Fifty Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels
Several rules: (1) I have listed these books in alphabetical order, rather than in order of preference, though I’ve marked my ten current favorites with an asterisk. (2) I have chosen no more than one book, or occasionally one series, per creator. (3) I have tried to be honest, which is why there are relatively few superhero comics on this list—and most of those published in the eighties, when I was growing up—as well as a handful of comics adapted from novels I already admired in their original prose forms. —Kevin Brockmeier, December 26, 2021
1. Alone by Chabouté
2. Ant Colony by Michael DeForge
3. Any Empire by Nate Powell
4. The Arrival by Shaun Tan
5. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
6. Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët (*)
7. Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children (series) by Dave Louapre and Dan Sweetman
8. Blankets by Craig Thompson
9. Bone by Jeff Smith
10. Building Stories by Chris Ware (*)
11. Captain Carrot and the Final Ark! by Bill Morrison, Scott Shaw!, and multiple artists
12. Chester 5000 XYV by Jess Fink
13. The City of Belgium by Brecht Evens (*)
14. Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini (*)
15. The Compleat Moonshadow by John Marc DeMatteis and Jon J. Muth
16. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
17. The Complete Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson
18. Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy A. Bastian
19. Daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
20. A Distant Neighborhood by Jiro Taniguchi
21. Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz
22. The End of the World by Don Hertzfeldt
23. Everything We Miss by Luke Pearson
24. Goliath by Tom Gauld
25. Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
26. The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Adaptation by Nicki Greenberg (*)
27. Here by Richard McGuire
28. In by Will McPhail
29. It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken by Seth
30. Kool Aid Gets Fired by Tim Piotrowski
31. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and Renae De Liz
32. The Longest Day of the Future by Lucas Varela
33. Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman
34. Meanwhile by Jason Shiga (*)
35. Misery Loves Comedy by Ivan Brunetti
36. Mister O by Lewis Trondheim (*)
37. New Growing Antlers by Michael Inscoe and Phillip Huddleston
38. Palestine by Joe Sacco
39. Passing for Human by Liana Finck (*)
40. Pinocchio by Winshluss
41. Poem Strip by Dino Buzzati (*)
42. The Sandman (series) by Neil Gaiman and multiple artists
43. Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
44. Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
45. Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms by Fumiyo Kouno
46. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
47. We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
48. Y: The Last Man (series) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
49. Yotsuba&! (series) by Kiyohiko Azuma (*)
50. Zot! The Complete Black and White Collection by Scott McCloud