My Top Five Graphic Novels (2025 Edition)

My Top Five Graphic Novels (2025 Edition)

Here’s another top five entry. This time I’m writing about my Top Five Graphic Novels and/or Collected Comic Book Story Runs. It can be difficult to define precisely what is meant by ‘graphic novel’ since so many works that find themselves in that literary category began as part of a much longer comic book series, but were only later separated out into distinct, bound story arcs. This list was much easier to compose than my top five lists on novels and films. I suppose I have stronger opinions on comic books! For those that don’t know, I grew up reading comic books, of both the American and European varieties, so I have been a longtime fan, even before the modern superhero movie craze. Most of my entries here fall into the category of American comic books, so I may follow-up with another European-centric list in the future.

1)      Alan Moore’s Watchmen (DC Comics, 1986-87)

This one is hands down the best graphic novel that I have read to date. The author, Alan Moore, is one of the most famous comic book authors of all time. An interesting is that Alan Moore is British, though this book is usually thought of as American since it was published by DC Comics, it is in the superhero tradition, and the story is literarily situated in New York City (primarily). The story’s primary heroes, Rorschach, Silver Spectre, Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, and the Comedian, are thinly veiled alternate versions of more famous DC and Marvel counterparts (think of some of the more well known members of DC’s Justice League and Marvel’s Avengers). The plot centers around Rorschach attempt to locate and stop a hero killer and uncover a much larger conspiracy that threatens international stability during the Cold War era.

The writing is topnotch, and the illustrations, by Dave Gibbons, are great too. Reading the book ever evokes a looming feeling of the threat of an encroaching Doomsday set to take place in this alternative history. This is one superhero team that deserves a lot more attention from the general public, yet I personally experienced little excitement in later seeing the Watchmen team officially crossover into the DC universe in more modern follow-up works. In my opinion, the Watchmen work best alone.

 2)      Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta (Vertigo – DC Comics, 1982-85)

Here’s another entry by the venerable Alan Moore. I actually read V for Vendetta before I read Watchmen, so, at one point, this story was probably my favorite graphic novel. However, it has now been bumped down into the second position on my list. The plot follows Evey and V who are two unlikely companions who revolt against a dystopian British government in the near future.

I actually think that I prefer the art by David Lloyd and Tony Weare in V for Vendetta just a little bit more than the artwork in Watchmen. This is largely due to the even darker tones employed in the former graphic novel. Many of the illustrations in Watchmen came off as a little bit too close to the mainstream superhero comic book illustrations of the 1980’s, which was fine, but I did find that style a bit heavy handed in terms of its parallels that are forcibly drawn (pun intended) with other mainstream superheroes.

 3)      Frank Miller’s Daredevil: The Man Without Fear (Marvel Comics, 1993)

I now turn to a work by another topnotch comic book writer, Frank Miller. Like Alan Moore, Frank Miller has several amazing runs credited to his name (two more of which follow below in my list). My favorite among Miller’s comic book runs, however, is his standalone Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. Though I mention that the run is standalone, there has been no small amount of dispute regarding the canonicity of this series within the main Daredevil comic book series. (Please feel free to sound off below with your opinions on the matter.)

This story presents an alternative or redacted retelling of Daredevil’s origin story. We get many of the elements that have stuck within much of the subsequent Daredevil mythos, including repeated run ins with Kingpin and Elektra, Fogwell’s gym, Matt Murdock’s (Daredevil’s alter ego) training with Stick, etc. Elektra, in particular, in this story is a highlight. She is depicted here as an absolute nutbar, with a tendency of murdering street thugs. The reveal of Elektra Natchios’ dark side in this story arc comes as a shock as a tremendous shock to the readers, as she is initially introduced as a sort of rich university playgirl, who ends up later being revealed as a completely crazed brawler who has been driven mad by the voices in her head.

 4)      Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One (DC Comics, 1987)

My next entry on the list is another Frank Miller run. Batman: Year One was originally published in Batman #404-407, as a retelling of Batman’s origin story. The story includes a number of run-ins by Batman and Detective Jim Gordon with the likes of Carmine Falcone, corrupt police officers (particularly Detective Arnold Flass), and Selina Kyle (Catwoman’s alter ego). The story is gritty, and the illustrations by David Mazzucchelli are masterful, revealing much more of the story through artistic design and flare (rather than simply beating the reader over the head with text).

I think I would likely differ here from some other fans that tend to prefer Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, which is also a fun story. Admittedly, I tend to be a bit of a sucker for origin stories (think Batman Begins, The Fellowship of the Ring, Dune, etc.). I remember reading this in one of the summers that I lived and worked on Pelee Island, the southernmost inhabited part of Canada. I was living in a hot room on the second floor of a duplex, without air conditioning. The summers were pretty hot for Canada in that area, which is why viticulture is so popular in the region. I was reading through the story, and I still remember thinking how intense Jim Gordon was in this version of Batman. Certainly, Gordon has demonstrated a hard side in some other comic book runs and adapted media, but, at that time, I tended to think of Jim Gordon as portrayed by Gary Oldman in Batman Begins, where he came off as a relatively meek and mild mannered police officer.

5)      Frank Miller’s Elektra: Assassin (Marvel Comics, 1986-1986)

That’s right, I have here a third run by Frank Miller. I only just recently read through Elektra: Assassin, and the story quickly made its way into my favourites. While the character, Elektra, also features within Miller’s Daredevil: The Man Without Fear and in the main Daredevil run, it is not entirely clear how connected the version of Elektra featured in Elektra: Assassin is with those depictions of the character in those other comic book runs. As in Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, Elektra is portrayed in Elektra: Assassin as a crazed anti-hero, but she seems to be a bit more aligned with (a somewhat) altruistic purpose.

One thing that is interesting about this run is how seemingly disconnected the storytelling is. Now that may sound like a weak point, but it isn’t in this particular case. The disconnected writing is meant to provide the reader with a perspective into how mentally unstable Elektra herself is. The art is also masterful, with wild panels by Bill Sienkiewicz. One of the most interesting artistic decisions in the work was to portray the villainous presidential elect figure with a cut out image of John F. Kennedy’s face (the only character in the whole story to be depicted in this way). The art further serves to highlight the confusion being experienced by Elektra Natchios herself. Great stuff!

Honourable Mention: Alex Alice’s Siegfried (Archaia, 2007-2011)

There are just so many other great comic book runs that I love so much, but that didn’t quite make my current top five list. I did also want to include a brief mention of the three volume work, Siegfried, written and illustrated by Alex Alice, a French artist. It is a loose adaptation of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (incidentally one of the inspirations for Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings).

The storytelling is fun, but the artwork is absolutely gorgeous. Each page looks like a mix of a beautiful set of paintings mixed with classic hand drawn animation from Disney. At one point this graphic novel trilogy was set to be adapted into its own animated feature, though I fear that may not come to fruition anytime soon. The story follows a young boy, Siegfried, who journeys into the world of men, grows up, and is eventually forced to confront the dragon, Fafnir. It is was an absolute treat to read this at night, while commuting home on the train during my graduate studies.

 Well, there you have it—my top five graphic novels. A few favorite comic book elements that I noticed while compiling this list: I apparently have a strong preference for the dark and gloomy comic book fare of the 1980s, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, the deconstruction of super heroes, and dystopian futures! How many more of these top five lists can I come up with? Who knows? Guess we’ll have to wait and see!

See you next time!

AK-M