In France TWO comics dominated as the best-selling books of 2023

For a 3rd consecutive yr, comics have dominated as the bestselling books in France, in accordance with information launched by guide commerce publication Livres Hebdo and market analyst GfK. In 2023 a brand new twist on the theme was added with two (2!) titles holding the high spots: the newest instalments of traditional Franco-Belgian sequence Asterix and Gaston Lagaffe sequence, collectively promoting over two million copies regardless of solely releasing in the later months of the yr. 

According to Livres Hebdo (translated by DeepL):

“A yr with Asterix… and Gaston! As in 2021 with Asterix and the Griffin, and in 2022 with World Without End, comics stay the best-selling books in France in 2023″

Asterix stays a dependable juggernaut – the place market analysts usually outline robust and weak years for comics gross sales on whether or not a brand new legacy continuation guide in the René Goscinny & Albert Uderzo created sequence comes out, with it sitting on high for at the very least the final 4 biannual releases since 2013. True to type, the latest guide – Asterix vol 40: L’Iris Blanc [Asterix and the White Iris] by Fabcaro and Didier Conrad – has bought over 1.5 million copies since its October 26 launch. That mentioned, at over half one million gross sales in just a few weeks (launched November 22), the return of traditional character Gaston Lagaffe – Gaston quantity 22: Le retour de Lagaffe [‘Return of Lagaffe‘], by Delaf (Dupuis) – may have been on course to upend the dominance of the plucky Gaul, hitting number 2 in France’s finish of yr guide charts.

Gaston Lagaffe’s success is probably going pushed by a mixture of novelty, controversy and canny advertising and marketing. The album is the first new guide since the loss of life of sequence creator André Franquin in 1997. The character first returned to the pages of Spirou Magazine briefly in 2022 however Franquin’s property took writer Dupuis to courtroom till a settlement was agreed earlier this yr – briefly halting plans for a revival. Ten volumes (and counting) of Franquin’s classic Gaston Lagaffe sequence – initially created as a place-filling gag strip in 1957 – have been revealed in English by UK-based writer Cinebook, retitled ‘Gomer Goof’.

Last yr’s primary in the guide and comics charts – the controversial nuclear and renewable power graphic non-fiction work by Christophe Blain and Jean-Marc Jancovici Le Monde Sans Fin [World Without End] – revealed by Dargaud in October 2021 – additionally remained a robust vendor for an additional yr, sitting at the quantity 15 spot in the guide chart, and third in the comics chart. An English version will by revealed by Penguin imprint Particular Books in 2024.

The highest promoting manga of 2023 is the 104th quantity in Eiichiro Oda’s ongoing Shonen pirate epic One Piece, sitting at quantity 19. Already a robust vendor in France (it was the solely manga sequence to interrupt into Livres Hebdo/GfK’s Top 50 Books), the arrival of the worldwide hit Netflix adaptation clearly turbocharged it into dominating the separate manga chart – the place six of the high 10 and ALL of the high 5 had been held by a quantity in the sequence.

In the separate comics (bande dessinées) chart, whereas Asterix vol 40, Gaston vol 22, and World Without End journey the high three spots; mischievous youngsters sequence Mortelle Adele held 4 spots – with its latest mainline version, quantity 20 (launched October 5), sitting at quantity 4.

Vincent Lemire and Christophe Gaultier’s graphic nonfiction ‘History of Jerusalem‘ (Histoire de Jérusalem; Les Arènes, October 2022) slipped into the comics number 10 spot but didn’t place in the Top 50 guide chart. The success of this title can virtually actually be attributed to present occasions in Israel and Gaza since October 7 and its influence on modern discourse and common protest round the world.

TOP 10 COMICS [BANDE DESSINÉÉS] IN FRANCE, 2023

TOP 10 MANGA IN FRANCE, 2023

Note: All of the above manga are revealed in English by Viz besides Shuna’s Journey (First Second)