2024 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List

BGNA_Banner

ALA’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT) is sharing the nominations for the 2024 Best Graphic Novels for Adults (BGNA) Reading List. These reading list nominations highlight the best graphic novels for adults published in late 2023 through 2024, and it aims to increase awareness of the graphic novel medium, raise voices of diverse comics creators, and aid library staff in the development of graphic novel collections.

The Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) and its committees honor the entire creative team (including the writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, and translator) involved in the titles listed. All of these people play a critical role in the creation of the work, helping to lift the story and give it life.

Best Graphic Novels for Adults 2024 Selection Committee

  • Leslie Flynn - Committee Co-Chair
  • Joe Pascullo - Committee Co-Chair
  • Mariela Siegert - Committee Administrative Assistant
  • Rachel Gagnon
  • Kaci Wilson
  • Kellye Fleming
  • Michelle Colquitt
  • Todd Krueger
  • Kristin Lansdown
  • Ryan King
  • Emily Grosskopf
  • Benjamin Nanamaker
  • Katelyn Williams
  • Margaret Miller
  • Rachel Rosekind

2024 Best Graphic Novels for Adults - Nominations

MAY

Fiction

Black Cloak, Volume 1. Written by Kelly Thompson. Art by Meredith McClaren. Lettering by Becca Carey. Edits by Charles Beacham. Design by Rian Hughes. 2023. Image Comics, $14.99 (9781534399846).
Essex and Pax are Black Cloaks, elite detectives in Kiros, the last city remaining in the world after a terrible war. When the prince and heir to the throne of Kiros is found murdered, these detectives must unravel the mystery before the city descends into chaos.

The Deviant, Volume 1. Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Joshua Hixson. Lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Edited by Steve Foxe. Design by Tyler Boss. 2024. Image Comics, $16.99 (9781534356917).
In 1970s Milwaukee, the "Deviant Killer" dons a Santa costume and commits a series of gruesome murders. Decades later, a comic book writer interviews the man arrested for the crimes just in time for another violent holiday season.

Friday at the Atelier, Volume 1. Written by Sakura Hamada. Art by Sakura Hamada. Translated by Matthew Alberts & Alexis Eckerman. 2024. Yen Press, $15.00 (9781975374068).
An office worker finds new meaning in life after becoming a nude model for a famous painter in this quirky romantic comedy.

Marriage Toxin, Volume 1 & Volume 2. Written by Joumayaku. Art by Mizuki Yoda. Translation by Jan Mitsuko Cash. Touch Up Art & Lettering by Erika Terriquez. Design by Paul Padurariu. Edited by Holly Fisher. 2024. VIZ Media, $11.99 (9781974743520).
Gero, the last active member of the Master Poisoner clan, must get married to continue the family legacy, but he knows nothing about romance. When he is brought in to assassinate a habitual "marriage scammer," he sees his chance to get professional advice to land a wife, but things never go as planned.

Tender. Written by Beth Hetland. Art by Beth Hetland. 2024. Fantagraphics, $19.99 (9781683969358).
A woman trying to create the picture-perfect life she sees on social media slowly comes undone when perfection escapes her grasp.

Non-Fiction

The Heart That Fed: A Father, a Son, and the Long Shadow of War. Written by Carl Sciacchitano. Art by Carl Sciacchitano. 2024. Gallery 13, $29.99 (9781982102937).
A son looks back on his relationship with his Vietnam War veteran father and considers how the elder's wartime experience formed the way they interact.

Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir. Written by Denise Dorrance. Art by Denise Dorrance. 2024. The Experiment, $19.95 (9781615199051).
A daughter returns home to winter in Iowa to care for her ailing elderly mother, gamely navigating the vagaries of the US healthcare system, while coming to terms with mortality.

APRIL

Fiction

A-DO, Volume 1. Written by Amano Jaku. Art by Amano Jaku. 2024. Kodansha, $13.99 (9781646519316).
Riko saves a boy from getting hit by a truck and then learns he's got supernatural abilities. This boy (Eito) is an escaped test subject that military personnel are trying to restrain and control. Just who (or what) in the world is Eito?!

The Jellyfish. Written by Boum. Art by Boum. Translated by Robin Lang & Helge Dascher. 2024. Pow Pow Press, $22.95 (9782925114307).
Odette has a jellyfish in her eye, and, slowly but surely, they are enlarging and multiplying. Can she tell her girlfriend? Her friends? Her mom? She was finally getting this whole "adulting" thing, living alone in her Montreal apartment and chilling at cafes, but the jellyfish just HAD to attack. No matter, a trip to the eye doctor will defeat them, right?

The Science of Ghosts. Written by Lilah Sturges. Art by El Garing & Alitha Martinez. Lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou & Comicrafts Jimmy Betancourt. Edited by Nikita Kannekanti & Jann Jones. Cover Design by David Curtis. 2024. Legendary Comics, $23.99 (9781681160863).
Former forensic psychologist, Joy Ravenna is now a forensic parapsychologist following the clues to solve a decades-old mystery for a client's family all while navigating her first post-transition relationship and working with a hostile ex-wife. Dealing with ghosts might be easier than dealing with the living.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You. Written by Jinushi. Art by Jinushi. Translated by Amanda Haley. Cover Design by Ti Collier. Lettering by Kyla Aiko. 2024. Square Enix, $12.99 (9781646092864).
Sasaki, a middle-aged salaryman with a stressful job, finds relief in smoking and the smile of Yamada, a cashier at a supermarket he frequents. But one day, when Yamada is absent, he finds a new smoking buddy behind the store, Tamaya. Little does he know she's Yamada in disguise!

Steel of the Celestial Shadows, Volume 1. Written by Daruma Matsuura. Art by Daruma Matsuura. Translated by Caleb Cook. 2024. VIZ Media, $14.99 (9781974742745).
Impoverished samurai Ryudo Konosuke suffers from a curse that warps any metal near him, making it impossible for him to wield a sword or even shave. At his lowest point, a mysterious woman offers to marry him, but what first seems like salvation soon further complicates his life.

A Stepmother's Marchen. Written by Spice&kitty. Art by ORKA. 2023. Seven Seas Entertainment, $19.99 (9798888430019).
Shuri Von Neuschwanstein dies and wakes up seven years in the past on the day of her husband's funeral. She now has a chance to live her life over again, and this time she plans on doing things differently.

Non-Fiction

I Am Stan: A Graphic Biography of the Legendary Stan Lee. Written by Tom Scioli. Art by Tom Scioli. 2023. Ten Speed Graphic, $22.99 (9781984862037).
A graphic biography of famous comic book writer, Stan Lee.

March

Fiction

Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love & Murder. Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Tula Lotay. Color by Dee Cunniffe. Lettering by Richard Starkings. 2024. Dark Horse Books, $24.99 (9781506728308).
With the war over, former fighter pilot Hawk E. Baron travels the country as a barnstormer, performing aerial stunts and offering rides to make a living. When one such escapade introduces him to Tillie, a young woman ready for a new start, the two find themselves in a race against the past in this romantic adventure.

Boyfriends, Volume 1. Written by Refrainbow. Art by Refrainbow, DreamyCafeArt, Barutwt, Kuin, & Jessica Jean. 2023. WEBTOON Unscrolled, $19.99 (9781990259784).
This print edition of a Webtoon tells the story of four archetypal college students -- Jock, Goth, Nerd, and Prep -- and how they form a polyamorous relationship among the four of them.

Hirayasumi, Volume 1. Written by Keigo Shinzo. Art by Keigo Shinzo. 2024. VIZ Media, $14.99 (9781974746910).
Hiroto is just casually passing through life without much ambition or direction. But when he begins a platonic, intergenerational relationship with someone much older than he is, Hiroto begins to piece together how he can be a better person.

King in Limbo, Omnibus Volume 1. Written by Ai Tanaka. Art by Ai Tanaka. 2024. Kodansha, $21.99 (9781646519231).
Adam and King are recruited to help resolve a recurrence of the sleeping sickness, a pandemic that ravaged society years earlier.

The Sacrificers, Volume 1. Written by Rick Remender. Art by Max Fiumara. Color by Dave McCaig. Lettering by Rus Wooton. 2024. Image Comics, $16.99 (9781534397897).
In a world where gods offer peace in exchange for the sacrifice of one child per family, a sacrificed son and the rebellious daughter of a god find themselves challenging the status quo after learning a dark truth.

Unholy Blood, Volume 1. Written by Lina Lim. Art by Lina Lim. Lettering by Shirley Chen. 2024. Ize Press, $20.00 (9798400901126).
All pureblood vampire Hayan Park wanted was a normal life. But the emergence of murderous vampire-human hybrids ten years ago transformed the world into a dangerous place—forcing her to lie low, desperate to keep her secret hidden. When a beloved professor of hers is murdered, though, and a local police captain aims his suspicion at Hayan, things start getting personal. Using her true powers may be the only way to protect those around her...and her own life!


Non-Fiction

Artificial: A Love Story. Written by Amy Kurzweil. Art by Amy Kurzweil. 2023. Catapult, $38.00 (9781948226387).
Cartoonist Amy Kurzweil untangles three generations' worth of intricate relationships to art and identity in this well-researched graphic memoir.

February

Fiction

Tokyo These Days. Written by Taiyo Matsumoto. Art by Taiyo Matsumoto. 2024. Viz Media, $28.00 (9781974738809).
In this manga about the people of the manga industry, long-time editor Shiozawa retires after a failed magazine leaves him feeling disconnected from readers. Despite intending to leave the industry for good, Shiozawa's bonds with the artists and manga of his past lead him to start one final project.

#DRCL: Midnight Children. Written by Shin'ichi Sakamoto. 2023. Viz Media, $27.00 (9781974740888).
A manga retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula where Mina, Lucy, Arthur, Quincy, Renfield, and John (Joe in this version) are students at Whitby School.

Where the Body Was. Written by Ed Brubaker. Art by Sean Phillips & Jacob Phillips. 2024. Image Comics, $24.99 (9781534398269).
Multiple threads come together in this historical suburban noir set in the summer of 1984. Various characters narrate this concise mystery, eventually disclosing the victim and the aftermath of those who became involved.

The Night Eaters: Her Little Reapers, Book 2. Written by Marjorie Liu. Art by Sana Takeda. 2023. Abrams Books, $29.99 (9781419758720).
Four months after finding out they were demons, twins Milly and Billy still don't know much. While investigating their new reality, they get pulled into a bigger conspiracy involving supernatural elites and long-running cults that could destroy the world.


Non-Fiction

Gaytheist: Coming Out of My Orthodox Childhood. Written by Lonnie Mann. Art by Lonnie Mann & Ryan Gatts. 2024. Street Noise Books, $23.99 (9781951491277).
Lonnie struggles with his strict Orthodox Jewish upbringing and the belief that being gay is a sin as he realizes that he is attracted to boys. As he grows older, he comes to understand that the life and religion he was brought up in might not be the right one for him.

Transitions: A Mother's Journey. Written by Élodie Durand. Art by Élodie Durand. Translated by Evan McGorray. 2023. Penguin Random House, $19.99 (9781603095181).
Anne's world is upended when her 19-year-old child tells her that he is a transgender man. As she goes through her own transition, Anne's struggles threaten her relationship with her child, so she falls back on her scientific mind to answer the questions that overwhelm her.