The struggle between the world of comic books in North America and the manga from the East has exploded over the years, with the two mediums vying for the top spot when it comes to overall sales not just in the US but around the world. In a recent report, however, it seems as though the manga market is making big strides over more traditional comic books from the likes of Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, and others when it comes to graphic novel sales in the category of Adult Fiction” in North America.
According to the outlet, NPD BookScan, manga made up a whopping 76.1% of overall graphic novel sales in the Adult Fiction category within the United States. This doesn’t mean that things are boding poorly for North American comic book sales necessarily, as overall sales for the periodicals had gone up 65% from 2020 to 2021. However, as the site notes, sales had actually gone up 100% from 2019 to 2020, thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.
The executive director of Business Development for NPD Bookscan, Kristen McLean, added some thoughts with regards to potential issues facing publishers and other members of the print industry when it comes to “supply chain problems”:
“Publishers and other industry members will also still need to contend with supply chain problems in 2022, as shortages of paper, packaging materials, and printing capacity are likely to persist throughout the year. Those factors, as well as what could be the easing of pandemic restrictions, may lead to more changes in consumer behavior this year, McLean said. For one thing, she believes customer traffic will increase in brick-and-mortar stores, and that retailers, through changes in store layouts and marketing, are well- Positioned to take advantage of the higher traffic to drive sales increases. In addition, growing consumer concern about climate change and sustainability could lead customers to limit their online buying, since direct sales involve lots of packaging. The pandemic began, McLean believes the online channel’s market share of book sales could decline in 2022 as consumers return to stores.”
On top of this metric for manga vs. comic books, manga also saw an increase of 171% from 2020 to 2021. Specifically, manga rose from 15 million units sold in 2020 to 24.4 million units sold in 2021.
Via The Beat
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