There was a recent news story which stated that the Demon Slayer manga alone had outsold the entire American comic industry. While this story turned out to be incorrect, the discussion that it provoked was quite fascinating and so I decided to take a look at the reasons why manga can be so dominant when it comes to American graphic novel sales.
First off, we should take a look at the bestselling graphic novels in the US in 2020. Looking at NPD Bookscan’s sales charts, who claim that they have sales information on approximately 85% of the physical book market in the US, you’ll notice how dominant manga seems to be. While no specific sales figures are given, you can see that the best selling graphic novel in the US in 2020 was the first volume of My Hero Academia, a manga. In fact, of the top 20 best selling graphic novels, only 5 are not manga with Strange Planet occupying the second slot, Stranger Planet in the seventh slot, March: Book One in the eleventh slot, Snug: A Collection of Comics about Dating Your Best Friend in the twelfth slot and a rerelease of Watchmen in the 15th slot. While we don’t know the difference in sales numbers between each entry, I do think that it’s fair to say that manga has become quite dominant when it comes to American graphic novel sales.
The question now becomes “Why is this the case? Why is manga outselling American comics in their own market?”. There aren’t any definitive reasons for this but what we do have are a variety of probable factors. First off, it’s a fact that when it comes to adapting source material and using them to drive sales, manga is far more adept than American graphic novels. If we take a look at an article from Anime News Network, you will see that the manga Jujutsu Kaisen has seen a 590% increase in circulation since the release of its anime! In contrast, despite the success of superhero films such as those within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, American superhero comic sales are, for the most part, stagnant. While there is no clear reason why the success of the films have not led to a rise in the sales of their comics, some theorise that constant reboots of superhero comics, complex and unclear information on how to start reading superhero series and a lack of similarity between the comics themselves and their adaptations are contributing factors.
Another reason why manga is outdoing comics in America is to do with the female market. While there are exceptions such as the IDW release of the My Little Pony comics, the American comics industry is primarily geared towards targeting adult males. In contrast, there are various forms of manga that are specifically targeted at women and, while I don’t have any specific information with regards to the gender breakdown of manga readers in America, it’s worth noting that in various markets the female manga reading population outnumbers the males.
The next section is something purely from my own perspective although I do believe that many people share my opinion. I’ve collected some American graphic novels and have truly enjoyed many of them. However, one of the primary reasons that I do not collect more American comics is due to the pricing. Quite often, I see an American graphic novel selling for €15 for about 120 pages and become put off, turning to manga and seeing a more affordable €7-8 for about 180 pages. I do not know for sure if these prices are a reason for the increasing popularity of manga over American comics but I can’t help but believe it to be a factor.
Ultimately, it appears that manga is thriving compared to the American comic industry and I can’t help but believe that some form of change has to occur to increase the popularity of American graphic novels. I think that they should attempt to reduce the price of their releases to better compete with manga, perhaps through budget releases, while creating a variety of series for more demographics and better educating the consumer on how to start long-running series.
Let me know your thoughts on why manga is so dominant in American graphic novel sales, if you agree or disagree with me on my reasoning on why manga continues to outsell American comics, whether you agree or disagree with me on the changes that the American comic industry should pursue, if you have any ideas yourself and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!