The Best Graphic Novels of 2025
Standout new releases and recent volumes worth your shelf in 2025.
By Web Admin
Every year the “best graphic novels” conversation gets a little harder to have, because the medium keeps widening. A single strong twelve-month stretch now spans Pulitzer-adjacent memoir, creator-owned horror that outsells the big two, and all-ages books that quietly become the most-read titles in the country. This guide gathers the graphic novels that defined 2025 for us as readers — a mix of genuinely new 2024–2025 releases and ongoing series whose latest volumes landed this year.
A note on honesty up front: award seasons overlap calendar years, so we hedge on any “winner of the year” claim and point you to the books themselves. Prices are approximate US new-copy figures and drop fast secondhand or through a library. If you want the all-time canon instead of this year’s crop, our best graphic novels of all time list is the companion piece.
How we picked the best of 2025
Three filters. First, recency: the book either debuted in 2024–2025 or released a major new volume this year. Second, completeness or momentum: it either stands alone or is an ongoing series whose current run is genuinely worth starting now. Third, staying power: it is the kind of book people will still be recommending in five years, not a title riding a single news cycle. If you are brand new, detour through our best comics for beginners guide first, then come back for these.
Literary memoir and non-fiction
The prestige end of the medium had a remarkable run. If you think comics cannot be serious literature, start in this section.
- Feeding Ghosts (2024) — Tessa Hulls traces her grandmother, her mother, and herself across China and the US in dense, ink-heavy pages. Widely praised as one of the finest memoirs in any format this decade. ~380 pages, ~US$30.
- Spent (2025) — Alison Bechdel returns with a semi-autobiographical satire about art, money, and selling out, drawn in full color. A looser, funnier book than Fun Home. ~US$28.
- My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book Two (2024) — Emil Ferris finally completed her ballpoint-pen masterpiece. If you loved Book One, the conclusion delivers. ~416 pages, ~US$40.
- Monica (2023) — Daniel Clowes assembled interlocking short stories into one of the most acclaimed literary comics of recent years, still riding a wave of recognition into 2025. ~US$30.
Creator-owned sci-fi and fantasy
The most exciting corner of Western comics right now is creator-owned Image and indie work. These are ongoing, but each first volume is a satisfying read.
- The Power Fantasy (2024–) — Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard imagine six people as powerful as nuclear weapons, and the fragile peace between them. Cerebral, gorgeous, and one of the strongest new launches in years. Vol. 1 ~US$18.
- W0rldtr33 (2023–) — James Tynion IV and Fernando Blanco mine internet horror and a hidden layer of the web. Tense and nasty in the best way. Vol. 1 ~US$17.
- Local Man (2023–) — Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley follow a disgraced ex-hero back to his small hometown; a clever superhero-noir with 90s nostalgia baked in. Vol. 1 ~US$17.
- Public Domain (2022–) — Chip Zdarsky writes a family who owns the rights to a faded superhero. Warm, funny, and pointed about the industry. Vol. 1 ~US$17.
Horror that broke out
Horror comics keep dominating the direct market, and 2024–2025 gave collectors plenty. Content warning: graphic violence and disturbing imagery throughout this category.
- The Deviant (2023–2024) — James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson tell a queer serial-killer mystery split across two timelines. Complete in nine issues, collected across two volumes. ~US$17 each.
- Universal Monsters: Dracula & Frankenstein (2023–2024) — Tynion IV again, with painted art from Martin Simmonds and Piotr Kowalski, reworking the classic monsters into prestige horror. ~US$25 each.
The big-two books people actually talked about
Superhero publishing had two genuine event books that even lapsed readers picked up. Both collect into readable hardcovers.
- Absolute Batman (2024–) — Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta reimagine Bruce Wayne without money, a bigger and angrier take that anchored DC’s Absolute line. The first collection lands in 2025. ~US$25. More context in our best comics of the 2010s retrospective, where Snyder’s earlier Batman run features heavily.
- Ultimate Spider-Man (2024–) — Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto imagine a Peter Parker who becomes Spider-Man in his forties. The freshest superhero book Marvel has published in years. Vol. 1 ~US$18. Fans of the publisher should also see our best Image Comics guide for where the creators cut their teeth.
All-ages and YA standouts
The best-selling graphic novels in the country are almost always all-ages, and this year was no exception. These make excellent gifts.
- Bea Wolf (2023) — Zach Weinersmith and Boulet retell Beowulf as a war between kids and a joyless grown-up. Genuinely brilliant for all ages. ~US$25.
- Recent Telgemeier-era middle-grade — the graphic-memoir boom Raina Telgemeier started keeps producing hits; any current bestseller shelf is a safe bet for a young reader. Most run ~US$13.
Picks at a glance
If the full list is a lot, this table sorts the standouts by what you are in the mood for.
| Book | Category | Standalone? | Approx. price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feeding Ghosts | Memoir | Yes | ~US$30 | Literary readers |
| The Power Fantasy, Vol. 1 | Sci-fi | Ongoing | ~US$18 | Big-idea fans |
| The Deviant, Vol. 1 | Horror | Complete arc | ~US$17 | Crime/horror fans |
| Absolute Batman | Superhero | Ongoing | ~US$25 | Lapsed cape readers |
| Bea Wolf | All-ages | Yes | ~US$25 | Gifts & families |
Buy print or digital this year?
Pros
- Print does justice to painted books like the Universal Monsters line
- Hardcover collections of event books hold value and look great
- No screen fatigue on long literary reads like Feeding Ghosts
Cons
- New hardcovers cost more upfront than waiting for the trade
- Digital first issues of Image series often sell for a dollar or two
- Ongoing series mean you commit to future purchases
Our take: buy the art-forward and literary books in print, and sample ongoing Image series digitally before you commit to the shelf. Many first issues cost less than a coffee on sale.
AmazonCheck price on AmazonWhere to go next
Once you have worked through a few of these, follow the thread that grabbed you. If it was the creator-owned sci-fi and horror, our best indie graphic novels and best Image Comics guides go deeper. If manga is more your speed, jump to our best manga of 2025 companion. And for the timeless picks that never age, the best graphic novels of all time list is where to build the core of a collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single best graphic novel of 2025?
For literary readers, Feeding Ghosts is the consensus pick — a memoir that earned some of the strongest reviews in the medium. If you want fiction, The Power Fantasy was the most talked-about creator-owned launch. We avoid crowning one “winner” because award seasons cross calendar years.
Are these good for someone new to comics?
Several are — Bea Wolf, Feeding Ghosts, and Ultimate Spider-Man all read cold. If you want a gentler on-ramp first, start with our best comics for beginners guide, then return here.
Do I need to have read older comics to enjoy the 2025 books?
No. The memoirs and creator-owned series stand entirely alone. Even Absolute Batman and Ultimate Spider-Man are deliberate fresh starts designed for readers who skipped decades of continuity.
Which of these are safe for younger readers?
Bea Wolf and the middle-grade titles are all-ages. The horror books (The Deviant, the Universal Monsters line) and much of the literary memoir contain violence, mature themes, or disturbing imagery — check individual reviews before gifting to a child.
