The Best Comics of All Time

Every few years someone ranks the best comics of all time, and every few years the same handful of books rise to the top. That isn’t laziness, it’s consensus: when critics, creators and ordinary readers keep returning to a book decades later, it has earned its place. This guide gathers the comics we consider genuinely essential, the ones that expanded what the form could do and still reward a first read today. We’ve cast a wide net across the whole medium: memoir, superhero, manga, historical horror and literary fantasy. You don’t need to read them in order. Pick the one that sounds most like you and start there.

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How we chose: we started from the books critics and readers cite most often, then matched each to an edition currently listed on Amazon, favoring complete, in-print collections from the original publishers. Opinions on the stories are our own, from reading them. Prices and stock change often, so the buttons show Amazon’s current price.

1. The Complete Maus — Best overall

Best overall

Why we like it

• The only comic with a Pulitzer Prize
• Two stories at once: survival and its aftermath
• Simple drawings that make the horror unbearable
• Complete in one volume

Specification	Details
Creator	Art Spiegelman
Publisher	Pantheon
Collects	Maus I and Maus II
Pages	296
Format	Hardcover
Reader age	Not stated in listing; Holocaust violence and suicide, teens and up

The Complete Maus — Spiegelman, Pantheon, both volumes, 296 pages, hardcover

Art Spiegelman's Maus tells the story of his father Vladek surviving Auschwitz, drawing Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. Running alongside it is a second story: Art in New York in the 1970s and 80s, interviewing a difficult, aging father and failing to get along with him. The two threads feed each other, and the book is as much about how trauma passes down a family as it is about the camps.

It received a special Pulitzer Prize in 1992, still the only comic to do so, and it's the book we'd hand to anyone who thinks comics are only for children. The animal metaphor sounds like it should soften the story; in practice it does the opposite, because the simple, scratchy drawings leave nowhere to hide.

We put it first instead of the usual Watchmen because it's the most complete answer to what comics can do that prose can't. This Pantheon hardcover combines both volumes; there's also a two-book paperback box set if you prefer separate books.

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2. The Sandman Book One — Best literary fantasy

Best fantasy

Why we like it

• Reads like a great short-story collection
• Blends horror, history and mythology
• Big paperback covers a lot of ground
• Gateway to the whole Vertigo era

Specification	Details
Writer / Artists	Neil Gaiman / Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and others
Publisher	DC Comics
Collects	The series' opening issues (exact range not stated in listing)
Pages	560
Format	Paperback
Reader age	Not stated in listing; mature readers, horror violence

The Sandman Book One — Gaiman and collaborators, DC, 560 pages, paperback

Neil Gaiman's The Sandman ran 75 issues between 1989 and 1996 and became the flagship of DC's Vertigo line. It follows Dream of the Endless, the personification of stories, as he escapes decades of imprisonment and rebuilds his kingdom. From there it branches into historical tales, myths, a story about Shakespeare and a murder convention, and the whole thing gradually assembles into one long tragedy.

The first few issues are rougher, closer to straight horror, and some readers bounce off them. Stick with it: by the end of this first book the series has found its voice. The Book One paperbacks are the most economical way to own the run; deluxe hardcovers exist if you want bigger pages.

Compared with Maus it's looser and stranger, closer to a shelf of linked novels than a single statement. Our Sandman reading order lays out the rest of the series.

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3. Akira, Vol. 1 — Best for manga and sci-fi fans

Best manga

Why we like it

• Some of the most detailed art in comics
• Action that moves like film
• Oversized pages show off the draftsmanship
• Far bigger story than the movie

Specification	Details
Creator	Katsuhiro Otomo
Publisher	Kodansha
Collects	Volume 1 of 6
Pages	352
Format	Oversized paperback
Reader age	Not stated in listing; strong violence, teens and up

Akira, Vol. 1 — Otomo, Kodansha, 352 pages, oversized paperback

Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira ran from 1982 to 1990 and reshaped both manga and animation. In Neo-Tokyo, decades after a mysterious explosion destroyed the old city, teenage biker Kaneda watches his friend Tetsuo develop psychic powers he can't control, while the military and a resistance movement fight over what Akira was.

Otomo's city drawings, wrecked buildings and motorcycle chases are the reason to read it, and Kodansha's oversized format gives them room. The 1988 film compresses the story heavily; the manga is a much larger, stranger epic, especially in its back half.

It's a six-volume commitment, but volume 1 works as a test. If the art grabs you, there's also a 35th anniversary hardcover box set and a newer hardcover line. For more Japanese classics, see our best manga of all time.

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4. The Dark Knight Returns — Best superhero landmark

Best superhero

Why we like it

• Defined Batman for a generation
• Sharp satire of TV news and politics
• Self-contained, no continuity needed
• Short enough for one evening

Specification	Details
Writer / Artists	Frank Miller / Klaus Janson (inks), Lynn Varley (colors)
Publisher	DC Comics
Collects	The original four-issue series
Pages	224
Format	Paperback (new edition)
Reader age	Not stated in listing; violence, teens and up

The Dark Knight Returns — Miller, Janson and Varley, DC, 224 pages, paperback

Frank Miller's 1986 story imagines a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne pulling the cape back on in a near-future Gotham overrun by gangs. It's blunt and political, cut through with talking-head TV panels that satirize the media's reaction to a vigilante, and it ends with a confrontation with Superman that later films borrowed wholesale.

It arrived the same year as Watchmen, and together they defined comics' grim-and-gritty turn. Of the two, this is the faster, more kinetic read. If you want only one superhero book on an all-time list, this is the one that changed its character most.

This 2026 paperback is the current standard edition. Our best Batman graphic novels guide covers what to read next.

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5. The Complete Persepolis — Best memoir

Best memoir

Why we like it

• History told through a sharp, funny narrator
• Bold black-and-white art, easy to follow
• Both books in one volume
• Great first comic for novel readers

Specification	Details
Creator	Marjane Satrapi
Publisher	Pantheon
Collects	Persepolis 1 and 2
Pages	341
Format	Paperback
Reader age	Not stated in listing; war, executions and torture referenced, teens and up

The Complete Persepolis — Satrapi, Pantheon, both books, 341 pages, paperback

Marjane Satrapi grew up in Tehran during the 1979 revolution and the Iran–Iraq war. Persepolis follows her from a precocious child arguing with God to a teenager sent to Vienna for her safety, and then back home as a young woman who no longer fits either place.

The art is stark and almost woodcut-like, which keeps the darkest moments readable without blunting them. Where Maus is about inheriting history, Persepolis is about living through it while also dealing with school, friends and growing up. That ordinariness is what makes it so effective.

This complete edition combines both books; a 20th anniversary hardcover is also listed. Our Persepolis review goes deeper.

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6. From Hell — Best dark historical epic

Best historical

Why we like it

• Moore's most ambitious single work
• Campbell's scratchy ink suits Victorian London
• Extensive annotations show the research
• Nothing else reads like it

Specification	Details
Writer / Artist	Alan Moore / Eddie Campbell
Publisher	Top Shelf Productions
Collects	The complete story
Pages	576
Format	Paperback
Reader age	Not stated in listing; graphic murder and sex, adults only

From Hell — Moore and Campbell, Top Shelf, complete, 576 pages, paperback

From Hell takes one theory of the Whitechapel murders and uses it to dissect Victorian London: its architecture, class system, Freemasonry and the century about to arrive. Moore and Campbell aren't interested in a whodunit; the killer is named early. The book is about why, and what the murders say about the city.

It's slow, black-and-white, and extremely graphic in places. Content warning: the murders are depicted in clinical detail, and there is explicit sex. This is the least casual read on the list and the one most likely to stay with you.

The Top Shelf paperback includes Moore's appendices, which are worth reading. IDW also lists a colorized Master Edition hardcover if you'd prefer it. More in our From Hell review.

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7. Jimmy Corrigan — Best for readers who want a challenge

Best art comic

Why we like it

• Page design unlike anything else
• Quietly devastating family story
• Rewards slow, careful reading
• Influenced a generation of cartoonists

Specification	Details
Creator	Chris Ware
Publisher	Pantheon
Collects	The complete graphic novel
Pages	380
Format	Paperback
Reader age	Not stated in listing; adult themes, suits older teens and up

Jimmy Corrigan — Ware, Pantheon, complete, 380 pages, paperback

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth follows a painfully shy middle-aged man who meets his estranged father for the first time, intercut with the story of his grandfather's childhood at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Very little happens in the conventional sense; what does happen is crushing.

Chris Ware's diagrammatic layouts, tiny panels and clean lines look cold at first, but they slow you down so the small moments land. It won the Guardian First Book Award in 2001, a rare prize for a comic at the time, and it remains the clearest example of comics as a literary form in its own right.

It isn't an easy first comic. Read it after a couple of the books above, and give it a quiet afternoon. If it clicks, Ware's Building Stories and our best indie graphic novels are the next step.

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Also worth reading

A seven-book list leaves out plenty of books that would top someone else's ranking. These are the next ones we'd reach for:

• Watchmen (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons) — the most cited superhero comic ever and the usual number one elsewhere, including our own graphic novels list.
• Saga (Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples) — the best modern on-ramp; space opera for adults.
• Berserk (Kentaro Miura) — the towering dark-fantasy manga, unfinished at Miura's death in 2021. Content warning: extreme violence and sexual assault.
• Bone (Jeff Smith) — the best all-ages epic, available as a one-volume edition.
• One Piece (Eiichiro Oda) — the best-selling comic series ever, and consistently good across more than 100 volumes.
• Fun Home (Alison Bechdel) — a dense, literary memoir of family, sexuality and her father's death.
• Love and Rockets (Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez) — four decades of alternative comics at their best.
• Lone Wolf and Cub (Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima) — the samurai epic that shaped Western comics in the 1980s.

How these essentials compare

Book	Type	Best for	Length	Difficulty
The Complete Maus	Memoir	Skeptics of the medium	296 pages	Easy to read, heavy to feel
The Sandman Book One	Fantasy	Novel readers	560 pages	Medium
Akira, Vol. 1	Manga	Sci-fi and animation fans	352 pages (of 6 books)	Easy
The Dark Knight Returns	Superhero	Batman and film fans	224 pages	Medium
The Complete Persepolis	Memoir	Teens and history readers	341 pages	Easy
From Hell	Historical horror	Patient adult readers	576 pages	Hard
Jimmy Corrigan	Literary	Readers wanting a challenge	380 pages	Hard

How to choose where to start

Ask what the reader already enjoys. Someone who reads literary fiction or history will take to Maus or Persepolis immediately. A fantasy reader should start with The Sandman. A film or anime fan will find Akira or The Dark Knight Returns the quickest hook. From Hell and Jimmy Corrigan are better as a second or third book, once you're comfortable with how comics pace a story.

Most of these are complete in one or two volumes, which is part of why they last: there's no endless series to chase. The trade-off is that several are dense, and most carry content warnings. For younger readers, Bone and Persepolis are the safest picks here; our best comics for beginners list has more gentle starting points.

Editions matter less than people think. A standard paperback of any of these reads just as well as a deluxe hardcover. Upgrade only the books you already love and know you'll reread. For the wider canon, our best graphic novels list expands the Western side and the graphic novels hub collects everything else.

Frequently asked questions

What is considered the greatest comic of all time?

By critical consensus, Watchmen is cited most often, and Maus is the only comic to have received a Pulitzer Prize. In pure sales, Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is the best-selling comic series ever.

Do I have to read these in a particular order?

No. Every book here stands on its own. Pick the genre that appeals to you and start there; Maus and Persepolis are the friendliest first reads.

Is manga included in "best comics of all time"?

Yes. Manga is comics, and books like Akira, Berserk and One Piece are among the most influential and best-selling comics ever made.

Which of these is best for a total beginner?

The Complete Persepolis or The Complete Maus. Both are complete in one volume, easy to follow and impossible to forget. For a lighter all-ages choice, try Bone.

Are these comics suitable for kids?

Mostly not. From Hell is strictly adult, and Akira, The Sandman and The Dark Knight Returns are violent. Maus and Persepolis are taught in high schools, which makes them the best fit for teenagers.

Why isn't Watchmen number one on this list?

Watchmen is one of the best comics of all time, but we put The Complete Maus first because it does something no other comic does: it changed how the world saw the medium. Watchmen is the landmark superhero book, best read once you've some interest in the genre. If you love it, our comics like Watchmen guide picks what to read next.

Is Akira Vol. 1 the whole story?

Akira Vol. 1 is only the start: Katsuhiro Otomo's manga runs six large volumes, and the first covers the early chase through Neo-Tokyo. The story grows much larger than the 1988 film, which compresses and changes it. If you love Vol. 1, the box set is the easiest way to get the whole thing.

What is Jimmy Corrigan about?

Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth is Chris Ware's graphic novel about a painfully lonely middle-aged man who meets his estranged father for the first time, intercut with the story of his grandfather's childhood in 1890s Chicago. Ware's precise, diagram-like art and tiny lettering make it a demanding read. It's often described as one of the saddest books ever made.

Is From Hell a true story?

From Hell is a fictionalized account of the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888 London. Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell based it on one theory of the case, which blamed the royal physician Sir William Gull, a theory most historians reject. The book is deeply researched and full of real people and places, but it's best read as historical fiction. The appendix explains Moore's sources.

Related reading

• The Best Comics of the 2000s
• Best Comics of the 2010s
• Best Comics & Graphic Novels Under $20
• Best Comics With Female Protagonists