Walt's Comic Shop 2023 — In Numbers! Part 2 (of 3): Top-Selling Graphic Novels & Manga

So here we come to the second part of our 2023 analysis. First, I'll take another look with the magnifying glass and focus on two formats that got a bit lost in the big bestseller chart: Trade Paperbacks and Graphic Novels.

Brubaker and Phillips once again deliver, placing their latest novella at the top of the Graphic Novels and Collected Editions chart shortly after its release. In second place is a Miyazaki work that was particularly successful in our Brick & Mortar, actually the most successful book of the year: Shuna's Journey is a wonderful story that captivates everyone with its enchanting illustrations, especially appealing to non-traditional comic readers. We need more of such crossover publications to get people into the store!

This is followed by Marvel, once with Zdarsky's Daredevil run, which also sold excellently in paperback form; and then there's the Epic Collections series, which continues to be incredibly strong. The fact that Marvel has managed to establish another series so successfully alongside the Masterworks and Omnis, replicating the same evergreen material in TPs, is simply brilliant. While DC and Image primarily sell successful individual pieces, Marvel is unloading its entire universe onto the consumers — and they are eagerly grabbing it!

And now to the segment that has seen the most significant increase in absolute units sold compared to 2022: Manga.

As you can see: Berserk still rules on all levels. If one were to consider the sales price (instead of the number of units sold), Berserk would be EVEN more dominant, since there are hardly any other deluxe hardcovers in the manga sector so far; a situation that will change in 2024. It's always said that manga is so innovative and ahead of Western comics. But when it comes to the 'packaging' of the stories, it must be clearly stated: there's significant room for improvement! The success of the recolored Parasyte series and the Dark Horse hardcovers show that there is incredible potential yet to be realized. Just imagine what an oversized hardcover edition for popular and outstanding graphic masterpieces like Vagabond, One Punch Man, Tokyo Ghoul, or Inuyashiki would achieve. There's a whole segment still in its infancy, and props to Dark Horse for being the first to massively profit from it (with reportedly several hundred thousand units of the Berserk hardcovers sold).

Otherwise, Junji Ito is still extremely popular with our customers. His classics sell better than the new releases, but he is by far the most well-known 'auteur' among mangaka. Another one would be Inio Asano, whose Goodnight Punpun may not appear in the bestsellers, but performed well, just like his one-and-done volumes. Besides the hyped titles of the last year like Dandadan, Skip & Loafer, Blue Lock, and Oshi No Ko, we were ourselves somewhat surprised that a much less discussed title was so high up: The Ito-style horror of PTSD Radio managed to place all 3 volumes in the Top46 and is the surprise of the year.

Alright, that's it for part 2. Come back for part 3, where I will unpack Single Issue sales and a all-time-sales chart, which is very interesting in its own right.