r/comicbooks • u/thighsandwhispers • Sep 14 '26
Discussion What comic do you think is one of the greatest works of literature?
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u/Fun_Development_4543 Sep 14 '26
From Hell is as dense and evocative as any novel I've read but could still only be a comic
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u/Howling_Mad_Man Sep 14 '26
I'm like 80 pages deep and have no idea how I'm going to keep it up for another 500, according to my reading app. What a feat.
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u/Fun_Development_4543 Sep 15 '26
I lived in London for 8 years and had a pretty good base knowledge of Victorian London and Jack the Ripper and that definitely made it easier.
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u/oh_please_god_no Sep 14 '26
I have the original issues from Kitchen Sink Press and my favorite thing about them is Alan Moore would have notes about his research in there at the end, so you got an idea of why he wrote things in certain parts
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u/wonderloss Cerebus Sep 15 '26
My copy of the graphic novel has the notes collected at the end. I learned a lot about Ripper theories from it.
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u/jpjtourdiary Swamp Thing Sep 14 '26
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing
Watchmen
Basically a lot of Alan Moore stuff.
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u/slickbackbillyboo Sep 14 '26
V for Vendetta. Especially considering that if came from Warrior magazine back in the day and was so well crafted in 6-8 page chunks.
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u/mighty3mperor Union Jack Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 15 '26
That, combined with Marvelman changed comics overnight.
edit: this inspired me to start r/WarriorComic
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u/Probablythatoneguy16 Sep 14 '26
I don't really know a damn thing about swamp thing other than a board game I played back when I was about 5 years old. I see Alan Moore's book recommended all the time, could you explain the hype?
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u/jpjtourdiary Swamp Thing Sep 14 '26
It’s just really good man. It’s a metaphysical, horror, sci fi, psychedelic, cosmic love story. Used copies are cheap, just pick it up.
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u/Probablythatoneguy16 Sep 14 '26
Simple explanations are the best I could ask for. Much appreciate the recommendations!
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u/jpjtourdiary Swamp Thing Sep 14 '26
Yeah I’m sorry, it is kinda hard to explain. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before or since. He takes the character and just turns everything you know about him on its head in the best, most interesting, most affecting ways.
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u/PerfectZeong Sep 15 '26
Swamp Thing goes from a comic about a man turned into a monster to a comic about a monster being greater than a man.
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u/nicokeano Sep 15 '26
Moore retconned the main character's story from the standard comic book trope of heroic figure has tragic accident which turns him into superhero, into a story about a plant with delusions of grandeur
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u/kylekirwan Sep 14 '26
Bone.
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u/badpiggy490 Sep 15 '26
Recently did a re-read
It is genuinely very damn good tbh. The mix of looney tunes-esque comedy with the lord of the rings-esque setting, lore and battles really works wonderfully
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u/happymancry Sep 14 '26
Calvin and Hobbes. I will die on this hill.
It’s “easy” (I use that word loosely) to put deep philosophical stuff in a dark gritty universe, à la Watchmen.
It’s a lot harder to say so much about life, philosophy, and the world through the lens of a child and with the goal to make people laugh. Very few, if any, comics can achieve this at all. C&H does it over and over.
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u/BackTo1975 Sep 15 '26
I’d say C&H belong in a different category from what the OP asked about, but full agreement on its brilliance for all the reasons you stated. Patterson also pulled the plug at a good time and didn’t go on eternally, like Charles Schultz and Peanuts. Not that I ever wanted Peanuts to end, but the sheer number of strips and the massive size of the franchise watered down some of the same sort of moments in C&H.
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u/DM1116 Sep 14 '26
One I haven’t seen yet: Berlin by Jason Lutes. His dedication to fleshing out pre-Nazi Germany in the 30’s is astounding. He’s able to approach that period with a diverse set of perspectives that felt more comprehensive than history classes.
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u/Man_Out_Of_Time_2 Sep 15 '26 edited Sep 15 '26
If you have not read yet - Pick up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. - Author Michael Chabon.
A Historical Fiction novel that follows two Jewish cousins, Josef "Joe" Kavalier, a Czech artist and magician who escapes Nazi-occupied Prague, and Sammy Clay, a Brooklyn born writer.
Together, they create The Escapist, a fictional superhero inspired by Joe’s desire to fight fascism and his struggle to rescue his family from Europe as Hitler just begins his rise to power.
In the story, Kavalier and Clay become major figures in the comics industry during its Golden Age. Many events in the novel are based on the lives of actual comic-book creators, including Jack Kirby (to whom the book is dedicated in the afterword)
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u/MissPolaroidEyes Sep 14 '26
Love and Rockets, i have a preference for Locas, but Palomar is also loaded with mastery
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u/xrento19 Sep 14 '26
I remember reading an issue (12?13?) and after reading one of the Jamie stories thinking “that could have been a fluke or it could have been one of the greatest comic stories ever”. I turned the page to a Beto Palomar story and recognized two young masters of the craft.
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u/poyerdude Grendel Prime Sep 14 '26
I was always partial to Mechanics. I know it's a critical favorite but Love and Rockets deserves more love from the comic Fandom masses too.
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u/Kryptonian83 Sep 14 '26
Starman by James Robinson and Tony Harris
Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday
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u/Poorly_Informed_Fan Sep 15 '26
Planetary is something else. I do a re-read every once in a while and want so much more but appreciate the work as a whole completed piece.
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u/Kryptonian83 Sep 15 '26
Same! I started buying it in trades, then I bought the single issues to be made into a custom bound hardcover, then I got the omnibus and now I have the Absolute edition that has it all.
I may have a problem lol
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u/Spagman_Aus Sep 15 '26
If I had unlimited money, I would grab the team behind Scavengers Reign and make an animated series of Planetary. It's my favourite series of all time.
I'd pick a favourite issue, but they're just all amazing in their own unique way. It's a shame it had to end, I would have liked to see Planetary Group delve more into the science they retrieved from The Four. Shame about John Cassaday also - RIP.
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u/Kryptonian83 Sep 15 '26
Agreed! It's hard to pick a favorite issue. If I HAD to pick one I'd love to see either in live action or film, it'd be the issue where we meet John Stone. It'd be worth it for the sixties spy flashback.
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u/Spagman_Aus Sep 15 '26
The issue I've read the most is the one where Snow visits Melcantha in issue 21.
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u/vroart Sep 14 '26
Jeff Smith’s Bone. It’s funny, cute, It’s full of mystery it goes bold into emotion, and the art is so good you are shocked a single person made this.
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u/jaybeau1979 Sep 14 '26
I think Locke & Key is one of the best constructed and emotionally impactful stories I've ever read
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u/UnrulySimian Sep 14 '26
And a perfect ending!
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u/Aktikus Sep 14 '26
Agreed! Perfectly used the rules he set up before for a smart happy ending.
Such a good book!
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u/MotherPuffer Sep 14 '26
Joe Hill is SUCH a good writer. I actually prefer him to his father (Stephen king) but its close
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u/Senzetion Sep 14 '26
Sandman
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u/chano36 Sep 15 '26
100 years from now Sandman will still be one of the greatest comics ever written
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u/abadoldman Sep 14 '26
Hate to say it, but yeah.
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u/TheJharen Sep 14 '26
It sucked when i found out neil gaiman was a piece of shit. Such a good writer we have to put an unfortunate asterisks next to now..
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u/Doggleganger Sep 14 '26
He has written so many great things. Of all the me too stuff, this one hit me the hardest.
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u/Spagman_Aus Sep 15 '26
Great, super awesome story telling, but the art ranges from inconsistent, to terrible, back to inconsistent, to solid, to great, to terrible, back to inconsistent. It's all over the place.
The sequel just adds extra layers to the original story as well that are amazingly integrated - and thankfully, has AMAZING art from start to finish.
It would, and could never happen, but just imagine a reworked original run, but with art from J. H. Williams III from start to end. Just imagine that.
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u/DoctorSpacecase Sep 15 '26
It’s really telling that it’s not mentioned here more. Sad man. It’s hard to overstate how badly Gaiman blew it, and when I think about Dream now and his creepy moments all I can think of is how it’s author insertion.
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u/TimmyB02 Dream Sep 14 '26
It's unfortunate the author tainted the works.. I do suggest people to check it out, but don't be afraid to sail the seven seals. Also read about the allegations against the author so you can read the comics with the appropriate context in mind.
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u/Senzetion Sep 14 '26
Yeah, read the allegations and to be honest, they've not tainted any of his works for me.
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u/Spagman_Aus Sep 15 '26
It has for me. I go to re-read one of his older novels like American Gods, and find myself getting something else off the shelf.
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u/TomCon16 Superman Expert Sep 14 '26
Asterios Polyp
Watchmen
A Contract With God
Maus
Jimmy Corrigan
Ghost World
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u/n0radrenaline Gertrude Yorkes Sep 15 '26
I rarely see Asterios Polyp mentioned but it is hands-down one of the most amazing achievements of the art form.
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u/firelock_ny Sep 14 '26
Elfquest
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u/skelly6 Sep 15 '26
I recently read the original 4 graphic novels to my daughters. I hadn’t read them in many years and was struck all over again by how fantastic they are.
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u/adrian_wake Sep 14 '26
A Contract With God by Will Eisner
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u/Snooze78727 Sep 15 '26
Taking the recommendation. Just ordered a copy. I love Eisner's art, don't know how I missed this one.
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u/Naeveo Sep 14 '26
My most controversial take is that it's Cerebus
... but only from issue #20 to #200, and if you ignore the novel portions of issues #175 to #200.
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u/Shintoho Sep 15 '26
Cerebus is a great cautionary tale of what happens when you allow a genuine master of the craft to go completely off the deep end and operate with zero editing and oversight
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u/SunshineAZ25 Sep 14 '26
Corto Maltese.
Basically invented the concept of the graphic novel, and it was clear that Pratt wanted to push the limits of what a comic could be.
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u/KaleidoscopeEven5114 Sep 14 '26
Miracleman in my opinion is a masterpiece
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u/_nadaypuesnada_ Sep 15 '26
It has a certain rawness to it that was lost in Moore's later work.
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u/KaleidoscopeEven5114 Sep 15 '26
its like watching mythology being made in a modern setting
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u/your_name_here10 Sep 14 '26
Marville
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u/chainsawsamm Sep 14 '26
I hate when a joke is so dumb and low effort but I still laugh for some reason.
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u/newme02 Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
what the hell is this lol. reading the wikipedia synopsis, at no point was i prepared for what the next line would say
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u/mydogstale Sep 14 '26
The captain mar-vell thanos Adam warlock saga from the 70s. Stretched over a few comic series and annuals.
P Craig Russell / Don MacGregor’s run on Killraven.
Watchmen
Miller’s original Ronin.
The Airtight Garage by Moebius
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u/playgamer94 Sep 14 '26
This may sound basic to start this off but. Xmen god loves man kills.
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u/ThorsElectricScrotum Sep 14 '26
East of West
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u/MrMustardMix Sep 14 '26
This is next up on my list. I'm currently making my way through Saga (finally).
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u/Solrac_21 Sep 14 '26
Several: Sandman by Gaiman Swamp Thing by Moore Spectacular Spiderman by DeMatteis Starman by Robinson The Invisibles by Morrison
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u/acrodile Sep 14 '26
I teach English, and I know this might be a lowbrow opinion, but Superman for All Seasons strikes me as the most novelesque and beautiful comic book. Its themes and motifs are very strong, even though they’re centered on Americana and Rockwell, which some find a bit kitsch.
I acknowledge that Watchmen, Maus, Eisner’s work, and others are probably superior from a pure technical standpoint, but for me Superman for All Seasons is where it’s at.
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u/SRS1924 Sep 15 '26
Teaching an intro to comic class this semester and have For All Seasons as my Superman text in the syllabus!
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u/Empty-Hamster-7059 Sep 15 '26
Easy picks for me.
Watchmen
V for Vendetta
Swamp Thing
The Killing Joke
All-Star Superman
Uzumaki
Black Hole
From Hell.
All top tier.
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u/Unlucky-Arugala-6651 Sep 15 '26
That's a bullet proof list.
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u/Empty-Hamster-7059 Sep 17 '26
Thank you lol.
In part, I felt like these were kinda generic picks, but I just love these books so much. I’d also probably throw up Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, Wonder Woman: Historia, JLA: A League of One, Here, God Loves Man Kills, Red Son, New Frontier, Jimmy Corrigan, on and on and on.
There’s so many good ones that it’s hard to compile them into a concise list because I want to include them all lmao. I can gush about these books for three days straight. Many of them need to be taught in schools to be honest.
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u/_nadaypuesnada_ Sep 15 '26
This is gonna get buried, but I'm honestly shocked and dismayed that Peter Milligan's Shade the Changing Man hasn't been mentioned in over 250 comments. That comic is a work of art – it's got some of the best character writing and depictions of a messy relationship you'll see in a comic ever, and Chris Bachalo was just something else back then.
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u/eventfieldvibration Sep 14 '26
Blackhole Charles Burns
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands Kate Beaton
Akira Otomo
Uzumaki Junji Ito
Beautiful Darkness Vehlmann & Kerascoet
Louis Riel Chester Brown
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron Daniel Clowes
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u/Soccermom233 Sep 14 '26
I found Absolute Martian Manhunter firing on a couple hi-lit cylinders. More so the 2nd arc.
I thought Damn them All by Simon Spurrier was well written.
Good Deeds by Che Grayson.
These aren’t necessarily top top ones since the those were mentioned already by others.
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u/GlorfindelForTheWin Galactus Sep 14 '26
From Hell is as good a work of literature as I have ever read. Its concept, themes, prose and art just blow my mind. Alan Moore constructed a tale so dark and layered that it genuinely unsettles the reader to their very core. If you've never read it or simply thought about reading it - do it and lock in for a dark and grim journey through the Victorian east end of the late 1880's.
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u/Alpha_Killer666 Atrocitus Sep 14 '26
Watchmen, Saga of the Swamp Thing (Alan Moore) l, Animal Man (Grant Morrison),.
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u/GloryToTheThe Sep 15 '26
From the last 10 years? Daniel Warren Johnsons Transformers!
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u/karateandfriendship9 Hercules Sep 15 '26
It's cliche but Watchmen really is true art. Maus as well.
Maybe Marvels, We3, Y the Last Man.
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u/der1n1t1ator Sep 15 '26
Fun Home is for me one of the greatest literature pieces.
Persepolis and Maus are also very good, but also have more visually going on. Watchmen even more
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u/SnooConfections7460 Sep 14 '26
Maus
Watchmen
Sandman
Honorable Mention:
The Me You Love in the Dark I think was really well written I just wish it was a big longer of a series.
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u/Marlito214 Daredevil Sep 14 '26
I was blown away by Ram V’s Swamp Thing. I know it’s more recent but that and the Many Deaths of Laila Starr left a big lasting impression on me.
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u/CynderFlamezYT Hellboy Sep 14 '26
Ram V is great. Loved his take on Aquaman in Aquaman: Andromeda. And Christian Ward killed it with the art in that book.
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u/jackbumby Sep 14 '26
For me it's either From Hell by Alan Moore or Charley's War by Pat Mills. Both incredible works of art.
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u/jerek--bilbar Sep 14 '26
Watchmen, From Hell, Understanding comics, My favorite thing is monsters, Maus, black hole, Dalgoda, Sandman.
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u/oh_please_god_no Sep 14 '26
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, Dave Sim and Gerhard’s Cerebus, Peter David’s Incredible Hulk, Sam Kieth and Bill Messner Loebs’ The Maxx, Jeff Smith’s Bone, Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise…I’m sure I could find more if I type longer
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u/Zepbounce-96 Sep 14 '26
Nobody's mentioned it but I'd chime in with Dark Knight Returns and 300.
Also the Epic run of Dreadstar and the full run of Grendel.
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u/Sparkyninja38 Spider-Man Sep 14 '26
One that has not been mentioned yet;
The Invisibles by Grant Morrison
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u/Advanced_Claim4116 Sep 15 '26
Love and Rockets, several works by Alan Moore, a lot of graphic memoir work like Persepolis, Fun Home, and Maus. I would argue some of the Vertigo books, including ones by cancelled creators, have strong literary merit. If you’re talking superhero stuff, that’s probably Watchmen (of course) and some other stuff by Alan Moore, maybe Morrison, and I would throw in Brian K Vaughan’s Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man
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u/Spide443 Sep 15 '26
Spider-Man: The Child Within, Batman: The Long Halloween, Watchmen, The Sandman. Tbh, the entirety of ASM until OMD.
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u/GeneShift Jean Grey Sep 15 '26
People have already posted the classics so I'll list a more recent work. I think More Weight: A Salem Story is one of the most incredible things I've ever read.
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u/peterhohman Sep 15 '26
It's perhaps a lowbrow take, but I'd say the first 55ish issues of The Amazong Spider-Man. It's kind of a lazy comparison and not really apples-to-apples, but I think the periodical, popular nature of Spider-Man in the early 60s allowed it to capture something about the experience of the American young adult at the time much in the way that the periodical, popular works of Dickens captured the experience of the British working-middle class in his time. The characters are complex and the stories are just consistently entertaining - I think if any comics last a century+, Spider-Man comics are likely in that group.
I also would rate Asterios Polyp and From Hell super highly, just like everyone else I guess, and I'll also give a special shout-out to Bryan Talbot's The Tale of One Bad Rat which is just a heartbreaking but great little book that doesn't pop up on these kinds of lists as much as it should. Is it "The Brothers Karamazov" level great? No, probably not; is it classic Judy Blume level great (and make no mistake - I think Blume's books are great)? I'd say so.
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u/tyrotriblax Sep 15 '26 edited Sep 15 '26
I can remember the exact moment in May 1987 when I purchased Watchmen #9. It had a life-altering impact on my literary tastes, and it took me at least a year to collect the back issues because they were so hard to find (and I was 12, so I wasn't able to drive around to a lot of comic shops).
Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns had an impact on the comics genre that was as consequential as Watchmen. It will end up on the "most influential" lists along with Daredevil: Born Again and the Elektra books. I have so much nostalgia for these books that I am able to overlook the flaws.
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u/Man_Out_Of_Time_2 Sep 15 '26
Has anyone read "The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere" ?.
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u/SamyMerchi Sep 15 '26
Uncanny X-Men 94-280 plus New Mutants 1-54 plus Excalibur 1-20.
Unironically I think it, taken as one unified whole, is one of the greats of all human literature.
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u/misanthropia96 Sep 15 '26
My Favorite Thing is Monsters
Clyde Fans
Rusty Brown
Jimmy Corrigan
The Nao of Brown
Asterios Polyp
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u/dishpanel623 Sep 15 '26
My Favourite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris. Certainly the first volume.
But I agree with those who said Contract With God and Jason Lutes' amazing Berlin.
But Emil Ferris, man. The absolute business.
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u/Boxer-Santaros Dr. Strange Sep 14 '26
Cerebus, even though the last 3rd is very problematic
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u/CyramusJackson Sep 14 '26
I think Alan Moores Swamp Thing has to be on the list, Same with V For Vendetta and Miracleman. All of those are insanely well written. Few writers know how to use the medium to it's fullest the way Moore does. Possibly Frank Millers Daredevil Born Again or The Man Without fear. The storytelling in those is also very well done. Possibly WE3 by Morrison and Quitely and Pax Americana. These are books that, to me, have the art and the words working together seamlessly.
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u/Alonzo2112 Sep 14 '26
Tomb of Dracula by Marve Wolfman, Gene Colon, and Tom Palmer. Especially the last 5-10 issues.
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u/GonzoCurze88 Sep 14 '26
To be different (I was gonna say watchmen), I’d say we are gonna look back on the main run of Black Hammer with the same reverence as Watchmen.
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u/TheGoldenLight Sep 14 '26
If you just mean “could be academically analyzed and hold up to critique” there’s lots of stuff that fits that. For currently running things I think Assorted Crisis Events would be a good choice. The anthology nature of it really lets you explore a ton of different themes, but the consistent perspective of the writer shines through.
If you legit mean “is on the list of top 10 written stories humanity has ever made” I think the answer is either “nothing” or Maus and that’s it. Not because the medium is childish or anything, but dang humans have just made so much art dude, it’s hard to be the best.
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u/RaftPenguin Sep 14 '26
Lots of the classics are being mentioned here, and absolutely for good reason, but if I were going to throw some newer picks out there, I'd say if Saga can end well it will become one of the most iconic ones of the medium, and absolute Martian Manhunter is absolutely a favorite of mine from the last decade
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u/TerrificTChalla Sep 14 '26
Watchmen, Sandman series, All Star Superman, Kingdom Come, The Human Target (Tom King run), Mister Miracle (Tom King), and X Men The Dark Phoenix Saga
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u/just-passing-thru7 Sep 14 '26
The Dark Phoenix Saga, by Claremont, Byrne, and Austin. Also, James Robinson’s Starman.
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u/talldean Sep 14 '26
The Invisibles, Watchmen, Sandman all hold up over years; they're intricate and well written, hold a bit of a mirror to the culture they were created in, and are both easy to reread while also welcoming new audiences without being watered down.
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u/pickle133hp Sep 14 '26
Jokers Five Way Revenge made a big surprise impact on regular Batman readers when it came out decades ago. Very murdery joker came out of the blue. Neil Adams realistic art amplified the affect.
Last year my wife was pulling books and checking prices. She held one up from a box. “Why is this one worth so much more than the ones around it?” I said “that’s jokers five way revenge”. She looked at me, looked at the comic, and back at the box. The box had been sealed for 40 years, and the title was not on the cover. Yet I knew exactly what issue it was.
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u/Deleted4007 Sep 14 '26
A couple but Crisis on Infinite Earths comes to mind. It just affected me on a level I had never thought or considered before.
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u/Alert_Cat7189 Sep 14 '26
The most impactful has to go to watchmen but my personal opinion is probably supergirl woman of tomorrow, that book is just a masterpiece i love it so much
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u/Scepafall Sep 14 '26
Watchmen and Maus