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Best Graphic Novels Books
The graphic novel — long-form sequential art that uses the combination of image and text to tell stories — achieved literary respectability with Art Spiegelman's Maus, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Since then, the form has expanded to encompass memoir (Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis), journalism (Joe Sacco's Palestine), science fiction (Brian K. Vaughan's Saga), literary adaptation (Chris Ware's Building Stories), and superhero narrative of genuine complexity (Alan Moore's Watchmen). The graphic novel reads differently from prose: the reader constructs meaning in the gutters between panels, in the tension between what is drawn and what is written, in the rhythm of page and spread.
50 titles ranked · Scored across 40+ editorial sources
#1
literary-fiction
Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson· 1880
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#2
literary-fiction
Анна Каренина
Лев Толстой· 1876
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score55/100
#3
literary-fiction
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mark Twain· 1817
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score55/100
#4
literary-fiction
The Jungle
Upton Sinclair· 1791
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#5
literary-fiction
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson· 1875
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#6
literary-fiction
Black Beauty
Anna Sewell· 1905
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#7
fantasy
Amulet
Kazu Kibuishi· 2008
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#8
fantasy
鋼の錬金術師 1
荒川弘· 2002
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#9
fantasy
鋼の錬金術師 2
荒川弘· 1999
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#10
mystery-thriller
Dog Man
Dav Pilkey· 2002
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#11
adventure
The Legend of Zelda
姫川明· 2000
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#12
adventure
W.I.T.C.H.
Elisabetta Gnone· 2018
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#13
literary-fiction
A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Shakespeare· 1600
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score50/100
#14
literary-fiction
The Marvelous Land of Oz
L. Frank Baum· 1904
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score50/100
#15
literary-fiction
Cyrano de Bergerac
Edmond Rostand· 1821
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score50/100
#16
literary-fiction
À la recherche du temps perdu
Marcel Proust· 1919
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score50/100
#17
literary-fiction
The tragedy of Macbeth
William Shakespeare· 1790
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score50/100
#18
fantasy
Death Note, Vol. 8
Tsugumi Ohba· 2005
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score50/100
#19
mystery-thriller
More Stories to Remember -- Volume II
Thomas Bertram Costain· 1958
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score50/100
#20
horror
Hellboy
Mike Mignola· 1999
Library Journal
Editorial Score50/100
#21
literary-fiction
Twilight
Stephenie Meyer· 2005
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#22
literary-fiction
The Man with the Golden Gun
Ian Fleming· 1965
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#23
literary-fiction
Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer· 1999
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#24
literary-fiction
New Moon
Stephenie Meyer· 2006
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#25
literary-fiction
Les cigares du pharaon
Hergé· 1934
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#26
literary-fiction
Maître du monde
Jules Verne· 1902
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#27
classic-literature
Watchmen
Alan Moore· 1986
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#28
classic-literature
A Wrinkle In Time
Hope Larson· 2007
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#29
science-fiction
魔法騎士レイアース 5
CLAMP· 1999
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#30
science-fiction
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ransom Riggs· 2011
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#31
fantasy
Wish 1
CLAMP· 1996
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#32
fantasy
GloomCookie
Serena Valentino· 2001
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#33
fantasy
The Red Pyramid
Orpheus Collar· 2012
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#34
mystery-thriller
Skeleton Key
Anthony Horowitz· 1999
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#35
mystery-thriller
Adventures in Cat Town
Li Chen· 2025
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#36
horror
The Gashlycrumb Tinies
Edward Gorey· 1981
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#37
cooking-food
Get Jiro!
Anthony Bourdain· 2012
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#38
adventure
処刑少女の生きる道(バージンロード)5 ―約束の地―
佐藤真登· 2022
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#39
graphic-novels
Lore Olympus
Rachel Smythe· 2023
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#40
graphic-novels
L'Odyssée d'Astérix
Albert Uderzo· 1979
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#41
graphic-novels
Modesty Blaise
Peter O'Donnell· 1965
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#42
graphic-novels
Batman
Dennis O'Neil· 1991
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#43
graphic-novels
No Man's Land, Vol. 5
Bob Gale· 1999
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#44
graphic-novels
What's Michael?
Makoto Kobayashi· 1990
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#45
graphic-novels
It's a good life if you don't weaken
Seth· 1996
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#46
graphic-novels
Kurt Busiek's Astro City
Kurt Busiek· 1996
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#47
graphic-novels
Beakman & Jax's Microscope Book
Jok Church· 1995
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#48
graphic-novels
Charlie Brown's 'Cyclopedia Volume 3
Charles M. Schulz· 1990
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#49
graphic-novels
Batman's dark secret
Kelley Puckett· 1999
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#50
graphic-novels
Naruto 16
Masashi Kishimoto· 1999
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
