The Best Comics and Graphic Novels of 2024

A demon with an unquenchable hunger and dreams of becoming the next Anthony Bourdain teams up with a disillusioned young filmmaker to create a food documentary. This lush graphic novel is full of Filipe Andrade’s signature, richly saturated style. Andrade and Ram V are the duo that brought us The Many Deaths of Laila Starr in 2022, and, like Laila, Rare Flavours is a real treat of a graphic novel. It combines Indian mythology with real-world problems to create a uniquely delectable story. You’ll be craving some good Indian food before you’re finished reading, trust me.

This anthology of comics edited by the author of Persepolis, and translated for the first time into English this year, brings the feminist revolution taking place in Iran into striking light. The comics depict the events leading up to and following the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini at the hands of the morality police in 2022, which set off a string of protests against the treatment of women and ethnic minorities in Iran. The movement soon took up the phrase “Woman, Life, Freedom” as both a thesis and a rallying cry. Whether you’ve been following the revolution closely or were unaware it was even taking place, this anthology is a must-read.

Something is growing in the abandoned mall where Hailey’s holiday day camp takes place. She’s too old to be here anymore, but her overbearing mom isn’t willing to consider any alternatives. Then, Hailey meets Jen, a new girl who shows her an enormous egg growing in the flooded car park. What’s about to hatch in this mall full of children? Is it even the worst thing growing there? This is a story about monsters, but also friendship and family. What are you willing to do to protect the people you care about? Hailey and Jen are about to find out. Writer-illustrator Chris Gooch finds the perfect balance between creepy and charming in this surreal monster story for the ages.

In a town full of alien refugees, you would think acceptance would be second nature. But that’s never been Nia’s experience. So when she realizes she’s inherited the powers of dream premonition her sister has always expected to develop, she runs, terrified she’ll lose the love of the only people who really matter to her. Soon, she discovers that in the big city, there’s more love, acceptance, and hate than she ever could’ve imagined. This beautiful graphic novel takes a place among my favorite DC titles. The dream sequences are evocative, and the anti-alien and anti-trans sentiments Nia and others face bear a strong resemblance to the anti-immigrant and anti-trans rhetoric so prevalent today. The fact that it’s written by the actress who brought Nia to life on TV is just the icing on the cake.

When Patsy and her family move south from California to help care for her grandmother with dementia, she expects making new friends to be the hardest part. She wasn’t expecting to find out she comes from a long line of conjure women tasked with keeping a god prisoner. But now, under her grandmother’s tutelage, that’s exactly what she’s doing. Unfortunately, there’s a family in town who believe they’re owed what the Turner family has—and they’ll go to any lengths to take it from them. This horror graphic novel brings the myth of Anansi to life in spectacular and terrifying form. If you’re afraid of spiders, maybe steer clear of this one.

On a secluded island, an astronomy-obsessed grave digger and his adopted daughter tend to the dead. But when the sun stops rising, condemning the island and nearby town to endless night, Madeline’s father fears it’s personal. He knows his daughter is special, hears the voices of the dead that no one else can, and it’s up to him to protect her. Could the Night Mother finally be planning to take her back? This entire graphic novel is begging to be turned into a full-length animated feature. Every page felt like a glimpse into a gorgeous movie universe, and if Disney or Pixar or Sony or somebody doesn’t pick this up, they’re really missing out. (And if any studio bigwigs happen to be reading this, ya girl’s fully available to read stories all day and flag any good ones for you; just saying.)