Elsewhere: February 2014 BookScan chart

ICV2 has their monthly look at the Top 20 Graphic Novels as reported through BookScan for February 2014. They've been reporting this information since April 2008, with the past charts listed here. It's a chart of somewhat limited utility, with only 20 entries and no solid numbers attached, and an uncertain definition of "graphic novel", but has some points of interest.

Obviously the usual, lots of WALKING DEAD (in three different formats), lots of ATTACK ON TITAN, the current hit "manga" and the latest volumes of two long-running translated Japanese comics, BLEACH and NARUTO.

The last volume of LOCKE & KEY does well at #5.  The two previous volumes each made the chart once and then dropped off, but neither of them were in the Top 10.

ADVENTURE TIME v4 comes in at #7, which is the first time a volume of the series has made the chart, and in fact the first time any book from Boom has made the chart.

Both volumes of SAGA have done well since they were released, making the Top 20 more often than not. It'll be interesting to see how big the third book debuts. It'll only have a brief on-sale window in March if it comes out as scheduled the last week of the month.

Dark Horse continues to do well with AVATAR. In fact, that series represents their only Top 20 books in two years. I'm pretty sure this particular book is one of the $40 "Library Edition" omnibus hardcovers collecting three previous books, so that's an especially good showing.

That MISS PEREGRINE book, a comic book spin-off of a prose and vintage photograph series, looks strange. Contrary to what the ICV2 commentary says, it's actually the second month it's been on the chart, and it actually came out in October 2013, but didn't make the chart until January 2014, presumably boosted by the release of the second novel in the series.

Also, it's not really that noteworthy that DC and Marvel didn't have an entry on the list.  Marvel is hardly even a presence on the chart, and while usually DC has a few entries (an old Alan Moore written book, if nothing else) there have been months recently with neither, like March 2012.