The Best Comics and Graphic Novels For Non-Comic Readers

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Comics can be intimidating. I started reading them fairly early, maybe around ten, with a run of the Astonishing X-Men. But even so, having grown up on a diet of Star Wars and superhero movies with my dad, I remember feeling overwhelmed with where to start in the traditional world of comics. There’s so much lore. There are so many issues. Where would you even start?

But comics aren’t just superheroes and century-old lore. Comics are a medium, a way of telling stories. They can be just as diverse as any other art form, with a multitude of genres and styles to choose from. If you think you don’t like comics and graphic novels, maybe you just haven’t found the right one yet. These six recommendations will appeal to even the most reluctant of non-comic readers. Trust me.

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Comics That Are Easy Reading and Require No Prior Knowledge of Comic-Lore

Marvel Meow by Nao Fuji

This adorable graphic novel may be filled with characters from the Marvel canon, but all you really need to know to enjoy this book is: cats > superheroes. No amount of superstrength or mutant abilities can keep the cats in this cute story from getting one over on your favorite superhero, whether that’s Spider-Man or Wolverine.

Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

This webcomic turned graphic novel is one of my all-time favorites, a wonderful slice-of-life story about a figure skater turned hockey player and his teammates at Samwell University. It is the definition of delightful. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Eric “Bittie” Bittle, and I don’t believe for one second you’ll be able to resist his charms any more than his college hockey team or I could.

Stand-Alone Stories That Don’t Require Reading 1,000 Back-Issues

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

In this gorgeous graphic novel, a boy and his mother connect across cultural and language barriers through the fairy tales they both know. Nguyen’s illustrations are achingly gorgeous, and the story is as sweet as it is impactful. It’s the sort of graphic novel where you could frame each page as a work of art.

Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey and Pius Bak

If sweet and cozy stories aren’t so much your thing, this standalone horror graphic novel from the author of Just Like Home and Make Me Better might be more your style. It’s got everything you’d expect from a horror novel, but the addition of artwork allows for a more slasher-style gore factor that only movies can compete with. You might want to read this one on an empty stomach.

Non-Fiction Graphic Novels With Absolutely Zero Superheroes

Liberated: The Radical Art and Life of Claude Cahun by Kaz Rowe

I was first introduced to Kaz Rowe through their YouTube essays about history, but their artistic talents don’t end there. This graphic biography, written and illustrated by Rowe, depicts the incredible life of artist, icon, and Nazi-fighting badass Claude Cahun. If you think all graphic novels and comics are fluff, think again.

Oranges: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Hope, and Palestine by Ahmad Qatato

Exploring generations of his own family’s history, graphic designer Ahmad Qatato traces the roots of his Palestinian heritage back to stories of his grandfather’s beloved orange trees. The story of those trees becomes an important part of their family legacy when his grandparents are forced to become refugees, their children and grandchildren scattered across the globe.

Now that you’ve gotten an idea of where to start with comics and graphic novels, might I also recommend cozy graphic novels (on top of cozy graphic novels—you just can’t go wrong here), adorable animal comics (because why not), and engaging nonfiction comics.

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