NYPL's Top Ten Comics and Graphic Novels of 2025

by Kelly Thompson; art by Hayden Sherman and Mattia De Iulis

Steeped in Greek mythology, multiple waves of feminism, and a dizzying number of origins, Wonder Woman stands out as particularly difficult for casual fans to engage with. Writer Kelly Thompson and artist Hayden Sherman introduce a new, exciting take on the character, aimed squarely at fans of dark action fantasy. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman is now the daughter of the witch Circe, raised in the depths of Tartarus. Using all her magic and swordsmanship, Diana rises to repel the demons and gods that threaten humanity. Artwork by Sherman and Mattia De Iulis provides epic action and scope, dripping with references to 80s anime. Amongst the blood and guts, Thompson builds her tale around a touching story of a mother and daughter, giving heart and feminist themes to the most metal comic of the year.

Similar Vibe:

• Berserk by Kentaro Miura
• The Northman (dir. Robert Eggers)
• Circe by Madeline Miller

by Ben Passmore

The past contextualizes the present in this much needed journey through time. Apathetic about the struggles of Black liberation taking place today owing to a sense of alienation and lack of ownership over the movements of yesteryear, Ben Passmore is sent back in time by his father to understand that the militant fight for equality taking place today is but one fragment from a historical mosaic of resistance. Utilizing a rubber hose-like black and white art style accented by a voluminous pink that captures the reader’s attention, Passmore’s tour through history dispels the sanitized version of Black civil rights history to contend with the difficult matter of armed self-defense as resistance to white supremacy. Black Arms to Hold You Up is not only a tremendously well researched historical work but a personal journey that reintroduces events that have been pointedly elided in the interest of romanticization in order to grasp the truth much more firmly.

Similar Vibe:

• Black Against Empire by Joshua Bloo
• Judas and the Black Messiah directed by Shaka King
• What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye

by Paige Hender

Paige Hender combines the gothic with art nouveau in a fresh perspective on the vampire story. With high-contrast coloring, Hender is able to perfectly capture the high-stakes conflict within Cora Vasquez. On one hand she is a newly turned vampire with immense supernatural power, and on the other hand she is an abomination in the eyes of her faith. While receding into the church to stave her guilt, she strikes up a romance with Father Orville Thibodeaux who claims to have a plan to satisfy her vampiric impulses as well as save her soul. With style and grace, Hender explores themes of manipulation, reverence, desire, and humanity in an absolute feast for the eyes— not fangs.

Similar Vibe:

• Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
• A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
• Hozier by Hozier

by Jesse Lonergan

Jesse Lonergan invokes the Enuma Elish myth in this beautifully illustrated work that reimagines the creation story. Told through experimentally laid paneling, innovation combined with kinetic action brings to life a story that interweaves feminist themes and celestial creation. The narrative chronicles a cosmic chess match between gods meddling in a burgeoning civilization and the trials of the champion caught in between them. Lonergan harnesses grid-like tiling for the panels layered and arrayed in patterns to creatively convey motion and story while keeping dialogue to a minimum. With Drome, Lonergan carves a new path for storytelling in comics, exercising a mastery over propelling a comic through action rather than exposition. Anyone who possesses an appreciation for comics as a craft should experience Drome.

Similar Vibe:

• Step by Bloody Step by Simon Spurrier
• Son of the White Mare directed by Marcell Jankovics
• Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts by Smashing Pumpkins

by Minetaro Mochizuki; translated by Annelise Ogaard

Minetaro Mochizuki weaves together psychological horror with urban legend in this title translated into English for the first time since its publication in 1993. When college student Hiroshi hears the persistent ringing of his neighbor’s doorbell, he finds a tall, eerie woman as the culprit. This woman’s obsession soon focuses on Hiroshi, changing his life for the horrific. In this masterpiece in exploitation of everyday fears and anxieties, Mochizuki’s long dark lines and expressive faces create a dread that will stay with you every time your neighbor has a visitor.

Similar Vibe:

• Misery by Stephen King
• Black Sabbath directed by Mario Bava
• The Altar by Banks

by María Medem; translated by Aleshia Jensen and Daniela Ortiz

Antonia, a longtime resident of an abandoned town, makes the difficult decision to leave so that she may find something to prolong the life of the beautiful flower that gives her existence meaning. On her journey into the land of mirrors, she is delightfully reminded of the adventures and connections that await when risks are taken. As Antonia’s world expands, readers dive headfirst into a hallucinatory experience paralleled only by their most beautiful, inexplicable dreams. Each page bursts with vibrant colors and textures that dare you to indulge in each moment of the experience that is Maria Medem’s most recent work of art. 

Similar Vibe:

• Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino
• The Boy and the Heron directed by Hayao Miyazaki
• Watermark by Enya

by Kayla E.

Prepare yourself for an intertextual, transmedial exploration of childhood trauma. If that sounds intense, just wait until you crack open the book! Kayla E. uses familiar comics artwork and pop culture references to process the adverse childhood experiences that have shaped her life. Her story is told through fragmented memories outlined as mid-century comic strips that make the constant misfortune of “lil Kayla” the butt of every joke. While some may find the pitch black humor to be difficult to get through, others will find it freeing to be able to laugh in solidarity at the absurdity of surviving severely traumatic events. Pushing the form into territory that has yet to be explored, Precious Rubbish is guaranteed to leave an impression on its readers.

Similar Vibe:

• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy
• Welcome to the Dollhouse directed by Todd Solondz

• How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine

by Mattie Lubchansky

Start with the collapse of the world order, strange visions, and what seems to be some sort of cult, and then abandon all your genre expectations. Lucius is our guide into a secret breakaway society. After his heart is broken he finds that piecing it together—while isolated from his old world‚ will put it back differently than it was before. A prescient critique of many of the forces tugging at our own lives, illustrated in a warm, cartoonish style that belies the ferocity of some of the scenes. Mattie Lubchanksy again proves her ability to resonate deeply with readers.

Similar Vibe:

• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Midsommar directed by Ari Aster
• Dream Requiem by Rufus Wainwright 

by Alex Krokus

Loud & Smart creator Alex Krokus debuts his first full-length graphic novel in an equally hilarious and melancholy tale inspired by the passing of his father, Jeff. Taking the adage about how our parents shape the adults we become after they’re gone, Krokus tells a story of his father’s ghost literally haunting him with advice on taxes and house maintenance. Over the course of many vignettes, Alex and his family of talking animals (dad is a ghost-owl) reflect on where they left things with Jeff, how he’d want them to go forward and what kind of unpacking needs to be done. A poignant book for fans of witty comic strips.

Similar Vibe:

• Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast
• Big Fish directed by Tim Burton
• So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon

by Anders Nilsen

Greek mythology hurtles thousands of years into a present not unlike our own. American forces roam the Middle East as eerie demons fight an eternal struggle. When the two worlds intersect, a modern Prometheus is born. The art is a brave new synthesis of styles and the frames themselves breath with life and shatter into geometric forms as the three narratives expand and intersect. Anders Nilsen’s epic, eight years in the making, pits humanity against a universe it still struggles to comprehend.

Similar Vibe:

•  Atlas by David Mitchell
• The Green Knight directed by David Lowery
• ​​Drones by Muse