Graphic Novels for Adults

In celebration of Free Comic Book Day (annually on the 1st Saturday of May), GVPL asked staff what their favorite graphic novels are. Here are some of the ones we love and think you might love too!

Updated August 16, 2024
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Akira. Book one
?tomo, Katsuhiro
Paper Book
Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that...
Adulthood is a myth : a "Sarah's scribbles" collection
Andersen, Sarah
Paper Book
The hilarious debut Sarah's Scribbles collection from Sarah Andersen, winner of three consecutive Goodreads Choice Awards for Graphic Novels and Comics These casually drawn, perfectly on-point comics by the hugely popular young artist Sarah Andersen are for the rest...
Rumble. Vol. 1, The color of darkness
Arcudi, John
Paper Book
A Scarecrow Warrior God walks into a bar...and proceeds to drag a modern American city into a ten-thousand-year-old grudge-match! A bizarre new adventure -- complete with boozehound shamans, monster queens, and a football-fetching hydra! Collects Rumble #1-5. ...
Ducks : two years in the oil sands
Beaton, Kate
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable book! One of Barack Obama's favorite books of 2022! Winner of Canada Reads 2023! "An exceptionally beautiful book about loneliness, labor, and survival."--Carmen Maria Machado Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times...
Hark! : a vagrant
Beaton, Kate
Paper Book
FEATURED ON MORE THAN TWENTY BEST-OF LISTS, INCLUDING TIME, AMAZON, E! AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY! Hark! A Vagrant is an uproarious romp through history and literature seen through the sharp, contemporary lens of New Yorker cartoonist and comics sensation Kate Beaton. No era...
Are you my mother? : a comic drama
Bechdel, Alison
Paper Book
From the best-selling author ofFun Home,Timemagazine's No. 1 Book of the Year, a brilliantly told graphic memoir of Alison Bechdel becoming the artist her mother wanted to be. Alison Bechdel'sFun Home was a pop culture and literary phenomenon. Now, a second...
Fun home : a family tragicomic
Bechdel, Alison
Paper Book
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, NATIONAL BESTSELLER  ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY Time Magazine #1 Book of the Year * National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist  Winner of the Stonewall Book Award * Double finalist for...
Hobtown mystery stories. 1, The case of the missing men
Bertin, Kris
Paper Book
"Kris Bertin's stories are a revelation, a triumph--each stamped with the mark of a new and rising genius." --David Adams Richards The Case of the Missing Men is the first part of an ongoing mystery thriller set in a strange and remote East Coast village called Hobtown. The...
Solutions and other problems
Brosh, Allie
Paper Book
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER For the first time in seven years, Allie Brosh--beloved author and artist of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller Hyperbole and a Half--returns with a new collection of comedic, autobiographical, and...
Hyperbole and a half : unfortunate situations, flawed coping mechanisms, mayhem, and other things that happened
Brosh, Allie.
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller "Funny and smart as hell" (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. FROM THE PUBLISHER...
Collecting sticks
Decie, Joe
Paper Book
Observer Graphic Novel of the Month Collecting Sticks is a graphic novel about a family glamping trip. (It's like camping, but much more expensive.) Loosely based on actual events, but sometimes veering unexpectedly into fantasy, the story plays with the challenges...
Spy x family. 1
Endo, Tatsuya
Paper Book
An action-packed comedy about a fake family that includes a spy, an assassin and a telepath! Master spy Twilight is unparalleled when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions for the betterment of the world. But when he receives the ultimate assignment--to get married...
The Sandman. Book one
Gaiman, Neil
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | Now a hit NETFLIX series The first of 4 comprehensive volumes introducing readers to a dark and enchanting world of dreams and nightmares- the home of Morpheus, the King of Dreams, and his kin, the Endless. The award...
Shadow life
Goto, Hiromi
Paper Book
2022 Asian/Pacific American Literature Award Winner for Adult Fiction 2022 L.A Times Book Prize Finalist Poet and novelist Hiromi Goto effortlessly blends wry, observational slice-of-life literary fiction with poetic magical realism in the tender and surprising graphic novel...
Tank Girl. One
Hewlett, Jamie.
Paper Book
She’s back to wreck her own unique brand of havoc! From the depths of the outback she charges, astride her fabulous tank! Run for the Hills! It’s... Tank Girl! Join everybody’s favourite beer-swilling, chain-smoking, kangaroo-worrying lunatic as she blitzes her way...
Uzumaki : spiral into horror
Itō, Junji
Paper Book
A masterpiece of horror manga, now available in a deluxe hardcover edition! Kurouzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but a...
The land before time management : based on the viral webcomic ADHDinos
Keats, Ryan
Paper Book
The first book from the popular ADHDinos webcomic, featuring over 40 new comics.   After he received an adult ADHD diagnosis in early 2022, author and illustrator Ryan Keats made lemons into prehistoric lemonade: he began to use his lived experience to create...
Gender Queer A Memoir
Kobabe, Maia.
Ebook
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic...
So much for love : how I survived a toxic relationship
Lambda, Sophie
Paper Book
A 2023 Eisner Award Nominee for Best Graphic MemoirA 2023 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection Part memoir, part self-help book, So Much For Love offers hilarious and empathetic advice on how to survive a relationship with a master manipulator.
The underwater welder
Lemire, Jeff.
Paper Book
Pressure. An underwater welder on an oil rig off the Nova Scotia coast, Jack is used to the pressures of deep-sea work. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the pressures of impending fatherhood. As Jack dives deeper and deeper, he seems to pull further and further away from his young wife and...
Monstress. Volume one, Awakening
Liu, Marjorie M.
Paper Book
2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Writer"" open="" /> 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Painter/Multimedia Artist"" open="" /> 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Continuing Series"" open="" /> 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best Publication for Teens"" />
The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse
Mackesy, Charlie
Paper Book
Charlie Mackesy's beloved The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has been adapted into an Academy Award® winning animated short film, now available to stream on Apple TV+ #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER  ·...
Number one is walking : my life in the movies and other diversions
Martin, Steve
Paper Book
** New York Times Bestseller ** Number One Is Walking is Steve Martin's cinematic legacy--an illustrated memoir of his legendary acting career, with stories from his most popular films and artwork by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. ...
Love & vermin : a collection of cartoons by The New Yorker's Will McPhail
McPhail, Will
Paper Book
A New Yorker Best Book of 2022 The long awaited first collection by Will McPhail, with over 150 cartoons, including his New Yorker classics and new gems. With his shrewd eye for mundane absurdities and hysterically astute drawings of animals, Will McPhail is the New...
V for vendetta
Moore, Alan
Paper Book
In an alternate future in which Germany wins World War II and Britain becomesa fascist state, a vigilante named V stalks the streets of London trying tofree England of its ideological chains.
The handmaid's tale : the graphic novel
Nault, Renée
Paper Book
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading, and forming friendships. She serves in the household of the Commander and his wife, and under the new social order she has only one purpose: once a month, she must lie on her back and pray that the...
The Flintstones. Vol. 2
Russell, Mark
Paper Book
The second volume of one of the best-reviewed series of 2017 continues here when author Mark Russell returns to the celebrated reimagined Hanna-Barbera story of the classic stone age family from Bedrock in THE FLINTSTONES VOL. 2: BEDROCK BEDLAM. With art from Scott Hanna, Rick Leonardi and Steve...
Paying the land
Sacco, Joe
Paper Book
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE GUARDIAN, THE BROOKLYN RAIL, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, POP MATTERS, COMICS BEAT, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY From the "heir to R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman" (Economist), a...
A man & his cat. 1
Sakurai, Umi
Paper Book
The top manga launch in Japan in the first half of 2018, A Man and His Cat was also voted one of the top ten manga of 2018 by Japanese bookstore employees nationwide. Having won hearts and topped charts in Japan, this hotly anticipated series about an older gentleman and his unique, adorable cat is...
Persepolis
Satrapi, Marjane
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable Book A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year” A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in...
The Arab of the future. a graphic memoir / [1], A childhood in the Middle East (1978-1984)
Sattouf, Riad
Paper Book
The Arab of the Future, the #1 French best-seller, tells the unforgettable story of Riad Sattouf's childhood, spent in the shadows of 3 dictators--Muammar Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, and his father In striking, virtuoso graphic style that captures both the immediacy of...
Stitches : a memoir --
Small, David
Paper Book
The prize-winning children's author depicts a childhood from hell in this searing yet redemptive graphic memoir. One day David Small awoke from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he had been transformed into a virtual mute. A vocal cord removed, his throat...
Maus : a survivor's tale
Spiegelman, Art.
Paper Book
The definitive edition of the graphic novel acclaimed as "the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust" (Wall Street Journal) and "the first masterpiece in comic book history" (The New Yorker) * PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * One of Variety's "Banned and...
Penny : a graphic memoir
Stevens, Karl
Paper Book
"Penny is a major literary figure--right up there with Madame Bovary." -- David Sedaris This colorful graphic novel features the philosophical and existential musings of a cat named Penny. Told through a collection of stories,...
My brother's husband. Volume 1
Tagame, Gengoroh
Paper Book
"When a cuddly Canadian comes to call, Yaichi-a single Japanese dad-is forced to confront his painful past. With his young daughter Kana leading the way, he gradually rethinks his assumptions about what makes a family. Renowned manga artist Gengoroh Tagame turns his stunning draftsmanship to a...
Roaming
Tamaki, Mariko
Paper Book
"Gloriously rendered... An ode to traveling as friends when you're both young and carefree and every new experience is exciting and wondrous."―Robert Ito, The New York Times Book Review Spring Break, 2009: Five days, three friends, and one big city. ...
Blankets : a graphic novel
Thompson, Craig
Paper Book
"Quaint, meditative and sometimes dreamy, blankets will take you straight back to your first kiss." --The Guardian Blankets is the story of a young man coming of age and finding the confidence to express his creative voice. Craig Thompson's poignant...
Asadora! Volume 1
Urasawa, Naoki
Paper Book
A deadly typhoon, a mysterious creature and a girl who won't quit. In 2020, a large creature rampages through Tokyo, destroying everything in its path. In 1959, Asa Asada, a spunky young girl from a huge family in Nagoya, is kidnapped for ransom--and not a soul...
Monster. Volume 1
Urasawa, Naoki
Paper Book
Naoki Urasawa's unforgettable thriller follows a brilliant doctor's journey into the darkest depths of the human soul. Johan is a cold and calculating killer with a mysterious past, and brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! Conspiracy and serial murder open...
Saga. Book one
Vaughan, Brian K.
Paper Book
Collecting the first 18 issues of the smash-hit series, this deluxe hardcover edition features a striking new cover, as well as special extras, including never-before-seen sketches, script pages, and a roundtable discussion with the creators about how SAGA is really made. Written...
After Lambana : myth and magic in Manila : a graphic novel
Victoria, Eliza
Paper Book
**Included in the Top 50 Best New Comics for Adults in 2022 by The New York Public Library** Immerse yourself in a fantasy world of Filipino myth, magic, and supernatural suspense! Lambana--the realm of supernatural fairies known as Diwata--has...
Titan
Vigneault, François
Paper Book
"Like the best futuristic science-fiction, Titan has a lot to say about the world that we live in right now." -- Mental Floss When MNGR First Class João da Silva arrives on the moon of Titan to take charge of Homestead Station, he finds the massive mining colony plagued by...

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