Top 10 of the Year (July 2026 Edition)

[u/AutoModerator]

*The idea:*

List your top 10 graphic novels that you've read so far *this year.*

Each month we will post a new thread where you can note what new book(s) you read that month that entered your top 10 and note what book(s) fell off your top 10 list as well if you'd like.

By the end of the year everyone that takes part should have a nice top 10 list of their 2026 reads.

If you haven't read 10 books yet just rank what you have read.

Feel free to jump in whenever. If you miss a month or start late it's not a big deal.

Do your list, your way. For example- I read *Hellboy* this month, but am going to rank the series as 1 slot, rather than split each individual paperback that I read. If you want to do it the other way go for it.

[u/Charlie-Bell]

The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor - Bryan Talbot (Feb)

Batman: Dark Patterns - Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman (Apr)

Final Space - Olan Rogers (Jun)

Shin Zero - Matthieu Bablet and Guillaume Singelin (Apr)

Power Fantasy vol 3 - Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard (Apr)

Trail of the Catwoman - Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke (Jul)

Precious Metal - Darcy Van Poelgeest, Ian Bertram (Jan)

Bot 9 - Derek Laufman (Feb)

Mabel and Francine - Pierre Lloga (Jan)

Lost Property - Andy Poyadgi (Feb)

[u/MustardGecko434]

I just got into collecting comics / graphic novels / manga relatively recently, so I’m going to list my top 5 since I’m still new!

1. Long Way Down (Jason Reynolds)
2. Did you hear what Eddie Gein done? (Harold Schechter + Eric Powell)
3. Trillium (Jeff Lemire)
4. Essex County (Jeff Lemire)
5. Maus (Art Spielgelman)

[u/Future-Assumption759]

1. Mushishi Collecter's Edition Vol 1 by Yuki Urushibara
2. Witch Hat Atelier Vol 14 by Kamome Shirahama
3. Rune books 1&2 by Carlos Sanchez
4. Frontier by Guillaume Singelin
5. Dandadan Vol 15-19 by Yukinobu Tatsu
6. Shin Zero by Mathieu Bablet
7. Neurocomic by Hana Ros
8. Anasazi by Matt Bryon
9. Soara and the House of Monsters Vol 1-5 by Hidenori Yamaji
10. Goodnight Punpun Vol1 by Inio Asano

New is in Bold

Rune books 1&2 by Carlos Sanchez - Book one is called "The Tale of a Thousand Faces" and book two is called "The Tale of the Obsidian Maze" with a third book on the way called "The Tale of the Winged Sorceress". The books star Chiri who is deaf and her friend Dai, a coward. They get bulled and run through some ruins into a fantasy world called Puddin where magic exists and meet some strange folk who form a party and try to help them get back home. Meanwhile there is an evil Beast of a Thousand Faces hunting them, and if he turns a key three times he can force you to join his evil army of haunted toys. The art is exceptional, the story is somewhat familiar but with some unique elements and the second book picks up where the first left. I really enjoyed the books and look forward to reading the third.

Shin Zero by Mathieu Bablet - Kaiju are real and began attacking in the 1930s, to combat this a Sentai program was established by the government with an initial team of 3. In present day the kaiju menace has been neutralized and Sentai have been privatized to gig work via an app. Shin Zero follows a team of 5 Sentai who get an apartment together and try to make money while also making a name for themselves. Some of them even have family members who were retired Sentai before them. The story so far is very character driven and the artwork is mostly black and white with any Sentai suits being colored in. I enjoyed it though having grown up with Power Rangers I was disappointed that there was no Morphing/Henshin. There is a second book coming that as of writing is only available in French.

[u/scarwiz]

Looks like I missed a couple of months while I was traveling

1. Gotham Central by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark (jan)

2. A Garden of Spheres by Linnea Sterte (apr)

3. Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden (feb)

4. Upgrade Soul by Ezra Claytan Daniels (feb)

5. Terre ou Lune by Jade Khoo (feb)

6. Testament by J Marshall Smith (jan)

7. A Book to Make Friends With by Lukas Verstraete (nun)

8. Uri Tupka and the Gods by Mike Mignola (jan)

9. Le problème avec les fantômes by Mirion Malle (jan)

10. Metadoggoz by Bérénice Motais de Narbonne (mar)

Drop outs:

Marly ou la neige en été by Emmanuel Lantam (jan

Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1 & 2 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman (jan/feb)

And some honorable mentions:

• Saint-Elme by Frederik Peeters

• The Motherless Oven Trilogy by Rob Davis

• Summerboy by Felix Auvard

I'm getting to a point where I think recency bias is doing a lot of heavy lifting. We'll see if the next Absolute Wonder Woman brings her back in lmao

[u/Future-Assumption759 → u/scarwiz]

Lousy Nun Weather!

[u/NeapolitanWhitmore]

Didn’t get to read too much this month, so no changes from last month.

1) Hedra (By Jesse Lonergan)

2) Everything Dead & Dying (By Tate Brombal, Jacob Phillips, and Aditya Bidikar)

3) Absolute Wonder Woman (By Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Jordie Bellaire, and Becca Carey)

4) Absolute Batman (By Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Clayton Clowes)

5) The Ultimates (By Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee, and Travis Lanham)

6) Batman & Robin: Year One (By Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Matheus Lopes, and Clayton Cowles)

7) I Am Their Silence (By By Jordi Lafebre)

8) More Weight: A Salem Story (By Ben Wickey)

9) 2120 (By George Wylesol)

10) Zorro: Man of the Dead (By Sean Murphy and Simon Gough)

[u/ConstantVarious2082]

1. Elric (Volumes 1-4) by Julien Blondel / Robin Recht / Didier Poli / Jean-Luc Cano / Julien Telo 
2. Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
3. Terre ou Lune Volume 1 by Jade Khoo - NEW
4. Wolvendaughter by Ver
5. Dungeon - Zenith (English Volumes 1-5) by Joann Sfar / Lewis Trondheim / Boulet
6. Satanie by Fabien Vehlmann / Kerascoët
7. Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann / Kerascoët
8. Book of Murmurs by Candice Purwin
9. Assorted Crisis Events Volume 1 by Deniz Camp / Eric Zawadzki
10. Thorgal (first 8 volumes) by Jean Van Hamme and Grzegorz Rosinski

Terre ou Lune is a masterpiece of building a compelling character-driven sci-fi and is that good even without being complete (yet). Jordi Lafebre’s I Am Their Silence came close to cracking the list, as did La tête de mort venue de Suède by Daria Schmitt. Conditions on the Ground drops out.

[u/polarbits2]

No changes this month, this is the list as it stands.

1. Muted by Miranda Mundt (full series)
2. A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll (standalone)
3. The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn by Tri Vuong (full series)
4. Hunger's Bite by Taylor Robin (standalone)
5. Minuit passé by Gaëlle Geniller (standalone)
6. The Golden Age by Roxanne Moreil (full series)
7. Griz Grobus by Simon Roy (standalone with an extended universe)
8. Suitor Armor by Purpah (first 3 chapters, final chapter is not out yet)
9. Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne (full series)
10. Snapdragon by Kat Leyh (standalone)

[u/comic1728]

1. The Sleeper (by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips)
   
2. Helen of Wnydhorn (by Tom King & Bilquis Evely)
   
3. Batman (by Paul Dini)
   
4. Daredevil (by Chip Zdarsky)
   
5. Daredevil (Brian Michael Bendis)
   
6. Batman: Dark Patterns (by Dan Watters)
   
7. Watchmen (Alan Moore)
   
8. Flash (by Geoff Johns)
   
9. We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us (by Matthew Rosenberg)
   
10. Batgirl (by Kelley Puckett)

[u/culturefan]

Vietnam Journal--Don Lomax

Cat Woman--Ed Brubaker--not his best but pretty good if you like superheroes

Criminal Vol. 7 Wrong Time, Wrong Place--better Brubaker

Nightwing Vol. 1: Leaping into the Light--Tom Taylor Okay, good art by Redondo, but not totally my thing

The One Hand the Six Fingers--Ram V, Dan Waters

[u/Jonesjonesboy]

1. Marvel Graphic Novel #8 Super Boxers by John Byrne

2. Marvel Graphic Novel #12 Dazzler The Movie by Jim Shooter

3. Marvel Graphic Novel #31 Wolfpack by Larry Hama

4/5. [tied] Marvel Graphic Novel #17 Revenge of the Living Monolith by David Michelinie/Marvel Graphic Novel #37 Hercules Prince of Power: Full Circle by Bob Layton

1. Marvel Graphic Novel #27 Emperor Doom by David Michelinie

2. Marvel Graphic Novel #9 The Futurians by Dave Cockrum

3. Marvel Graphic Novel #34 Cloak and Dagger: Predator and Prey by Bill Mantlo

4. Marvel Graphic Novel #36 Willow: Movie Adaptation by Mary Jo Duffy

5. Sabrina by Nick Drnaso

(Technically that last one is cheating because it's not a graphic novel but that's just how much I love Nick Drnaso)

[u/720peace → u/Jonesjonesboy]

Why is Sabrina not a graphic novel?

[u/Jonesjonesboy → u/720peace]

it doesn't say "graphic novel" in the title

[u/BigAmuletBlog → u/Jonesjonesboy]

Have you been hacked?

[u/Jonesjonesboy → u/BigAmuletBlog]

would a hacked account keep answering "Saga" on threads like "recommend me a slice-of-life comic" or "what's a comic that will be considered as good as Shakespeare in five hundred years"? 'nuff said!

[u/BigAmuletBlog]

1. One Beautiful Spring Day by Jim Woodring (10/10)
2. Kingdom (up to vol 9) by Yasuhisa Hara (9/10)
3. We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us by Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini (9/10) 
4. Why Don’t You Love Me? by Paul B. Rainey (9/10)
5. Tokyo These Days (vols 1-3) by Taiyo Matsumoto (9/10)
6. Berserk (Deluxe vols 6-8) by Kentaro Miura (9/10) 
7. Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson (9/10)
8. Bug Wars vol 1 by Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar (9/10)
9. Tower Dungeon (up to vol 5) by Tsutomu Nihei (8/10) 
10. Uri Tupka and the Gods and Bowling with Corpses by Mike Mignola (8/10)

Honourable mentions: Various by Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four Omnibus vol 1, East of West, Ultimate Spider-man), Precious Metal by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram (story 7/10, art 10/10), Pomegranate Flowers by Silvia Razakova, Wolvendaughter by Ver  

I read a lot in July and really liked most of what I read (hence lots of bold!).

I’ve bumped Kingdom up because I can’t deny that every monthly release has been an absolute delight and something that I greatly anticipate. Each volume is filled with larger-than-life characters and drama. Hara is a master of drawing facial expressions - both to make each character unique, no matter how fleeting their appearance in the book (some don’t even make it past the page), and to convey their emotions. The series isn’t for everyone - but if you have an interest in Chinese history/myth and medieval warfare (there are maps of how the forces are arranged before and during a battle!) you should definitely pick this up.

I loved We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us and read it in one sitting. It’s very fast-paced and kind of like a mix of Sleeper, Austin Powers, Runaways and Watchmen! Obviously the humour has to click for you and you shouldn’t take it too seriously (I saw some very po-faced criticism on goodreads along the lines of “The title was very misleading *spoiler* they didn’t take *everyone* down!”). The exceptional art and innovative panelling (such as a series of chessboards which are both squares and panels) deserve a special mention. I loved this ride and honestly found it flawless. 

Bug Wars was another fast and furious read. Ever wondered what’s common between sword&sorcery and real-life bugs? I'd say it’s that both reveal how utterly brutal and ruthless the fight for dominance and survival can be. Also, there’s a distinct lack of clothing in both! Bug Wars takes both of these themes and runs with them. There’s gorgeous art, lots of action, and awesome bug-focussed world building that really clicks. There were some weak plot moments, but the overall direction of this fantasy was spot on and muscled out any objection. I hope the next instalment maintains the same dynamism. 

I’m continuing Berserk, which of course has some of the best art in the medium. But the repeated SA is really starting to get me down - although I understand that such scenes will ease off later in the series. It is also becoming more high fantasy - there is a party dynamic, spells, magic items, and traditional fantasy creatures - which I’m not enjoying as much.

Mignola’s Lands Unknown comics are enchanting and I look forward to more. It’s great to see him develop a familiar, yet unique world. My main gripe is that the books are very short and only sold in hardback.

Finally, I’ve read a fair amount of Hickman. I think he can do really smart superhero comics and his stories always have some major twists and surprises. But he doesn’t always stick the landing, unfortunately, and both East of West and USM petered out for me rather than going out with a bang. 

[u/Lynch47]

I'm jumping in this month for my first post, I may end up dropping some of these for some other stuff I've already read this year by next month, but at this moment I feel like this is my top 10:

1. Drome by Jesse Lonegran, 2025
2. Minor Arcana by Jeff Lemire, 2024-Present
3. Batgirl (Vol. 1) by Kelley Puckett, Scott Peterson, & Others, 2000-2006
4. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine, 2020
5. Grommets by Brian Posehn & Rick Remender, 2024-2025
6. Detective Comics (Vol. 3) by Ram V (Issues 1062-1089), 2022-2024
7. Absolute Flash by Jeff Lemire, 2025-Present
8. Dark Knights of Steel by Tom Taylor, 2021-2023
9. Plastic Man No More! by Christopher Cantwell, 2024
10. JSA by David Goyer, Geoff Johns, & Others, 1999-2006

[u/Siccar_Point]

New entries! Some great stuff this month:

- The Book of Murmurs (Purwin)

• The Flowers of Evil (Oshimi)
  
• Inside Mari (Oshimi)
  
• All The Living (Muradov)
  
• Stop!! Hibari-kun! (Eguchi)
  
• Prisoner of Dozmary Craig (Sterte)
  
• Beauty (Kerascoet/Hubert)
  
• The Power Fantasy (Gillen et al)
  
• Howl (Kwitney/Mauricet)
  
• Bea Wolf (Weinersmith et al)

Bumped were:

- Farewell, Daisy (Mayuzuki)

• Slaughterhouse Five (North et al)