Read an article about it, from comicbook:
NPD BookScan has carefully tracked print sales of graphic novels in the United States for years, and their data from 2022 to now is eye-opening. According to the latest data, manga takes up 53% of the graphic novels market where sales are concerned. It grew 4.1 points year over year while its next competitor in the market, juvenile fiction, decreased 1.4 points. The genre still holds 26% of the market share, but most of the market categories are in decline. The largest point loss went to the superhero (adult) genre as it lost 1.7 points, leaving it with 4% of the market.
While juvenile fiction titles like Dog Man are doing very well with U.S. readers, the genre cannot compete with manga. Publishers like Viz Media and Kodansha Comics have posted record sales in recent years... and their profits are still rising. This is also accounting for print sales strictly which now overlooks a sizable portion of the manga industry. Thanks to Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app, it is easier than ever to read manga online, and those services are growing annually.
There is no easy answer as to why manga is ballooning in sales compared to Western comics, but netizens have their suspicions. From lack of variety to rehashed concepts, publishers like Marvel and DC Comics have been critiqued as of late for their work. Combined with higher production costs, the bottom line for comic publishers is very different from that of manga publishers. And right now, the latter group is making money hand over fist.
NPD BookScan has carefully tracked print sales of graphic novels in the United States for years, and their data from 2022 to now is eye-opening. According to the latest data, manga takes up 53% of the graphic novels market where sales are concerned. It grew 4.1 points year over year while its next competitor in the market, juvenile fiction, decreased 1.4 points. The genre still holds 26% of the market share, but most of the market categories are in decline. The largest point loss went to the superhero (adult) genre as it lost 1.7 points, leaving it with 4% of the market.
While juvenile fiction titles like Dog Man are doing very well with U.S. readers, the genre cannot compete with manga. Publishers like Viz Media and Kodansha Comics have posted record sales in recent years... and their profits are still rising. This is also accounting for print sales strictly which now overlooks a sizable portion of the manga industry. Thanks to Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app, it is easier than ever to read manga online, and those services are growing annually.
There is no easy answer as to why manga is ballooning in sales compared to Western comics, but netizens have their suspicions. From lack of variety to rehashed concepts, publishers like Marvel and DC Comics have been critiqued as of late for their work. Combined with higher production costs, the bottom line for comic publishers is very different from that of manga publishers. And right now, the latter group is making money hand over fist.
