Sales of Japanese manga like “Attack on Titan” “Beserk” “My Hero Academia” and “Demon Hunter'” have surged. Units sold doubled in 2021 compared to 2020, previous data from NPD BookScan showed (and that only included bookstores and online retailers that report to BookScan, and doesn’t include comic stores or digital sales)

The owner of the comic shop Action City Comics said that increased visibility has helped manga sales rise.

He noted that many streaming services, from Netflix to HBO Max, stream anime titles adapted from manga storylines, and, as with mainstream superhero content, consumers seek out the source material. Children’s graphic novels are also immensely popular, because parents see them as a “gateway into reading.”

There’s no better example of the success of children’s comics than author Dav Pilkey’s “Dog Man” books for young readers. Of the top five best-selling graphic novels of 2021, according to BookScan’s analysis, four of them are “Dog Man” instalments.