It is that time of the month when 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 February 2023 including the Top 20 Author Graphic Novels, Top 20 Superheroes Graphic Novels, Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels, and Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels.
The Top 20 Author Graphic Novels, Top 20 Superhero 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 through direct reporting from all major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target, independent bookstores, and many others. NPD BookScan covers approximately 85% of the U.S. trade print book market.
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Author Graphic Novels
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Superhero Graphic Novels
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Author Graphic Novels
Top 10
- THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE ELEVENTH HOUR (First Second Books) 19,757 units
- CRITICAL ROLE: THE MIGHTY NEIN ORIGINS–NOTT THE BRAVE (Dark Horse Comics) 4,936 units
- LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE HC (Del Rey) 4,609 units
- SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 (Yen Press) 4,307 units
- LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. TWO HC (Del Rey) 3,852 units
- LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE HC (Del Rey) 3,549 units
- THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE ELEVENTH HOUR HC (First Second Books) 3,531 units
- SOLO LEVELING VOL. 5 (Yen Press) 2,811 units
- LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. ONE (Del Rey) 2,799 units
- SOLO LEVELING VOL. 2 (Yen Press) 2,722 units
Del Rey took first place with four volumes in the Top 10. Yen Press came in second place with three volumes. First Second Books took third place with two volumes. Dark Horse Comics came in fourth place with one volume.
Lore Olympus took first place with four volumes in the Top 10. Solo Leveling came in second place with three volumes. The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour took third place with two volumes.
Again, eastern webcomics dominate the Top 10 Author Graphic Novels chart by taking seven spots in the Top 10.
Month-over-month sales were up big at the number 1 spot. In January 2023, the volume in the number 1 spot sold 5,574 units. However, month-over-month sales were down once you get past the number 1 spot. In January 2023, the volume in the number 2 spot sold 5,208 units.
In January 2023, sales in the Top 10 never slipped below the 3,000 unit mark with the volume in the number 10 spot selling 3,239 units. In February 2023, sales dropped below the 3,000 unit mark by the number 8 spot and the volume in the number 10 spot sold 2,722 units.
Year-over-year sales were also up at the number 1 spot as the volume in the number 1 spot in February 2022 sold 8,016 units. However, year-over-year sales were down at the number 2 and 3 spots. Also, in February 2022, sales did not drop below the 3,000 unit mark until the number 9 spot.
Top 20
- VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 2 (Yen Press) 2,582 units
- YOU ARE HOME (Andrews & McMeel) 2,515 units
- INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 (Image Comics) 2,474 units
- SOLO LEVELING VOL. 3 (Yen Press) 2,344 units
- GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR (Oni Press) 2,310 units
- MARCH: BOOK ONE (Top Shelf Prod.) 2,273 units
- THEY CALLED US ENEMY (Top Shelf Prod.) 2,219 units
- MY GENTLY RAISED BEAST VOL. 1 (Yen Press) 2,192 units
- SOLO LEVELING VOL. 4 (Yen Press) 2,172 units
- LORE OLYMPUS: VOL. THREE (Del Rey) 2,005 units
Yen Press took first place with seven volumes in the Top 20. Del Rey came in second place with five volumes. First Second Books and Top Shelf Prod. Tied for third place with two volumes apiece. Dark Horse Comics, Andrews & McMeel, Image Comics, and Oni Press all had one volume apiece in the Top 20.
Lore Olympus and Solo Leveling tied for first place with five volumes apiece in the Top 20. The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour took third place with two volumes.
Eastern webcomics/manwha continue to dominate the Top 20 Author Graphic Novels chart by placing twelve volumes in the Top 20.
Month-over-month sales were down across the board. In January 2023, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 3,175 units. Sales did not drop below 3,000 units until the number 14 spot. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 2,341 units.
In February 2023, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 2,583 units. Sales dropped below the 3,000 unit mark by the number 8 spot. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 2,005 units.
On the other hand, year-over-year sales were up. In February 2022, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 2,066 units. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 1,241 units.
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Superhero Graphic Novels
Top 10
- TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN HC (IDW Publishing) 6,605 units
- WATCHMEN (2019 EDITION) (DC Comics) 1,970 units
- THE SANDMAN BOOK ONE (DC Comics) 1,665 units
- ALL-STAR SUPERMAN (DC Comics) 1,151 units
- THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS (DC Comics) 1,134 units
- A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY (Marvel Comics) 1,130 units
- BATMAN: YEAR ONE DLX. ED. (DC Comics) 1,108 units
- FLASHPOINT (DC Comics) 1,004 units
- BATMAN ’89 HC (DC Comics) 1,001 units
- BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE DLX. ED. HC (NEW EDITION) (DC Comics) 946 units
DC Comics dominated all publishers by putting eight volumes in the Top 10. IDW Publishing and Marvel Comics both had one volume apiece.
As usual, DC Comics moved mostly old comic book collections with the exceptions of Batman ’89 and The Batman Who Laughs. DC Comics continues to struggle to get reader interest in their product for the past five years.
It is interesting to note that James Gunn’s name-dropping of All-Star Superman during the unveiling of DC Studios’ plans for the next few years did lead to some units being sold of that old collection. It was only 1,151 units, but it is better than nothing.
Month-over-month sales were down across the board in the Top 10 Superhero Graphic Novels chart. In January 2023, the volume in the number 1 spot sold 8,042 units. Sales did not drop below the 2,000 unit mark until the number 4 spot. The volume in the number 10 spot sold 1,016 units.
In February 2023, the volume in the number 1 spot sold 6,605 units. Sales dropped below the 2,000 unit mark by the number 2 spot. The volume in the number 10 spot sold 946 units.
Year-over-year sales were up at the number 1 spot. In February 2022, the volume in the number 1 spot sold 2,224 units. However, year-over-year numbers were down for the rest of the Top 10. In February 2022, sales dropped below the 2,000 unit mark by the number 4 spot. The volume in the number 10 spot sold 995 units.
Top 20
- THE LAST OF US: AMERICAN DREAMS (Dark Horse Comics) 885 units
- BATMAN BY GRANT MORRISON OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC (DC Comics) 874 units
- KINGDOM COME (DC Comics) 762 units
- ALL STAR SUPERMAN: THE DELUXE EDITION (DC Comics) 756 units
- SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW (DC Comics) 706 units
- DAREDEVIL BY MILLER & JANSON OMNIBUS HC (Marvel Comics) 682 units
- BATMAN: HUSH (NEW EDITION) (DC Comics) 681 units
- SPIDER-VERSE/SPIDER-GEDDON OMNIBUS HC (Marvel Comics) 666 units
- THE WITCHER: RONIN (Dark Horse Comics) 665 units
- STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS VOL. 5: THE RAID ON THE VERMILLION (Marvel Comics) 651 units
DC Comics trounced all of the other publishers with thirteen volumes in the Top 20. Marvel Comics came in a very distant second place with four volumes. Dark Horse Comics had two volumes. IDW Publishing had one volume apiece.
Again, it should be noted that James Gunn’s name-dropping of both All-Star Superman and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow during the DC Studios presentation helped move some units. Again, the numbers are tiny, but it is still better than nothing.
As usual, DC Comics’ success in the Top 20 stems almost excessively from collections of older comics. There is very little that has been published within the past five years that is getting any interest from readers.
Month-over-month sales were down across the board. In January 2023, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 1,001 units. Sales dropped below the 1,000 unit mark by the number 12 spot. Sales never dropped below the 700 unit mark. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 755 units.
In February 2023, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 885 units. Sales dropped below the 1,000 unit mark by the number 10 spot. Sales dropped below the 700 unit mark by the number 16 spot. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 651 units.
Year-over-year sales were also down. In February 2022, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 954 units. Sales dropped below the 1,000 unit mark by the number 10 spot. Sales never dropped below the 700 unit mark. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 704 units.
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels
Top 10
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 33 (VIZ Media) 31,645 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 16,781 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 15,725 units
- MY DRESS-UP DARLING VOL. 7 (Square Enix) 13,828 units
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 12,298 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 11,144 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2 (VIZ Media) 11,033 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3 (VIZ Media) 9,414 units
- KOMI CAN’T COMMUNICATE VOL. 23 (VIZ Media) 9,302 units
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2 (VIZ Media) 9,200 units
As usual, VIZ Media had no competition and put nine volumes in the Top 10. Square Enix had one volume.
Once again, Chainsaw Man was the number one franchise as it had three volumes in the Top 10. My Hero Academia and Spy x Family had two volumes apiece.
Month-over-month sales were up at the number 1 spot, but down for the rest of the Top 10. In January 2023, the volume in the number 1 spot sold 25,052 units. Sales dropped below 13,000 by the number 7 spot. The volume in the number 10 spot sold 11,388 units.
In February 2023, the volume in the number 1 spot sold 31,645 units. Sales dropped below 13,000 units by the number 5 spot. The volume in the number 10 spot sold 9,200 units.
Year-over-year sales were down across the board. In February 2022, the volume in the number 1 spot sold 52,309 units. The volume in the number 11 spot sold 18,407 units.
Top 20
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 3 (VIZ Media) 8,762 units
- KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 5 (VIZ Media) 8,268 units
- JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 18 (VIZ Media) 8,043 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 4 (VIZ Media) 7,914 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7 (VIZ Media) 7,874 units
- BLUE LOCK VOL. 1 (Kodansha Comics) 7,542 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 9 (VIZ Media) 7,394 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 10 (VIZ Media) 7,360 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 5 (VIZ Media) 7,339 units
- TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN VOL. 17 (Yen Press) 7,119
VIZ Media dominated all publishers with seventeen volumes in the Top 20. Square Enix, Kodansha Comics, and Yen Press had one volume apiece.
To no surprise, Chainsaw Man lead all franchises with eight volumes. Spy x Family three volumes. My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen had two volumes apiece.
Month-over-month sales at the bottom half of the Top 20 were down. In January 2023, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 11,381 units. Sales never dropped below the 9,000 unit mark. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 9,714 units.
In February 2023, the volume in the number 11 spot sold 8,762 units. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 7,119 units.
Year-over-year sales were also down. The volume in the number 11 spot sold 16,972 units. The volume in the number 20 spot sold 11,043 units.
It is definitely not exciting for VIZ Media to see the manga industry selling well below what it was in 2022. However, the pandemic certainly did supercharge manga sales to an amazing degree. 2022 was unusual in that it more than doubled from February 2021 to February 2022. I am not sure that pace was sustainable. The manga market is still far healthier than the American superhero market which remains largely on life-support.
I know some are concerned that there are no new franchises entering the manga market that look like they can move units like My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Chainsaw Man, and Spy x Family have been able to do over the past two years. I am not too worried. I do think there are several franchises that are sleeping giants at the moment. All they need is an anime to debut and cause a big spike in manga sales.
The franchises that come to mind include Sakamoto Days, Kaiju No. 8, and Maschle: Magic and Muscles. I am bullish on these three franchises in particular. I think that when their anime makes its debut that we will see them rise up in the manga sales charts. Maschle: Magic and Muscles anime is set to premiere in April 2023. I believe that Kaiju No. 8 is set to debut in 2024. I am unsure if there has even been a release date announced for Sakamoto Days, yet.
Shueisha is releasing more and more new manga on Shonen Jump+ so I do not anticipate seeing this lull in the rise of the next hit franchises lasting for too long.
NPD BookScan February 2023 Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
Top 10
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 33 (VIZ Media) 31,645 units
- THE ADVENTURE ZONE: THE ELEVENTH HOUR (First Second Books) 19,757 units
- DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 16,781 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 15,725 units
- MY DRESS-UP DARLING VOL. 7 (Square Enix) 13,828 units
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 12,298 units
- MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 (VIZ Media) 11,144 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 2 (VIZ Media) 11,033 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 3 (VIZ Media) 9,414 units
- KOMI CAN’T COMMUNICATE VOL. 23 (VIZ Media) 9,302 units
Like every month, manga dominates the Top 10 Adult Graphic Novels chart. There was only one non-manga title in the Top 10.
Top 20
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 2 (VIZ Media) 9,200 units
- SPY X FAMILY VOL. 3 (VIZ Media) 8,762 units
- KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 5 (VIZ Media) 8,268 units
- JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 18 (VIZ Media) 8,043 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 4 (VIZ Media) 7,914 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 7 (VIZ Media) 7,874 units
- BLUE LOCK VOL. 1 (Kodansha Comics) 7,542 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 9 (VIZ Media) 7,394 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 10 (VIZ Media) 7,360 units
- CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 5 (VIZ Media) 7,339 units
Manga took nineteen of the twenty spots in the Top 20. Even with manga down it is still manga’s world when it comes to adult graphic novels.
How far are American superhero comic books? The best-selling graphic novel by either DC Comics or Marvel Comics was The Sandman Book One which moved 2,336 units. That is not even remotely close to the manga in the number 20 spot. The chasm remains wide.
All right, that is it for February 2023. Will manga continue its utter dominance in the Top 20 in March 2023? We will find out! Until then, stay safe and be good!
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