August 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels

Manga continues to dominate the top 20 Adult graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for August 2021 (8/1/21-8/28/21) provided to ICv2.

All but one of the Top 20 books were manga in August 2021.  The exception was Run: Book One, the followup to Rep. John Lewis’s graphic memoir March, which was a trilogy.  Run has a new artist and a new publisher, and it remains to be seen if it will perform as well as March did.

In addition to Run, there were eight other August releases on the chart, which shows that manga readers are continuing to diversify.  The new releases included the most recent volumes of Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Chainsaw Man, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Haikyu!!, The Promised Neverland, and Komi Can’t Communicate, as well as the newest Junji Ito story, Sensor.  That list is heavy on Shonen Jump titles, and some, such as Haikyu!! and The Promised Neverland, are series that have picked up steam over the period of the pandemic.  Komi Can’t Communicate last appeared on the Adult Top 20 in May (see “May 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels“), and that was the first volume; now enough people are picking up Volume 14 to put it on the chart again.

It’s also worth noting that there’s usually one Junji Ito title on the chart, but in August there were three.  Two volumes of Dark Horse Comics’ deluxe edition of Berserk also charted; the death of creator Kentaro Miura may be bringing extra attention to this series.  And while VIZ Media dominates, as usual, this chart has six non-VIZ titles, which is a lot.

Finally, what’s not on the chart? The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom, which was released in July.  Last month, the paperback was number 2 on the chart and the hardcover was number 5 (see “July 2020 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels“).  In previous years, the newest volume of Adventure Zone would typically still be on the chart in August.  The second volume of Solo Leveling has also slid off the chart.

For charts of August 2021 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
August 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels [COMING]
August 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels [COMING]

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
August 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
August 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales [COMING]
August 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales [COMING]

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.”

Source: ICV2