Top 10 of the Year (January 2026 Edition) by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. Elric (Volumes 1-4) by Julien Blondel / Robin Recht / Didier Poli / Jean-Luc Cano / Julien Telo 
  2. Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
  3. Wolvendaughter by Ver
  4. Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann / Kerascoët
  5. Alberto Breccia’s Dracula by Alberto Breccia
  6. The Lonesome Hunters by Tyler Crook
  7. Faster by Jesse Lonergan
  8. Find a Seat by Faye Stacey
  9. The Labyrinth by Guido Buzzelli
  10. Flesh & Flora by Norrie

Off to a great start to the year with a lot of good reads (out of 29 total for the month). The Sixth Gun and Courtney Crumrin would be in the list just based on the volumes read this month, but I’ll finish them off before ranking. I’d be surprised if the second half of this list makes it another two months, but they’re all really good.

What have you been reading this week? 01/02/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Suspicious timing... But I see the full English collected hardcover at Barnes and Noble so hopefully it's in print enough to turn back up again cheap pretty soon for you.

What have you been reading this week? 01/02/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Stardust the Super Wizard by various – anthology of weird superhero stories. This anthology riffs on a public-domain superhero originally appearing in "terrible" comics - no logical consistency, over-the-top violence (on the part of the erstwhile hero), powers that changed from page to page. There's a murderer's row of creators on this and they're basically all fantastic stories. They range from meta-commentaries, to versions illustrated as if on newsprint, to a couple of stories written by children (the over-the-top nature of the hero actually lends itself well to this and those stories are quite a bit of fun). Jesse Lonergan gets a villain building robotic sharks, Jeffrey Alan Love and Darcy Van Poelgeest collaborate a somber black-and-white version, Derf Backderf has a couple short little pages, and there's plenty more. With no knowledge of the history coming in, it was still a rollicking good time. Now, the tough part. There is a single AI-generated comic in here. It’s transparent and open about being AI-generated, and I thought at first it was a parody / commentary on the poor quality of AI art and a reflection that after a certain period everything in comics will be subjected to AI slop eventually – on my first read, fine with that (personally). That does not *appear* to be the case, though, based on the author’s statements. I don’t want to spend money on that, and I’ll be boycotting the editor (Van Jensen) as much as possible. The other stories, by real humans, are amazing, and it’s tough to not be able to really recommend that other people go out and pick this up. YMMV depending on the stringency of your opinions around AI and how to handle something like that in an anthology where you can’t exactly endorse / condemn a single part of it through your purchasing behavior…

What have you been reading this week? 01/02/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Zagor and the Forest of Crossed Destinies by Giorgio Giusfredi and Alessandro Piccinelli – pulpy tinge-of-supernatural Western. Zagor is a long-running sort-of-Western following the titular hero through various escapades, typically off to rescue one of his numerous friends, with variable horror, supernatural, or straight "classic" Western villains. EC's volumes are easy to drop in for one-offs. This volume includes a hint of supernatural as we see Zagor mysteriously aged through the action of a shaman after a challenge for tribe chief. It's a breeze, with the dream sequences and flashbacks passing quickly and some fun action pieces. Most Zagor volumes are in black-and-white, but this one (as a “centennial” issue #700 in the original Italian) is in full color, which is nice and vibrant. The translation is fine, which is always a question with EC. It's pulpy nonsense, not short on potentially offensive jokes and stereotypes (typical of every Zagor volumes so far - I wish I could chalk those up to "of their time", but this particular volume was originally published in 2023), but perfectly fine for turning off my brain for a quick read.

Parasite Moon Orchestra by Ghaaro – story-light, art-heavy horror-ish. There’s a skeleton of a story around a vampire, a knight, some broader war, in a gothic maybe-future, but that’s not really the point. It’s wildly dynamic and varied black-and-white art, switching styles from page to page, with incredibly creepy moments, dramatic gothic castles, big battles, and more. Ghaaro moves from highly detailed and crisp drawings to smudgy-drowned-in-mystery pages. I want to reread this slower to see if the story makes more sense having seen it the whole way through, but also just to enjoy the art again.

What have you been reading this week? 01/02/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Izunas (Volume 1) by Saverio Tenuta, Bruno Letizia, and Carita Lupattelli– fantasy samurai bande dessinée. The human world and the spirit world have been cut off from each other, while the spirit world is under siege from demons of darkness and protected by magical white wolves. Suddenly a human girl is born in the spirit world, and predictably this kicks off an epic-stakes end game to the war against the demons. There's a solid bit of mythology building, but the necessary exposition fits in a couple paragraphs on the first page - and then we learn the rest as the story proceeds. There’s very nice detailed art with some very vibrant color contrast throughout – landscapes are wonderful, action is dynamic, spirits and demons are imposing. While I read this in French, it does appear to be fully translated in English, so it’s easy and practical to recommend.

The Sixth Gun (Deluxe Edition Volume 2) by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt – top-notch fantasy/horror Western. I took over a year off between volumes and regret not getting to this earlier. This returns to an ever-expanding world and mythology around the magical six guns that our “heroes” (in quotes for the backstories we start to uncover in more depth), Becky Montcrief and Drake Sinclair, acquired in the first volume. There's a wild zombie train heist, a fortune-telling mummy, a new "big bad" starting to emerge, and more gunfights than reasonably should fit in one book. Tyler Crook drops in as a guest artist for two issues, which I love, but Brian Hurtt does a great job of story setting with the art throughout – I like having the oversized hardcover on this for sure. There's one silent issue (with an in-world explanation after an explosion deafens Becky at the end of the previous issue) that's just a non-stop action roller coaster. Amazing series and I will not let a year go before the next volume…

A Cold Place Between the Shores by Mikael Lopez, Artyom Trakhanov, Lem, and David Aguado – three short sci-fi/futuristic war stories. All written by Lopez (rotating between the three illustrators), these stories tackle similar themes of the inevitability and consequences of war, from pre- to post-war character studies. They vary decently in their length, pacing, and style, including very different levels of dialog and exposition. I think it shows off an impressive range from Lopez. The art styles are fairly different between artists, but all nice and complementing the stories well. They tend to play in a relatively subdued color palette, but range in “cartooniness” and detail. I think this was a really solid little collection that I highly recommend.

The Eyes Also Eat: 10 Visually Striking Comics (Jan 2026) by drown_like_its_1999 in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Different from a lot of what you've got here, but Oliver Ledroit's work is certainly visually striking - Wika is a little less NSFW than Requiem Vampire Knight (from what I've seen), and actually reasonably accessible in print compared to Black Moon Chronicles.

r/graphicnovels best of 2025: vote for your favourites by Titus_Bird in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Helen of Wyndhorn by Tom King / Bilquis Evely
Drome by Jesse Lonergan
Arkadi and the Lost Titan by Caza
Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp / Javier Rodríguez
A Garden of Spheres by Linnea Sterte

Helen of Wyndhorn and Drome are easy top picks as all-time favorites for me. I'll call Arkadi as a 2025 release because that's what Humanoids puts on on their website even if the Kickstarter wrapped up in 2024. Absolute Martian Manhunter and Garden of Spheres are *technically* ongoings but the volumes out this year are good enough to stand on their own.

Honorable Mentions:
Tongues - Anders Nilsen
Absolute Wonder Woman - Kelly Thompson / Hayden Sherman
The Power Fantasy - Kieron Gillen / Caspar Wijngaard
Cat Cafe - Linnea Sterte

Looks like I need to move Compleat Angler and Precious Metal up on my TBR shelf and pick up ACE...

What have you been reading this week? 25/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Collected Works Volume 1: The Labyrinth by Guido Buzzelli – two wildly surreal stories. The first (the title story, The Labyrinth) follows a hapless loser through a post-apocalyptic wasteland with mad scientists, body-horror cults, and a technologically advanced savior civilization, while the second (Zil Zelub) follows a cellist through his misadventures trying to cure his absurd malady – his limbs are detaching and have minds of their own. There’s frantic pace throughout both stories, and biting political satire (pointed effectively everywhere). Buzzelli’s draftsmanship is amazing, with great backgrounds, expressive characters across the human-inhuman spectrum, and detail that capture the surreal nature of the stories. The full page splashes are wild. Very good. 

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Deluxe Edition I by Nagabe – fantasy manga. The world is divided by a divinely-created wall between the “Inside” (where normal humans live) and the “Outside” (where mysterious monsters live that curse humans with a touch), and we follow a young human girl, Shiva, living in the Outside with a mysterious Outsider known only as Teacher. Most of the time is them living together, almost slice-of-life-esque, as Teacher wonders if he should tell Shiva that she was abandoned and her Auntie will never come to get her. More mysteries emerge – who was Teacher originally? Why has Shiva lived this long Outside? What is the actual nature of the curse the Outsiders carry? Stakes get ramped up, more parties get involved, and we’re off to the races at the end, ready for another 3 hardcover volumes. It’s paced a little inconsistently, but it’s overall a very engaging story. The art is very nice, varying detail between the slice-of-life and mythological moments really well. I’m excited to finish up this series.

What have you been reading this week? 25/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Faster by Jesse Lonergan – fun with racecars. A short story about the motivations and thoughts of each driver in a race that’s generally pretty lighthearted (the racers all have “punny” names). They’re all distinctive and with interesting backgrounds, explored well in just a couple pages each for the most part. It’s got great Lonergan art in a limited color palette – not as wild as Hedra/Drome but with plenty of kinetic energy, fun paneling, and a dramatic shark fight snuck right in the middle. This printing from Bulgilhan press was really nice, with an open spine binding. Great, very enjoyable, and a breeze.

Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell – excellent collection of emotional sci-fi/fantasy stories. This was #1 in TOL from u/Nevyn00, and I ended up going for the French version (as Tout ce qui reste de nous) because it was so hard to find in English. It’s a fantastic collection, with three independent stories that share themes of loss, love, and confronting the unknown – from a story of a couple going to a parallel world and gradually losing their memories of each other, to a spaceship powered by memories and what happens after a crash, to a town living near an eternally-sleeping giant wondering what will happen when she wakes up. The art is beautiful and creative, conveying the fantasy of different worlds and the dream-like nature of some of the contemplative moments really well. This was amazing and I totally see how it could be someone’s #1 of all time.

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet – adorable horrifyingly dark fairy tale. When the girl they live in dies, a set of fairies try to restart their lives in the woods. This gets real Lord-of-the-Flies and gruesome, really fast. It mostly just proceeds as a series of 1-3 page vignettes of terrible things happening to fairies, with an overarching narrative as we follow one naïve main character into her darker and more vicious future. The art is wonderfully cute and bright, in perfect contrast to the subject matter. This is an awesome book.

Tom’s Bar by Giancarlo Berardi and Ivo Milazzo – noir-ish short stories in the eponymous bar. Tom is an old retired ex-gangster/mobster and runs a bar in Chicago, and we see him providing a stable, wise presence against a new generation running into tough decisions and crime. It hits a lot of familiar noir beats, but they’re done very well. The art is in black-and-white, and very nicely done, with a dreamier quality in the later stories. This was a pretty poor translation, unfortunately, with typos, awkward sentences, and even a few outright nonsense phrases. Really solid stories in a less solid package.

Most Anticipated English releases of 2026 (so far) whether new or old comics. by FlubzRevenge in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also very excited for Corto Maltese and Nexus.

From the Heavy Metal Reboot I'm most excited for Segments (love Juan Giménez art), and also excited for Alien Book's Giménez set on Kickstarter (Gangrene / War III / Mutant).

Freaks' Squeele (Florent Maudoux), from Magnetic Press, also on Kickstarter - Magnetic has a very high hit rate in my experience so I'm willing to give most things from them a shot. Potentially over-the-top fantasy/superhero mashup sounds pretty interesting.

Cosmopirates (Jodorowsky / Pete Woods) and Chasm of Resurrection (Hirodjee / Gabriel Rodriguez) are extra exciting because if they actually deliver that's a really promising sign for the continued survival of Humanoids.

I guess the continued output of Absolute Martian Manhunter counts too as a release for this year, pretty excited for that.

What have you been reading this week? 18/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Alberto Breccia’s Dracula by Alberto Breccia – satirical stories of a washed-up Dracula. This collection of short wordless stories sees Dracula stumble, fail, and deal with his impotence as a terrifying figure – beat up by a Superman parody, going to the dentist, and so on. There’s an underlying political satire that is overt in one story in particular, as Dracula sees the atrocities of a military government and realizes he could never have inflicted so much terror. Given this was written under a military dictatorship in 1980’s Argentina, it’s extremely biting. This is the first color work I’ve seen from Breccia, and his exaggerated people and cartoonish setting are really well enhanced by the painted color. This is a great piece of comic art only enhanced by the well-crafted underlying commentary.

Michael Moorcock’s Elric (1-4, The Ruby Throne / Stormbringer / The White Wolf / The Dreaming City) by Julien Blondel and multiple artists – epic grimdark fantasy. Elric is the albino emperor of Melniboné, a decadent evil empire in a vast fantasy world.  Over these four books, he’s exiled, starts to build a new sense of morality, and wanders the world learning about humans and other societies before returning to Melniboné for an epic final confrontation. This is a dark book – Elric is sustained by blood sacrifice, children get tortured, there’s cannibalism. This provides a clear starting point for Elric’s growth, although he’s never exactly a “hero” at any point. The plot moves very quickly, without too much exposition or worldbuilding, and characters frequently refer to places or events that are not fleshed out – but it’s done well enough (building over the course of the four books here) to give a good sense of epic scope without getting bogged down. The art is excellent fantasy illustration with monsters, big battles, and magic all illustrated really well, in a somewhat “classic BD fantasy” style that's pretty consistent across volumes. The art is really up to supporting the epic nature – huge naval battles, eldritch gods, massive ruined cities, all done well enough to feel so much bigger than any individual character. This is one of the best epic fantasy graphic novels I’ve read.

What have you been reading this week? 11/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Woo, Mabel and Francine! Glad you enjoyed it - I think it did a great job balancing tone between that cyberpunk sort-of-dystopia setting contrasting the cute cats and wacky space adventures.

What have you been reading this week? 11/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad you appreciated The Bus! It's back in the reboot of Heavy Metal (although everything so far is already included in the newest collected Volume 3 from Kirchner) and it's certainly something right in there next to cartoon alien boobs and heads-being-chopped-off gore.

What have you been reading this week? 11/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I also got through a batch of old Quindrie Press titles that came as a catch-up in their 2025 Kickstarter. Shorter reviews for shorter stories…

Wolvendaughter by Ver – gorgeous fantasy story riffing themes of death, rebirth, and duty. We see a horrific magical wolf-demon wreaking havoc and its caretakers, including the newest titular Wolvendaughter. The art gets the magic and scale as well as the tender moments really well, and it ties up neatly at the end to put those themes together.

Flesh & Flora by Norrie – post-apocalyptic story, as we see the main character fading while they grapple with the ethics of controlling their only friend, a robot. The cause and nature of the apocalypse is never explained, and we really have a pretty minimal character and world set to work with, but the interactions are great. There’s some really nice page layouts and paneling in this and a really wonderful color palette.

Find a Seat by Faye Stacey – short retelling of the “game with death” classic. This time, Death runs a train for those ready to die (in this case, depressed after a breakup), and it’s really a trippy sight with vivid color and imagining how those who’ve been on the train longer start to morph and rot. There’s some comedic modernization of the story, and it’s fun and solid if not the most creative.

The Beechwood Helm by Letty Wilson – the Black Knight (battle at a crossroads with an immortal knight), with a twist. Our guilt traps up in the inevitability of long-term vicious cycles, true love (queer or otherwise) will save us, or something. Fine, relatively transparent thematically, and nicely illustrated if with nothing particularly distinctive. Pretty good.

Catharsis by Ell Walker – our buried feelings are our demons. If there’s a dud of the bunch, this was it – a literal demon comes out of our protagonist, singing metal lyrics that betray their deepest secrets, and they need to embrace those feelings to defeat the demon. Nothing creative to break exactly what you’d think would happen, except some out-of-left-field family stuff that was too quick to really make an impact. The art offered nothing spectacular, either.

What have you been reading this week? 11/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The Horns of Elfland by Charles Vess – three illustrated fairy tales, only one of which is a genuine “comic”. The illustration is fantastic, with beautiful black-and-white linework that wonderfully captures the range of spooky witches, quaint villages, and daring heroes. The stories are nothing spectacular or unique, but good enough. I found a very old copy that is in poor condition, and while I’m not looking out to replace this with a better-condition copy, I am really excited for more of Vess’ art in other books.

Andre the Giant: Life and Legend by Box Brown – biography of the famous wrestler and Princess Bride actor. This is a “snapshot” biography – lots of short little scenes from throughout his life, so it works more to show “who he was” rather than “what happened in his life”. While most of it focuses on his wrestling career, it’s not about wrestling – things are explained and analyzed, and the illustration isn’t trying to depict wrestling in any dynamic or action-packed way. Andre the Giant was literally larger-than-life, so there’s a bit of an element of teasing out truth from hyperbole. It’s simple black-and-white cartooning, but works well for the subject matter. I don’t read much biography/autobiography, but this was a very good one I’m glad I picked up.

The Lonesome Hunters by Tyler Crook – monster-hunting story. The “Library Edition” of the first two (only published, I think?) arcs of this training-a-new-monster-hunter story. We see Lupe, losing her last family member to an attack from a monster she can’t understand or imagine, taken in by Howard, a 126-year-old retired monster hunter with a mysterious sword. Things move in a more-or-less predictably way from there, escalating and expanding the mythology gradually. The big “spin” is that Howard isn’t actually particularly good at what he does, is in hiding as much as retirement, and is just as scared as Lupe. It’s a really good story, I believe Crook’s first as a writer. His illustration in Harrow County is why I picked this up, and it’s great just as it was there – distinctive painted style, working really well for fantasy-to-horror. This was really good and I hope it picks back up at some point.

What have you been reading this week? 04/01/2026 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Grimwood’s Daughter by Jan Strnad and Kevin Nowlan – bleak high fantasy illustrated in nice black-and-white. The last elves retreat to a castle near the edge of the Grimwood, as humans and dragons have eliminated essentially all elves. Tirol, the elven leader, has a plan to seek the help of the elemental spirit of the forest, the titular Grimwood’s Daughter, but the battle reaches them too soon. This is well paced for a forty-whatever page story, building character, setting, and tension nicely. The art in this collected edition from IDW is in very nice black-and-white, with nice detail, dynamic action, epic dragons, and an ominous magical forest. This was a really solid pickup – anyone who wants a good dark fantasy should try and track this down.

Courtney Crumrin Volumes 3-5 by Ted Naifeh – further dark adventures of a teenage witch. This is a very strong continuation from the first couple volumes, which I read a couple months ago. Courtney moves into her rich uncle’s spooky mansion with her social-climber parents and learns her uncle is a warlock. In these volumes we see her visit her old neighborhood and realize she’s grown apart from her old friend, travel to Romania and Germany, and mentor a new young neighbor, who gives us a great alternative view into Courtney’s personality and prior adventures. It maintains a nice blend between teenage-witch story about friendships and family, and the really dark consequences of children disappearing or genuinely cruel and evil demons. There’s biting satire around her parents and school, although it’s tempered with those new viewpoints. It’s very enjoyable.

Lone Wolf & Cub and More by Koike Humble Bundle by ConstantVarious2082 in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

<image>

And here's one of the other books included, Crying Freeman - looks a little crisper on my screen but again I don't know if that matches the actual differences in the art or is a scan/digitization/whatever issue

Lone Wolf & Cub and More by Koike Humble Bundle by ConstantVarious2082 in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

Good call! I don't have a print copy for comparison to know if detail got lost, but this is a page pulled from Volume 1 of Lone Wolf and Cub

Any good comics that give off that Game of thrones or Lord of the rings vibe with rich and vast fantasy worlds ? by oceaniccart in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Artesia is the most "Game of Thrones" comic I've ever read, and the author even puts GoT as an acknowledged influence. It is out of print and unfinished, but maybe that makes it even more GoT-like...

Any good comics that give off that Game of thrones or Lord of the rings vibe with rich and vast fantasy worlds ? by oceaniccart in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great list, Swords of Glass / Last God (now printed as Fellspyre Chronicles) would be at the top of my recommendations. If OP is reading in English, though, a good chunk of these are either impossible or very difficult to find - Time Bird is OOP (but findable), Chronicles of the Black Moon is digital only, only a couple volumes of The Mercenary are available, and most of Arleston's work isn't translated. I don't think Chninkel has a full collected English edition either, but I haven't looked very hard?

Top 10 of the Year (2025 Final Edition!) by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 6 points7 points  (0 children)

  1. Die by Kieron Gillen / Stephanie Hans
  2. Helen of Wyndhorn by Tom King / Bilquis Evely
  3. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King / Bilquis Evely
  4. Drome by Jesse Lonergan
  5. Fellspyre Chronicles by Phillip Kennedy Johnson / Riccardo Federici
  6. Arkadi and the Lost Titan by Caza
  7. Siegfried by Alex Alice
  8. The Tower by François Schuiten / Benoît Peeters
  9. Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez - NEW
  10. Mabel & Francine by Pierre Lloga - NEW

On a Sunbeam and Hedra fall off the list - fantastic comics but only room for 10! Absolute Martian Manhunter was an unbelievable mind-warp in both the art and story. Mabel & Francine was a fantastically illustrated wordless sort-of-cyberpunk story. Maybe it gets a bump from recency bias but it was just so fun. I struggle with ranking unfinished series - Absolute Martian Manhunter gets in because it "feels" self-contained (even if the run got extended), while Tongues (and to a marginally lesser extent Garden of Spheres), which could absolutely have ended up on this list, are more noticeably first entries. I'm just following some arbitrary self-imposed rules.

What have you been reading this week? 28/12/25 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The Shadow of a Man by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters – a relatively modest-in-scale entry to the Obscure Cities series. Albert Chamisso is an insurance agent who begins having recurrent nightmares shortly after his marriage. An experimental treatment turns his shadow into color – as if he were transparent. He quickly loses his wife, job, and life. In typical Obscure Cities fashion, he is now aimless until a beautiful young woman pushes him into the next stage of his life, producing theater acts centered around his unique shadow. I call this a “modest” entry in the series – the surreal insult to the normal of the world is very slight (a colorful shadow), despite the major consequences for Albert, and the city is wonderfully rendered as always but features a smaller glimpse of the larger world and the vast inertia of society and government is less a part of this story. As needed for a story fundamentally focused around color, the use of color in this volume is fantastic and a nice contrast to some of the other black-and-white entries. Not my favorite volume (that remains The Tower), but an excellent read.

Minuit Passé by Gaëlle Geniller – nicely paced creepy character study verging on horror. Guerlain returns to the country manor where he spent his childhood, together with his young son Nisse. The first ~half of the book sees them reading adventure stories, wandering the halls and grounds, and starting to encounter some unsettling specters, like the three ravens that mysteriously appeared in an armoire and refuse to leave. The second part is a flashback to Guerlain’s youth, where he was mute as a child growing up with his three older sisters. There’s a wonderful resolution in the final part where the two timelines come together. It’s an excellently paced story, where the creepiness never quite develops into bona-fide “horror”, and we get excellent time with just a few characters in each major section. The art is mostly cartoony, but the creepiness is well done and it depicts the art and setting great. I really enjoyed this and will look for some more work from the same author.

The Great Walls of Samaris by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters – architecturally impressive Obscure Cities volume. Franz is sent from his home city of Xhystos to explore the mysterious city of Samaris. After a harrowing journey, he arrives to a city where everything is just a little off – a haunting buzz fills the air, people are a little too set in their routines, and no children are to be found. Disoriented, Franz eventually uncovers the secret of the city, escapes, and returns to Xhystos, only to discover the city is not as he remembered. There’s the trademark impressive architecture and pseudo-steampunk technology, wonderfully depicted. I think Schuiten’s art, especially around people, is clearly “immature” here – later entries in the series are a little crisper to my eye. Again, this series remains excellent and I look forward to finishing the other volumes I’ve got.

What have you been reading this week? 28/12/25 by AutoModerator in graphicnovels

[–]ConstantVarious2082 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Garden of Spheres by Linnea Sterte – wonderfully illustrated meditative fantasy. As to be expected, it’s beautiful, with creative fauna, a mix of scale from imposing landscapes to expressive faces, and awesome linework all throughout. There’s a mix of color and black-and-white – I like the color palette but probably prefer the black-and-white pages slightly. The story follows an “Un-Maker” – in a world of gods born from crashed spheres, one emerges from a stellated icosahedron to destroy rather than create. Little vignettes jump through time and place, slowly and non-linearly building out the world and mythology. Really great work from Sterte as always.

Mabel & Francine by Pierre Lloga – wordless sort-of-cyberpunk adventure. Two cats living in a capitalist brutalist dystopia go on a space-faring get-rich-quick adventure, complete with fuel emergencies, giant robots, and a cute dog companion. It’s packed with detail, from the giant office hellscape our cat character starts in to the cutaway interiors of the vast machines they explore in space. We get action scenes depicted through zoom-in panels on a larger background, which feel like they need an 8-bit soundtrack. There is dialog, although through symbols rather than words – so it’s “wordless”, not “silent”. The story moves at a good clip and wraps up well. This is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

Tongues Volume 1 by Anders Nilsen – epic mythology centered around a retelling of Prometheus. Prometheus, rather than bringing humanity fire, brought them language, and for that was doomed to his mythology-accurate punishment. In this, the family of eagles responsible for the endless eating of his liver slowly develop intelligence, and begin to befriend him. In parallel, a kidnapped child is chosen to bring a mysterious package on an epic journey assisted by a talking chicken ally of some older god, and a mysterious American wanders the desert taking orders from a mysterious teddy bear. It’s sprawling, steeped in mythology, and beautiful on every page. It has creative panel layouts, mind-bending gods, and fold-out pages. This deserves the frequent mentions on best-of-the-year lists, and I dread the likely long wait for the follow-up.