The Combined Best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2023!
Since October 2023 there have been many, many websites with “Best of 2023” lists concerning comic books, manga, webcomics 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 226 different URLs with “Best Of” Lists regarding comics and combined them into a spreadsheet. There are over 3,800 different listings of books from these websites. I should note that I’ve included books that were given honourable mentions. In short, if somebody thought it was a good book that you should check out, it’s on here.
This year the #1 book was Monica by Daniel Clowes, published by Fantagraphics.
The #2 book was Roaming by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly). Squeaking into 3rd place was Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamad (Pantheon). There is a 3 way tie for 4th place with Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham (Pantheon), A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll (First Second) and The Talk by Darrin Bell (Henry Holt and Co.). 5th place was Why Don’t You Love Me? By P. B. Rainey (Drawn & Quarterly).
Below are all the books with 5 mentions or more.
| Book Title | Count | Writer | Artist | Publisher |
| Monica | 62 | Daniel Clowes | Daniel Clowes | Fantagraphics |
| Roaming | 51 | Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki | Jillian Tamaki | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Shubeik Lubeik | 37 | Deena Mohamed | Deena Mohamed | Pantheon |
| Blood of the Virgin | 35 | Sammy Harkham | Sammy Harkham | Pantheon |
| A Guest in the House | 35 | Emily Carroll | Emily Carroll | First Second |
| The Talk | 35 | Darrin Bell | Darrin Bell | Henry Holt and Co. |
| Why Don’t You Love Me? | 27 | P.B. Rainey | P.B. Rainey | Drawn & Quarterly |
| W0rldtr33 | 24 | James Tynion IV | Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire | Image Comics |
| Birds of Prey | 23 | Kelly Thompson | Leonardo Bastos Romero, Jordie Bellaire, Matt Herms | DC Comics |
| Mexikid | 23 | Pedro Martín | Pedro Martín | Dial Books |
| Transformers | 19 | Daniel Warren Johnson | Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer | Image Comics |
| Family Style: Memories of an American From Vietnam | 18 | Thien Pham | Thien Pham | First Second |
| The Immortal Thor | 17 | Al Ewing | Martin Coccolo, Matthew Wilson | Marvel Comics |
| Batman/Superman: World’s Finest | 17 | Mark Waid | Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain | DC Comics |
| Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, The Man Who Created Nancy | 16 | Bill Griffith | Bill Griffith | Harry N. Abrams |
| Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story | 16 | Julia Wertz | Julia Wertz | Black Dog & Leventhal |
| Wonder Woman | 15 | Tom King | Daniel Sampere, Tomeu Morey | DC Comics |
| Local Man | 15 | Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs | Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs | Image Comics |
| Parachute Kids | 15 | Betty C. Tang | Betty C. Tang | Graphix |
| Time Under Tension | 14 | M.S. Harkness | M.S. Harkness | Fantagraphics |
| Girl Juice | 14 | Benji Nate | Benji Nate | Drawn & Quarterly |
| The Gull Yettin | 14 | Joe Kessler | Joe Kessler | New York Review Comics |
| Do a Powerbomb! | 14 | Daniel Warren Johnson | Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer | Image Comics |
| Things in the Basement | 14 | Ben Hatke | Ben Hatke, Zack Giallongo | First Second |
| 20th Century Men | 14 | Deniz Camp | Stipan Morian | Image Comics |
| A First Time for Everything | 14 | Dan Santat | Dan Santat | First Second |
| Boys Weekend | 13 | Mattie Lubchansky | Mattie Lubchansky | Pantheon |
| River’s Edge | 13 | Kyoko Okazaki | Kyoko Okazaki | Kodansha Comics |
| Daredevil | 13 | Chip Zdarsky, Ann Nocenti | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Fantastic Four | 13 | Ryan North | Iban Coello, Ivan Fiorelli | Marvel Comics |
| Sunday | 12 | Olivier Schrauwen | Olivier Schrauwen | Colorama |
| Void Rivals | 12 | Robert Kirkman | Lorenzo De Felici, Matheus Lopes | Image Comics |
| This Country: Searching For Home in (Very) Rural America | 12 | Navied Mahdavian | Navied Mahdavian | Princeton Architectural Press |
| The Incredible Hulk | 12 | Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Nic Klein, Matthew Wilson | Marvel Comics |
| In Limbo | 12 | Deb JJ. Lee | Deb JJ. Lee | First Second |
| Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons | 12 | Kelly Sue Deconnick | Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, Nicola Scott | DC Comics |
| The Enfield Gang Massacre | 11 | Chris Condon | Jacob Phillips, Pip Martin | Image Comics |
| What Awaits Them | 11 | Liam Cobb | Liam Cobb | Breakdown Press |
| Nejishiki | 11 | Yoshiharu Tsuge | Yoshiharu Tsuge | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Social Fiction | 11 | Chantal Montellier | Chantal Montellier | New York Review Comics |
| Are You Willing To Die For The Cause? | 11 | Chris Oliveros | Chris Oliveros | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Night Fever | 11 | Ed Brubaker | Sean Phillips, Jacob Phillips | Image Comics |
| The Human Target | 11 | Tom King | Various | DC Comics |
| Akane-banashi | 11 | Yuki Suenaga | Takamasa Moue | VIZ Media |
| Bea Wolf | 10 | Zach Weinersmith | Boulet | First Second |
| Juliette: Or, the Ghosts Return in the Spring | 10 | Camille Jourdy | Camille Jourdy | Drawn & Quarterly |
| The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell | 10 | Eddie Campbell | Eddie Campbell | Top Shelf Productions |
| Hungry Ghost | 10 | Victoria Ying | Victoria Ying | First Second |
| The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich | 10 | Deya Muniz | Deya Muniz | Little, Brown Ink |
| PeePee PooPoo | 10 | Caroline Cash | Caroline Cash | Silver Sprocket |
| The Naked Tree | 10 | Keum Suk Gendry-Kim | Keum Suk Gendry-Kim | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Danger and Other Unknown Risks | 10 | Ryan North | Erica Henderson | Penguin Workshop |
| Rare Flavours | 10 | Ram V | Filipe Andrade | BOOM! Studios |
| Goodbye, Eri | 10 | Tatsuki Fujimoto | Tatsuki Fujimoto | VIZ Media |
| Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story | 10 | Sarah Myer | Sarah Myer | First Second |
| Damn Them All | 10 | Si Spurrier | Charlie Adlard, Sofie Dodgson, Shayne Hannah Cui | BOOM! Studios |
| Werewolf Jones & Sons® Deluxe Summer Fun Annual! | 9 | Josh Pettinger, Simon Hanselmann | Josh Pettinger, Simon Hanselmann, Nate Garcia | Fantagraphics |
| W the Whore | 9 | Katrin de Vries | Anke Feuchtenberger | New York Review Comics |
| I Am Stan | 9 | Tom Scioli | Tom Scioli | Ten Speed Graphic |
| Okinawa | 9 | Susumu Higa | Susumu Higa | Fantagraphics |
| Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees | 9 | Patrick Horvath | Patrick Horvath | IDW Publishing |
| Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound | 9 | Dave Chisholm | Dave Chisholm | Z2 Comics |
| Carmilla: The First Vampire | 9 | Amy Chu | Soo Lee | Dark Horse |
| Peacemaker Tries Hard! | 9 | Kyle Starks | Steve Pugh, Jordie Bellaire | DC Comics |
| Phantom Road | 9 | Jeff Lemire | Gabriel Hernandez Walta | Image Comics |
| I Must Be Dreaming | 9 | Roz Chast | Roz Chast | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Mimosa | 9 | Archie Bongiovanni | Archie Bongiovanni | Harry N. Abrams |
| Sunshine | 9 | Jarrett J. Krosoczka | Jarrett J. Krosoczka | Graphix |
| Saga | 9 | Brian K. Vaughan | Fiona Staples | Image Comics |
| Ghost Book | 9 | Remy Lai | Remy Lai | Henry Holt and Co. |
| Love Everlasting | 9 | Tom King | Elsa Charretier, Matt Hollingsworth | Image Comics |
| Fielder | 8 | Kevin Huizenga | Kevin Huizenga | Self-Published |
| Unended | 8 | Josh Beyer | Josh Beyer | Uncivilized Books |
| Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey | 8 | Edel Rodríguez | Edel Rodríguez | Metropolitian |
| The Super Hero’s Journey | 8 | Patrick McDonnell | Various | Harry N. Abrams |
| Buzzing | 8 | Samuel Sattin | Rye Hickman | Little, Brown Ink |
| Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends | 8 | Kaz Windness | Kaz Windness | Simon Spotlight |
| The Ribbon Queen | 8 | Garth Ennis | Jacen Burrows, Guillermo Ortego and Dan Brown | AWA Studios |
| My Picture Diary | 8 | Fujiwara Maki | Fujiwara Maki | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Ultimate Invasion | 8 | Jonathan Hickman, Donny Cates | Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Alex Sinclair | Marvel Comics |
| Kaya | 8 | Wes Craig | Wes Craig | Image Comics |
| Eerie Tales from the School of Screams | 8 | Graham Annable | Graham Annable | First Second |
| G.O.D.S. | 7 | Jonathan Hickman | Valerio Schiti | Marvel Comics |
| The Moth Keeper | 7 | K. O’Neill | K. O’Neill | Random House Graphic |
| Baby | 7 | Patrick Kyle | Patrick Kyle | Breakdown Press |
| The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood | 7 | Brian “Box” Brown | Brian “Box” Brown | First Second |
| Somna | 7 | Becky Cloonan, Tula Lotay | Becky Cloonan, Tula Lotay | DSTLRY |
| Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard | 7 | Ronald Wimberly | Brahm Revel | First Second |
| Saving Sunshine | 7 | Saadia Faruqi | Shazleen Khan | First Second |
| The Great Beyond | 7 | Léa Murawiec | Léa Murawiec | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Parasocial | 7 | Alex de Campi | Erica Henderson | Image Comics |
| Eden II | 7 | K. Wroten | K. Wroten | Fantagraphics |
| Green Lantern | 7 | Jeremy Adams, Peter J. Tomasi | Xermanico, Scott Godlewski, Darko Lafuente, Romulo Fajardo, Tamra Bonvillain | DC Comics |
| Artificial: A Love Story | 7 | Amy Kurzweil | Amy Kurzweil | Catapult |
| The Man in the McIntosh Suit | 7 | Rina Ayuyang | Rina Ayuyang | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Avengers Inc. | 7 | Al Ewing | Leonard Kirk, Alex Sinclair | Marvel Comics |
| Brooms | 7 | Jasmine Walls | Teo DuVall | Levine Querido |
| The Nice House on the Lake | 7 | James Tynion IV | Alvaro Martino Bueno | DC Comics |
| Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise | 7 | Tradd Moore | Tradd Moore, Heather Moore | Marvel Comics |
| Nightwing | 7 | Tom Taylor | Bruno Redondo, Geraldo Borges, Wade von Grawbadger, Adriano Lucas | DC Comics |
| Gotham City: Year One | 7 | Tom King | Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur, Jordie Bellaire | DC Comics |
| Superman | 7 | Joshua Williamson | Various | DC Comics |
| Immortal X-Men | 7 | Kieron Gillen | Lucas Werneck | Marvel Comics |
| Moon Knight | 7 | Jed MacKay, Danny Lore | Federico Sabbatini, Alessandro Cappuccio, Ray-Anthony Height | Marvel Comics |
| School Trip | 7 | Jerry Craft | Jerry Craft | Quill Tree Books |
| Where the Body Was | 6 | Ed Brubaker | Sean Phillips, Jacob Phillips | Image Comics |
| Brooklyn’s Last Secret | 6 | Leslie Stein | Leslie Stein | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Four Eyes | 6 | Rex Ogle | Dave Valeza, Ash Szymanik | Graphix |
| She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat | 6 | Sakaomi Yuzaki | Sakaomi Yuzaki | Yen Press |
| Minami’s Lover | 6 | Shungicu Uchida | Shungicu Uchida | Fantagraphics |
| I Wish I Was Stupid | 6 | Ebisu Yoshikazu | Ebisu Yoshikazu | Breakdown Press |
| The Great British Bump-Off | 6 | John Allison | Max Sarin, Sammy Borras | Dark Horse |
| Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville | 6 | Joanne Starer | Natacha Bustos, Tamra Bonvillain | DC Comics |
| Tegan and Sara: Junior High | 6 | Tegan Quin, Sara Quin | Tillie Walden | Macmillan |
| Prokaryote Season | 6 | Leo Fox | Leo Fox | Silver Sprocket |
| The Chromatic Fantasy | 6 | H.A. | H.A. | Silver Sprocket |
| Swan Songs | 6 | W. Maxwell Prince | Various | Image Comics |
| Danger Street | 6 | Tom King | Jorge Fornés, Dave Stewart | DC Comics |
| March Comes In Like a Lion | 6 | Chica Umino | Chica Umino | Denpa Books |
| X-Men Red | 6 | Al Ewing | Stefano Caselli, Juann Cabal, Andres Genolet | Marvel Comics |
| Superman vs. Meshi | 6 | Satoshi Miyagawa | Kai Kitago | DC Comics/Kodansha |
| Grace Needs Space! | 6 | Benjamin A. Wilgus | Rii Abrego | Random House Graphic |
| Pet Peeves | 6 | Nicole Goux | Nicole Goux | Avery Hill Publishing |
| The Hard Switch | 6 | Owen D. Pomery | Owen D. Pomery | Avery Hill Publishing |
| Hexagon Bridge | 6 | Richard Blake | Richard Blake | Image Comics |
| Batman: City of Madness | 6 | Christian Ward | Christian Ward | DC Comics |
| Where I’m Coming From | 6 | Barbara Brandon-Croft | Barbara Brandon-Croft | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Anaïs Nin: A Sea of Lies | 6 | Léonie Bischoff | Léonie Bischoff | Fantagraphics |
| Spa | 6 | Erik Svetoft | Erik Svetoft | Fantagraphics |
| Clementine Book Two | 6 | Tillie Walden | Tillie Walden | Image Comics |
| Sensational She-Hulk | 6 | Rainbow Rowell | Andrés Genolet, Dee Cunliffe | Marvel Comics |
| Scarlet Witch | 6 | Steve Orlando | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Poison Ivy | 6 | G. Willow Wilson | Atagun Ilhan, Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto, Ivan Plascencia | DC Comics |
| Chainsaw Man | 6 | Tatsuki Fujimoto | Tatsuki Fujimoto | VIZ Media |
| All Against All | 6 | Alex Paknadel | Caspar Wijngaard | Image Comics |
| Miracleman: The Silver Age | 6 | Neil Gaiman | Mark Buckingham, Jordie Bellaire | Marvel Comics |
| Batcat | 6 | Meggie Ramm | Meggie Ramm | Harry N. Abrams |
| Action Comics | 6 | Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Various | DC Comics |
| Two Tribes | 6 | Emily Bowen Cohen | Emily Bowen Cohen | Heartdrum |
| Barnstormers | 6 | Scott Snyder | Tula Lotay | Dark Horse |
| Dear Mini: A Graphic Memoir | 5 | Natalie Norris | Natalie Norris | Fantagraphics |
| The Penguin | 5 | Tom King | Rafael de Latorre | DC Comics |
| Lo and Behold | 5 | Wendy Mass | Gabi Mendez | Random House Graphic |
| Maple Terrace | 5 | Noah Van Sciver | Noah Van Sciver | Uncivilized Books |
| Proof That the Devil Loves You | 5 | Gilbert Hernandez | Gilbert Hernandez | Fantagraphics |
| The Buildings Are Barking: Diane Noomin in Memoriam | 5 | Bill Griffith | Bill Griffith | Fantagraphics |
| The Heavy Bright | 5 | Cathy Malkasian | Cathy Malkasian | Fantagraphics |
| Where Monsters Lie | 5 | Kyle Starks | Piotr Kowalski, Vladimir Popov, Joshua Reed | Dark Horse |
| Stories from Zoo | 5 | Anand | Anand | Bubbles Zine |
| Insomniacs After School | 5 | Makoto Ojiro | Makoto Ojiro | VIZ Media |
| Watership Down | 5 | Richard Adams, James Sturm | Joe Sutphin | Ten Speed Graphic |
| Choujin X | 5 | Sui Ishida | Sui Ishida | VIZ Media |
| The Night Eaters | 5 | Marjorie Liu | Sana Takeda | Harry N. Abrams |
| I Thought You Loved Me | 5 | MariNaomi | MariNaomi | Fieldmouse Press |
| The Ojja-Wojja | 5 | Magdalene Visaggio | Jenn St-Onge | Balzer + Bray |
| Universal Monsters: Dracula | 5 | James Tynion IV | Martin Simmonds | Image Comics |
| The Mysteries | 5 | Bill Watterson | Bill Watterson, John Kascht | Andrews McMeel Publishing |
| Ephemera: A Memoir | 5 | Briana Loewinsohn | Briana Loewinsohn | Fantagraphics |
| Blue Book Volume 1: 1961 | 5 | James Tynion IV | Michael Avon Oeming | Dark Horse |
| Huda F Cares | 5 | Huda Fahmy | Huda Fahmy | Dial Books |
| Killadelphia | 5 | Rodney Barnes | Jason Shawn Alexander, German Erramouspe, Lee Loughridge | Image Comics |
| The Summer Hikaru Died | 5 | Mokumokuren | Mokumokuren | Yen Press |
| Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century | 5 | Adrian Matejka | Youssef Daoudi | Liveright |
| Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham | 5 | Rafael Grampá | Rafael Grampá, Steve Buccellato, Mat Lopes | DC Comics |
| Detective Comics | 5 | Ram V, Simon Spurrier | Rafael Albuquerque, Dani, Hayden Sherman, Dave Stewart, Nick Filardi | DC Comics |
| It’s Jeff! | 5 | Kelly Thompson | Gurihiru | Marvel Comics |
| Asadora! | 5 | Naoki Urasawa | Naoki Urasawa | VIZ Media |
| Love and Rockets | 5 | Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez | Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez | Fantagraphics |
| Earthdivers | 5 | Stephen Graham Jones | Davide Gianfelice and Joana LaFuente | IDW Publishing |
| Eight Billion Genies | 5 | Charles Soule | Ryan Browne | Image Comics |
| Squire & Knight | 5 | Scott Chantler | Scott Chantler | First Second |
| Monstress | 5 | Marjorie Liu | Sana Takeda | Image Comics |
| Hoops | 5 | Matt Tavares | Matt Tavares | Candlewick |
| Shazam! | 5 | Mark Waid | Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez | DC Comics |
| Alison | 5 | Lizzy Stewart | Lizzy Stewart | Fantagraphics |
Regarding Publishers:
The biggest surprise this year was the 110 self-published books that made the list. That’s more than double the number of self-published books that appeared last year.
There was a tie for the publisher with the most number of books being picked.
DC squeaked into first place with 93 books picked.
Image came in 2nd with 92 books.
Marvel came in 3rd with 79 books.
Fantagraphics came in 4th with 58 books.
Dark Horse came in 5th with 53 books.
The most popular webcomic picked was Darlin’ and Her Other Names by Olivia Stephens and After School Lessons for Unripe Apples by Soonkki, Maengin, Yulpi tied at 3 picks each. Returning to the list for the 3rd time is Batman: Wayne Family Adventures by CRC Payne, StarBite, Maria Li and Lan Ma with 2 picks this year. Also getting 2 picks were Questionable Content by Jeph Jacques, Eleceed by Jeho Son & ZHENA Studio, To Be An Actor by Kimhaema, Gogwang & 2:00, Nap Comix by Rachael Smith and What We Mean By Yesterday by Benjamin Marra.
Caveats:
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 n/a but the practice of not crediting writers is a shameful one. Although for libraries I understand fully if the Librarians picking the books want to remain anonymous due to the threatening, targeted climate in the United States.
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, or they had a list of GNs only and put a GN on a otherwise list of prose books. I did find there were more lists like that this year, which was one of the reasons it took me this long to finish this. Many YA prose books have Graphic Novel looking covers and I need to examine previews to determine if it’s comics or not. If this continues to be the trend I may need to just focus on GN/Comics only lists.
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. Where the translators were credited (without me having to really dig for it) are mentioned on column G of the data. The same goes for the editors of anthologies.
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 2022 or earlier. Normally the amount of times these books were mentioned isn’t significant. Often (but not always) the work was published again in a new collected edition and that is what the reviewer picked.
Most of the lists were general ‘best/favourite books’ of 2023, 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:
I also feel the need to give a shout out to James Tynion IV who had 2 books in the top 5 with The Department of Truth (also on last year’s list) and The Nice House on the Lake. He also by far had the highest number of reviewers (or groups of reviewers) at 83, picking one of his 9 books this year. Chip Zdarsky had more books picked at 12, with 1 book being co-written by Donny Cates. Also doing well was Jeff Lemire with 11 books total with 2 being co-written.