The Combined Best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2019!
Over the last few months there have been many, many websites with “Best of 2019” 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 over 208 different URLs with “Best Of” Lists regarding comics and combined them into a spreadsheet. There are almost 3,200 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. 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 |
| House of X/Powers of X | 61 | Jonathan Hickman | Pepe Larraz, R.B. Silva, Marte Gracia | Marvel Comics |
| Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me | 55 | Mariko Tamaki | Rosemary Valero-O’Connell | First Second |
| The Immortal Hulk | 42 | Al Ewing | Joe Bennet | Marvel Comics |
| The Hard Tomorrow | 34 | Eleanor Davis | Eleanor Davis | Drawn & Quarterly |
| They Called Us Enemy | 31 | George Takei, Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott | Harmony Becker | Top Shelf Productions |
| Die | 31 | Kieron Gillen | Stephanie Hans | Image Comics |
| Rusty Brown | 28 | Chris Ware | Chris Ware | Pantheon |
| Guts | 28 | Raina Telgemeier | Raina Telgemeier | Graphix |
| These Savage Shores | 26 | Ram V | Sumit Kumar | Vault Comics |
| Little Bird | 25 | Darcy Van Poelgeest | Ian Bertram | Image Comics |
| New Kid | 24 | Jerry Craft | Jerry Craft | Quill Tree Books |
| DCeased | 24 | Tom Taylor | Trevor Hairsine, Neil Edwards | DC Comics |
| Are You Listening? | 23 | Tillie Walden | Tillie Walden | First Second |
| When I Arrived At The Castle | 22 | Emily Carroll | Emily Carroll | Koyama Press |
| The River at Night | 22 | Kevin Huizenga | Kevin Huizenga | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Once & Future | 21 | Kieron Gillen | Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain | BOOM! Studios |
| Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen | 20 | Matt Fraction | Steve Lieber | DC Comics |
| Clyde Fans | 20 | Seth | Seth | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Spider-Man: Life Story | 19 | Chip Zdarsky | Mark Bagley | Marvel Comics |
| Daredevil | 19 | Chip Zdarsky | Marco Checchetto, Lalit Kumar Sharma, & Jorge Fornes | Marvel Comics |
| Criminal | 19 | Ed Brubaker | Sean Phillips | Image Comics |
| Stargazing | 19 | Jen Wang | Jen Wang | First Second |
| Green Lantern | 18 | Grant Morrison | Liam Sharp | DC Comics |
| Hot Comb | 18 | Ebony Flowers | Ebony Flowers | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Bloom | 18 | Kevin Panetta | Savanna Ganucheau | First Second |
| Is This How You See Me? | 17 | Jaime Hernandez | Jaime Hernandez | Fantagraphics |
| Gender Queer | 17 | Maia Kobabe | Maia Kobabe | Lion Forge |
| BTTM FDRS | 17 | Ezra Claytan Daniels | Ben Passmore | Fantagraphics |
| Silver Surfer: Black | 16 | Donny Cates | Tradd Moore & Dave Stewart | Marvel Comics |
| Middlewest | 16 | Skottie Young | Jorge Corona | Image Comics |
| Gideon Falls | 16 | Jeff Lemire | Andrea Sorrentino | Image Comics |
| Kid Gloves | 16 | Lucy Knisley | Lucy Knisley | Fantagraphics |
| This Was Our Pact | 16 | Ryan Andrews | Ryan Andrews | First Second |
| Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations | 15 | Mira Jacob | Mira Jacob | One World |
| Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass | 15 | Mariko Tamaki | Steve Pugh | DC Comics |
| Naomi | 14 | Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker | Jamal Campbell | DC Comics |
| Pumpkinheads | 14 | Rainbow Rowell | Faith Erin Hicks | First Second |
| Queen of the Sea | 14 | Dylan Meconis | Dylan Meconis | Walker Books |
| Bitter Root | 14 | David F. Walker, Chuck Brown | Sanford Greene | Image Comics |
| Crowded | 14 | Christopher Sebela | Ro Stein, Ted Brandt | Image Comics |
| Mister Miracle | 13 | Tom King | Mitch Gerads | DC Comics |
| Making Comics | 12 | Lynda Barry | Lynda Barry | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Batman: Last Knight On Earth | 12 | Scott Snyder | Greg Capullo | DC Comics |
| The Wicked + The Divine | 12 | Kieron Gillen | Jamie Mckelvie, Matt Wilson | Image Comics |
| Invisible Kingdom | 11 | G. Willow Wilson | Christian Ward, Christian Ward | Dark Horse Comics |
| Pittsburgh | 11 | Frank Santoro | Frank Santoro | New York Review Books |
| Paper Girls | 11 | Brian K. Vaughan | Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson | Image Comics |
| Best Friends | 11 | Shannon Hale | LeUyen Pham | First Second |
| Witch Hat Atelier | 11 | Kamome Shirahama | Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics |
| Giant Days | 11 | John Allison | Max Sarin | BOOM! Studios |
| Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man | 10 | Tom Taylor | Juan Cabal | Marvel Comics |
| Lois Lane | 10 | Greg Rucka | Mike Perkin | DC Comics |
| Something Is Killing the Children | 10 | James Tynion IV | Werther Dell’edera, Miquel Muerto | BOOM! Studios |
| Assassin Nation | 10 | Kyle Starks | Erica Henderson | Image Comics |
| Superman Smashes The Klan | 10 | Gene Luen Yang | Gurihiru | DC Comics |
| Murder Falcon | 10 | Daniel Warren Johnson | Daniel Warren Johnson | Image Comics |
| X-Men | 9 | Jonathan Hickman | Leinil Francis Yu | Marvel Comics |
| Batman: Curse of the White Knight | 9 | Sean Murphy | Sean Murphy | DC Comics |
| Second Coming | 9 | Mark Russell | Cayetano Valenzuela, Richard Pace | Ahoy Comics |
| This Woman’s Work | 9 | Julie Delporte | Julie Delporte | Drawn & Quarterly |
| White Bird | 9 | R.J. Palacio | R.J. Palacio | Knopf Books for Young Readers |
| Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt | 9 | Kieron Gillen | Caspar Wijngaard | Dynamite |
| Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare | 9 | Yuhki Kamatani | Yuhki Kamatani | Seven Seas Entertainment |
| Blackbird | 9 | Sam Humphries | Jen Bartel | Image Comics |
| The Plot | 9 | Tim Daniel, Michael Moreci | Joshua Hixson | Vault Comics |
| The White Trees | 9 | Chip Zdarsky | Kris Anka | Image Comics |
| Kiss Number 8 | 9 | Colleen AF Venable | Ellen T. Crenshaw | First Second |
| Doomsday Clock | 9 | Geoff Johns | Gary Frank, Brad Anderson | DC Comics |
| I Was Their American Dream | 9 | Malaka Gharib | Malaka Gharib | Clarkson Potter |
| Coda | 9 | Simon Spurrier | Matias Bergara | BOOM! Studios |
| Nancy: A Comic Collection | 8 | Olivia James | Olivia James | Andrews McMeel Publishing |
| Absolute Carnage | 8 | Donny Cates | Ryan Stegman | Marvel Comics |
| Mooncakes | 8 | Suzanne Walker | Wendy Xu | Oni Press |
| Clue: Candlestick | 8 | Dash Shaw | Dash Shaw | IDW Publishing |
| Leaving Richard’s Valley | 8 | Michael DeForge | Michael DeForge | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Captain Marvel | 8 | Kelly Thompson | Lee Garbett, Carmen Carnero, James Stokoe, Annapaola Martello | Marvel Comics |
| Ascender | 8 | Jeff Lemire | Dustin Nguyen | Image Comics |
| Ice Cream Man | 8 | W. Maxwell Prince | Martin Morazzo | Image Comics |
| Batman | 8 | Tom King | Various | DC Comics |
| Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey | 8 | Akiko Higashimura | Akiko Higashimura | Seven Seas Entertainment |
| Cats Of The Louvre | 8 | Taiyo Matsumoto | Taiyo Matsumoto | VIZ Media |
| The Okay Witch | 8 | Emma Steinkellner | Emma Steinkellner | Aladdin Books |
| Grass | 8 | Keum Suk Gendry-Kim | Keum Suk Gendry-Kim | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Bad Gateway | 8 | Simon Hanselmann | Simon Hanselmann | Fantagraphics |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 7 | Jordie Bellaire | Dan Mora, Raul Angulo | BOOM! Studios |
| Harleen | 7 | Stjepan Sejic | Stjepan Sejic | DC Comics |
| Marauders | 7 | Gerry Duggan | Matteo Lolli | Marvel Comics |
| Road of Bones | 7 | Rich Douek | Alex Cormack | IDW Publishing |
| Sentient | 7 | Jeff Lemire | Gabriel Walta | TKO Studios |
| Frogcatchers | 7 | Jeff Lemire | Jeff Lemire | Gallery 13 |
| Runaways | 7 | Rainbow Rowell | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Conan the Barbarian | 7 | Jason Aaron | Mahmud Asrar, Gerrardo Zaffino and Garry Brown | Marvel Comics |
| A Fire Story | 7 | Brian Fies | Brian Fies | Harry N. Abrams |
| The Handmaid’s Tale | 7 | Margaret Atwood | Renée Nault | Nan A. Talese |
| Dial H for Hero | 7 | Sam Humphries | Arist Devn, Joe Quinones | DC Comics |
| Sobek | 7 | James Stokoe | James Stokoe | Shortbox |
| Venom | 7 | Donny Cates | Ryan Stegman, Mark Bagley, Iban Coello | Marvel Comics |
| Justice League | 7 | Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV | Jorge Jimenez, Francis Manapul | DC Comics |
| In Waves | 7 | A.J. Dungo | A.J. Dungo | Nobrow |
| Waves | 7 | Ingrid Chabbert | Carole Maurel | Archaia |
| Komi Can’t Communicate | 6 | Tomohito Oda | Tomohito Oda | VIZ Media |
| Ironheart | 6 | Eve Ewing | Lucian Vecchio | Marvel Comics |
| The Batman Who Laughs | 6 | Scott Snyder | Jock, David Baron | DC Comics |
| Money Shot | 6 | Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie | Rebekah Isaacs | Vault Comics |
| King Thor | 6 | Jason Aaron | Esad Ribić, Ive Svorcina | Marvel Comics |
| Snow, Glass, Apples | 6 | Neil Gaiman | Colleen Doran | Dark Horse Comics |
| Sabrina the Teenage Witch | 6 | Kelly Thompson | Veronica Fish | Archie Comics |
| Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America | 6 | Box Brown | Box Brown | First Second |
| Bradley of Him | 6 | Connor Willumsen | Connor Willumsen | Koyama Press |
| The War of the Realms | 6 | Jason Aaron | Russell Dauterman | Marvel Comics |
| Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel | 6 | Rey Terciero | Bre Indigo | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Fearscape | 6 | Ryan O’Sullivan | Andrea Mutti | Vault Comics |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 6 | Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz | Various | IDW Publishing |
| East of West | 6 | Jonathan Hickman | Nick Dragotta | Image Comics |
| Thor | 6 | Jason Aaron | Mike del Mundo | Marvel Comics |
| The Walking Dead | 6 | Robert Kirkman | Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn | Image Comics |
| Off Season | 6 | James Sturm | James Sturm | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Copra | 6 | Michel Fiffe | Michel Fiffe | Image Comics |
| Sara | 6 | Garth Ennis | Steve Epting, Elizabeth Breitweiser | TKO Studios |
| The Drifting Classroom HC | 5 | Kazuo Umezz | Kazuo Umezz | VIZ Media |
| Outer Darkness | 5 | John Layman | Afu Chan | Image Comics |
| Angel | 5 | Bryan Edward Hill | Gleb Melnikov, Gabriel Cassata | BOOM! Studios |
| Internet Crusader | 5 | George Wylesol | George Wylesol | Avery Hill Publishing |
| X-Force | 5 | Benjamin Percy | Joshua Cassara | Marvel Comics |
| Far Sector | 5 | N.K. Jemisin | Jamal Campbell | DC Comics |
| Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame | 5 | Erin Williams | Erin Williams | Harry N. Abrams |
| For Real | 5 | James Romberger | James Romberger | Uncivilized Books |
| Bezimena | 5 | Nina Bunjevac | Nina Bunjevac | Fantagraphics |
| How I Tried To Be A Good Person | 5 | Ulli Lust | Ulli Lust | Fantagraphics |
| Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #6 | 5 | James Tynion IV | Freddie E. Williams I, Jeremy Colwell, Kevin Eastman | IDW Publishing |
| Meet the Skrulls | 5 | Robbie Thompson | Marcos Martin | Marvel Comics |
| Kramer’s Ergot #10 | 5 | Various | Various | Fantagraphics |
| Faithless | 5 | Brian Azzarello | Maria Llovet | BOOM! Studios |
| Bury the Lede | 5 | Gaby Dunn | Claire Roe | BOOM! Studios |
| Excellence | 5 | Brandon Thomas | Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez | Image Comics |
| Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival | 5 | Various | Various | Harry N. Abrams |
| The Unstoppable Wasp | 5 | Jeremy Whitley | Gurihiru | Marvel Comics |
| Cannonball | 5 | Kelsey Wroten | Kelsey Wroten | Uncivilized Books |
| Usagi Yojimbo | 5 | Stan Sakai | Stan Sakai | IDW Publishing |
| The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 4: The Tempest | 5 | Alan Moore | Kevin O’Neill | Top Shelf Productions |
| Amazing Spider-Man | 5 | Nick Spencer, Clay Chapman, Zeb Wells, Keaton Patti | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Reincarnation Stories | 5 | Kim Deitch | Kim Deitch | Fantagraphics |
| Penny Nichols | 5 | M.K. Reed, Greg Means | Matt Wiegle | Top Shelf Productions |
| Grip | 5 | Lale Westvind | Lale Westvind | Perfectly Acceptable Press |
| Wasted Space | 5 | Michael Moreci | Hayden Sherman | Vault Comics |
| I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi | 5 | Gina Siciliano | Gina Siciliano | Fantagraphics |
| American Carnage | 5 | Bryan Hill | Leandro Fernandez | DC Comics |
| Beastars | 5 | Paru Itagaki | Paru Itagaki | VIZ Media |
| Alienation | 5 | Inés Estrada | Inés Estrada | Fantagraphics |
| Swimming In Darkness | 5 | Lucas Harari | Lucas Harari | Arsenal Pulp Press |
| Monstress | 5 | Marjorie Liu | Sana Takeda | Image Comics |
| Operatic | 5 | Kyo Maclear | Byron Eggenschwiler | Groundwood Books |
| Skip | 5 | Molly Mendoza | Molly Mendoza | Nobrow |
| Creation | 5 | Sylvia Nickerson | Sylvia Nickerson | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Pilu of the Woods | 5 | Mai K. Nguyen | Mai K. Nguyen | Oni Press |
| Black Hammer: Age of Doom | 5 | Jeff Lemire | Dean Ormston, Dave Stewart | Dark Horse Comics |
| King of King Court | 5 | Travis Dandro | Travis Dandro | Drawn & Quarterly |
| Cosmoknights | 5 | Hannah Templer | Hannah Templer | Top Shelf Productions |
| Marvel Comics #1000 | 5 | Various | Various | Marvel Comics |
| Friendo | 5 | Alex Paknadel | Martin Simmonds | Vault Comics |
| The Wild Storm | 5 | Warren Ellis | Jon Davis Hunt | DC Comics |
| Canto | 5 | David M. Booher | Drew Zucker | IDW Publishing |
The full spreadsheet with pivot tables for books, writers, artists, publishers and more is available here.
Regarding Publishers:
This year DC Comics was the most popular publisher with 97 different titles.
Marvel was 2nd place with 83 different titles.
Image dropped to 3rd with 78 different titles.
Dark Horse had 43 different titles.
Fantagraphics had 41 different titles.
55 Self-Published books made the list too.
Caveats:
One thing I tried be more consistent with this year was using the imprint name with publishers. In the past I would put EG Raina Telgemeier’s books under the umbrella company name Scholastic instead of it’s imprint name Graphix, then I would put First Second books under imprint name First Second and not their umbrella company name of Macmillan. Now they are all under the imprint name and that applies to comic book publishers as well.
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 Unknown 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. The vast majority of reviewers listed House of X and Powers of X as one series. There were a few odd cases of a reviewer picking a single issue or only one of those series, I’ve listed them as the combined House of X/Powers of X. Also, 4 people chose Bad Weekend: Criminal – I changed it to just Criminal as that’s what most reviewers picked. My apologies to the reviewers of those books.
Some reviewers included books that were published in 2018 or earlier. Normally the amount of times these books were mentioned isn’t significant but this year one book is. Mister Miracle which was popular on last years list (when it was running as a comic book) is also popular on this years list when it was collected and published as a graphic novel.
Most of the lists were general ‘best/favourite books’ of 2019, 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: