Graphic Novels
Ranked #8,047 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #281,410 overall
Guide To The Top Graphic Novels ~ Great Books for Grown-Ups & Kids
Graphic novel is a vague name that gets applied to any extended form of comics, including non-fiction and short story collections. But here, at least, the term fits.
If you're looking for graphic novel recommendations - either for yourself or as a gift for a friend, you can't go wrong with most of the top graphic novels as outlined below. Perennial favorites, as well as new releases.
Graphic novels offer great news to adults who think they have outgrown books with illustrations. Graphic novels are much more than just comic books. They offer real literary value and can give you a whole new reading experience.
If you're looking for graphic novel recommendations - either for yourself or as a gift for a friend, you can't go wrong with most of the top graphic novels as outlined below. Perennial favorites, as well as new releases.
Graphic novels offer great news to adults who think they have outgrown books with illustrations. Graphic novels are much more than just comic books. They offer real literary value and can give you a whole new reading experience.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 2
The classic super-hero series STARMAN, starring a Gen-X super-hero, is re-presented in high quality format. The super-heroic legacy of Starman is renewed in these stories, in which Jack Knight - antiques collector and dealer - inherits the name and powers of his father's old Starman identity from his older brother, who has been assassinated.
In this volume, Jack's disturbing dreams drive him to New York City to meet his father's old friend, Wesley Dodd, the Sandman of the 1940s, and learns of another Sandman - an alien who came to Earth as a hero of the 1970s.
Features spectacular artwork by Eisner Award winner Tony Harris, illustrator of EX MACHINA.
In this volume, Jack's disturbing dreams drive him to New York City to meet his father's old friend, Wesley Dodd, the Sandman of the 1940s, and learns of another Sandman - an alien who came to Earth as a hero of the 1970s.
Features spectacular artwork by Eisner Award winner Tony Harris, illustrator of EX MACHINA.
The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 2
Amazon Price: $26.97 (as of 02/17/2012)
Others in the Starman Omnibus series
Eerie Archives Volume 1
Slithering upon the heels of Dark Horse's archive collections of the seminal horror comics magazine Creepy comes its terror-filled cousin publication Eerie! Collected for fans for the first time ever, and packaged in the same amazing oversized format as the Creepy Archives, Dark Horse Comics has taken great, gruesome care in presenting this groundbreaking material to readers who have been waiting decades to get their claws on it. Eerie magazine, like its killer kin Creepy, features work from many of the masters of comics storytelling. For fans of spectacular spookiness, mind-bending sci-fi, and astonishing artwork, the Eerie Archives library is a must have!
Eerie Archives Volume 1
Amazon Price: $27.37 (as of 02/17/2012)
More of the Eerie series
Watchmen
The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout.
Watchmen
Amazon Price: $11.00 (as of 02/17/2012)
Batman R.I.P.
Batman is pushed past the edge of sanity in this spectacular story that mixes icy mind games and passionate outbursts. A club of criminal masterminds, the Black Glove, led by Dr. Simon Hurt (with the Joker as his partner), has an elaborate plot to make Bruce Wayne/Batman self-destruct by convincing him that all his friends and lovers have betrayed him and that his most trusted memories are false. As clever in their scheming as the villains are, however, they have no idea how thorough Batman has been in planning ways to protect his obsessions.
Batman: R.I.P.
Amazon Price: $13.90 (as of 02/17/2012)
More from the Caped Crusader
Walking Dead, Vol. 4
Life in the prison starts to get interesting for Rick Grimes and the rest of our survivors. Relationships heat up, fizzle out, and change entirely almost overnight. By the end of this volume, relationships between key characters are radically changed, setting the stage for future events in The Walking Dead.
The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire
Amazon Price: $8.80 (as of 02/17/2012)
The Walking Dead series
The Book Of Genesis: Illustrated
From the Creation to the death of Joseph, here is the Book of Genesis, revealingly illustrated as never before. This eagerly awaited graphic work retells the first book of the Bible in a profoundly honest way....The result, four years in the making, is a tapestry of extraordinary detail, the finest work of Crumb's legendary career.
The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
Amazon Price: $15.64 (as of 02/17/2012)
Batman: Battle For The Cowl
"Batman: R.I.P." and FINAL CRISIS saw the end of Batman. Now, months following the disappearance of her protector, Gotham City sits at a precipice and it may be too far gone for Nightwing, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and the rest of the city's heroes to save the day. Amid the fires, rioting, looting and gang warfare, one question rings out from the souls of Gotham's desperate citizens: Where is Batman?
With guest-stars galore, the destruction of a sacred Gotham City institution and an ending that will have everyone talking, this event written and drawn by Tony Daniel (The Tenth) and other top creators features the battle to take on the Mantle of the Bat. Who has earned the right? Who thinks they deserve it? Robin? Nightwing? Jason Todd? Two-Face? Catwoman? Batgirl? Who will ultimately win the BATTLE FOR THE COWL?
With guest-stars galore, the destruction of a sacred Gotham City institution and an ending that will have everyone talking, this event written and drawn by Tony Daniel (The Tenth) and other top creators features the battle to take on the Mantle of the Bat. Who has earned the right? Who thinks they deserve it? Robin? Nightwing? Jason Todd? Two-Face? Catwoman? Batgirl? Who will ultimately win the BATTLE FOR THE COWL?
Batman: Battle for the Cowl
Amazon Price: $18.98 (as of 02/17/2012)
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz
The premiere American fantasy adventure gets the Merry Marvel treatment! Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) teams up with fan-favorite artist Skottie Young (New X-Men) to bring L. Frank Baum's beloved classic to life! When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away to the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicked Witch, liberates a living Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress...but all she really wants to know is: how does she get home?
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Marvel Classics)
Amazon Price: $14.48 (as of 02/17/2012)
Wolverine: Old Man Logan
Mark Millar and Steve McNiven - who last teamed for the monumental Civil War - bring us the most important Wolverine story of the 21st Century. Nobody knows what happened on the night the heroes fell. All we know is that they disappeared and evil triumphed and the bad guys have been calling the shots ever since.
What happened to Wolverine is the biggest mystery of all. For 50 years, no one has heard hide nor hair from him... and in his place stands an old man called Logan. A man concerned only about his family. A man pushed to the brink by the Hulk Gang. A man forced to help an old friend - the blind archer, Hawkeye - to drive three thousand miles to secure his family's safety.
What happened to Wolverine is the biggest mystery of all. For 50 years, no one has heard hide nor hair from him... and in his place stands an old man called Logan. A man concerned only about his family. A man pushed to the brink by the Hulk Gang. A man forced to help an old friend - the blind archer, Hawkeye - to drive three thousand miles to secure his family's safety.
Wolverine: Old Man Logan
Amazon Price: $46.56 (as of 02/17/2012)
Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 1: Captain Trips
It all begins here: the epic apocalyptic battle between good and evil. On a secret army base in the Californian desert, something has gone horribly, terribly wrong. Something will send Charlie Campion, his wife and daughter fleeing in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for the Campion family, and the rest of America, they are unaware that all three of them are carrying a deadly cargo: a virus that will spread from person to person like wildfire, triggering a massive wave of disease and death, prefacing humanity's last stand.
Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 1: Captain Trips
Amazon Price: $1.91 (as of 02/17/2012)
Green Lantern: Agent Orange
It's the prelude to "The Blackest Night" as the "War of Light" continues to intensify! Mongul attempts to establish his hold on the Sinestro Corps by enslaving the planet Daxam and making it the home world of his Corps. What does Sinestro's right hand man, Arkillo, think of all this? And will Sodam Yat, the Green Lantern known as Ion, fight to save his homeworld, which he's vowed to never return to?
Green Lantern: Agent Orange
Amazon Price: $9.93 (as of 02/17/2012)
Pride and Prejudice
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife... Tailored from the adored Jane Austen classic, Marvel Comics is proud to present Pride & Prejudice!
Two-time Rita Award-Winner Nancy Butler and fan-favorite Hugo Petras faithfully adapt the whimsical tale of Lizzy Bennet and her loveable-if-eccentric family, as they navigate through tricky British social circles. Will Lizzy's father manage to marry off her five daughters, despite his wife's incessant nagging? And will Lizzy's beautiful sister Jane marry the handsome, wealthy Mr. Bingley, or will his brooding friend Mr. Darcy stand between their happiness?
Two-time Rita Award-Winner Nancy Butler and fan-favorite Hugo Petras faithfully adapt the whimsical tale of Lizzy Bennet and her loveable-if-eccentric family, as they navigate through tricky British social circles. Will Lizzy's father manage to marry off her five daughters, despite his wife's incessant nagging? And will Lizzy's beautiful sister Jane marry the handsome, wealthy Mr. Bingley, or will his brooding friend Mr. Darcy stand between their happiness?
Pride and Prejudice (Marvel Classics)
Amazon Price: $8.83 (as of 02/17/2012)
Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares
The deadly super flu Captain Trips has devastated the country and now the few survivors must pick up the pieces and go on. Larry Underwood seeks escape from New York City. Lloyd contemplates an extremely unsavory dinner option in jail, and Stu Redman makes a desperate bid for freedom from his interrogators. Most ominous of all, the strange being called Randall Flagg continues his dread journey across the devastated landscape of America.
Stephen King's The Stand: American Nightmares
Amazon Price: $15.43 (as of 02/17/2012)
Batman: The Killing Joke
This classic, infamous story in the Batman saga has been recolored with a more effectively cooler palette and set into context with an introduction and an afterword. Escaped from Arkham Asylum, villain deluxe Joker shoots Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon as part of his plan to drive her police commissioner father insane. Intending to prove that anyone can go mad after "one bad day" as he describes in his putative origin story, the Joker also kidnaps and torments Commissioner Gordon.
But Gordon remains sane, and Batman recaptures the Joker-the two actually share a laugh at the ambiguous ending. With Barbara Gordon now a paraplegic, the story stands as a chilling profile of madness. The Killing Joke provoked fury among many readers who lamented the disposal of Barbara Gordon as a mere pawn to testosterone; yet Gordon reinvents herself later as superinfohacker Oracle, poster girl for disability empowerment.
But Gordon remains sane, and Batman recaptures the Joker-the two actually share a laugh at the ambiguous ending. With Barbara Gordon now a paraplegic, the story stands as a chilling profile of madness. The Killing Joke provoked fury among many readers who lamented the disposal of Barbara Gordon as a mere pawn to testosterone; yet Gordon reinvents herself later as superinfohacker Oracle, poster girl for disability empowerment.
Batman: The Killing Joke
Amazon Price: $10.50 (as of 02/17/2012)
Batman: Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader?
Best-selling author Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) joins a murderer's row of talented artists in lending his unique touch to the Batman mythos for this Deluxe Edition hardcover! Spotlighting the story "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" from Batman #685 and Detective Comics #852, Gaiman joins artist Andy Kubert and inker Scott Williams for a story that shines a new light on the Batman mythos.
Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Deluxe Edition)
Amazon Price: $12.97 (as of 02/17/2012)
Also collect Gaiman stories from Secret Origins #36, Secret Origins Special #1, and Batman Black And White #2.
Dark Tower: Treachery
The ka-tet of Roland, Alain, and Cuthbert have returned safely to their home in Gilead. But all is not well. Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn's Grapefruit and has become obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths despite the deadly toll it's taken on his health. And what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares. Meanwhile, Roland's father has led a posse in search of those who threatened his son's life in Hambry - John Farson and the Big Coffin Hunters. And in this encounter, Stephen Deschain's life may be forfeit.
Dark Tower: Treachery
Amazon Price: $11.95 (as of 02/17/2012)
Final Crisis
Best-selling writer Grant Morrison (Batman, All-Star Superman, JLA) and critically acclaimed artist J.G. Jones (52, Wanted) redefine what it means to be a modern day Super Hero in this cosmic epic.
What happens when evil wins? That's the question Superman, Batman, the Justice League and every being in the DC Universe have to face when Darkseid and his otherworldly legion of narcissistic followers actually win the war between light and dark. Featuring the deaths and resurrections of major DC characters, Final Crisis is more than your average multi-part event: it's a deconstruction of Super Hero comics and a challenging, thought-provoking take on the modern, four-color icons.
What happens when evil wins? That's the question Superman, Batman, the Justice League and every being in the DC Universe have to face when Darkseid and his otherworldly legion of narcissistic followers actually win the war between light and dark. Featuring the deaths and resurrections of major DC characters, Final Crisis is more than your average multi-part event: it's a deconstruction of Super Hero comics and a challenging, thought-provoking take on the modern, four-color icons.
Final Crisis
Amazon Price: $38.95 (as of 02/17/2012)
More Top Graphic Novels
MANGA
Top Manga Titles
A selection of the best Manga comics currently available.
Batman: Year One
Consistently tagged as one of the best of the Batman graphic novels, Batman: Year One tells the story of the origins of the caped crusader.
Amazon's review says it all: Whether you grew up reading Batman comics, watched the campy television show, or eagerly await each new movie, this is the book for you. A retelling of the events that led to Bruce Wayne's becoming Batman, this book combines Frank Miller's tight film-noir writing with David Mazucchelli's solid artwork."
Amazon's review says it all: Whether you grew up reading Batman comics, watched the campy television show, or eagerly await each new movie, this is the book for you. A retelling of the events that led to Bruce Wayne's becoming Batman, this book combines Frank Miller's tight film-noir writing with David Mazucchelli's solid artwork."
Batman: Year One
Amazon Price: $8.35 (as of 02/17/2012)
The Best of the Graphic Novel Blogs
- Benderspink Options 'The New West' Graphic Novel
- The sci-fi western graphic novel 'The New West' has been optioned as a feature film. Learn more about the series in our report. Jimmy Palmiotti's 2005 graphic novel The New West seems like it was always meant to be a movie. Set in a near future where ...
- Local heroes featured in graphic novels
- By TRACEY RICHARDSON, SUN TIMES STAFF Penguin Group Canada has released two new graphic novels, one on Billy Bishop called Lone Hawk -- The Story of Air Ace Billy Bishop and the other on Nellie McClung called Hyena in Petticoats -- The Story of ...
- Keep on Truckin'
- His wife, a graphic novelist herself, was actually grateful to be spared the mob-frenzy that her husband's public appearances are normally associated with: ?The last time, there were like 25000 people lunging for the stage and I personally had to sign ...
- Publishers want you to know: Manhwa is not manga
- She also writes English adaptations of Japanese graphic novels. She has recently finished her first young adult novel and is seeking a publisher. In recent years, the licensing and distribution of Korean comics ? called manhwa ? have increased in the ...
Comments? What am I forgetting to include?
Sign My Graphic Novels Guestbook
Lensroll this Graphic Novels lens
Add this Graphic Novels lens to your favorites
Email this Graphic Novels lens to someone
Thanks for visiting
submit
-
Reply
-
Bradshaw
Aug 22, 2010 @ 7:01 pm | delete
- I know there are TONS of other graphic novels that could be added to this webpage. Feel free to leave a comment saying what your favorite novel is and why you think it should be included. Or why something that is included should be dropped.
-
Some of the best from 2009
Amazon Spotlight
No contents yet - please edit this module to customize its settings.Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.
by Bradshaw
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
- Who In The World Is Scott Pilgrim? Who In The World Is Scott Pilgrim?
- The Best Graphic Novels I Have Ever Read The Best Graphic Novels I Have Ever Read
- The Best Graphic Novels: Reading Truly Is Better With Pictures The Best Graphic Novels: Reading Truly Is Better With Pictures
- Best Batman Comics Best Batman Comics
- Ten Top Graphic Novels Ten Top Graphic Novels
- Anime Lovers Anime Lovers
Recommended
