Best Literary Graphic Novels of 2025

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy is a heartwarming and thought-provoking tale that teaches timeless life lessons through the journey of four unlikely friends. The book is a beautiful work of art, featuring 100 color and black-and-white drawings, that has connected with readers of all ages. Mackesy's messages of vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship, and love are universal and much needed in today's uncertain times. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for inspiration and hope in their lives.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story is an adaptation of Charlie Mackesy's heartwarming book. The animated short film, streaming on Apple TV+ on Christmas Day, is a celebration of the work of over 100 animators across two years of production. The film brings to life Charlie's distinctive illustrations with hand-drawn traditional animation and accompanying hand-written script. The book has brought comfort and joy to over seven million readers worldwide, and the film is sure to do the same. Overall, this book and its adaptation are a must-read and must-watch for anyone in search of home and happiness.

The graphic novel "Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History" by Art Spiegelman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece that tells the story of the author's father's experiences during the Holocaust. The Jews are portrayed as mice, while the Nazis are depicted as menacing cats. The book weaves the author's relationship with his father into an unforgettable tale of survival and the lasting legacy of trauma. It is a haunting and disarming look at one of history's most unspeakable tragedies. The unusual comic-book format and skillful graphics make it an engaging read for young adults and a must-read for everyone.

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel that tells the story of the author's father, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, and their complex relationship. The book weaves together history, memoir, and a tale within a tale, with Jews depicted as mice and Nazis as cats. The artwork is hauntingly beautiful, and the story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Holocaust or the power of graphic novels as a medium for storytelling.

BEST SELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s acclaimed graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.. “A wholly original achievement.... Satrapi evokes herself and her schoolmates coming of age in a world of protests and disappearances.... A stark, shocking impact.” —The New York Times: "The 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years". In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the coming-of-age story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

From Bill Watterson, bestselling creator of the beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, and John Kascht, one of America’s most renowned caricaturists, comes a mysterious and beautifully illustrated fable about what lies beyond human understanding. . In a fable for grown-ups by cartoonist Bill Watterson, a long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities. Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns.. For the book's illustrations, Watterson and caricaturist John Kascht worked together for several years in unusually close collaboration. Both artists abandoned their past ways of working, inventing images together that neither could anticipate—a mysterious process in its own right.

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began is the second installment of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel that retells his father's experiences during the Holocaust. The book is a haunting and unforgettable story of survival and a disarming look at the legacy of trauma. The author weaves his own account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into an astonishing retelling of one of history's most unspeakable tragedies. Maus is a masterpiece that will captivate readers with its language, characters, and mesmerizing rhythm. It is a book that everyone should read to better understand the horrors of the Holocaust and its impact on generations.

A debut graphic novel that poignantly blends memoir, magic realism, and graphic medicine.Ephemera is a poetic and dreamlike take on a graphic memoir set in a garden, a forest, and a greenhouse. The story drifts among a grown woman, her early memories as a child, and the gossamer existence of her mother. A lyrical entry in the field of graphic medicine, Ephemera is a story about a daughter trying to relate to a parent who struggles with mental illness. Gorgeously illustrated in a painted palette of warmy, earthy tones, it is a quiet book of isolation, plants, confusion, acceptance, and the fog of childhood. Loewinsohn’s debut book is an aching, meditative twist on autobiography, infusing the genre with an ethereal fusion of memory and imagination. Full-color illustrations throughout

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation is a stunning graphic novel that brings to life the terrifying world of a future where books are banned and free thinking is forbidden. The artist Tim Hamilton has beautifully captured Bradbury's masterpiece, depicting Guy Montag's awakening to the dangers of government-controlled thought and the value of literature. With Bradbury's full cooperation, this authorized adaptation is a haunting work of graphic literature that is a must-read for fans of the original novel and newcomers alike.

1984: The Graphic Novel is the first-ever adaptation of George Orwell's iconic novel. The story follows Winston Smith, a man in a totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother is always watching. Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called the Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. With immersive art by Fido Nesti, this graphic novel is an accessible entry point for young readers and adults who have yet to discover the story that is still relevant today. Overall, this adaptation is a great way to introduce new readers to Orwell's classic novel.