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AUGUST 2026 CIRCANA BOOKSCAN – TOP 20 AUTHOR, MANGA, SUPERHERO GRAPHIC NOVELS
‘Dungeon Crawler Carl,’ ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Top the Charts
Posted by Brigid Alverson on September 15, 2026 @ 5:22 pm CT
Success breeds success, as Dungeon Crawler Carl, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Jujutsu Kaisen all top their respective categories, according to the Top 20 best-selling Author, Manga, and Superhero graphic novels according to Circana BookScan data for August 2026 (8/2/2026 – 8/29/2026) provided to ICv2.
There are a couple of notable things about the Author chart. Dungeon Crawler Carl is the top title, of course, and the LitRPG category is well represented with a variety of different types of books: Solo Leveling, Villains Are Destined to Die, The Adventure Zone, and D’Orc. Then there are the fantasy/romance titles: Villains Are Destined to Die, Heaven Official’s Blessing, and Under the Oak Tree. Note that Villains Are Destined to Die is in both categories; it’s a story about a woman who gets isekaied into a harem game as a character who always dies in Hard Mode, so she has to head that off.
Also on the Author chart: Vol. 2 of Our Sunny Days, a BL manhwa; Vol. 1 made the Author chart in March (see “March 2026 Circana BookScan”).
Since it’s Webtoon Week, we’ll note that Solo Leveling, Villains Are Destined to Die, Heaven Official’s Blessing, Under the Oak Tree, and Our Sunny Days are all webtoons.
And finally, Storm King makes its BookScan Top 20 debut with John Carpenter’s Cathedral, the first original graphic novel by the noted horror director. Storm King was founded by Carpenter’s wife and collaborator, Sandy King, and it focuses on books based on John Carpenter’s work, but they are usually adapted by other creators.
| Circana BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – August 2026 (8/2/26– 8/29/26) | |||
| Rank | Title | Author | Publisher |
| 1 | DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL VOL. 1 | MATT DINNIMAN | VAULT COMICS |
| 2 | THEY CALLED US ENEMY | GEORGE TAKEI | TOP SHELF PROD. |
| 3 | SOLO LEVELING: RAGNAROK VOL. 1 (COMIC) | JIN | IZE PRESS |
| 4 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 1 (COMIC) | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
| 5 | VILLAINS ARE DESTINED TO DIE VOL. 9 | GWON GYEOEUL | IZE PRESS |
| 6 | THE ADVENTURE ZONE: STORY AND SONG | GRIFFIN MCELROY | FIRST SECOND |
| 7 | OUR SUNNY DAYS VOL. 2 | JEONG SEOKCHAN | SEVEN SEAS ENT. |
| 8 | HEAVEN OFFICIAL’S BLESSING VOL. 2: TIAN GUAN CI FU HC | MO XIANG TONG XIU | INKLORE |
| 9 | INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 1 | ROBERT KIRKMAN | IMAGE COMICS |
| 10 | INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 2 | ROBERT KIRKMAN | IMAGE COMICS |
| 11 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 15: SIDE STORIES 2 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
| 12 | RAY BRADBURY’S FAHRENHEIT 451: THE AUTHORIZED ADAPTATION | RAY BRADBURY | HILL AND WANG |
| 13 | INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM VOL. 3 | ROBERT KIRKMAN | IMAGE COMICS |
| 14 | MONSTERS WE MAKE VOL. 1 | CORYXKENSHIN | RANDOM HOUSE |
| 15 | THE HOBBIT: A GRAPHIC NOVEL | J. R. R. TOLKIEN | WILLIAM MORROW |
| 16 | HEAVEN OFFICIAL’S BLESSING VOL. 1: TIAN GUAN CI FU HC | MO XIANG TONG XIU | INKLORE |
| 17 | SOLO LEVELING VOL. 14: SIDE STORIES 1 | CHUGONG | IZE PRESS |
| 18 | D’ORC VOL. 1: THE BOOK OF CERTAIN DOOM | BRETT BEAN | IMAGE COMICS |
| 19 | UNDER THE OAK TREE: VOL. 3 HC | SUJI KIM | INKLORE |
| 20 | JOHN CARPENTER’S CATHEDRAL | JOHN CARPENTER | STORM KING |
| Source: Circana |
As usual, VIZ Media dominates the Manga chart, with 14 of the Top 20 titles, and Jujutsu Kaisen dominates the VIZ lineup, with 8 of those 14 slots.
Nine of the Top 20 manga are also first volumes, including all the non-VIZ titles, which shows that established franchises are still finding new readers.
| Circana BookScan Top 20 Manga Graphic Novels – August 2026 (8/2/26– 8/29/26) | |||
| Rank | Title | Author | Publisher |
| 1 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 2 | KAGURABACHI VOL. 8 | TAKERU HOKAZONO | VIZ MEDIA |
| 3 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 29 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 4 | THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED VOL. 1 | MOKUMOKUREN | YEN PRESS |
| 5 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 2 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 6 | GACHIAKUTA 1 | KEI URANA | KODANSHA MANGA |
| 7 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 30 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 8 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 0 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 9 | DANDADAN VOL. 20 | YUKINOBU TATSU | VIZ MEDIA |
| 10 | DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 | KOYOHARU GOTOUGE | VIZ MEDIA |
| 11 | CHAINSAW MAN VOL. 21 | TATSUKI FUJIMOTO | VIZ MEDIA |
| 12 | ONE PIECE OMNIBUS EDITION VOL. 1 | EIICHIRO ODA | VIZ MEDIA |
| 13 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 3 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 14 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 26 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 15 | WITCH HAT ATELIER VOL. 1 | KAMOME SHIRAHAMA | KODANSHA MANGA |
| 16 | BLUE LOCK VOL. 1 | MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO | KODANSHA MANGA |
| 17 | JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 4 | GEGE AKUTAMI | VIZ MEDIA |
| 18 | THE APOTHECARY DIARIES VOL. 1 | NATSU HYUUGA | SQUARE ENIX |
| 19 | THE GUY SHE WAS INTERESTED IN WASN’T A GUY AT ALL VOL. 1 | SUMIKO ARAI | YEN PRESS |
| 20 | JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: PART 7 – STEEL BALL RUN VOL. 8 | HIROHIKO ARAKI | VIZ MEDIA |
| Source: Circana |
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel Comics’ experiment with a different kind of Compact Comic, tops the Superhero chart, and there are more like it on the way (see “Marvel Plans Wave of Compact Editions for Spring and Summer 2027”). There’s definitely more Spider-Man interest than usual, tied to the highly successful Spider-Man: Brand New Day film that premiered in August (see “‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Claims #2 All-Time”); that would explain the return of the Penguin Classics edition, a 2022 release.
Four Marvel Premier Collection titles (their initial version of compact editions) also make the chart, but DC Comics is still the top dog in this category, with 12 of the 20 titles, eight of which are Batman.
| Circana BookScan Top 20 “Superhero” Graphic Novels – August 2026 (8/2/26– 8/29/26) | |||
| Rank | Title | Author | Publisher |
| 1 | SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY [COMPACT EDITION] | ZEB WELLS | MARVEL COMICS |
| 2 | AVENGERS: SECRET WARS [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION] | JONATHAN HICKMAN | MARVEL COMICS |
| 3 | ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 1: THE ZOO | SCOTT SNYDER | DC COMICS |
| 4 | AVENGERS: TIME RUNS OUT [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION] | JONATHAN HICKMAN | MARVEL COMICS |
| 5 | BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | JUDD WINICK | DC COMICS |
| 6 | ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 2: ABOMINATION | SCOTT SNYDER | DC COMICS |
| 7 | BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | JEPH LOEB | DC COMICS |
| 8 | BATMAN: THE COURT OF OWLS SAGA: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | SCOTT SNYDER | DC COMICS |
| 9 | ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER VOL. 2: THE AGENCY | DENIZ CAMP | DC COMICS |
| 10 | SPIDER-MEN: WORLDS COLLIDE [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION] | BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS | MARVEL COMICS |
| 11 | BATMAN: YEAR ONE | FRANK MILLER | DC COMICS |
| 12 | NIGHTWING: LEAPING INTO THE LIGHT: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | TOM TAYLOR | DC COMICS |
| 13 | SPIDER-MAN: KRAVEN’S LAST HUNT [NEW PRINTING] | J. M. DEMATTEIS | MARVEL COMICS |
| 14 | BATMAN: HUSH: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION | JEPH LOEB | DC COMICS |
| 15 | ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER VOL. 1: MARTIAN VISION | DENIZ CAMP | DC COMICS |
| 16 | ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 1: THE ZOO HC | SCOTT SNYDER | DC COMICS |
| 17 | THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN | STAN LEE | PENGUIN GROUP |
| 18 | ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN BY JONATHAN HICKMAN VOL. 1: MARRIED WITH CHILDREN | JONATHAN HICKMAN | MARVEL COMICS |
| 19 | SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW: DC COMPACT COMICS | TOM KING | DC COMICS |
| 20 | PLANET HULK [MARVEL PREMIER COLLECTION] | GREG PAK | MARVEL COMICS |
| Source: Circana |
For charts of August 2026 graphic novel sales from Circana:
August 2026 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from Circana, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
August 2026 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
August 2026 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
Circana collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more. Circana covers approximately 85% of the U.S. trade print book market. The ranks on this chart are based on piece sales. Some publishers classify titles that are primarily text, or art books, as graphic novels; we’ve removed those titles from the ranking above.
For past Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the “Top 20 GN Index.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brigid Alverson
Contributing Editor. Alverson has been writing about comics since she launched MangaBlog in 2005. She wrote the Comics A.M. column for Robot 6 (now part of CBR), and currently edits the Good Comics for Kids blog at School Library Journal. In her earlier life, she had roles at magazine and book publishers.
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