X

  • Client Login
  • United Arab Emirates
    • ---Regions---
    • Europe
    • Mainland China
    • India
    • Latinoamérica (Latin America)
    • Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan
    • Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific
    • Sub-Saharan Africa
    • -------------
    • Algeria
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Bahrain
    • Bangladesh
    • Беларусь (Belarus)
    • Belgium
    • Brasil (Brazil)
    • България (Bulgaria)
    • Cameroun (Cameroon)
    • Canada
    • Centroamérica (Central America)
    • Chile
    • Mainland China
    • Colombia
    • Crna Gora (Montenegro)
    • Hrvatska (Croatia)
    • Cyprus
    • Česká republika (Czech Republic)
    • Danmark (Denmark)
    • Deutschland (Germany)
    • República Dominicana (Dominican Republic)
    • Ecuador
    • Egypt
    • España (Spain)
    • Eesti (Estonia)
    • France
    • Ghana
    • Ελλάδα | Greece
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • ישראל (Israel)
    • Italia (Italy)
    • Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
    • 日本 (Japan)
    • Jordan
    • Ireland
    • Казахстан (Kazakhstan)
    • Kenya
    • Kuwait
    • Latvija (Latvia)
    • Lebanon
    • Lietuva | Lithuania
    • Македонија (Macedonia)
    • Magyarország (Hungary)
    • Malaysia
    • México
    • Morocco
    • Myanmar
    • Nederland (Netherlands)
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • Nigeria
    • Norge (Norway)
    • Oman
    • Österreich (Austria)
    • Pakistan
    • Peru
    • Philippines
    • Polska (Poland)
    • Portugal
    • Puerto Rico
    • Qatar
    • România
    • Россия (Russia)
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Slovenská republika (Slovakia)
    • Slovenija (Slovenia)
    • South Africa
    • Srbija (Serbia)
    • Sri Lanka
    • Suomi (Finland)
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Schweiz | Switzerland | Svizzera | Suisse
    • Sverige (Sweden)
    • Tanzania
    • Taiwan
    • ประเทศไทย (Thailand)
    • Tunisia
    • Türkiye (Turkey)
    • Uganda
    • Ukraine
    • United Arab Emirates
    • United Kingdom
    • Uruguay
    • United States
    • Venezuela
    • Việt Nam
    X
Nielsen Logo Nielsen Logo
MENU
  • Insights
  • Solutions
  • About Us

Insights

Walking Tall: Graphic Novels Are Heroes in the Bookstore

Entertainment | 17-07-2013
Email Share

separate addresses by comma

Finely illustrated and often rich in plotlines, graphic novels have carved out a place on bookstore shelves, just a stone’s throw from Poe, Hemingway and Chaucer. Their popularity has, no doubt, been given a boost by several successful TV shows and movie franchises.

According to Nielsen, unit sales in the graphic novel category are up 10 percent year-over-year in 2013. Although Nielsen does not track actual selling price, the high-priced books at the top of the list are perhaps the most pleasant surprise for graphic novel publishers.

This year, the No. 1 and No. 2 selling books in the category, “The Walking Dead” compendiums by Robert Kirkman, have sold a combined 100,000 copies, and at $59.99 each, the suggested price point is well above that of most soft covers. In fact, “The Walking Dead: Compendium One” is by far the highest-price book on Nielsen BookScan’s bestseller chart for overall adult fiction top 200 year-to-date 2013.

What’s more, Kirkman and his series occupy four of the top five positions on the list of top graphic novels year-to-date. Kirkman’s “The Walking Dead: Compendium One” also saw a 47 percent week-to-week sales lift that coincided with the season finale of the hit AMC series in late March, which drew in almost 16 million viewers.

While Kirkman’s books have sold more than 1,000,000 units over the past 18-months, Naoko Takeuchi—author of the bestselling manga Sailor Moon series—has sold a total of 80,000-copies, and Masashi Kishimoto’s ninja manga series Naruto has sold almost 100,000 copies in 2013.

Of course no Nielsen BookScan graphic novel bestseller list is complete without superhero books like Watchmen, Marvel Avengers, Batman, and The DC Comics Ultimate Character Guide—all of which made the 2013 Top 25.

Top 10 Bestselling Adult Fiction Graphic Novels, First Half 2013

Title (ISBN) AUTHOR PUBLISHER UNIT SALES 2013 TO DATE
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM ONE (9781607060765) ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 54,000
THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TWO (9781607065968) ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 46,000
THE WALKING DEAD, VOLUME 1 (9781582406725) ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 26,000
NARUTO, VOLUME 60 (9781421549439) MASASHI KISHIMOTO VIZ MEDIA 25,000
THE WALKING DEAD, VOLUME 17 (9781607066156) ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 25,000
NARUTO, VOLUME 61 (9781421552484) MASASHI KISHIMOTO VIZ MEDIA 19,000
THE WALKING DEAD, VOLUME 18 (9781607066873) ROBERT KIRKMAN IMAGE COMICS 18,000
SAILOR MOON, VOLUME 9 (9781612620053) NAOKO TAKEUCHI KODANSHA COMICS 17,000
SAILOR MOON, VOLUME 10 (9781612620060) NAOKO TAKEUCHI KODANSHA COMICS 15,000
SAGA, VOLUME 1 (9781607066019) BRIAN K. VAUGHAN IMAGE COMICS 15,000
Nielsen's U.S. Consumer Market Panel currently covers approximately 85% of the print book market and continues to grow.
Source: Nielsen
Tagged:  BOOKS
Email Share

separate addresses by comma

Thank you

Click on the link to download the file. If your download doesn't start right away, right click on the link below to "Save As."

Related Solutions

Related News

Related Reports

Interested in learning more?
Contact Us

Get the Nielsen Newswire Newsletter

By clicking on Subscribe, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

X

You’re almost done! Please check your email to confirm your subscription.

In the meantime, explore our insights and reports on the latest consumer trends.

X

Something went wrong. If this is your first time subscribing, return to our signup form and try again, or contact us.

Once the form has been submitted successfully, you will receive an email requesting to confirm your subscription.

Company Info

  • About Nielsen
  • Investor Relations
  • Responsibility & Sustainability
  • Press Room
  • Leadership
  • Careers
  • Contact Us

Insights

  • News & Reports
  • News Center
  • How We Measure
  • Webinars & Events
  • Newsletter Sign-up

Solutions

  • Advertising Effectiveness
  • Consumer Insights
  • Creative Optimisation
  • Development and Qualification
  • Launch
  • Market Opportunity
  • Price and Promotion
  • Sales Measurements
  • Segmentation
  • Shopper

Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Use  |  Site Map
Copyright © 2019 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. All Rights Reserved.