There was no shortage of outstanding comic book series and graphic novels made available for fans to purchase in 2024, with the likes ofTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesandBerserkbeing a few major standouts. However, those two books were far from the only top-selling graphic novels of last year, as there is a comprehensive list of amazing books that fans just couldn’t get enough of. FromTMNTtoBerserk, these arethe industry’s top-selling graphic novels of 2024!
ICv2: The Business of Geek Culturecalculated the unit and dollar sales of graphic novels sold in 2024 using the data that was collected by the ComicHub system. Comic shops across the United States - and even around the world - use ComicHub, which tracks their sales to offer the most accurate breakdown of what graphic novels sold the most, which directly translates to which books fans enjoyed the most that year.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last RoninandBerserkwere a few of the standouts, to be sure, but those graphic novels were far from the only ones.
As previously mentioned, these graphic novels have been ranked in two separate categories: unit and dollar sales. So, what does that mean? Well, unit sales refers to the total number of individual items that were sold, while dollar sales refers to the total revenue from those sales. Therefore, there are a few discrepancies between the two rankings, but for the most part,these two Top 20 lists are practically identical, and together, they represent the all-time most popular graphic novels of 2024.
Top 20 Graphic Novels by Units - Full Year 2024 (ComicHub, via ICv2)
1
$29.99
2
$14.99
3
$19.99
4
$9.99
5
6
7
8
$16.99
9
10
$12.99
11
12
13
House of the Unholy HC (Mature)
$24.99
14
15
16
17
$39.99
18
19
20
IDW Publishing
$17.99
Top 20 Graphic Novels by Dollars - Full Year 2024 (ComicHub, via ICv2)
$150.00
$49.99
$64.99
$44.99
$35.00
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin - Lost Years HC
$34.99
Spider-Man, Berserk, & TMNT: Why These Graphic Novels Were So Popular in 2024
A Breakdown of Some of the Stories Fans Liked the Most
Some of the titles that ranked the highest on these lists areTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin,Ultimate Spider-Man, andBerserk. Those are the more mainstream graphic novels when compared with the more niche books, likeSomething is Killing the ChildrenandBeneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees. That’s not to say the niche titles weren’t as popular as the mainstream ones (indeed,Something is Killing the Childrenis one of the highest graphic novels ranked), but the mainstream books are certainly more widely recognized, while also delivering stories fans clearly connected with.
So, what were some of these books about? Well, starting off with the top-spot on both lists, fans unanimously agreed thatTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin(hardcover edition) was their favorite graphic novel of 2024. That story followed Michelangelo aka the Last Ronin, seeking vengeance against the Foot Clan after the evil ninjas murdered his entire family. Not only that, but Mikey also sought to rid the world of the evil the Foot Clan was spreading all around the globe, and by the end of the comic, he succeeded in doing just that.
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Ultimate Spider-Manranked in the Top 5 on both lists, and upon taking a look at that story, it’s easy to see why.Ultimate Spider-Manfollows a version of Peter Parker fromthe newly-introduced Ultimate Universewho’s in his 30s and married with children. But then, Parker’s life is changed when Tony Stark (in an effort to undo the damage the Maker had done to this timeline) gives Peter the radioactive spider that should have bitten him as a teenager. Peter’s destiny was stolen from him by the Maker, but thanks to Stark, he gets the chance to become Spider-Man.
Ultimate Invasionalso ranked as one of the most popular graphic novels of 2024, which not only laid the groundwork forUltimate Spider-Man, but for the entire Ultimate Universe.
Berserk(Dark Horse Comicshardcover Deluxe Edition Vol. 1) also ranked high on the Top 20 list. In this volume, readers are introduced to Guts aka the Black Swordsman, who has been marked by a demonic Brand, which effectively makes him a beacon for evil entities. Readers get to see Guts’ brutal fighting style, his life as a former mercenary, and his relationship with his first companion, Puck.BerserkVol. 1 lays the groundwork for the epic tale that anime and manga fans everywhere know and love, and stands as one of the most popular stories in that genre.
One Comic Book Publisher was a Clear Winner: Image Comics
Why More Fans Bought Image Comics’ Graphic Novels than Any Other
While it’s clear to see how some of the more popular graphic novels earned their top-spots on these lists, it’s also important to take a look at which publisher came out on top. On both lists, the clear winner was Image Comics, which is actually a fascinating outcome. This proves that fans are just as interested in the more obscure books as they are in the mainstream ones, which allowed Image Comics to really cash-in, as Image offered fans a nice mixture of mature, niche titles along with those that are more widely recognized.
Image Comics took 7 of the 20 spots on the ‘Units’ ranking chart, and 6 of the 20 spots on the ‘Dollars’ ranking chart.
So, what Image Comics books sold the best?Invincible, Transformers, andVoid Rivals(which takes place inTransformerscontinuity) are the most recognizabletitles from Image Comicsthat fans clearly couldn’t get enough of. However, some of Image’s more obscure titles also sold extremely well, like Sage and Houses of the Unholy. It’s cool that some lesser-known graphic novels get the love they deserve in 2024, while at the same time, the more recognizable comics proved once again why they’re so popular. A healthy mix of niche and mainstream is important, and Image Comics certainly delivered in 2024.
2024’s Top-Selling Graphic Novels Prove Some Stories are Timeless
A Few Graphic Novels are Stories that are Years Old, Yet Still Sold Well in 2024
One of the coolest pieces of information derived from this data is that some comic book storylines are simply timeless, as they are still just as popular today as they were when they were first published. Arguably the biggest standout is Marvel Comics’Secret Wars, which was published in 2015. A publisher like Marvel Comics releases a great number of company-wide ‘event comics’ every single year, so to see this one - which was always meant to be a definitive moment in Marvel Comics history - stand the test of time is truly remarkable.
Of course,Secret Warsisn’t the only ‘older’ comic that remains just as popular today as it was upon initial release, as that honor also goes to stories includingBatman: Hush,All-Star Superman, andWatchmen. All these stories are truly timeless, and the fact that they sold so well in 2024 proves that. But, more than anything else, these ranking charts offer fans unparalleled insight into what fans enjoyed reading the most in 2024, fromTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlestoBerserk, and everything in-between.
