New sales stats show explosive growth for comics and manga in America

New sales stats show explosive growth for comics and manga in America

Photo: Ana Diaz/Polygon
Comicsbeat has released an amazing 2021 graphic novel and paperback sales report that shows the current strength of the market, especially for manga. It’s been another huge year for print manga sales, building on the momentum of 2021.
The review covers all bookstore sales through NPD BookScan, which reflects all bookstores that fall under the NPD Books sales tracking and data center. This includes Amazon and many major retailers, but it’s not a comprehensive overview of the industry – missing markets like library buys, digital comics or Scholastic book fairs. Despite these limitations, there are still startling numbers showing the recent success of the comic book industry.
Report author Brian Hibbs explains, “In 2021, comic books have completely exploded in a way that almost defies rationality – not only has raw circulation increased by almost 70% (!), more material of comic books was sold in 2021 than in 2018 and 2019 combined (!!) If we compare 2021 sales to our first BookScan report in 2003, there is over 558% growth in the number of copies sold (!!!). If I didn’t see the numbers written in black and white, I’m not even sure I would believe it.
Hibbs notes that 64% of all sales are books by just 95 people – but he sees that as a good sign. “This is a vast expansion of the talent pool – in 2020 there were only 51 people, which accounted for 61% of sales,” Hibbs writes. Some of the most popular creators currently selling comics and manga include Dan Pilkey, creator of the Captain Underpants series; Kohei Horikoshi, creator of My Hero Academia; the authors of the Babysitter’s Club graphic novel adaptations; and YouTuber FGTeeV.
“What you can tell is that only a small number of creators run the majority of business in comics (and books in general, as far as I can tell); and conversely, that probably means the numerical majority of comics aren’t actually grossing significantly in any given year.

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Paperback manga have taken over the world
Manga experienced a similar boom. Sales have tripled in the top 50 and increased by 280% in calculated dollars in 2021. Although this is mainly concentrated in popular franchises like Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia, it shows that the cultural impact and the popularity of manga are increasing with time.
The full Bookscan 2021 report is at Comicsbeat, where Hibbs dives deep into all facets of the data. However, the numbers are an extremely promising sign for the continued success of the industry.

#sales #stats #show #explosive #growth #comics #manga #America

New sales stats show explosive growth for comics and manga in America

Photo: Ana Diaz/Polygon
Comicsbeat has released an amazing 2021 graphic novel and paperback sales report that shows the current strength of the market, especially for manga. It’s been another huge year for print manga sales, building on the momentum of 2021.
The review covers all bookstore sales through NPD BookScan, which reflects all bookstores that fall under the NPD Books sales tracking and data center. This includes Amazon and many major retailers, but it’s not a comprehensive overview of the industry – missing markets like library buys, digital comics or Scholastic book fairs. Despite these limitations, there are still startling numbers showing the recent success of the comic book industry.
Report author Brian Hibbs explains, “In 2021, comic books have completely exploded in a way that almost defies rationality – not only has raw circulation increased by almost 70% (!), more material of comic books was sold in 2021 than in 2018 and 2019 combined (!!) If we compare 2021 sales to our first BookScan report in 2003, there is over 558% growth in the number of copies sold (!!!). If I didn’t see the numbers written in black and white, I’m not even sure I would believe it.
Hibbs notes that 64% of all sales are books by just 95 people – but he sees that as a good sign. “This is a vast expansion of the talent pool – in 2020 there were only 51 people, which accounted for 61% of sales,” Hibbs writes. Some of the most popular creators currently selling comics and manga include Dan Pilkey, creator of the Captain Underpants series; Kohei Horikoshi, creator of My Hero Academia; the authors of the Babysitter’s Club graphic novel adaptations; and YouTuber FGTeeV.
“What you can tell is that only a small number of creators run the majority of business in comics (and books in general, as far as I can tell); and conversely, that probably means the numerical majority of comics aren’t actually grossing significantly in any given year.

Related

Paperback manga have taken over the world
Manga experienced a similar boom. Sales have tripled in the top 50 and increased by 280% in calculated dollars in 2021. Although this is mainly concentrated in popular franchises like Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia, it shows that the cultural impact and the popularity of manga are increasing with time.
The full Bookscan 2021 report is at Comicsbeat, where Hibbs dives deep into all facets of the data. However, the numbers are an extremely promising sign for the continued success of the industry.

#sales #stats #show #explosive #growth #comics #manga #America