The best graphic novels for adults: 21 amazing adult comics

There's a specific joy to reading a graphic novel. It lets you experience a complete story in much less time that it would typically take to read a conventional novel, but it gets your imagination working in a way TVs and movies just don't.

Starting out the wide world of graphic novels can be tricky, though, particularly when it still comes with a stigma in certain corners. And the fandom potholes are extremely deep at times, forever making you wonder If you're jumping into a saga that's actually a spin-off of a series you have no knowledge of.

Sound like a headache? We have some great starter graphic novels that are perfect for adults. There's nothing wrong with being older and reading Marvel if that's what you want to do, but we want to look a little wider.

To help you on your comic-book journey, we've picked out 22 graphic novels for adults that are well worth your time - from comics journalism, to dystopian sci-fi, and even one story featuring superheroes.

Update: Having just been wowed by Barry Windsor-Smith’s Monsters over a weekend binge-reading session, it’s about time we updated this list. Windsor-Smith’s dark and tragic tale is one of the most affecting graphic novels we’ve read in a long time, and easily earns its place on this list.

If we have added any of your favourites, remember to upvote or downvote to have your say.

Best graphic novels for adults

at amzn.to. It's an unusual superhero story, but also a very apt satire or the superhero concept, which reflects current anxieties about who's in power.Although it's already a very popular comic with huge critical acclaim, it's had a recent resurgence in interest since the HBO series Watchmen. There has also been a follow-up graphic novel, Doomsday Clock, which was written by Geoff Johns, with no input form Alan Moore.Writer: Alan Moore, Illustrator/Letterer: Dave Gibbons, Colorist: John Higgins

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at amzn.to, but there are additional spin-off stories from Gaiman himself, and others, that are also worth reading. Including Death, a trade paperback all about Dream's sister.A Netflix TV show was made of the sprawling franchise - one that is set to end after its second season.Both the legacy and the future of Sandman is unclear now, given the news allegations surrounding its author.Writer: Neil Gaiman, Illustrator: Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, Malcom Jones III (and many others throughout the series).

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£11.99 at Amazon. Art, the author, paved the way for the form to be truly accepted as, well, art.

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at amzn.toPossibly Alan Moore's greatest work - at least the one most adults should read - From Hell is about the Jack the Ripper murders.But it's not a mystery story. It's about the city of London at that moment in time, and how the murders are almost a prelude to the century of horrors to come, with some elements of the story bordering on science fiction. It's an entrancing read, with grimly detailed art by Eddie Campbell that perfectly brings the underbelly of London to life. While originally published in black and white, Campbell is currently working on a gorgeous colour version of the story with the subtitle 'Master Edition'.Writer: Alan Moore Artist: Eddie Campbell

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at AmazonWriter and artist: Mike Mignola (Author, Illustrator), John Byrne (Author), Mark Chiarello (Illustrator)

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at amzn.toA noir mystery set in a world full of anthropomorphic creatures, Blacksad is basically about a giant cat solving the murder of another cat. In this universe, each character is assigned to an animal that suits their personality. It's as accomplished as the noir movies that inspired it, and there are two more volumes, if this first one captures your imagination.Writer: Juan Diaz Canales / Artist: Juanjo Guarnido

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at amzn.toAfter her neighbour is murdered in late '60s Chicago, a young girl seeks to uncover what really happened, documented in the form of a diary rife with classic monster movie imagery. Each page is scrawled in pen on lined paper - a clever storytelling format that delivers both dazzling art and real-feeling characterisation. This was Emil Ferris's first published comics work, released when she was 55.Writer and artist: Emil Ferris

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£8.19 at Amazonrecounts what it was like to grow up during the Islamic revolution when your parents are Marxist and liberal values are taken away. Once you've devoured the book, then head straight to the animated movie that was released in 2007 - it's co-directed by Satrapi and is just as joyous.

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at amzn.toThe Vision, The Avengers' android hero, builds himself a family of androids then moves in to a small town in America. The family's doomed attempts to acclimatise make this a compelling and unusual Marvel book, perfectly self-contained in the twelve issues collected here. It has been (accurately) compared to a Twilight Zone episode, and contains more than a few nasty twists. This is definitely the comic book to read for fans of WandaVision and just damn-clever storytelling.Writer: Tom King / Artist: Gabriel Walta

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at AmazonWriter and artist: Brian K Vaughan (Author), Fiona Staples (Artist)

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at amzn.toThe Incal is the story you should read if you've never encountered the influential art of the late Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, who here creates a weird and wonderful futuristic universe with writer Jodorowsky, famous for his doomed Dune adaptation. Detective John Difool uncovers the mythical item known as The Incal, which puts him in the sights of extremely powerful people. It feels like The Fifth Element wouldn't exist without this as its forerunner - Giraud worked on both.Writer: Alejandro Jodorowsky / Artist: Jean 'Moebius' Giraud

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at AmazonA few years ago The Walking Dead might have been too obvious a pick for this list. But these days it's much better known as a TV show that went off the boil than the source material, an epic comic series by Robert Kirkman. It's made up of 32 volumes, a story that finally wound up in 2019, although the spin-off stories continue to this day. The Walking Dead is the tale of a zombie apocalypse, but one that focuses on character and interpersonal tension as much as anything else.

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at amzn.toJoe Sacco is a journalist who uses cartoons to tell his stories. His work is famous and well-respected, and the book Palestine is a great starting point for his style. Based on two months Sacco spent in the Occupied Territories in 1991-1992, this book explores the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its effect on the Palestinian people. His journey is presented mostly through a fascinating series of encounters with strangers, which creates a powerful empathy for those being represented.Writer and artist: Joe Sacco

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at AmazonWriter and artist: Marjorie Liu (Author), Sana Takeda (Artist)

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at AmazonWriter and artist: Jonathan Hickman (Author), Mike Huddleston (Artist)

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at AmazonWriter and artist: Jonathan Hickman (writer) Tomm Coke (artist)

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at AmazonWriter and artist: Barry Windsor-Smith

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at amzn.toIf you've never heard the remarkable story behind one of the most popular video games ever, this graphic novel captures its creation perfectly. You'll learn how it was developed by Alexey Pajitnov, how various opportunists and even the Soviet government vied for control over its rights, and how it eventually ended up on Nintendo's Game Boy console where it became a phenomenon. This book tells that entire story from many surprising angles, with some details that will completely shock you if you're not familiar with the game's journey.Writer and artist: Box Brown

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at amzn.toA woman called Sabrina goes missing, and tapes start to emerge that show her murder. This story shows how these events affect the people in her life, and how their grief is compounded by the strange and intrusive ways we talk about crime in the modern age: the internet obsession with seeing the videos in question, and how the perpetrator is given unwarranted attention. Sabrina is a tough read, but it's a perfect examination of how little privacy we allow people in the face of such awful events.Writer and artist: Nick Drnaso

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at amzn.toIn a future where the real world is so miserable it's essentially buried under layers of an augmented reality network, inventor Fin finds herself locked out, and begins to uncover a conspiracy that explains why. The digital dystopia presented by Square Eyes is scarily busy and psychedelic, contrasted by the grey near-ruins of the modern age. The world building in this book is extraordinary.Take your time to absorb the crowd details and bits of characterisation layered into Anna Mill's art.Writer: Luke Jones, Anna Mill / Artist: Anna Mill

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£16.99 at Amazonand its beginnings.Hickman's writing is mind-blowing, bringing in threads of history and iconic historical figures to create a rich secret history, combined with Weaver's stunning art. The series ran between 2010 and 2011, but two more issues were released in 2018. The best bit about this series is it's not that long, which means it really packs a punch and it's a great one to read if you want a fantastical story but don't want to invest years into getting up to speed or keeping up with events.

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at amzn.toThe many collaborations of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips are all worth checking out, from the Lovecraft-meets-noir tale Fatale to the long-running Criminal series. This late '40s Hollywood crime tale set during the Blacklist is perhaps the easiest to pick up, since it's just 12 issues long. It's the perfect read if you enjoy the excellent Old Hollywood podcast You Must Remember This, and explores the era's questionable morality and tendency to create instant victims.Writer: Ed Brubaker / Artist: Sean Phillips

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Additional writing: Gerald Lynch, Becca Caddy