Updated on December 10, 2021
The New York Times graphic novel and manga best seller list for August 2020 is now out.
The top five best sellers
This month’s top five entries:
- “The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal,” by Clint McElroy, et. al.; illustrated by Carey Pietsch (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
- “New Kid,” by Jerry Craft (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
- “Baby-Sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Roller Skates,” by Ann N. Martin; illustrated by Katy Farina (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
- “Guts,” by Raina Telgemeier (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
- “March: Book One,” by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; illustrated by Nate Powell (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
(Disclosure: The blog is an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and will earn a commission for purchases made through Bookshop links.)
Topping this month’s list is “The Adventure Zone: Petal to the Metal.” The graphic novel’s a spin-off of “The Adventure Zone” podcast series, centered around a family that plays role-playing games.
Down a notch at #2 is last month’s top best seller, “New Kid” by Jerry Craft.
Only one Raina Telgemeier book made the list this month, “Guts.”
John Lewis’ “March” trilogy makes the list
The late congressmember John Lewis’ autobiographical “March” trilogy saw a boost in sales, one that put the entire trilogy on the list; “Book One” came in at #5, “Book Two” at #10, and “Book Three” at #9.
“My Hero Academia” is (again) the most popular superhero entry
Again, not a single Big Two (DC or Marvel) book made the best seller list. However, “My Hero Academia” saw two entries this month; volume 1 reached #11, while volume 24 came in at #15.
“The Baby-Sitters Club” sees a revival as graphic novels
“Baby-Sitters Little Sister” is a long-running prose novel series that’s a spin-off of the also-long-running “The Baby-Sitters Club” series of books. The “Little Sister” series is centered around the adventures of Karen, a grade-school-aged sibling of one of the main series’ characters.
Both series were published between the mid-80s and 2000, but continue to be popular. “The Baby-Sitters Club” saw renewed popularity in recent years, thanks to a series of graphic novels based on the books, plus a new Netflix series.
As such, the “Little Sister” series also has received its own series of graphic novel adaptions, starting with 2019’s “Karen’s Witch.” “Karen’s Roller Skates” is the second volume in the planned series. The writer (Ann N. Martin, who wrote the first several dozen “Baby-Sitters Club” books) and illustrator (Katy Farina) of “Karen’s Roller Skates” are both queer women.
Image from “New Kid.” Art by Jerry Craft. (Quill Tree Books)
