Illustrated in gorgeous black-and-white brushstrokes and moodily evocative painted washes, this twisty thrill ride through old Hollywood features a large cast of complex and often surprisingly nuanced characters.
A fast-paced mystery, propelled by a fascinating cast of characters, that builds to a profoundly moving and deeply romantic climax. Absolutely not to be missed.
Foxe’s (Dark X-Men) scripting emphasizes thrills and chills over exposition without shortchanging character development in this exhilaratingly pulpy horror thriller.
Subitzky’s uninhibited imagination and penchant for absurd humor create a thrillingly revelatory collection, with contributions by cartoonist Mark Newgarden.
Harkness delivers one of the best releases of 2023 in this exhilarating, heartbreaking, and often humorous memoir. Add it to the collection right away.
This totally unique depiction of Sherlock Holmes and Watson is likely to be embraced by fans of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories and also by those who enjoy abstract or experimental comic art.
Rowe’s biography portrays a triumph of queer and Jewish resistance in the face of fascism and stands as a tribute to the love that surrounded the lives of Cahun and Moore, not just for each other but for humanity.
The beauty revealed in the conclusion changes the game, forcing characters and readers to rethink woman power. Jama-Everett’s evocative, open-ended finale suits the saga far better than a neat wrap-up. Highly recommended.
Tynion’s (The Nice House on the Lake) debut volume of a promised ongoing series of nonfiction “True Weird” stories provides a thrilling account of the Hills’ experience and a heartbreaking evocation of the price they paid for sharing their story over the rest of their lives. This edition collects material previously released online.
Clowes’s formal ingenuity, meticulous attention to psychological and visual detail, and masterful sense of narrative and tone combine to create an emotionally resonant and unforgettable opus, reaffirming his place among the greatest storytellers of our time.
While some science-fiction and fantasy fans might be frustrated by Graham’s (Rain Like Hammers) seemingly improvisational plotting and emphasis on worldbuilding over propulsive forward progress, fans of the more experimental fringes of either genre are likely to embrace this fascinatingly surreal, richly imagined cosmic odyssey.
Kelly’s fast-paced script balances racy humor and a profound exploration of a father and son coming to terms with one another, while Niimura’s deceptively loose illustration interweaves a variety of influences to create a terrifically kinetic sense of movement through a world steeped in a distinctively noir atmosphere.
Montellier emerges as a true visionary of the graphic-novel medium and the science-fiction genre in these captivating tales of human beings struggling to retain their dignity under repressive regimes.
An awkwardly overstuffed plotline is enlivened, if not quite redeemed, by the author’s obvious passion for the subject matter and Stevens’s gorgeous photorealistic watercolor illustration.
For Mingus fans especially, and those who know the legend and the stories. People who are less familiar with the complicated jazz master will want to delve into the works mentioned in the discography, bibliography, and videography provided by Massarutto.
Recommended for mature teens and adults, this title captures the rush of youth, where nights out have no repercussions and hangovers are tomorrow’s problem.
With the book’s sheer breadth of unflinching life experiences lovingly depicted within, appealing illustrations and candy-colored cover, and ample servings of humor, hope, and wit, it’s hard to imagine a public library collection that wouldn’t benefit from its inclusion.
Staid but kind, this first graphic memoir from McKenzie, who also writes comics as Emix Regulus, celebrates and mourns a meaningful friendship with quiet narrative confidence.
Exhaustive and emotional, this is an intense labor of love by its creator and will likely prove fascinating and enlightening to the committed reader as well.
Ayuyang (Blame This on the Boogie) presents a gripping and romantic Depression-era noir about a fledgling community struggling to achieve the American dream without sacrificing who they are.
Campbell merges memoir and hardboiled mystery to create a fascinating and revealing portrait of how world events impact an individual’s sense of self and creative drive.
In this fantasy tale, Mallié (Arsène Lupine, Gentleman Thief) and Hubert (Beauty) create an ethereal, shadow-strewn world where cruel pasts corrupt the present.
Award-winning Spanish cartoonist and illustrator Tamarit (Dos Monedas) makes her English-language debut with this fantasy adventure, in which she creates a haunting landscape of rich textures that weave a dark fable set in the time of the American gold rush.
Kindt (Mind MGMT: Bootleg) and illustrator Pendanx (A Fake Story) present an engrossing existential noir with a finale as shocking as it is genuinely affecting.
Corben’s (Shadows on the Grave) surreal imagination and highly detailed, stunningly textured illustration have earned him a place among the most highly acclaimed and influential creators of graphic novels and commercial art of the past five decades. This volume collects material originally serialized across various monthly publications in the years before his death in 2020.
Author Jensen (Bylines in Blood) balances an exploration of truth and systemic power with propulsive action and suspense, while illustrator Lonergan’s (Planet Paradise) page design and visual storytelling result in an uncanny sense of scale, movement, and pacing.
Waiters’s impressive debut is a fast-paced science-fiction odyssey that explores morality, ethics, and personal responsibility with humor and loads of charm.
Although this nationally syndicated comic strip was written 30 years ago, the stories and societal critiques are still applicable today. Readers will likely embrace being part of this sisterhood of outspoken friends.
This is likely, as White hopes in his new preface, to draw new generations to his work, especially those for whom the graphic novel is their preferred reading mode.
A powerful, painful debut that will entrance and entangle literary graphic novel lovers. It conjures a complicated history sure to haunt readers as dearly as it haunts its inhabitants.
Malkasian’s “once upon a time” parable infuses a Handmaid’s Tale–type set-up with surrealistic charm and bittersweet resolution, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’s work. Highly recommended for fantasy connoisseurs.
For readers who love comics and want to see the behind-the-scenes struggles that happen when creators take on the corporations that have monopolized the industry.
Sharp weaves together Celtic mythology, Christian theology, Arthurian legend, linguistics, theoretical physics, and astronomy in an immensely ambitious and tremendously trippy epic adventure. (This edition collects the first six issues of an ongoing series.) Think The Terminator meets Excalibur with more arcane philosophy, or The Green Knight meets 12 Monkeys with terrifying cyborgs.
Tynion and Estherren have crafted an intriguingly mysterious thriller that evokes the distinct gothic sensibility of Gaiman’s original “Sandman” series.
Absurd humor and hyper-violence collide in this blisteringly satirical mash-up of Sesame Street and Robocop from Asmus (Rick and Morty) and Festante (Field Tripping).
An adventure paced like a madcap movie plot, with underlying minor chords of identity and relationship echoing throughout, this is a satisfying introduction to Ortiz’s narrative and artistic talents for an English-language audience.
A puzzle, a panopticon, and an invitation to seek answers even as obstructions abound, this is an engaging, dryly funny read for armchair philosophers, disillusioned academics, and the unceasingly curious.
Readers seeking to experience a strange, yet at its core, familiar slice of life in a country steeped in multiple cultures will enjoy the perspective provided in this collection.
Creators Franz and Glanzman (A Sailor’s Story) provide enough explosive action to satisfy the genre conventions of the time in which the story was created, but with a distinct, stunningly powerful, anti-war perspective. This volume collects the entire series for the first time.
Kriek’s luscious brushwork, attention to detail, and refusal to impose modern notions of morality or justice on his characters result in an immersive, provocative saga.
Ma skewers his cast’s overblown sense of entitlement and lack of self-awareness with terrific deadpan wit. While subplots concerning the misuse of royalty payments owed to artists whose music is popular in karaoke bars and the inner workings of public arts foundations prove a bit dry, Ma’s perspective on the value of originality, the power of celebrity, and the debt one generation of artists owes to those that follow are truly thought-provoking.
A deeply unsettling, breathlessly thrilling, uncommonly engrossing horror story, rendered in exquisitely atmospheric illustration, and a provocative meditation on what it takes to stay alive, and to stay human, in a collapsing world. This volume collects the first six issues of a 12-issue story.
An essential purchase for all collections. Add it to the top of your book club suggestion list, and offer it to readers of literary fiction exploring similar themes of identity and belonging.
In a triumph of recovery and reinvention, Burdock has reworked her chaotic past to build a memory-rich present through research, reflection, and compelling artistry.
King (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow) and Charretier’s (Department of Truth, Vol. 3) gripping mystery subverts the romance-comic genre but still delivers genuine romantic melodrama. An uncommonly compelling first volume.
Working in black and white, Zahler (Forbidden Surgeries of the Hideous Dr. Divinus) creates a peculiar but engrossing blend of hard sci-fi and prison drama that transforms into a tense, high-stakes space opera tinged with a dose of cosmic horror in the last act.
Featuring page after page of non-stop action and pulpy melodrama imbued with Jackson’s perspective as a Black American in the 1940s, this is a work of immense historical value that’s also very fun to read.
Lang’s graphic novel debut is a fantastic riff on a simple Japanese folktale, clearly told and lovingly rendered with cinematic aplomb. Will delight brave young readers and fantasy-loving adult readers alike.
Serialized on Shonen Jump, Gondaira’s English-language print debut is a wacky and exciting shonen adventure that will appeal to young adults looking for found-family plotlines. Fans of Tatsuya Endo’s Spy x Family and manga with a wild variety of ragtag characters will feel right at home.
Intense, articulate, and self-reflective, this makes one look hard at the shifting nature of memory. An involving graphic memoir for enthusiasts of the genre.
A beautiful, dream-like story about art-making, friendship, and growing up, best appreciated by manga fans with a basic sense of the visual and cultural cues of the genre.