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Best alternative comics and literary graphic novels
9
items A running list of graphic novels for people who think comics are just superheroes and capes, this one's all mood, ache, and gorgeous panel work instead. Expect murder mysteries, space romance, ants having existential crises, and at least one book tha...
I will keep adding more recs on this list, so stay tuned.
I will keep adding more recs on this list, so stay tuned.
Sections
2
My Absolute Favorites
Recommendations
My Absolute Favorites
These are some of my personal collections, which are I think worth reading at least once in your life.
What's It About:
Two kids find a portal to a rainbow-colored dimension hiding inside their washing machine, and things get messy once they invite the rest of their friend group in on the secret.
Read It If:
You want a graphic novel that basically feels like getting hit with a kaleidoscope, in the best possible way. Zero required brain cells for plot comprehension, maximum required brain cells for staring at the pretty colors.
My Verdict:
4.12 on Goodreads, and my honest reason for picking this one is that a reviewer straight up asked if they could rate it "10 out of 5," and I needed to see what could possibly earn that kind of unhinged devotion. Turns out the answer is basically unan...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where a kid drags his friends into this glowing other-dimension purely to show off, and the tension between wanting to keep something sacred private versus wanting to flex it to your friend group ends up saying a lot more about growi...
Two kids find a portal to a rainbow-colored dimension hiding inside their washing machine, and things get messy once they invite the rest of their friend group in on the secret.
Read It If:
You want a graphic novel that basically feels like getting hit with a kaleidoscope, in the best possible way. Zero required brain cells for plot comprehension, maximum required brain cells for staring at the pretty colors.
My Verdict:
4.12 on Goodreads, and my honest reason for picking this one is that a reviewer straight up asked if they could rate it "10 out of 5," and I needed to see what could possibly earn that kind of unhinged devotion. Turns out the answer is basically unan...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where a kid drags his friends into this glowing other-dimension purely to show off, and the tension between wanting to keep something sacred private versus wanting to flex it to your friend group ends up saying a lot more about growi...
Crawl Space
What's It About:
A black ant colony tries to hold itself together through war with the neighboring red ants, corrupt cop ants, a kid who accidentally becomes a prophet, and a gay couple's messy breakup, all while the colony's queen and quiet dread of meaninglessness ...
Read It If:
You want ants dealing with the exact same existential dread we do, just with more mandibles. Also great if "trippy, gross, surprisingly funny bug apocalypse" sounds like a fun way to spend an afternoon.
My Verdict:
4.09 on Goodreads, and my genuinely funny reason for grabbing this one is that I saw a reviewer compare it to David Lynch directing a Disney movie, and honestly, how do you not immediately need to see that for yourself. Reception is strongly positive...
Favourite Line:
The whole book opens with one ant complaining to another about how sick he is of this itty-bitty lifestyle, annoyed that everything in his life has to be so small, and somehow that tiny existential gripe sets the tone for the entire, weirdly profound...
A black ant colony tries to hold itself together through war with the neighboring red ants, corrupt cop ants, a kid who accidentally becomes a prophet, and a gay couple's messy breakup, all while the colony's queen and quiet dread of meaninglessness ...
Read It If:
You want ants dealing with the exact same existential dread we do, just with more mandibles. Also great if "trippy, gross, surprisingly funny bug apocalypse" sounds like a fun way to spend an afternoon.
My Verdict:
4.09 on Goodreads, and my genuinely funny reason for grabbing this one is that I saw a reviewer compare it to David Lynch directing a Disney movie, and honestly, how do you not immediately need to see that for yourself. Reception is strongly positive...
Favourite Line:
The whole book opens with one ant complaining to another about how sick he is of this itty-bitty lifestyle, annoyed that everything in his life has to be so small, and somehow that tiny existential gripe sets the tone for the entire, weirdly profound...
Ant Colony by Michael Deforge
What's It About:
Same corner of the same room, shown across billions of years, dinosaurs wander through, Native Americans hunt, colonists argue, a family bickers over Thanksgiving, and eventually the whole spot gets swallowed back into swamp, all layered onto the sam...
Read It If:
You want a graphic novel that's basically 300 pages of "life happened here before you and will happen after you," minimal dialogue, maximum existential spiral.
My Verdict:
4.18 on Goodreads, and my funny reason for grabbing this one is that I read it can be finished in about 30 minutes, and I thought, finally, a graphic novel that respects my attention span. Reception is strongly positive, most readers call the concept...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where a man in 1775 casually remarks that life has a habit of rhyming its moments, and the whole rest of the book is basically that one sentence proven true over and over again, page after page.
Same corner of the same room, shown across billions of years, dinosaurs wander through, Native Americans hunt, colonists argue, a family bickers over Thanksgiving, and eventually the whole spot gets swallowed back into swamp, all layered onto the sam...
Read It If:
You want a graphic novel that's basically 300 pages of "life happened here before you and will happen after you," minimal dialogue, maximum existential spiral.
My Verdict:
4.18 on Goodreads, and my funny reason for grabbing this one is that I read it can be finished in about 30 minutes, and I thought, finally, a graphic novel that respects my attention span. Reception is strongly positive, most readers call the concept...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where a man in 1775 casually remarks that life has a habit of rhyming its moments, and the whole rest of the book is basically that one sentence proven true over and over again, page after page.
Here by Richard Mcguire
Recommendations
These are the collection of books recommended by people online and have good ratings on Goodreads.
What's It About:
Ten-year-old Karen Reyes draws her whole life as a werewolf detective's diary, investigating her upstairs neighbor Anka's murder, only for the story to spiral into Anka's own horrific past surviving forced prostitution and the Holocaust in Nazi Germa...
Read It If:
You want a graphic novel the size of an actual phone book, hand-drawn entirely in ballpoint pen. Also good if you're fine juggling about six subplots at once and occasionally losing the thread on purpose.
My Verdict:
4.25 on Goodreads, and my genuinely funny reason for grabbing this one is that it's massive enough to double as a doorstop, and I wanted to see if a comic could actually strain my wrists. Mission accomplished. Reception is mostly glowing, most reader...
Favourite Line:
There's a line that sticks with a lot of readers about never letting someone else's darkness pull you into your own, a quiet bit of wisdom tucked into a book that otherwise doesn't pull many punches.
Ten-year-old Karen Reyes draws her whole life as a werewolf detective's diary, investigating her upstairs neighbor Anka's murder, only for the story to spiral into Anka's own horrific past surviving forced prostitution and the Holocaust in Nazi Germa...
Read It If:
You want a graphic novel the size of an actual phone book, hand-drawn entirely in ballpoint pen. Also good if you're fine juggling about six subplots at once and occasionally losing the thread on purpose.
My Verdict:
4.25 on Goodreads, and my genuinely funny reason for grabbing this one is that it's massive enough to double as a doorstop, and I wanted to see if a comic could actually strain my wrists. Mission accomplished. Reception is mostly glowing, most reader...
Favourite Line:
There's a line that sticks with a lot of readers about never letting someone else's darkness pull you into your own, a quiet bit of wisdom tucked into a book that otherwise doesn't pull many punches.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
What's It About:
Mia joins an all-female spaceship crew that restores crumbling ancient buildings across the galaxy, while flashbacks fill in her heartbreak years earlier at an all-girls boarding school, and her real reason for joining the crew turns out to be tracki...
Read It If:
You want gorgeous, moody sci-fi where the emotions matter way more than the world-building making logical sense. Bonus points if "found family in space, zero men, everyone's queer" sounds like your dream Tuesday night read.
My Verdict:
4.29 on Goodreads, and honestly the funny reason I grabbed this one is that a reviewer described it as "if the word beautiful was a book," and I needed to see if a graphic novel could really earn a compliment that dramatic. Reception is overwhelmingl...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where one character basically tells Mia she's not just in love with the small part of her she understands, she's in love with all of her, including the parts still hidden, it's such a soft, reassuring thing to say to someone and it h...
Mia joins an all-female spaceship crew that restores crumbling ancient buildings across the galaxy, while flashbacks fill in her heartbreak years earlier at an all-girls boarding school, and her real reason for joining the crew turns out to be tracki...
Read It If:
You want gorgeous, moody sci-fi where the emotions matter way more than the world-building making logical sense. Bonus points if "found family in space, zero men, everyone's queer" sounds like your dream Tuesday night read.
My Verdict:
4.29 on Goodreads, and honestly the funny reason I grabbed this one is that a reviewer described it as "if the word beautiful was a book," and I needed to see if a graphic novel could really earn a compliment that dramatic. Reception is overwhelmingl...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where one character basically tells Mia she's not just in love with the small part of her she understands, she's in love with all of her, including the parts still hidden, it's such a soft, reassuring thing to say to someone and it h...
On a Sunbeam
What's It About:
Verloc Nim wakes up amnesiac and sobbing on a distant alien world, greeted by a cheerful robot ape named Churchill who hands him his own diary so he can piece together how his refusal to accept society's tech implants cost him his family, his busines...
Read It If:
You want moody, trippy European sci-fi that reads like 2001: A Space Odyssey got adopted by a Franco-Belgian comic artist. Also good if the phrase "cigar-smoking robot ape" alone is enough to sell you.
My Verdict:
3.83 on Goodreads, and my genuinely silly reason for picking this one is just Churchill, a robot gorilla who greets our sobbing amnesiac hero with actual warmth, and I needed to know more about a character introduced that way. Reception is mostly pos...
Favourite Line:
The very first scene sticks with people the most, Verloc waking up crying with zero memory of who he is, and the first thing anyone does for him is hand him his own diary and basically say "here, you wrote this, good luck." Such a strange, quietly fu...
Verloc Nim wakes up amnesiac and sobbing on a distant alien world, greeted by a cheerful robot ape named Churchill who hands him his own diary so he can piece together how his refusal to accept society's tech implants cost him his family, his busines...
Read It If:
You want moody, trippy European sci-fi that reads like 2001: A Space Odyssey got adopted by a Franco-Belgian comic artist. Also good if the phrase "cigar-smoking robot ape" alone is enough to sell you.
My Verdict:
3.83 on Goodreads, and my genuinely silly reason for picking this one is just Churchill, a robot gorilla who greets our sobbing amnesiac hero with actual warmth, and I needed to know more about a character introduced that way. Reception is mostly pos...
Favourite Line:
The very first scene sticks with people the most, Verloc waking up crying with zero memory of who he is, and the first thing anyone does for him is hand him his own diary and basically say "here, you wrote this, good luck." Such a strange, quietly fu...
Aama: The Smell of Warm Dust
What's It About:
A collection of surreal, genre-hopping short comics that all quietly orbit the same trick question, what actually makes a person happy, told through wildly different art styles from watercolor dreamscapes to stark black-and-white.
Read It If:
You're okay with stories that refuse to wrap up neatly, on purpose. Bonus points if you enjoy feeling vaguely unsettled by a beautiful picture of a fox getting skinned, yes, that's genuinely in here.
My Verdict:
3.75 on Goodreads, and my honestly petty reason for picking this one is the title itself basically dares you to disagree with it, Davis opens the book by saying flat-out this is NOT a how-to guide, and I respect the audacity of naming your sad little...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where a woman confides she's in a deep depressive hole, and her friend sympathizes hard, right up until she mentions she went gluten-free and everything got better, only for the next panel to show the same depressed woman desperately...
A collection of surreal, genre-hopping short comics that all quietly orbit the same trick question, what actually makes a person happy, told through wildly different art styles from watercolor dreamscapes to stark black-and-white.
Read It If:
You're okay with stories that refuse to wrap up neatly, on purpose. Bonus points if you enjoy feeling vaguely unsettled by a beautiful picture of a fox getting skinned, yes, that's genuinely in here.
My Verdict:
3.75 on Goodreads, and my honestly petty reason for picking this one is the title itself basically dares you to disagree with it, Davis opens the book by saying flat-out this is NOT a how-to guide, and I respect the audacity of naming your sad little...
Favourite Line:
There's a moment where a woman confides she's in a deep depressive hole, and her friend sympathizes hard, right up until she mentions she went gluten-free and everything got better, only for the next panel to show the same depressed woman desperately...
How To Be Happy by Eleanor Davis
What's It About:
Six unconnected short stories about painfully ordinary people, a gardener chasing a doomed art form, a woman mistaken for a porn star, two addicts falling for each other and falling apart, and the title story about a stuttering teen chasing a stand-u...
Read It If:
You want your "slice of life" served with a side of quiet devastation. Great if you enjoy stories where nobody gets closure, but Tomine's art is so clean and precise you almost don't notice you're sad yet.
My Verdict:
3.89 on Goodreads, and my honestly ridiculous reason for picking this one is the title, I saw "Killing and Dying" on a shelf and thought, well, that's either the most metal comic ever made or the most depressing, turns out it's both. Reception is sol...
Favourite Line:
There's a wordless panel late in the title story, just a quiet blank frame after everything's fallen apart, that somehow says more about grief and pretending you're okay than any line of dialogue in the whole book could.
Six unconnected short stories about painfully ordinary people, a gardener chasing a doomed art form, a woman mistaken for a porn star, two addicts falling for each other and falling apart, and the title story about a stuttering teen chasing a stand-u...
Read It If:
You want your "slice of life" served with a side of quiet devastation. Great if you enjoy stories where nobody gets closure, but Tomine's art is so clean and precise you almost don't notice you're sad yet.
My Verdict:
3.89 on Goodreads, and my honestly ridiculous reason for picking this one is the title, I saw "Killing and Dying" on a shelf and thought, well, that's either the most metal comic ever made or the most depressing, turns out it's both. Reception is sol...
Favourite Line:
There's a wordless panel late in the title story, just a quiet blank frame after everything's fallen apart, that somehow says more about grief and pretending you're okay than any line of dialogue in the whole book could.
Killing and Dying
What's It About:
A woman named Sabrina goes missing and is later found murdered, and the book follows the quiet unraveling of everyone around her, her grieving sister, her boyfriend spiraling into near-silence, and the friend hosting him, as online conspiracy theoris...
Read It If:
You want something heavier than the usual pick on this list. This one's not really a "fun read," it's the first graphic novel ever longlisted for the Booker Prize, and it's more interested in unease than entertainment.
My Verdict:
3.83 on Goodreads, and honestly my reason for grabbing this one is less "funny" and more "morbidly curious," a graphic novel getting Booker attention felt too weird to skip. Reception is genuinely split, some readers find the flat art and eerie quiet...
Favorite Line:
There's a recurring mental health questionnaire one character has to fill out for work, rate your mood, rate your stress, are you having thoughts of harming yourself, and seeing it repeat throughout the book says more about quiet, unspoken suffering ...
A woman named Sabrina goes missing and is later found murdered, and the book follows the quiet unraveling of everyone around her, her grieving sister, her boyfriend spiraling into near-silence, and the friend hosting him, as online conspiracy theoris...
Read It If:
You want something heavier than the usual pick on this list. This one's not really a "fun read," it's the first graphic novel ever longlisted for the Booker Prize, and it's more interested in unease than entertainment.
My Verdict:
3.83 on Goodreads, and honestly my reason for grabbing this one is less "funny" and more "morbidly curious," a graphic novel getting Booker attention felt too weird to skip. Reception is genuinely split, some readers find the flat art and eerie quiet...
Favorite Line:
There's a recurring mental health questionnaire one character has to fill out for work, rate your mood, rate your stress, are you having thoughts of harming yourself, and seeing it repeat throughout the book says more about quiet, unspoken suffering ...
Sabrina by Nick Drnaso