2023 Recommended Graphic Novels
Title: Night Fever
By: Ed Brubaker
Published: 2023
In Europe on a business trip, Jonathan Webb can't sleep. Instead, he finds himself wandering the night in a strange foreign city, with his new friend, the mysterious and violent Rainer as his guide. Rainer shows Jonathan the hidden world of the night, a world without rules or limits. But when the fun turns dangerous, Jonathan may find himself trapped in the dark... And the question is, what will he do to get home?
Title: Parasocial
By: Alex de Campi
Published: 2023
In the middle of the pandemic, a fading genre-TV actor—fresh from his long-running series' cancellation—collides with an obsessive fan at a Texas convention. When she lures him to her home, he'll have to put on the greatest performance of his life simply to survive until morning. Unless, of course, he's the real monster...
Title: A Guest in the House
By: Emily Carroll
Published: 2023
After many lonely years, Abby’s just gotten married. She met her new husband―a recently widowed dentist―when he arrived in town with his young daughter, seeking a new start. Although it’s strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother. But the more she learns about her new husband’s first wife, the more things don’t add up. And Abby starts to wonder . . . was Sheila’s death really by natural causes? As Abby sinks deeper into confusion, Sheila’s memory seems to become a force all its own, ensnaring Abby in a mystery that leaves her obsessed, fascinated, and desperately in love for the first time in her life.
Title: Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz
By: Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi
Published: 2023
Discover the man behind Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts gang in this imaginative and tender-hearted tribute told in comic-strip format!
Charles M. Schulz was arguably the most influential and popular cartoonist of the 20th century, and he poured many of his own emotions and experiences into the world of Peanuts over its iconic 50-year run. Now, Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi pay tribute to the master by telling the story of Schulz’s life in the medium that made him immortal: the comic strip. Every strip provides a laugh as well as a piece of insight into his remarkable life story. Starting with the last days of his monumental career, Funny Things jumps back and forth in time to narrate both Schulz’s artistic achievements and the personal episodes that formed him as an author and human being, ultimately shaping him into the most beloved cartoonist on the planet. Filled with affection, charm, and poignant insight, Funny Things imagines Schulz through the lens of the very world he created, inviting us all to meet the man behind the blanket.
Title: Know Your Station
By: Sarah Gailey
Published: 2023
The wealthiest people in the solar system abandoned the Earth for a sanctuary in space, leaving the poor to die from climate change. But the 1% won’t be safe for long… because a murderer is on the loose, with the rich as their target! Soon Elise, an employee on the billionaires’ space station, is wrapped up in a deadly investigation, dragged deeper into the conspiracy as the last body she wants to go missing does. Even worse, her withdrawals from a highly addictive substance are getting worse and causing terrible hallucinations. But those drug-induced delusions are nothing compared to the gut-wrenchingly grisly discoveries at the heart of this deadly whodunnit… Bestselling novelist Sarah Gailey (Eat the Rich, Just Like Home) and rising artistic star Liana Kangas (TRVE KVLT) take a stab at the ultra-wealthy, their dreams of escaping the planet they’ve put in peril, and the consequences of that economic terror in the near future…
Title: The Prophet
By: A. David Lewis and Justin Renteria
Published: 2023
A graphic novel adaptation of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, illustrating the story of an exile preparing to return to his home and sharing his thoughts on the human condition.
Title: Earthdivers, Vol. 1: Kill Columbus
By: Stephen Graham Jones
Published: 2023
The year is 2112, and it’s the apocalypse exactly as expected: rivers receding, oceans rising, civilization crumbling. Humanity has given up hope, except for a group of Indigenous outcasts who have discovered a time travel portal in a cave in the desert and figured out where everything took a turn for the worst: America.
Convinced that the only way to save the world is to rewrite its past, they send one of their own—a reluctant linguist named Tad—on a bloody, one-way mission to 1492 to kill Christopher Columbus before he reaches the so-called New World. But there are steep costs to disrupting the timeline, and taking down an icon isn’t an easy task for an academic with no tactical training and only a wavering moral compass to guide him. As the horror of the task ahead unfolds and Tad’s commitment is tested, his actions could trigger a devastating new fate for his friends and the future.
Title: Dictatorship: It's Easier Than You Think!
By: Sarah Kendzior
Published: 2023
Do you crave the power to shape the world in your image?
Can you tell lies without blinking an eye?
Do you see enemies all around you?
If you answered yes to all of the above, then this is the job for you! And if becoming a dictator sounds intriguing, well, you've just stumbled upon the playbook that will guide you step by step towards making your big lie a reality. Join Gaslit Nation co-hosts Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, with artist Kasia Babis, on a journey from riches to even more riches. They'll show you how to consolidate your authority, silence your critics, weaponize your citizens, and even prolong your inevitable downfall!
Title: Parallel
By: Matthias Lehmann
Published: 2023
Karl Kling's story is one of revelations, and these he has addressed in a letter to his daughter, Hella, who had disowned Karl many years ago. Karl's letter is a cri de coeur from a father to a daughter he never really got to know, and he comes clean to her about his failed marriages, his fractured family relations--and his love for men.
Title: Cosmic Detective
By: Jeff Lemire
Published: 2023
An epic science fiction mystery that asks: when a god is murdered, who solves the crime? Enter our Detective. The murder of a god threatens to tear apart the very fabric of our reality. Only our detective stands in the way of utter destruction. But will the mystery he uncovers be worse than the disaster he’s trying to avert? And will his mind crack under the revelations he’s about to uncover before he can do anything about it?
Title: Boys Weekend
By: Mattie Lubchansky
Published: 2023
Newly-out trans artist’s assistant Sammie is invited to an old friend’s bachelor weekend in El Campo, a hedonistic wonderland of a city floating in the Atlantic Ocean's international waters—think Las Vegas with even fewer rules. Though they have not identified as a man for over a year, Sammie’s college buddies haven't quite gotten the message—as evidenced by their formerly closest friend Adam asking them to be his “best man.”
Arriving at the swanky hotel, Sammie immediately questions their decision to come. Bad enough that they have to suffer through a torrent of passive-aggressive comments from the groom's pals—all met with zero pushback from supposed "nice guy" Adam. But also, they seem to be the only one who's noticed the mysterious cult that's also staying at the hotel, and is ritually dismembering guests and demanding fealty to their bloodthirsty god.
Part satire, part horror, Boys Weekend explores what it’s like to exist as a transfemme person in a man’s world, the difficulty of maintaining friendships through transition, and the more cult-like effects of masculinity, “hustle” culture, and capitalism—all through the vibrant lens of a surreal, scary, and immensely imaginative romp.
Title: Shubeik Lubeik
By: Deena Mohamed
Published: 2023
Shubeik Lubeik—a fairy-tale rhyme that means 'your wish is my command' in Arabic—is the story of three people navigating a world where wishes are literally for sale. Mired as they are in bureaucracy and the familiar prejudices of our world, the wishes that are more expensive are more likely to work as intended. Three wishes sold at an unassuming kiosk in Cairo link Aziza, Nour, and Shokry, changing their perspectives as well as their lives. Although their stories are fantastical—featuring talking donkeys, dragons, and cars that can magically avoid traffic—each of these people grapples with the very real challenge of trying to make their most deeply held desires come true.
Title: Light Carries On
By: Ray Nadine
Published: 2023
Leon has been reeling from a recent break-up with his boyfriend, recovering from his time in the military, and trying to become a photographer who can afford to take pictures of something more than high school proms and weddings. So being the only one able to see and talk to a ghost that died before cellphones, Wikipedia, or iTunes seems like a great way to fill his ample free time. The two get closer as they travel around Chicago showing each other the landmarks of their pasts and trying to unearth the secrets around Cody’s mysterious death. They discover they have much more in common than expected as they explore the complexities of life, love, and afterdeath, taking breaks to jam out to tunes, hang out in planetariums, and slurp down tasty frozen beverages.
Title: Roaming
By: Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
Published: 2023
Spring Break, 2009: Five days, three friends, and one big city.
Over the course of a much-anticipated trip to New York, an unexpected fling blossoms between casual acquaintances and throws a long-term friendship off-balance. Emotional tensions vibrate wildly against the resplendently illustrated backdrop of the city, capturing a spontaneous queer romance in all of its fledgling glory. Slick attention to the details of a bustling, intimidating metropolis are softened with a palette of muted pastels, as though seen through the eyes of first-time travelers. The awe, wonder, and occasional stumble along the way come to life with stunning accuracy.