10 Best Graphic Novels Every Newcomer To Comics Should Read

With comic-book movies dominating the box office for the past decade, interest in comics has also increased. Many fans of these franchises are now turning to comic books to see more adventures featuring their favorite characters from the movies and TV shows.

However, getting into comics can be pretty difficult, especially with series that have decades of continuity behind them, like books from Marvel and DC. Luckily, there are plenty of graphic novels that don’t require any previous knowledge, but still provide engaging stories within their illustrated pages.

Blankets (2003)

Craig Thompson’s Blankets follows the author’s experiences across two time frames: growing up with his brother in a strict Christian household and falling in love for the first time. It combines to tell a story of how Thompson grew away from his family’s faith.

Autobiographical comics are a long staple of the medium, but Thompson’s narrative has a confessional edge to it, giving readers a searing glimpse into what it was like growing up in a strict family, and how complicated it was for Thompson to fall in love because of it. Thompson’s expressionistic artwork also brilliantly communicates the mood of each scene in a way that only comics can.

Fun Home (2006)

Alison Bechdel has produced some of the best LGBTQ+ graphic novels in comics history, and Fun Home has gained massive critical attention since its release. Part memoir, part biography of a distant father, Fun Home charts Bechdel’s parallel realization of her own and her father’s sexuality.

Bechdel’s narrative revolves not only around sexuality but around how societal pressure forces individuals to conform to certain labels or be excluded entirely, which resulted in Bechdel’s very-much-not-fun home environment. The fact that the story unfolds with the backdrop of gay liberation and the AIDS crisis only adds to its profundity.

God Country (2017)

Donny Cates made a splash at Marvel Comics with Thanos and his three-year run on Venom produced some of the best Venom issues of the 2010s. However, he first achieved mainstream comics attention with this series about a Texan grandfather with dementia who comes in contact with a mystical sword, drawing the ire of an ancient alien race.

On its surface, God Country is simply a superhero origin story with the twist of a Texan setting. What it actually comes out to be is a powerful story about family, and the desire to leave a legacy that will last longer than one’s lifetime. Originally published in 6 issues, the collected God Country reads like a well-paced film, with its ending incredibly resonant.

March: Book One (2013)

The first in a trilogy of graphic novels chronicling the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of U.S. Representative John Lewis, March: Book One follows Lewis’s childhood, interspersed with scenes from his involvement in civil rights protests as well as his experience on the day of Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

Already a powerful story when published in 2013, the book has become only more relevant in the wake of new voting-rights restrictions and protests against police brutality. Taken together with the late 2010s, the book acts as a reminder of the strides that have been made, but also of how vitally necessary it is to both maintain them and continue to push for a just, equitable society.

Maus (1991)

Art Spiegelman’s most famous work became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. It follows Spiegelman’s father’s horrendous experiences during the Holocaust, while also depicting Spiegelman’s interviews with his father, research done to create this very book.

Maus is not a story to brighten anyone’s day, but like March, it acts as a necessary story, one that shows the devastating, deadly consequences of those in power using a minority group as both a scapegoat and a justification for obtaining and exercising power. Maus was the first mainstream work of nonfiction comics, and it made the case for comics exploring serious real-world issues, cementing its place as a central work in the canon of great graphic novels.

Saga (2012)

Although not a standalone graphic novel, the first volume of Saga does not require any previous reading and just may be the best opener for any comic-book series currently in publication. In Saga, a couple from warring alien species have a child and must flee from the authorities pursuing them.

Saga carries powerful themes of parenthood, racism, the costs of war, and the beauty in the flaws of human nature, while at the same time providing a compelling, ongoing adventure story in its own right. Writer Brian K. Vaughan knows how to write with end goals in mind, so anything that happens in Saga has permanent repercussions. The series also benefits from Fiona Staples’ gorgeous artwork.

Watchmen (1987)

This serious take on superheroes begins as a murder mystery, but quickly evolves into a story about power, and what superheroes would be like in the real world. Watchmen changed comics forever with its existential quotes and profound characterization and is the most groundbreaking superhero comic since Superman’s debut.

As one of the most acclaimed comic books of all time, Watchmen is far from an obscure book, but as superheroes are now as common on our screens as they are in Watchmen‘s world, this book is perhaps even more engaging now than it was 35 years ago. For readers not yet into Batman or Spider-Man books, this graphic novel is a great entry into the superhero genre of comics.

Superman: Red Son (2003)

What if the all-American Man of Steel had actually landed in the Soviet Union as opposed to Kansas? That’s the premise of Superman: Red Son, a reimagining of Superman’s story which features him becoming the mascot of Communism in the other Cold War superpower.

What enthralls about this comic is how it takes the superhero associated with fighting for “truth, justice, and the American way” (where his American nature is such a part of his character that it’s become a Superman cliché), and plants him in a completely different environment. It definitely provides a fun “what if?” story for fans of Superman and DC Comics, but it also fascinates as an examination of the nature of Superman’s iconography.

Understanding Comics (1993)

Scott McCloud’s nonfiction examination of the medium of comics may not seem like a graphic novel, but it is. Not only does it present itself in the form of comics, but it also acts to tell a very specific story: the development of comics, and what makes comics what they are in the first place.

McCloud’s analysis rises above simply being instructive, creating a genuinely eye-opening narrative about a medium that captured the imagination of 20th-century readers around the world. It has a built-in appeal for those who already read comics, but for newcomers, it makes a compelling case for how much potential the comics medium has, and how artistically unique it is.

A Second Chance At Sarah (2010)

Neil Druckmann is best known for his work on Naughty Dog’s Uncharted and Last of Us video game series, but in the midst of his work on Uncharted 2, he teamed with artist Joysuke Wong to create this story of a man who goes back in time so that he can prevent his wife from making a deal with a demon.

The comic features a dream-like, impressionistic art style from Wong, which fits well with the magical realism of the story’s premise, drawing readers into the perspective of the main character, Johnny. Druckmann’s writing is also top-notch, reminding any reader who has played either The Last of Us or Uncharted 4 of those games’ treatment of family and what one is willing to do for love.

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