A new graphic novel tops the chart of the Top 20 best-selling Adult graphic novels according to Circana BookScan data for September 2026 (8/30/2026 – 10/3/2026) provided to ICv2.
The top title is neither Absolute Batman nor Dungeon Crawler Carl but The Long-Lived King, an original graphic novel set in the world of the animated show The Owl House. This book was released at the end of September, so the high sales suggest there were strong preorders. The series ran from 2020 to 2023 on the Disney Channel, and back in 2022, the late ICv2 columnist Steve Bennett expressed his hope that it would be continued as a comic (see “Confessions of a Comic Book Guy“). Seems he was onto something!
Don’t count Dungeon Crawler Carl out, though. The first volume of the graphic novel series is at number 2. The second volume was released on October 6 and it will be interesting to see how sales play out on next month’s charts.
The fact that Vol. 3 of Absolute Batman debuted in third place is a little surprising, but the book channel is very different from the direct market, where it dominates; the first volume debuted in fifth place (see “August 2025 Circana BookScan“). While the trade paperback is in the Top 20, the hardcover edition, released the same day, is not. This is a typical buying pattern for superhero graphic novels and the opposite of what often happens with creator-owned titles such as Lore Olympus.
Enough manga readers, on the other hand, ponied up the $49.99 for the deluxe hardcover Grimoire Editions of Witch Hat Atelier to put both volumes on the chart.
| Circana BookScan Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels – September 2026 (8/30/26 – 10/3/26) | |||
| Rank | Title | Author | Publisher |
| 1 | THE LONG-LIVED KING: AN ORIGINAL THE OWL HOUSE GRAPHIC NOVEL | DANA TERRACE | DISNEY |
| 2 | DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL VOL. 1 | MATT DINNIMAN | VAULT COMICS |
| 3 | ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 3: DEVIL’S WORKSHOP | SCOTT SNYDER | DC COMICS |
| 4 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 5 | SPY X FAMILY VOL. 16 | TATSUYA ENDO | VIZ MEDIA |
| 6 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 2 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 7 | THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED VOL. 1 | MOKUMOKUREN | YEN PRESS |
| 8 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 29 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 9 | AVENGERS: SECRET WARS [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION] | JONATHAN HICKMAN | MARVEL COMICS |
| 10 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 0 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 11 | JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 7–STEEL BALL RUN VOL. 9 | HIROHIKO ARAKI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 12 | DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 | KOYOHARU GOTOUGE | VIZ MEDIA |
| 13 | GACHIAKUTA VOL. 1 | KEI URANA | KODANSHA |
| 14 | ONE PIECE OMNIBUS EDITION VOL. 1 | EIICHIRO ODA | VIZ MEDIA |
| 15 | WITCH HAT ATELIER: GRIMOIRE EDITION VOL. 2 HC | KAMOME SHIRAHAMA | KODANSHA |
| 16 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 3 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 17 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 26 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 18 | KAIJU NO. 8 VOL. 16 | NAOYA MATSUMOTO | VIZ MEDIA |
| 19 | WITCH HAT ATELIER: GRIMOIRE EDITION VOL. 1 HC | KAMOME SHIRAHAMA | KODANSHA |
| 20 | THE APOTHECARY DIARIES VOL. 1 | NATSU HYUUGA | SQUARE ENIX |
| Source: Circana | |||
For charts of September 2026 graphic novel sales from Circana:
September 2026 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from Circana, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
September 2026 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
September 2026 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero 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
