Contents
- Comic book sales statistics: North American market size and recent growth
- Comic book sales statistics by format and retail channel
- Comic book sales statistics across U.S. trade age categories
- Comic book sales statistics: Australian graphic novel sales by category
- Comic book sales statistics in France: manga, comics, and graphic novels
- Sources
Comic book sales statistics: North American market size and recent growth
North American estimates show a market that remained well above its pre-pandemic level even as annual results moved in different directions. ICv2 reported that U.S. and Canada sales of comics and graphic novels totaled $1.935 billion in 2024, up 73% from 2019. A separate ICv2 estimate, reported by Publishers Weekly, put recorded U.S. and Canada comic sales at roughly $1.87 billion in 2023. The 2023 figure was 7% below the 2022 “Covid peak”, while still 67% above 2019. These are estimates for the combined U.S. and Canadian market; the descriptions and reference years should stay attached to each figure. ICv2’s 2024 market report · Publishers Weekly’s account of ICv2’s 2023 estimate
| Measure | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. and Canada comics and graphic novels | 2024 | $1.935 billion |
| Same combined market, compared with 2019 | 2019–2024 | Up 73% |
| Recorded U.S. and Canada comic sales | 2023 | Roughly $1.87 billion |
| 2023 estimate compared with 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | Down 7% |
| 2023 estimate compared with 2019 | 2023 vs. 2019 | Up 67% |
The two reports describe a similar broad position relative to 2019, but the percentages are not interchangeable: the 73% comparison is reported for 2024, while the 67% comparison concerns 2023. Likewise, the 2023 description uses “recorded comic sales,” while the 2024 total is explicitly described as “comics and graphic novel sales.” These labels matter when readers compare headline totals across years. The evidence supports the point that the reported market was substantially larger than in 2019, but does not establish a uniform trend for every format or channel. ICv2 · Publishers Weekly
Comic book sales statistics by format and retail channel
The 2024 North American results varied by format. ICv2 reported comic-format dollar sales grew 12.2% year over year, while graphic novel dollar sales rose 1.3%. Graphic novels nevertheless accounted for over 76% of dollar sales in the comics and graphic novel market that year. Those figures describe dollar sales, not units: they show that the two formats had different growth rates while graphic novels remained the larger share of reported sales value. ICv2, “2024: Changing Channels, Changing Formats”
Retail channel growth also differed from format growth. Dollar sales through comic shops rose about 13.3% in 2024. The article separately reports that stores using the ComicHub point-of-sale system saw sales increase 27% from January through August 2025, compared with the same months in 2024. The latter is a specific panel of participating stores and a partial-year comparison; it should not be read as the growth rate for all comic shops or for the full 2025 calendar year. ICv2, 2024 channel and format results
| Measure | Period and basis | Change or share |
|---|---|---|
| Comic-format dollar sales | 2024 vs. 2023 | +12.2% |
| Graphic novel dollar sales | 2024 vs. 2023 | +1.3% |
| Graphic novels’ share of dollar sales | 2024 | Over 76% |
| Comic shop dollar sales | 2024 vs. 2023 | About +13.3% |
| ComicHub POS store sales | January–August 2025 vs. same months in 2024 | +27% |
The comparison illustrates why “comic sales” can conceal different results. Format describes what was sold; channel describes where sales were recorded. The ComicHub observation adds a narrower lens within the direct market, but covers only stores using that POS system. No one of these rates alone describes every reader, retailer, or sales route. ICv2
Comic book sales statistics across U.S. trade age categories
BookScan data adds a view of the U.S. book-channel trade market, which differs from direct-market comic shop estimates. Circana BookScan’s 2024 analysis measured graphic novel unit sales in the book channel. Adult titles represented 60% of the market by units, Kids titles 35%, and Young Adult titles 5%. Overall unit sales declined 8% from 2023 to 2024, but the category results diverged: Adult fell 11%, Young Adult fell 34%, and Kids increased 1%. ICv2’s BookScan preview
| U.S. book-channel category | Share of graphic novel units, 2024 | Unit-sales change, 2024 vs. 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | 60% | −11% |
| Kids | 35% | +1% |
| Young Adult | 5% | −34% |
| All graphic novels | — | −8% |
Manga was a major part of the Adult category: it made up 42% of Adult graphic novel units in 2024 and its unit sales declined 18% from 2023. The Adult category’s 11% decline and the manga subcategory’s 18% decline have different denominators, so they should not be treated as competing estimates. They describe the category and one component of it. ICv2’s BookScan preview
A longer, distinct trade-market series appears in the Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship report’s Appendix B. It covers U.S. trade-market comics and graphic novels recorded by BookScan, rather than weekly periodicals or direct-market sales. For the 12 months from December 2022 through November 2023, the table records 45,864,980 units in total. Adult Fiction accounted for 28,236,216 units, Juvenile Fiction 13,573,357, Young Adult Fiction 2,782,096, Juvenile Non-Fiction 785,715, Adult Non-Fic 370,793, and Young Adult Non-Fic 106,177. These are the report’s printed category labels and unit counts. Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship report, Appendix B
| U.S. trade-market BookScan category | Units, Dec. 2022–Nov. 2023 |
|---|---|
| Adult Fiction | 28,236,216 |
| Juvenile Fiction | 13,573,357 |
| Young Adult Fiction | 2,782,096 |
| Juvenile Non-Fiction | 785,715 |
| Adult Non-Fic | 370,793 |
| Young Adult Non-Fic | 106,177 |
| Grand Total | 45,864,980 |
The same Appendix B table reports the grand total was down 15.5% compared with the preceding 12-month period, December 2021 through November 2022. Adult Fiction units were down 20.3% over that comparison. These rolling-period changes should not be merged with the separate 2024 BookScan year-over-year figures above: the measurement windows differ, and the report’s trade categories are not identical to the adult, kids, and YA groupings in the 2024 article. Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship report, Appendix B
Comic book sales statistics: Australian graphic novel sales by category
Australian BookScan trade-market data shows how category composition differed between the period ending 28 November 2020 and the period ending 2 December 2023. In the later period, Manga recorded 1,500,346 units, General adult graphic novels 256,543, Superheroes 76,479, Non-fiction and Literary 29,701, and the labeled children’s comic strip fiction and graphic novel category 109,542. The table’s total across the printed T3 Graphic Novels and Y3.3 Graphic Fiction & Graphic Novels categories was 2,975,643 units. Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship report, Appendix A
| Australian trade-market category | Units, period ending 2 Dec. 2023 |
|---|---|
| Manga | 1,500,346 |
| General adult graphic novels | 256,543 |
| Superheroes | 76,479 |
| Non-fiction & Literary | 29,701 |
| Children’s comic strip fiction & graphic novels | 109,542 |
| Total of T3 and Y3.3 graphic novels and graphic fiction | 2,975,643 |
For the period ending 28 November 2020, the same source records 64,768 Manga units, 143,192 General adult graphic novel units, 68,181 Superheroes units, 62,054 Non-fiction and Literary units, and 33,387 units in the children’s category. The total across the specified T3 and Y3.3 categories was 1,017,369 units. This is a comparison of two reported periods, not a claim about every year between them. The category figures are units in the Australian trade market, not revenue or all-channel sales. Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship report, Appendix A
The report also prints like-for-like volume changes between its stated 2023 and 2022 measurement periods. General adult graphic novels increased 25%; Manga changed −10%; Superheroes −9%; Non-fiction and Literary −23%; and the children’s category −5%. These are reported comparisons between periods ending on different dates: 2 December 2023 and 3 December 2022. Retaining the report’s period definitions avoids suggesting these are exact calendar-year changes. Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship report, Appendix A
Comic book sales statistics in France: manga, comics, and graphic novels
NIQ/GfK’s account of the French BD-Manga market reported that more than 75 million new titles were purchased in 2023 across all sales channels, down 11% from 2022. The same all-channel market generated €877 million, down 5% year over year. The page also says the number of copies sold in 2023 was 55% higher than in 2019. Together, these figures show that a year-over-year decline occurred alongside a higher copy count than the 2019 comparison point; they do not identify why either movement occurred. NIQ/GfK, French BD and Manga sales in 2023
The source’s segment figures show different outcomes within the market. Manga sold 39.6 million copies in France in 2023 and generated €331 million in revenue; its unit sales were down 18% from 2022. Children’s comics (BD Jeunesse) sold 17.2 million copies, up 7% from 2022. Genre comics (BD de genre) sold 15.8 million copies, down 4%. The source separately reports that the Comics category sold 2.4 million copies by the end of December 2023, down 37% from 2022. These are named segments in the source, with copies and revenue kept distinct. NIQ/GfK, French BD and Manga sales in 2023
| French market measure or segment | 2023 result | Change from 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| BD-Manga market, all channels: new titles | More than 75 million | −11% |
| BD-Manga market, all channels: revenue | €877 million | −5% |
| Manga | 39.6 million copies; €331 million revenue | −18% in units |
| Children’s comics (BD Jeunesse) | 17.2 million copies | +7% |
| Genre comics (BD de genre) | 15.8 million copies | −4% |
| Comics category, through end of December | 2.4 million copies | −37% |
The France figures describe a market in which copy volume and revenue fell at different rates overall, while the reported segments ranged from growth in children’s comics to declines in Manga, genre comics, and Comics. The aggregate total and segment observations answer different questions: one covers the broad BD-Manga market across channels, while the others preserve the page’s individual category labels. The 2019 comparison applies to BD-Manga copies overall, not to each listed segment. NIQ/GfK