Cover image of Naruto Volume 28, the #2 best selling graphic novel for 2008, according to Bookscan.

VIZ MEDIA DOMINATES 2008 BOOKSCAN TOP 20 GRAPHIC NOVEL LIST

Leading Publishing Sales Indicator Summarizes Last Year’s Top Selling Titles And Features Multiple VIZ Media Titles Occupying 15 Of The Top 20 Spots

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that hit manga (graphic novel) properties including NARUTO, DEATH NOTE, BLEACH and VAMPIRE KNIGHT dominated 15 of the Top 20 spots on the recently released list of Top 20 Graphic Novels for 2008. Nielsen BookScan, one of the publishing industry’s leading sales indicators, publishes the list annually.

NARUTO was the top VIZ Media manga title on the list, placing highest at Number 2 overall with nine volumes of the internationally popular series placing in the Top 20 at #’s 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 15, 16 and 18. This is the first time so many volumes of a single series have dominated this particular list. Three other VIZ Media manga titles made the top 20 as well: DEATH NOTE (with three spots at #9, 12 and 19), BLEACH (at #17), and the gothic melodrama VAMPIRE KNIGHT (securing two spots at #14 and 20) joined NARUTO in the Top 20.

“It’s very gratifying to see such continued strong sales of these top titles throughout 2008,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Product Marketing, VIZ Media. “Six of the Top 10 graphic novels featured on the 2007 list were also NARUTO volumes, and with the launch of the new NARUTO SHIPPUDEN story arc last year we’re very pleased to see the series continuing to dominate the list. Likewise, we are also very excited to see other unique manga titles like DEATH NOTE, BLEACH and VAMPIRE KNIGHT featured among the Top 20. Each of these series is critically acclaimed and holds a wide appeal that transcends multiple reader demographics. As we begin 2009, we look forward to a variety of VIZ Media manga continuing to find such a loyal and sizable domestic audience.”

Please visit http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/14161.html for the full list of Top 20 BookScan Graphic Novels.