The Combined Best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2020!
Over the last 5 months there have been many, many websites with “Best of 2020” lists concerning comic books, manga and graphic novels. If you’ve looked at a few, you may have noticed some of the same books on different lists and seen some unique to only that list.
I went through 235 different URLs with “Best Of” Lists regarding comics and combined them into a spreadsheet. There are over 3,500 different listings of books from these websites. I should note that I’ve included books that were given honorable mentions. In short, if somebody thought it was a good book that you should check out, it’s on here.
This year I made a more of an effort to find best of lists with Manga on them. I find it odd that Manga in North America is as large as traditional comics publishers but there are much fewer ‘Best of Manga’ lists out by Manga reviewers. I did find some which likely lead to a particular Manga publisher getting more titles on the list this year.
Gene Luen Yang
The big story this year is Gene Luen Yang whose books were the #1 (Dragon Hoops) and #2 (Superman Smashes the Klan) books on the list. This is the first time an author took the first two spots with different books in a year. ComicsBeat picking him as the Comics Industry Person of the Year is very fitting.
Pivot tables have been created to show which books appeared on the number of lists. Here are the books with 5 mentions or more:
| Book Title | Count | Writer | Artist | Publisher |
| Dragon Hoops | 38 | Gene Luen Yang | Gene Luen Yang | First Second |
| Superman Smashes the Klan | 36 | Gene Luen Yang | Gurihiru | DC Comics |
| The Magic Fish | 34 | Trung Le Nguyen | Trung Le Nguyen | Random House Graphic |
| When Stars Are Scattered | 32 | Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed | Victoria Jamieson, Iman Geddy | Dial Books |
| The Immortal Hulk | 31 | Al Ewing | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Daredevil | 30 | Chip Zdarsky | Marco Checchetto, Francesco Mobili, Jorge Fornes, Nolan Woodard, Rachelle Rosenberg, Mattia Iacono | Marvel Comics |
| The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist | 29 | Adrian Tomine | Adrian Tomine | Drawn & Quarterly |
| The Department of Truth | 29 | James Tynion IV | Martin Simmonds | Image Comics |
| Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen | 29 | Matt Fraction | Steve Leiber, Nathan Fairbairn | DC Comics |
| Far Sector | 28 | NK Jemisin | Jamal Campbell | DC Comics |
| X-Men | 28 | Jonathan Hickman | Leinil Francis Yu, R.B. Silva, Matteo Buffagni | Marvel Comics |
| Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio | 26 | Derf Backderf | Derf Backderf | Harry N. Abrams |
| Snapdragon | 25 | Kat Leyh | Kat Leyh | First Second |
| Class Act | 24 | Jerry Craft | Jerry Craft | Quill Tree |
| Blue in Green | 21 | Ram V | Anand RK, John J. Pearson | Image Comics |
| Wonder Woman: Dead Earth | 21 | Daniel Johnson | Daniel Johnson, Mike Spicer | DC Comics |
| John Constantine: Hellblazer | 21 | Simon Spurrier | Aaron Campbell, Jordie Bellaire | DC Comics |
| Pulp | 20 | Ed Brubaker | Sean Phillips, Jacob Phillips | Image Comics |
| Marauders | 20 | Gerry Duggan, Vita Ayala | Stefano Caselli, Matteo Lolli, Mario Del Pennino, Edgar Delgado, Federico Blee, Erick Arciniega | Marvel Comics |
| Twins | 20 | Varian Johnson | Shannon Wright | Graphix |
| Dracula, motherf**ker! | 19 | Alex de Campi | Erica Henderson | Image Comics |
| Hellions | 19 | Zeb Wells, Tini Howard | Stephen Segovia, David Curiel, Carmen Carnero | Marvel Comics |
| Something Is Killing The Children | 19 | James Tynion IV | Werther Dell’Edera | BOOM! Studios |
| Paying the Land | 19 | Joe Sacco | Joe Sacco | Metropolitan Books |
| Flamer | 19 | Mike Curato | Mike Curato | Henry Holt and Co |
| Batman: The Three Jokers | 18 | Geoff Johns | Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson | DC Comics |
| Strange Adventures | 18 | Tom King | Mitch Gerads, Doc Shaner | DC Comics |
| Bitter Root | 18 | David F. Walker, Chuck Brown | Sanford Greene, Sofie Dodgson | Image Comics |
| Thor | 18 | Donny Cates | Nic Klein, Aaron Kuder, Matthew Wilson | Marvel Comics |
| Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir | 18 | Robin Ha | Robin Ha | Balzer + Bray |
| Go with the Flow | 18 | Lily Williams, Karen Schneemann | Lily Williams | First Second |
| The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud | 17 | Kiniko Tsurita | Kiniko Tsurita | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Once & Future | 17 | Kieron Gillen | Tamra Bonvillain, Dan Mora | BOOM! Studios |
| Slaughterhouse-Five: The Graphic Novel | 17 | Kurt Vonnegut, Ryan North | Albert Monteys | BOOM! Studios |
| Fire Power | 16 | Robert Kirkman | Chris Samnee, Matthew Wilson | Image Comics |
| Billionaire Island | 16 | Mark Russell | Steve Pugh, Chris Chuckry | Ahoy Comics |
| Familiar Face | 15 | Michael DeForge | Michael DeForge | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Wendy: Master of Art | 15 | Walter Scott | Walter Scott | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Banned Book Club | 15 | Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada | Hyung-Ju Ko | Iron Circus Comics |
| Sports is Hell | 15 | Ben Passmore | Ben Passmore | Koyama Press |
| Jack Kirby: The Epic Life Of The King Of Comics | 14 | Tom Scioli | Tom Scioli | Ten Speed Press |
| Stillwater | 14 | Chip Zdarsky | Ramón K. Pérez, Mike Spicer | Image Comics |
| A Map to the Sun | 14 | Sloane Leong | Sloane Leong | First Second |
| Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir | 14 | Tyler Feder | Tyler Feder | Dial Books |
| Dark Nights: Death Metal | 13 | Scott Snyder | Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia | DC Comics |
| The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott | 13 | Zoe Thorogood | Zoe Thorogood | Avery Hill Publishing |
| Hedra | 13 | Jesse Lonergan | Jesse Lonergan | Image Comics |
| Long Way Down | 13 | Jason Reynolds | Danica Novgorodoff | Atheneum |
| X of Swords | 12 | Various | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Dancing After TEN | 12 | Vivian Chong, Georgia Webber | Vivian Chong, Georgia Webber | Fantagraphics |
| X-Men: Marvels Snapshots #1 | 12 | Jay Edidin | Tom Reilly, Chris O’Halloran | Marvel Comics |
| You Brought Me the Ocean | 12 | Alex Sanchez | Julie Maroh | DC Comics |
| Vision | 12 | Julia Gfrörer | Julia Gfrörer | Fantagraphics |
| Year of the Rabbit | 12 | Tian Veasna | Tian Veasna | Drawn & Quarterly |
| The Man Without Talent | 11 | Yoshiharu Tsuge | Yoshiharu Tsuge | New York Review Books |
| Chasin’ the Bird: Charlie Parker in California | 11 | Dave Chisholm | Dave Chisholm, Peter Markowski | Z2 Comics |
| The Contradictions | 11 | Sophie Yanow | Sophie Yanow | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Displacement | 11 | Kiku Hughes | Kiku Hughes | First Second |
| Ice Cream Man | 11 | W. Maxwell Prince | Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran | Image Comics |
| Stepping Stones | 10 | Lucy Knisley | Lucy Knisley, Whitney Cogar | Random House Graphic |
| X-Factor | 10 | Leah Williams | David Baldeon | Marvel Comics |
| Moms | 10 | Yeong-shin Ma | Yeong-shin Ma | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Spy x Family Vol. 1 | 10 | Tatsuya Endo | Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media |
| DCeased: Dead Planet | 10 | Tom Taylor | Trevor Hairsine, Gigi Baldissini, Stefan Guadiano, Rain Beredo | DC Comics |
| Maids | 10 | Katie Skelly | Katie Skelly | Fantagraphics |
| X-Force | 10 | Benjamin Percy | Dustin Weaver, Joshua Cassara | Marvel Comics |
| Big Black: Stand at Attica | 10 | Frank “Big Black” Smith, Jared Reinmuth | Améziane | Archaia |
| The Other History Of The DC Universe #1 | 9 | John Ridley | Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Cucchi, Jose Villarrubia | DC Comics |
| The Deep and Dark Blue | 9 | Niki Smith | Niki Smith | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Ice Cream Man Presents: Quarantine Comix Special #1 | 9 | Various | Various | Image Comics |
| Black Widow | 9 | Kelly Thompson | Elena Casagrande. Jordie Bellaire | Marvel Comics |
| Don’t Go Without Me | 9 | Rosemary Valero-O’Connell | Rosemary Valero-O’Connell | Shortbox |
| Becoming Horses | 9 | Disa Wallander | Disa Wallander | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Suicide Squad | 9 | Tom Taylor | Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas | DC Comics |
| Chainsaw Man | 9 | Tatsuki Fujimoto | Tatsuki Fujimoto | VIZ Media |
| Excalibur | 9 | Tini Howard | Various | Marvel Comics |
| AdventureMan | 9 | Matt Fraction | Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson | Image Comics |
| Heartstopper | 9 | Alice Oseman | Alice Oseman | Graphix |
| Batman | 9 | James Tynion IV | Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey | DC Comics |
| The Low, Low Woods | 9 | Carmen Maria Machado | Dani, Tamra Bonvillain | DC Comics |
| Paul at Home | 9 | Michel Rabagliati | Michel Rabagliati | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Portrait of a Drunk | 8 | Florent Ruppert, Jerome Mulot, Olivier Schrauwen | Florent Ruppert, Jerome Mulot, Olivier Schrauwen | Fantagraphics |
| S.W.O.R.D. | 8 | Al Ewing | Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia | Marvel Comics |
| J&K | 8 | John Pham | John Pham | Fantagraphics |
| Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy | 8 | Jeff Lemire | Tonci Zonjic | Dark Horse Books |
| Goblin Girl | 8 | Moa Romanova | Moa Romanova | Fantagraphics |
| Alienated | 8 | Simon Spurrier | Chris Wildgoose, Andre May | BOOM! Studios |
| Shadow of the Batgirl | 8 | Sarah Kuhn | Nicole Goux | DC Comics |
| Undone by Blood or the Shadow of a Wanted Man | 8 | Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler | Sami Kivelä, Jason Wordie | AfterShock Comics |
| Crisis Zone | 8 | Simon Hanselmann | Simon Hanselmann | Web Comic |
| We Only Find Them When They’re Dead | 8 | Al Ewing | Simone Di Meo | BOOM! Studios |
| Venom | 8 | Donny Cates, David Michelinie | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones | 8 | Ngozi Ukazu | Ngozi Ukazu | First Second |
| Beetle & the Hollowbones | 8 | Aliza Layne | Aliza Layne, Natalie Riess, Kristen Acampora | Atheneum |
| Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence | 8 | Joel Christian Gill | Joel Christian Gill | Oni Press |
| Seven Secrets | 8 | Tom Taylor | Daniele Di Nicuolo, Walter Baiamonte, Katia Ranalli | BOOM! Studios |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | 8 | Al Ewing | Marcio Takara, Federico Blee | Marvel Comics |
| Usagi Yojimbo | 8 | Stan Sakai | Stan Sakai, Tom Luth | IDW Publishing |
| Coffin Bound | 8 | Dan Watters | Dani | Image Comics |
| Breakwater | 8 | Katriona Chapman | Katriona Chapman | Avery Hill Publishing |
| Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Dreams | 8 | Steve Horton, Michael Allred | Michael Allred, Laura Allred | Insight Comics |
| Crossover | 7 | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe | Image Comics |
| Séance Tea Party | 7 | Reimena Yee | Reimena Yee | Random House Graphic |
| Donut Feed the Squirrels | 7 | Mika Song | Mika Song | Random House Graphic |
| Ex.Mag | 7 | Various | Various | Peow Studios |
| Empyre | 7 | Al Ewing, Dan Slott | Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia | Marvel Comics |
| The Dreaming: Waking Hours | 7 | G. Willow Wilson | Nick Robles, Mat Lopes | DC Comics |
| The Green Lantern: Season Two | 7 | Grant Morrison | Liam Sharp, Steve Oliff | DC Comics |
| Pea, Bee, & Jay Vol. 1 | 7 | Brian “Smitty” Smith | Brian “Smitty” Smith | HarperAlley |
| Killadelphia | 7 | Rodney Barnes | Jason Shaw, Luis NCT | Image Comics |
| All Together Now | 7 | Hope Larson | Hope Larson, Hillary Sycamore, Katrina Edwards | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Come Home, Indio: A Memoir | 7 | Jim Terry | Jim Terry | Street Noise Books |
| Basketful of Heads | 7 | Joe Hill | Leomacs, Dave Stewart | DC Comics |
| Gideon Falls | 7 | Jeff Lemire | Andrea Sorrentino, Dave Stewart | Image Comics |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 7 | Sophie Campbell | Sophie Campbell, Ronda Pattison | IDW Publishing |
| I Know You Rider: A Memoir | 7 | Leslie Stein | Leslie Stein | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Black Heroes of the Wild West | 7 | James Otis Smith | James Otis Smith | TOON Graphics |
| Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier | 7 | Jim Ottaviani | Maris Wicks | First Second |
| Lightfall: The Girl and the Galdurian | 7 | Tim Probert | Tim Probert | HarperAlley |
| My Hero Academia | 7 | Kōhei Horikoshi | Kōhei Horikoshi | VIZ Media |
| Solutions and Other Problems | 7 | Allie Brosh | Allie Brosh | Simon and Schuster |
| Primer | 6 | Jennifer Muro, Thomas Krajewski | Gretel Lusky | DC Comics |
| Ping Pong | 6 | Taiyo Matsumoto | Taiyo Matsumoto | VIZ Media |
| Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds | 6 | Elise Gravel | Elise Gravel | HarperAlley |
| Umma’s Table | 6 | Yeon-Sik Hong | Yeon-Sik Hong | Drawn & Quarterly |
| A Man and His Cat | 6 | Umi Sakurai | Umi Sakurai | Square Enix Manga |
| The Swamp | 6 | Yoshiharu Tsuge | Yoshiharu Tsuge | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës | 6 | Isabel Greenberg | Isabel Greenberg | Harry N. Abrams |
| Noisemakers: 25 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World | 6 | Various | Various | Knopf Books for Young Readers |
| Wynd | 6 | James Tynion IV | Michael Dialynas | BOOM! Studios |
| Decorum | 6 | Jonathan Hickman | Mike Huddleston | Image Comics |
| Redfork | 6 | Alex Paknadel | Nil Vendrell, Giulia Brusco | TKO Studios |
| Kill A Man | 6 | Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Steve Orlando | Al Morgan | AfterShock Comics |
| Bang! | 6 | Matt Kindt | Wilfredo Torres, Nayoung Kim | Dark Horse Books |
| Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation | 6 | Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy | John Jennings | Harry N. Abrams |
| Witch Hat Atelier | 6 | Kamome Shirahama | Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics |
| Money Shot | 6 | Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie | Rebekah Isaacs, Kurt Michael Russell | Vault Comics |
| November | 6 | Matt Fraction | Elsa Charretier, Matt Hollingsworth | Image Comics |
| Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer | 6 | Gillian Goerz | Gillian Goerz | Dial Books |
| Black Stars Above | 6 | Lonnie Nadler | Jenna Cha, Brad Simpson | Vault Comics |
| Die | 6 | Kieron Gillen | Stephanie Hans | Image Comics |
| The Times I Knew I Was Gay | 6 | Eleanor Crewes | Eleanor Crewes | Scribner |
| Green Lantern: Legacy | 6 | Minh Lê | Andie Tong | DC Comics |
| Reckless | 5 | Ed Brubaker | Sean Phillips, Jacob Phillips | Image Comics |
| Avengers | 5 | Jason Aaron | Various | Marvel Comics |
| What We Don’t Talk About | 5 | Charlot Kristensen | Charlot Kristensen | Avery Hill Publishing |
| Catherine’s War | 5 | Julia Billet, Claire Fauvel | Claire Fauvel | HarperAlley |
| Blood On The Tracks | 5 | Shuzo Oshimi | Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical Comics |
| Child Star | 5 | Box Brown | Box Brown | First Second |
| A Cat Story | 5 | Ursula Murray Husted | Ursula Murray Husted | Quill Tree |
| Hotell | 5 | John Lees | Dalibor Talajić, Lee Loughridge | AWA Studios |
| Lost Soldiers | 5 | Aleš Kot | Luca Casalanguida, Heather Moore | Image Comics |
| Sex Criminals | 5 | Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky | Chip Zdarsky | Image Comics |
| Boston Corbett | 5 | Andy Douglas Day | Andy Douglas Day | Sonatina |
| Lonely Receiver | 5 | Zac Thompson | Jen Hickman | AfterShock Comics |
| We Served the People: My Mother’s Stories | 5 | Emei Burell | Emei Burell | Archaia |
| Plunge | 5 | Joe Hill | Stuart Immonen, Dave Stewart | DC Comics |
| The Dark Matter of Mona Starr | 5 | Laura Lee Gulledge | Laura Lee Gulledge | Amulet Books |
| Iron Man | 5 | Christopher Cantwell | C Cafu, Frank D’ARMATA | Marvel Comics |
| Giga | 5 | Alex Paknadel | John Le, ROSH | Vault Comics |
| Titan | 5 | François Vigneault | François Vigneault | Oni Press |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin | 5 | Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz | Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza, Luis Antonio Delgado, Kevin Eastman, Samuel Planta | IDW Publishing |
| Consent (for Kids!): Boundaries, Respect, and Being in Charge of You | 5 | Rachel Brian | Rachel Brian | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Be Gay, Do Comics | 5 | Various | Various | IDW Publishing |
| The Plot | 5 | Michael Moreci | Tim Daniel, Kurt Michael Russel | Vault Comics |
| Kodi | 5 | Jared Cullum | Jared Cullum | Top Shelf Productions |
| Justice League Dark | 5 | Ram V | Various | DC Comics |
| The Phantom Twin | 5 | Lisa Brown | Lisa Brown | First Second |
| Undiscovered Country | 5 | Scott Snyder, Charles Soule | Giuseppe Camuncoli, Daniele Orlandini, Matt Wilson | Image Comics |
| Amazing Spider-Man | 5 | Nick Spencer, Matthew Rosenberg | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Fence | 5 | C.S. Pacat | Johanna the Mad | BOOM! Studios |
| Fangs | 5 | Sarah Andersen | Sarah Andersen | Andrews McMeel Publishing |
| The Butcher Of Paris | 5 | Stephanie Phillips | Dean Kotz, Jason Wordie | Dark Horse Books |
| Eight-Lane Runaways | 5 | Henry McCausland | Henry McCausland | Fantagraphics |
| Bug Boys | 5 | Laura Knetzger | Laura Knetzger | Random House Graphic |
| Teen Titans: Beast Boy | 5 | Kami Garcia | Gabriel Picolo | DC Comics |
| Dead Day | 5 | Ryan Parrott | Evgeniy Bornyakov, Juancho Velez | AfterShock Comics |
| Excellence | 5 | Brandon Thomas | Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez | Image Comics |
| The Last Halloween: Book 1 | 5 | Abby Howard | Abby Howard | Iron Circus Comics |
Regarding Publishers:
DC Comics was again the most popular publisher with 122 different titles.
Marvel was again 2nd place with 90 different titles.
Image stayed at 3rd place with 76 different titles.
VIZ improved to 4th place with 50 different titles.
Dark Horse Books dropped to 5th place with 36 different titles.
There were also 49 Self-Published books that made the list.
The most popular web comics were Simon Hanselmann’s Crisis Zone (8)
Olivia Jaimes’ Nancy (4) and Rachel Smith’s Quarantine Comix (3)
Caveats:
The vast majority of books are listed under their imprint names, not their head publisher names.
Where a reviewer/writer wrote ‘best of’ lists for multiple websites, I’ve cross referenced their lists and removed books that were named twice. I did not think it would be fair if those writers could tip the popularity scale by naming the same book(s) over and over again on multiple websites. Sadly, there was an increase of websites publishing lists with no credit to who (or whom) created the list. In those cases I marked them as either n/a or various but the practice of not crediting writers is a shameful one.
If a writer wrote for multiple sites, but one of those sites picks was a group effort, I did not remove books that are listed twice.
I generally did not include lists that were a mixed of prose books and graphic novels unless there were a significant number of graphic novels on the list.
I did not use lists where the website was not in English and the books appeared to be translated versions.
With inkers and colourists I often, but not always included them within the Artist section. Where there were multiple (usually more than 5) involved in a book, or in the title’s run over the course of the year, various was used instead of listing them all. In some cases I combined those involved even if they worked on the title for different issues.
For simplicity sake, if a list named a specific comic book issue or specific volume of a graphic novel, I removed those specifics and just listed the series title, with rare exceptions. The same goes with issue #s. My apologies to the reviewers of those books.
Some reviewers included books that were published in 2019 or earlier. Normally the amount of times these books were mentioned isn’t significant but I found this year there were a lot more 2019 and earlier books mentioned in these lists. I suspect reviewers having more time on their hands due to Covid were reading unread books from previous years and including them on their lists.
Most of the lists were general ‘best/favourite books’ of 2020, but I also included lists dedicated to young readers, manga, LGBTQ+, etc… What type list is noted on column B in the spreadsheet.
A small number of lists also had rankings and those are included in Column C.
This list of websites this list is compiled from: