Expert Panels: The Best Graphic Novels for Adults

To be fair, this isn’t strictly a graphic novel, but more of an illustrated edition of H.P. Lovecraft’s iconic story. The Call of Cthulhu is the short story that launched an entire mythos and has haunted me personally since the first time I read it back in high school.

The story follows Francis Thurston as he tracks a mystery in documents left behind by a recently-deceased elderly relative in 1920’s Boston. Throughout his exploration, he encounters horrific death cults in Louisiana swamps, artists whose nightmarish visions have driven them mad, and a cyclopean city hidden under the depths of the sea. All of which center around the slumbering priest Cthulhu, who calls to his followers from the depths of the ocean. The story remains one of the greatest classics of American horror. Francois Baranger gives it a beautiful, haunting rendering, managing to do justice to the subtle horror and nearly indescribable monster that the story centers around.

Featuring the original story’s entire text supplemented with glorious full-page illustrations, this edition of The Call of Cthulhu is a must-read for any Lovecraft fan. Read the in-depth review here.

Since his first full comic book appearance in Dark Horse’s Next Men #21 in 1993, Hellboy has enthralled readers by fighting demons both external and internal. Readers may notice that every panel is a gothic masterpiece worthy of framing. But it’s Mike Mignola’s complex, conflicted, and earnest signature character that gives the series such long legs and makes it one of the best comic books for adults.

The Hellboy series has racked up numerous Eisner Awards for its engrossing storylines, excellent mythology, and immersive narratives that can be haunting, thought-provoking, and even humorous by turns. The graphic novels have been published in several editions, but the hardcover library edition of the first two stories, “Seed of Destruction” and “Wake the Devil,” introduces the character effectively.

The greatest Batman and Joker story ever told by leaps and bounds, Batman: The Killing Joke is a chilling look at Batman’s greatest villain by acclaimed writer Alan Moore. Moore, whose other works include Watchmen, V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, takes a deep dive into the Joker’s origin and his relationship with Batman while telling the story of his attempt to drive Commissioner Gordon insane.

The book, whose events had repercussions in the DC Universe for decades, is decidedly for mature audiences. Moore explores the depths that the Joker will go to in order to reach his chaotic goals. Much more than just a beat ‘em up action comic, The Killing Joke offers the first definitive origin of the Joker and looks hard at the psychological ramifications of contending with amoral supervillains, as well as the impact that the Joker and Batman have had on each other over time.

300, the retelling of the Spartans’ defense against the Persian forces at Thermopylae in 480 BC, is a brutal epic worthy of multiple re-reads. Artist and writer Frank Miller is best known for his Batman mini-series The Dark Night Returns and crime noir Sin City. Both, along with 300, have been adapted into blockbuster films.

Rightfully so: Miller’s gritty storytelling and matching art style lends gravitas to almost anything he puts his hand to. And nowhere is that gravitas more appropriate than in the Spartans’ defense of the Western world against Persian invaders.

While the 2014 film “Noah” was met with mixed reviews at best, the precursor graphic novel by famed director Darren Aronofsky, written with Ari Handel, presents a much more engaging story. The book’s sparse storytelling is based on the biblical account of Noah’s flood with heavy influence from apocryphal works such as the Book of Enoch, which elaborates more on the flood than the Book of Genesis.

Noah starts with the fall of man and makes its way through the story of the biblical flood in which God intended to wipe man from the Earth. The retelling of the classic story gives a more emotional and human perspective than the biblical one. Here, we get a deeper look at both Noah’s family as well as those doomed to drown outside the ark. The resulting story gives us a deeper sense of the tragedy for those who didn’t survive the flood, as well as the emotional torment and responsibility of those within the ark.

Quite possibly the best Batman storyline of this century, the Endgame story arc written by Scott Snyder and penciled by Greg Capullo has just about everything you could possibly want from a Batman story. Collecting Batman #35-40, it starts out with him fighting the Justice League, which highlights the tactics he deploys for just that situation (the ‘banana peel’ tactic he uses against the Flash is genius). It also includes a Jokerized Superman, and a Joker story that is second only to The Killing Joke in depth and horror.

Snyder is my favorite Batman writer in recent history, and this story of Batman and the Joker is unique in its scope as well as its finality. Without releasing any spoilers, it also reaches a satisfying conclusion that is about as permanent as you’re going to find in the comic world.

Transmetropolitan follows unhinged investigative journalist Spider Jerusalem through a cyberpunk near-future dystopia as he tries to dismantle a violent bureaucracy. The Hunter S Thompson-like Jerusalem has no identifiable superpowers, except maybe his tolerance to intoxicants. Instead, he is a lovable anti-hero, speaking truth to power in his own twisted way.

The setting is The City, a seething mass of urban squalor and vibrantly evolving humanity. Power imbalances and extreme wealth stratification wrack the citizens, who are on one hand incredibly resilient, but on the other doomed to ongoing abuse by the cruel state. The addled but clearly talented Jerusalem becomes a folk hero as he eviscerates evil politicians and corrupt capitalists with the help of his two attractive female assistants.

Marvel has such a wide range of superheroes that it can be hard to decide where to start. So why not start with a story arc that encapsulates almost every major hero in the Marvel Universe? This is why Infinity Gauntlet is such a great introduction to the Marvel worlds. In the story, the mad titan Thanos has captured six gemstones that grant him god-like powers. Thus armed, he snaps half of all life out of existence.

Sound familiar? Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, it should. It’s the plot of the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic use films, a film franchise that uses this graphic novel as its inspiration. While the movies take liberties to make the narrative more cohesive and (I think) tell a better, more comprehensive story, the source material offers a great look into the origins of this franchise of blockbusters. Written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by George Perez and Ron Lim, this series gives an excellent look at the writing and art of comic books in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It also gives an interesting look at how our favorite heroes’ costumes have evolved over time.

For those who think that comic books are light fare, this Pulitzer Prize winner will set you straight. One of the best graphic novels of all time, Maus’ story centers around Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father’s story. This black and white graphic novel approaches the difficult subject matter by portraying the Jews as mice and the Nazis are cats. The authorial decision changes the reader’s perspective on the familiar subject and shocks them into awareness of the horrors that so many endured.

While the narrative revolves around Vladek’s Holocaust survival story, it also weaves in the author’s tortured relationship with him as he works through his survivor’s guilt. It’s a brutal, moving tale that offers a fresh perspective on one of the greatest tragedies in modern history. Maus will likely leave readers contemplating how much our history affects our present. That perspective makes it, along with Frank Miller’s 300, one of the best history graphic novels for adults.

For more interesting titles, be sure to browse our list of the top-rated coffee table books.

Taking a familiar character and giving it a horrifying twist, The Immortal Hulk takes a darker look at Marvel’s strongest superhero. Far from the well-meaning, if a bit dim, green behemoth that we know from films and television, this series looks at what it really feels like to lose control. The result is one of the best horror graphic novels for adults.

In it, Bruce Banner struggles to control the monster within, even as they both fight the literal monsters that attack from all sides. While the storyline may sound familiar, this arc takes a different look at the Hulk. Instead of the slow-witted monster that’s just trying to do his best, this Hulk takes a dark glee in his ability to rip his prey limb from limb. While the gore in the book does add to the scare factor, it’s the look of tainted glee in the titular character’s face that really sets the reader on edge. Seeing a familiar hero revel in his loss of control is a jarring experience, to say the least. And the fact that the villains he fights are even worse only ramps up the tension.