. In September, sales dropped into the sub-10,000 unit range with the number 15 spot.
Things did get softer at the very bottom of the sales chart in October as the bottom four titles were all in the 7,000 unit range. In September, the bottom four titles were all in the 9,000 unit range.
Top 10
Viz dominated the Top 10 by placing 7 titles in the Top 10. Kodansha took second place with 2 titles in the Top 10. Yen Press managed 1 title in the Top 10.
I am a massive fan of Chainsaw Man, so it was awesome to see Chainsaw Man taking the number 1 spot in October 2021. I am also a huge fan of Spy x Family, so it was cool to see Spy x Family sneak into the Top 10, too.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba continues to be a sales beast by placing two volumes in the Top 10.
Top 20
Viz completely owned the Top 20 with 14 titles. Kodansha took a distant second place with just 3 titles. Yen Press ended up with 2 titles and Dark Horse managed 1 title in the Top 20.
With the growing success of manga in the United States, it would be nice to see some of the other big manga publishers stepping up to challenge Viz for their dominance in this market. Kodansha certainly has the franchises to seriously compete for the number one spot. Let’s hope that Kodansha continues to get more and more aggressive in the US market.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba was THE franchise for October 2021. Demon Slayer slotted 5 volumes in the Top 20. That is impressive. My Hero Academia continues to be a top franchise by placing 3 volumes in the Top 20.
Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun has another strong month by placing 2 volumes in the Top 20. Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is also the lone bright spot for Yen Press by accounting for all of their volumes in the Top 20.
Other franchises with multiple volumes in the Top 20 include Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen with both placing 2 volumes in the Top 20.
October 2021 Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7 (VIZ MEDIA) 38,883 units
- ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 34 (KODANSHA COMICS) 38,714 units
- JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 12 (VIZ MEDIA) 29,827 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 (VIZ MEDIA) 26,268 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 29 (VIZ MEDIA) 19,669 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 2 (VIZ MEDIA) 16,466 units
- WOTAKOI: LOVE IS HARD FOR OTAKU VOL 5 (KODANSHA COMICS) 15,804 units
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 6 (VIZ MEDIA) 15,802 units
- ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 23 (VIZ MEDIA) 13,356 units
- TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 10 (YEN PRESS) 12,298 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 23 (VIZ MEDIA) 11,870 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 (VIZ MEDIA) 11,476 units
- TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 1 (YEN PRESS) 11,043 units
- ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 1 (KODANSHA COMICS) 10,765 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 4 (VIZ MEDIA) 10,026 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 3 (VIZ MEDIA) 8,618 units
- KOMI CAN’T COMMUNICATE VOL. 15 (VIZ MEDIA) 7,623 units
- BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 (DARK HORSE) 7,511 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 (VIZ MEDIA) 7,376 units
- JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 7 (VIZ MEDIA) 7,362 units
Welp. Look at that. For yet ANOTHER month, manga obliterates American superhero comics. And it just is not even close. The October 2021 Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels sales chart is identical to the October 2021 Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels. What was once a surprise result has now become a constant monthly occurrence.
Marvel and DC are in trouble. There is zero doubt about it. It is obvious that what Marvel and DC have been offering up over the past five years is simply not appealing to a majority of their readership. It also is obvious that Marvel and DC’s readership is more interested in what manga has to offer these days. Since it appears that Marvel and DC have no desire to change I would expect to see manga continue to dominate American superhero comics in 2022.
All right, that is it for October 2021. Will manga continue its stranglehold on the Top 20 in November? We will find out!
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