“What are the best Graphic Novels & Comic books released in 2021?” We looked at 250 of the top Graphic Novels & Comic books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 46 books, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Graphic Novels & Comic” book lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 200+ titles, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Our other Best Of 2021 Articles:
Previous Years: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
Happy Scrolling!
Top 46 Best Graphic Novels & Comic Books From 2021
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- Library Journal
- NY Public Library
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…
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- Book Riot 2
- Drawn & Quarterly
A transgender teen named Ryo finds an escape from the expectations and anxieties of his daily life in the world of street fashion. This personal, hear…
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Readers will root for these girls as they navigate the waters of self-confidence, love, and cheerleading.” — Booklist (starred review) A sweet, queer…
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- Barnes & Noble
- Drawn & Quarterly
Also known as MDZS, the blockbuster danmei/Boys’ Love novels from China that inspired comics, animation, and the live-action series The Untamed–which…
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A young adult graphic novel about three foreign exchange students and the pleasures, and difficulties, of adjusting to living in Japan. Living in a ne…
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A poignant and witty graphic novel by a leading New Yorker cartoonist, following a millennial’s journey from performing his life to truly connecting w…
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“One of comics’ preeminent humorists.” –The AV Club Keiler Roberts mines the passing moments of family life to deliver an affecting and funny account…
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Shira Spector literally paints a vivid portrait of the most eventful 10 years of her life, encompassing her tenacious struggle to get pregnant, the em…
Lists It Appears On:
- Booklist
- NY Public Library
Poet and novelist Hiromi Goto effortlessly blends wry, observational slice-of-life literary fiction with poetic magical realism in the tender and surp…
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Library Journal
BASED ON THE HIT FANTASY NOVEL, EXPERIENCE THE WEBCOMIC THAT’S CAPTURED THE ATTENTION OF MILLIONS IN ALL OF ITS FULL-COLOR GLORY! Known as the the Wea…
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An IndieBound Bestseller”Squad is a fast-paced and feminist horror story for every girl who’s ever felt like prey, and asks how far a girl should go t…
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- NY Public Library
A bold and fascinating graphic novel history of the revolutionary Black Panther Party. Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Part…
Lists It Appears On:
- Drawn & Quarterly
- The Guardian
An exquisitely drawn exploration of three lost souls’ emotional terrain As night falls in the City of Belgium, three strangers in their late twenties-…
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Part historical fiction, part fable, and 100 percent adventure. Thirteen-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroin…
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Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and The Tea Dragon Society, this is a magically heartwarming graphic novel about self-acceptance and friendship. An …
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The beloved mangaka adapts one of his country – and the world’s – great works of supernatural literature Shigeru Mizuki–Japan’s grand master of yokai…
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A Chicago Tribune Fall Best Read An Alma most anticipated book of November From the prize-winning author of The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt, a stun…
Lists It Appears On:
- Booklist
- Goodreads
- Publishers Weekly
Named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best of 2021 List in Comics.In the spirit of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something …
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- IGN
- Looper
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Lists It Appears On:
- Drawn & Quarterly
- Goodreads
- NPR
Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love–witness what the gods do after dark in this stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the be…
Lists It Appears On:
- Drawn & Quarterly
- Nerdist
- NPR
Journey through the countryside in this magical realist debut from an underground Chinese cartoonist In Night Bus, a young woman wearing round glasses…
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Can you be a hero…if society doesn’t see you as a person? Nubia has always been a little bit…different. As a baby she showcased Amazonian-like str…
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- Comic Book Herald
- The Washington Post
- Variety
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Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- Looper
- NY Public Library
COLE TURNER has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn’t prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true, from the…
Lists It Appears On:
- Book Riot
- Goodreads
- Polygon
From the author of The Witch Boy trilogy comes a graphic novel about family, romance, and first love.Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t w…
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- IGN
- Variety
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Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- Goodreads
- NY Public Library
The raucous and literal fishes-out-of-water graphic novel from prolific comic artist and writer Kat Leyh, creator of the acclaimed Snapdragon and coau…
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- IGN
- Polygon
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Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- Polygon
- The Washington Post
- Variety
The first murder in 500 years. Twenty billion suspects. One hope. The City Enduring, a booming metropolis at the edge of the universe, hasn’t experien…
Lists It Appears On:
- Goodreads
- SLJ
- The Washington Post
- Variety
First you march, then you run. From the #1 bestselling, award-winning team behind March comes the first book in their new, groundbreaking graphic nove…
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- IGN
- Looper
- Variety
Humanity is on the verge of discovering immortality, which means the avatar of Death is out of a job… or is she? Humanity is on the verge of discove…
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- Drawn & Quarterly
- NY Public Library
- Polygon
- Variety
Dhaliwal created a fictitious community facing xenophobia, fetishization, and media misrepresentation. It’s resonating with her thousands of Instagram…
Lists It Appears On:
- Booklist
- Drawn & Quarterly
- Goodreads
- Library Journal
- NPR
From the acclaimed author of Imagine Wanting Only This–a timely and moving meditation on isolation and longing, both as individuals and as a society …
Lists It Appears On:
- Booklist
- Drawn & Quarterly
- Library Journal
- NPR
- Publishers Weekly
Bron and Ray are a queer couple who enjoy their role as the fun weirdo aunties to Ray’s niece, six-year-old Nessie. Their playdates are little oases o…
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- Drawn & Quarterly
- NPR
- Publishers Weekly
- The Washington Post
The story begins with a mother’s confession…sisters permanently separated by a border during the Korean War Keum Suk Gendry-Kim was an adult when he…
Lists It Appears On:
- IGN
- Library Journal
- NPR
- The Guardian
- The Washington Post
- Variety
The year is 1964. Bobby Bailey doesn’t realize he is about to fulfill his tragic destiny when he walks into a US Army recruitment office to join up. C…
Lists It Appears On:
- Comic Book Herald
- Goodreads
- NPR
- Publishers Weekly
- The Guardian
- The Washington Post
Part graphic novel, part memoir, Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the “powerful” (The New York Times Book Review) story of women-led sl…
Lists It Appears On:
- Booklist
- Drawn & Quarterly
- Goodreads
- NPR
- Publishers Weekly
- The Guardian
- The Washington Post
From the author of Fun Home, a profoundly affecting graphic memoir of Bechdel’s lifelong love affair with exercise, set against a hilarious chronicle …
The 200+ Additional Best Graphic Novels & Comic Books Released In 2021
47)
A Shot in the Arm. – List: SLJ
48)
A Touch of Jen – Beth Morgan List: Drawn & Quarterly
49)
Afterparties – Anthony Veasna So List: Drawn & Quarterly
50)
All’s Well – Mona Awad List: Drawn & Quarterly
51)
Allergic – Megan Wagner Lloyd List: SLJ
52)
Alone in Space: A Collection – Tillie Walden List: NPR
53) Artie and the Wolf Moon – List: Nerdist
54)
Attack on Titan, Volume 1 – Hajime Isayama List: Barnes & Noble
55)
Autobiographie d’un poulpe – Vinciane Despret List: Drawn & Quarterly
56)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy – List: Goodreads
57)
Bagels – Fanie Demeule , Amélie Dubois List: Drawn & Quarterly
58)
Ballad for Sophie – Filipe Melo List: NY Public Library
59) Batman: The Imposter – List: Looper
60)
Beautiful World, Where Are You – Sally Rooney List: Drawn & Quarterly
61) Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star – List: Polygon
62)
Between Shades of Gray: The Graphic Novel – List: Goodreads
63) Bitter Root – List: Comic Book Herald
64) Black Hammer: Barbalien – Red Planet – List: Comic Book Herald
65) Black Star – List: Comic Book Herald
66)
Bliss – List: Library Journal
67)
Brink: Book Four’ – List: Variety
68)
Bubble – List: Goodreads
69) Bun’s Comfort Food Corner – List: Nerdist
70) Canto II: The Hollow Men – List: Comic Book Herald
71)
Ce Qu’un Jeune Mari Devrait Savoir – Arizona O’Neill (Ed.) List: Drawn & Quarterly
72)
Celestia – Manuele Fior, translated by Jamie Richards List: NPR
73)
Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 – Tatsuki Fujimoto List: Barnes & Noble
74) Championess – List: Comic Book Herald
75)
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth – Wole Soyinka List: Drawn & Quarterly
76)
City of Belgium – Brecht Evens List: Drawn & Quarterly
77)
Come Home, Indio – List: Booklist
78)
Continuum – Chella Man List: Drawn & Quarterly
79)
COVID Chronicles: A Comics Anthology – Kendra Boileau and Rich Johnson List: The Washington Post
80)
Crisis Zone – List: The Guardian
81)
Crude: A Memoir – Pablo Fajardo and Sophie Tardy-Joubert List: NY Public Library
82)
Dark One – List: Goodreads
83) Decorum – List: Comic Book Herald
84) Demon Days – List: Nerdist
85)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba… – Koyoharu Gotouge List: Barnes & Noble
86)
Der Eydes – Cesario Lavery List: Drawn & Quarterly
87)
Destroy All Monsters: A Reckless Book – Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips List: NPR
88) Detective Comics – List: Looper
89)
Discipline – List: The Guardian
90) Djeliya – List: Comic Book Herald
91) Dreadnoughts: Breaking Ground – List: Polygon
92)
Dune: the Graphic Novel, Book 1 – Frank Herbert List: Goodreads
93)
E.X.O.: The Legend of Wale Williams, Volume One – Roye Okupe, illustrated by Sunkanmi Akinboye List: NPR
94)
Elegy for Mary Turner: An Illustrated Account of a Lynching – Rachel Marie-Crane Williams List: NPR
95) Essential Guide To Comic Book Lettering – List: Comic Book Herald
96)
Esther’s Notebooks – List: The Guardian
97)
Eternals Vol. 1: Only Death is Eternal’ – List: Variety
98)
Everyone Is Tulip – List: Library Journal
99)
ExtraOrdinary (Villains #1.5) – V. E. Schwab List: Goodreads
100)
Fictional Father – Joe Ollmann List: Drawn & Quarterly
101)
Field Study – Chet’la Sebree List: Drawn & Quarterly
102) Fine Print Vol 1 – List: Comic Book Herald
103) Fist of the North Star – List: Nerdist
104)
Fontaines – Haerdle, Stephanie List: Drawn & Quarterly
105)
For Justice: The Serge & Beate Klarsfeld Story – Pascal Bresson List: NY Public Library
106) Friday – List: Comic Book Herald
107)
Garlic and the Vampire – Bree Paulsen List: NPR
108)
Gift, The – Zoe Maeve List: Drawn & Quarterly
109)
Girl From H.O.P.P.E.R.S. – Jaime Hernandez List: Drawn & Quarterly
110)
Good Arabs, The – Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch List: Drawn & Quarterly
111) Graveneye – List: Comic Book Herald
112) Guardians of the Galaxy – List: Looper
113) Haha – List: Comic Book Herald
114)
Harrow – Joy Williams List: Drawn & Quarterly
115) Heaven No Hell – List: Nerdist
116)
Heaven Official’s Blessing:… – Mo Xiang Tong Xiu List: Barnes & Noble
117)
Highlands – List: Drawn & Quarterly
118)
How to Cook That – Ann Reardon List: Drawn & Quarterly
119)
Hungry Listening – Dylan Robinson List: Drawn & Quarterly
120)
I Am Not Starfire – Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani List: Book Riot
121)
I Cannot Reach You – List: Library Journal
122)
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden – Mannie Murphy List: NPR
123) I Walk With Monsters – List: Comic Book Herald
124) Ice Cream Man – List: Comic Book Herald
125)
il est strictement défendu de boire en studio – Alexandre Fontaine-Rousseau List: Drawn & Quarterly
126) Immortal Hulk – List: Polygon
127)
Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive – Philipp Dettmer List: Drawn & Quarterly
128)
In Love & Pajamas: A Collection of Comics about Being Yourself Together – List: Goodreads
129)
Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale – Tim Fielder List: NPR
130)
Intimacies – Katie Kitamura List: Drawn & Quarterly
131)
Iron Widow – Xiran Jay Zhao List: Drawn & Quarterly
132)
It Fell from the Sky – Terry Fan & Eric Fan List: Drawn & Quarterly
133)
Janelle Monae’s The ArchAndroid – Alyssa Favreau List: Drawn & Quarterly
134)
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 – Gege Akutami List: Barnes & Noble
135)
Junglist – Two Fingas, James Kirk List: Drawn & Quarterly
136) Kaiju No. 8 Vol. 1 – List: Polygon
137)
La Bibliothèque – Chihoi List: Drawn & Quarterly
138)
La patience du lichen – List: Drawn & Quarterly
139)
Le cauchemar du Thylacine – List: Drawn & Quarterly
140)
Le Grand Vide – Léa Murawiec List: Drawn & Quarterly
141)
Le Tour De La Question – Adel B Khelifa List: Drawn & Quarterly
142)
LET’S NOT TALK ANYMORE – Weng Pixin List: Drawn & Quarterly
143)
Library – Michael Dumontier, Neil Farber List: Drawn & Quarterly
144)
Library, The – Chihoi List: Drawn & Quarterly
145)
Lifetime Passes – Terry Blas and Claudia Aguirre List: Book Riot
146)
Little Witch Hazel – by Phoebe Wahl List: Drawn & Quarterly
147)
Living with Viola – Rosena Fung List: SLJ
148) Made In Korea – List: Comic Book Herald
149)
Made-Up: A True Story of Beauty Culture under Late Capitalism – Daphné B. List: Drawn & Quarterly
150)
Marvel Meow – Nao Fuji List: Book Riot
151)
Maryanne Amacher: Selected Writings and Interviews – Maryanne Amacher List: Drawn & Quarterly
152) Mashle: Magic and Muscles – List: Nerdist
153)
Menopause: A Comic Treatment – List: Booklist
154)
Milk Fed – Melissa Broder List: Drawn & Quarterly
155)
Moms – List: Booklist
156)
Monster in the Middle – Tiphanie Yanique List: SLJ
157) Muhammad Ali, Kinshasa 1974 – List: Comic Book Herald
158)
My Hero Academia, Vol. 1 – Kohei Horikoshi List: Barnes & Noble
159)
Nightbitch – Rachel Yoder List: Drawn & Quarterly
160) Nightwing – List: IGN
161)
No 91/92: A Diary of a Year on the Bus – List: Drawn & Quarterly
162)
No One Else – R. Kikuo Johnson List: Publishers Weekly
163)
Nothing But Blackened Teeth – Cassandra Khaw List: Drawn & Quarterly
164)
Notre part de nuit – Mariana Enriquez List: Drawn & Quarterly
165) November – List: Comic Book Herald
166) Nubia & the Amazons – List: Nerdist
167) Nuclear Family – List: Comic Book Herald
168) Ode to Keisha – List: Nerdist
169)
On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century – Timothy Snyder List: Drawn & Quarterly
170) Once & Future – List: Comic Book Herald
171)
One Piece, Vol. 1: Romance… – Eiichiro Oda List: Barnes & Noble
172)
One-Punch Man, Vol. 1 – ONE List: Barnes & Noble
173)
Organic Music Societies – Lawrence Kumpf List: Drawn & Quarterly
174) Our Little Kitchen – List: Nerdist
175)
Parenthesis – List: The Guardian
176)
Penny – Karl Stevens List: Drawn & Quarterly
177)
Personal Attention Roleplay – Helen Chau Bradley List: Drawn & Quarterly
178)
Pixels of You – Ananth Hirsh, Yuko Ota, and J.R. Doyle List: Book Riot
179)
Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes – Phoebe Robinson List: Drawn & Quarterly
180) Poison Ivy: Thorns – List: Nerdist
181)
Pomme Grenade – Elkahna Talbi List: Drawn & Quarterly
182)
Postcolonial Astrology – Alice Sparkly Kat List: Drawn & Quarterly
183) Primordial – List: Looper
184)
Queen of the Ring – Jaime Hernandez List: Drawn & Quarterly
185)
Real Estate – Deborah Levy List: Drawn & Quarterly
186)
Red Flowers – Yoshiharu Tsuge List: Drawn & Quarterly
187)
Réinventer l’amour – Mona Chollet List: Drawn & Quarterly
188)
Remina – Junji Ito List: Drawn & Quarterly
189)
Renegade Rule – Ben Kahn, Rachel Silverstein, and Sam Beck List: Book Riot
190)
Rien du tout – Olivia Tepiero List: Drawn & Quarterly
191)
Rorschach – List: Variety
192) S.W.O.R.D. – List: Comic Book Herald
193)
Sainte Chloé de l’amour – Chloé Savoie-Bernard List: Drawn & Quarterly
194)
Save It for Later: Promises, Parenthood, and the Urgency of Protest – Nate Powell List: NPR
195)
Saving Sorya: Chang Sun Bear – Trang Nguyen, illustrated by Jeet Zdung List: SLJ
196) Scarenthood – List: Comic Book Herald
197)
Secret Life – Theo Ellsworth and Jeff Vandermeer List: Drawn & Quarterly
198)
Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994-2007) – Dan Ozzi List: Drawn & Quarterly
199)
Sensible – Nedja Kacimi List: Drawn & Quarterly
200)
Sensor – List: Library Journal
201)
Slaughterhouse-Five: The Graphic Novel – List: Booklist
202)
Something New Under the Sun – Alexandra Kleeman List: Drawn & Quarterly
203)
Sorrowland – Rivers Solomon List: Drawn & Quarterly
204) Static: Season One – List: Nerdist
205) Stillwater – List: Comic Book Herald
206) Super Sentai: Himitsu Sentai Gorenger – List: Polygon
207) Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow – List: Looper
208) Superman and the Authority – List: Looper
209)
Tableau final de l’amour – List: Drawn & Quarterly
210)
Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven – List: Goodreads
211)
Teklife, Ghettoville, Eski – Dhanveer Singh Brar List: Drawn & Quarterly
212)
The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom – Clint McElroy, Carey Pietsch, Griffin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Justin McElroy List: Book Riot 2
213) The Blue Flame – List: Comic Book Herald
214)
The Crossroads at Midnight – Abby Howard List: SLJ
215)
The Crystal Kingdom (The Adventure Zone Graphic Novels, #4) – List: Goodreads
216)
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed – Mariana Enriquez List: Drawn & Quarterly
217)
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity – David Graeber and David Wengrow List: Drawn & Quarterly
218)
The Flapper Queens: Women Cartoonists of the Jazz Age – Trina Robbins List: Drawn & Quarterly
219)
The Golden Hour – Niki Smith List: SLJ
220)
The Hazards of Lov – Stan Stanley List: SLJ
221)
The Jasmine Throne – Tasha Suri List: Drawn & Quarterly
222)
The Manningtree Witches – A. K. Blakemore List: Drawn & Quarterly
223) The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher: A Johnny Constantine Graphic Novel – List: Polygon
224) The Nice House on the Lake – List: IGN
225) The Other History of the DC Universe – List: Comic Book Herald
226)
The Roles We Play – List: The Guardian
227)
The Sad Ghost Club – List: Goodreads
228) The Saddest Angry Black Girl in Town – List: Nerdist
229)
The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving… – Mo Xiang Tong Xiu List: Barnes & Noble
230) The Swamp Thing – List: Comic Book Herald
231)
The Tree in Me – Corinna Luyken List: Drawn & Quarterly
232)
The Way She Feels: My Life on the Borderline in Pictures and Pieces – Courtney Cook List: Book Riot 2
233)
There’s a Ghost in this House – Oliver Jeffers List: Drawn & Quarterly
234)
This is How I Disappear – Mirion Malle List: Drawn & Quarterly
235)
Three Rooms – Jo Hamya List: Drawn & Quarterly
236)
Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright!: An Animal Poem for Each Day of the Year – Britta Teckentrup & Fiona Waters List: Drawn & Quarterly
237)
Time Is a Flower – Julie Morstad List: Drawn & Quarterly
238)
Tiny Tales: Shell Quest – Steph Waldo List: SLJ
239) TMNT by Sophie Campbell – List: Comic Book Herald
240)
Tunnels’ – List: Variety
241)
Unearthed: – List: SLJ
242) Usagi Yojimbo – List: Comic Book Herald
243) Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots: A Graphix Chapters Book – List: Nerdist
244)
Weeding – Genevieve Lebleu List: Drawn & Quarterly
245)
WENDY – Walter Scott List: Drawn & Quarterly
246)
Wildflowers. – List: SLJ
247)
Winter’s Orbit – Everina Maxwell List: Drawn & Quarterly
248)
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for… – Fujita List: Barnes & Noble
249) Write It In Blood – List: Comic Book Herald
250)
Yoyolalala – Zviane List: Drawn & Quarterly
19 Best Graphic Novels & Comic Book Sources/Lists