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Updated on December 10, 2021
Time to start off the new year with a look at this month‘s New York Times graphic novel and manga best seller list.
The top five best sellers
- “Cat Kid Comic Club,” by Dav Pilkey (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
- “A Wealth of Pigeons,” by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin (Amazon, Bookshop)
- “My Hero Academia,” vol. 1, by Kohei Horikoshi (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
- “Guts,” by Raina Telgemeier (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
- “My Hero Academia,” vol. 2, by Kohei Horikoshi (Amazon, Bookshop, Kobo)
(Disclosure: The blog is an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and will earn a commission for purchases made through Bookshop links.)
“Dog Man” spin-off tops the list
The “Dog Man” spin-off “Cat Kid Comic Club” is the month’s top entry. Given the extreme popularity of “Dog Man,” it’s not surprising this one came in at #1.
The graphic novel features several “Dog Man” supporting characters demonstrating how to create one’s own comic.
Manga (again) is prominent
Once again, manga continues its popularity, with manga volumes making up a third of the list. “My Hero Academia” appears at #3 and #5; it’s also the top superhero entry on the list. Unlike last month, there are no Big Two comics on the list this month. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba” (#7), “Remina” (#9), and the first volume of “Attack on Titan” (#14) also are on the list.
I notice that other than “Attack on Titan,” all the manga entries are published by VIZ Media. Not surprising, given Viz had an estimated 58% of book channel manga sales in 2019. Kodansha (the publisher of “Titan”) came in a distant second, with 13% of sales. Viz had the second largest share of overall book channel sales—15%, after first-place Scholastic (home of “Dog Man” and “Cat Kid”) with 22%. (If curious, the “Big Two” of DC/Marvel only made up 15% combined.)
Image from “Cat Kid Comic Club.” Art by Dav Pilkey. (Scholastic)
