Report: “Comics and Graphic Novels One of Highest Growth Categories in Publishing, Reports NPD”
From NPD:
According to NPD Bookscan data from global information provider the NPD Group, the comics and graphic novels category in the U.S. trade book market has experienced compound annual unit sales growth of 15 percent over the last three years, making it one of the highest growth categories in the trade book marketplace.
Women represent a growing cross-section of buyers, purchasing more than one out of every three comics and graphic novels sold over the past 12 months in the mainstream market, 37 percent overall. Buyers in the 13-29 age group account for 57 percent of purchasing of comics and graphic novels overall, with 21 percent being women and 36 percent being men.
While the traditional comic shop market has experienced sales declines over the past 12 months, there has been remarkable growth in overall sales through traditional book retailers, including chains like Barnes & Noble, independent bookstores, online retailers, and mass market retailers like Target who have given increased space to the category, particularly in its kids’ section. Over the past 12 months, unit sales of comics and graphic novels have increased 6 percent, continuing a pattern of more than five years of robust annual growth.
There are many types of comics and graphic novels driving the strong growth for kids, including books that have a tie-in with major media franchises, humorous stories, superheroes, and non-fiction and biographical titles.
Manga, a graphic form native to Japan, is a particularly strong area of growth for both kids and adults. Manga is skewing the youngest of all of the comics and graphic novels categories, with 76 percent of the purchasing being done by those ages 13-29. Manga buyers are also the most diverse group of buyers of comics and graphic novels; they are 20 percent less likely to be white than the overall population of comics and graphic novels buyers.
UPDATE October 10, 2017: More About Comics and Manga Publishing: NYCC Insider Sessions Powered By ICV2: Bookstores Could Surpass Comic Shops By 2020 (via ICV2)
Filed under: Data Files, News, Publishing, Reports
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.