7 GRAPHIC NOVELS EVERYONE SHOULD READ AT LEAST ONCE

"What graphic novels should I actually read?" Here's our honest answer — the books we hand to people who want to understand why comics matter, whether they've read a hundred or none. Every one is in stock with free US shipping.

Watchmen — Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

The superhero comic that interrogated superhero comics, and still the genre's high-water mark. If you only ever read one capes book, it's this one. The deluxe hardcover is the edition to own.

The Complete Maus — Art Spiegelman

The only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. Spiegelman's account of his father surviving the Holocaust — and of being that survivor's son — is essential reading, full stop. Also available as a two-volume paperback box set.

Saga, Book One — Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Two soldiers from opposite sides of a forever war have a baby and run. Space opera, family drama, and the best character writing in modern comics. Book One collects the first three volumes in hardcover.

Far Sector — N.K. Jemisin & Jamal Campbell

A rookie Green Lantern investigates a murder in a city of twenty billion. Hugo-winner Jemisin writes sci-fi noir that reads like nothing else wearing a DC logo — and the compact edition makes it an easy pickup.

Berserk Deluxe, Vol. 1 — Kentaro Miura

Manga's answer to the epic novel: rage, fate, and one of fiction's great character studies, drawn with detail that borders on the obsessive.

Uzumaki — Junji Ito

Horror's crown jewel. A town, a curse shaped like a spiral, and imagery you will not shake. One complete story in one deluxe hardcover.

Death Note (All-in-One Edition) — Ohba & Obata

All twelve volumes of the definitive thriller manga in a single massive brick of a book. The perfect "one purchase, whole story" pick.

Building a shelf? Start with our graphic novels collection — 12,000+ titles from literary memoirs to superhero epics, every order shipped securely packaged with free US shipping.