The Best Comic Books You Definitely Must Read

book on desk
by CJ McDaniel // April 12  

Not all stories are best told with the written word. A bridge between novels and comic books, graphic novels tell some of the darkest, most imaginative stories out there today. You might’ve even seen some comic books come alive on the big screen, like Avengers, Captain Marvel, Batman and the likes. Comic books are certainly a type of timeless art with a story twist.

What Did These Comic Books Do To Qualify For This List

Any time you are ranking the best of something the results are usually somewhat subjective but we have did our best to come up with a list the readers of comic books will truly like. To come up with this list we took into account:

  • quantity and quality of user reviews
  • sales data
  • public perception
  • opinions of readers of this genres
  • commercial success
  • and of course personal opinion

Take a look at the best Comic Books you can read right now:

Table of Contents

Best Comic Books

Here are the best comic books by the experts:

1)Captain Marvel Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More by Kelly Sue DeConnick

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:One of Marvel’s most beloved Avengers launches into her own ongoing series! Carol Danvers has played many roles in her life; hero, pilot, Avenger, and now, deep-space adventurer! Join Captain Marvel as she attempts to return an alien girl to her home world, and defend the rights of aliens revolting against the Galactic Alliance. Guest-starring Guardians of the Galaxy! Undeniably one of the best comic books ever made!
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2)Civil War 2 by Brian Michael Bendis

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:When a new Inhuman named Ulysses emerges with uncanny precognitive powers, Earth’s protectors must wrestle with the dramatic consequences. And when one of Ulysses’ visions leads to tragedy, an old friendship reaches a breaking point over a devastating loss as longtime teammates Captain Marvel and Iron Man fi nd themselves at odds. What does it mean to be a hero? Is it right to act now on crimes yet to be committed? Do the ends justify the means? And how reliable is Ulysses’ gift? As Avengers, X-Men, Inhumans, Spider-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy and more stand divided between the two figureheads, the battle lines are drawn. And when one of the greatest among them falls, the Marvel Universe is once again set on a path to war – but will the fight for the future leave one worth saving?
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3)Batman Arkham Asylum 25th Anniversary by Grant Morrison

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:The inmates of Arkham Asylum have taken over Gotham’s detention center for the criminally insane on April Fool’s Day, demanding Batman in exchange for their hostages. Accepting their demented challenge, Batman is forced to endure the personal hells of the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two-Face and many other sworn enemies in order to save the innocents and retake the prison. During his run through this absurd gauntlet, the Dark Knight’s must face down both his most dangerous foes and his inner demons.This is the critically acclaimed Batman story that helped launch the U.S. careers of Grant Morrison and Dave McKean.
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4)Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe by Cullen Bunn

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:What if everything you thought was funny about Deadpool was actually just disturbing? What if he decided to kill everyone and everything that makes up the Marvel Universe? What if he actually pulled it off? Would that be FUN for you? The Merc with a Mouth takes a turn for the twisted in a horror comic like no other!
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5)Blackest Night by Geoff Johns

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:The prophecy of the Blackest Night has come to pass–a mysterious force is raising deceased heroes and villains into an army of undead Black Lanterns! The combined might of the Green Lantern Corps and an armada of living superbeings must now band together in a fight quite literally for their lives. The incredible graphic novel story from #1 New York Times bestselling writer Geoff Johns is collected here in Blackest Night!Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War between the different colored Lantern Corps rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends and it’s up to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps to lead DC’s greatest champions in a battle to save the Universe from an army of undead Black Lanterns made up of fallen Green Lanterns and DC’s deceased heroes and villains.The creative team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (Superman) comes together here for one of the most action-packed, unforgettable sagas ever.
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6)Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1: Vader by Kieron Gillen

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:The original Dark Lord of the Sith stars in his first ongoing series! Ever since Darth Vader’s first on-screen appearance, he has become one of pop-culture’s most popular villains. Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of A NEW HOPE (and the pages of the new STAR WARS comic book) into his own solo adventures — showing the Empire’s war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! But when a Dark Lord needs help, who can he turn to? As Vader pursues a very personal vengeance against the Rebels and investigates the Emperor’s secret machinations, he clashes with weapons scavenger Aphra and deadly Battle Droids, and returns to Geonosis to build an army. But some very powerful people don’t want him to learn the truths he seeks! Guest-starring Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett and more!
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7)Deadpool Vol. 1 : Secret Invasion by Daniel Way

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:The Skrulls are here and everything’s gone topsy-turvy but, in Deadpool’s world, that just means it’s Monday! Like it or not, Deadpool may be the only person on the planet who can save us…but who’s to say he wants to?
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8)The Walking Dead Volume 31 by Robert Kirkman

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:Rick leads the Commonwealth’s Governor, Pamela Milton, on a tour of the various communities Alexandria is aligned with. Naturally… terrible things begin to happen very quickly.
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9)The Umbrella Academy Vol. 1 by Gerard Way

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-three extraordinary children were spontaneously born to women who’d previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, “To save the world.”These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.
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10)Avengers Vs. Thanos by Steve Englehart

  • Best Comic BooksBook Summary:See Thanos’s bid to become a god and lay siege to Earth, with only the Avengers able to stop him.
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Best Comic Book Movies

If you’re a huge fan and you want to see the best comic books come to life on the big screen, we have the best ones listed here for you!

1)Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame

Starring: Starring: Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Evans , Mark Ruffalo , et al.
Directed by: Directed by: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Movie Summary:The fourth installment in the Avengers saga is the culmination of 22 interconnected films and the climax of an epic journey. Earth’s heroes will finally understand how fragile our reality is–and the sacrifices that must be made to uphold it–in a story of friendship, teamwork and setting aside differences to overcome an impossible obstacle.

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2)Wonder Woman

Starring: Starring: Gal Gadot , Chris Pine , Robin Wright and Danny Huston
Directed by: Patty Jenkins

Movie Summary:Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.

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3)300

Starring: Gerard Butler , Lena Headey , David Wenham , et al.
Directed by: Zack Snyder

Movie Summary:‘300’ is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes.

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4)Man of Steel

Starring: Henry Cavill , Amy Adams , Michael Shannon and Kevin Costner
Directed by: Zack Snyder

Movie Summary:A young boy learns he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, when the world is threatened, he must emerge as a hero and the symbol of hope for all mankind.

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5)The Dark Knight

Starring: Christian Bale , Michael Caine , Heath Ledger and Emma Thomas
Directed by: Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer

Movie Summary:The Dark Knight reunites Christian Bale with director Christopher Nolan and takes Batman across the world in his quest to fight a growing criminal threat known as The Joker.

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Best Comic Book Audio Books

1)Locke & Key by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez, et al.

Book Summary:Audie Award Finalist, Original Work, 2016

Based on the best-selling, award-winning graphic novel series Locke & Key – written by acclaimed suspense novelist Joe Hill (NOS4A2, Horns) and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez – this multicast, fully dramatized audio production brings the images and words to life.

A brutal and tragic event drives the Locke family from their home in California to the relative safety of their ancestral estate in Lovecraft, Massachusetts, an old house with powerful keys and fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. As siblings Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode Locke discover the secrets of the old house, they also find that it’s home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all….

Featuring performances by Haley Joel Osment (Entourage, The Sixth Sense), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Kate Mulgrew (Orange Is the New Black, Star Trek: Voyager), Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez, and Stephen King (The Stand, 11-22-63), as well as a cast of more than 50 voice actors, this audio production preserves the heart-stopping impact of the graphic novel’s astounding artwork through the use of richly imagined sound design and a powerful original score.

Book Reviews: 

2)Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines, Jay Snyder, et al.

Book Summary:It’s been two years since the world ended. Two years since the dead rose and the plague of ex-humanity decimated mankind. For most of that time, the superhero called St. George, formerly known to the world as the Mighty Dragon, has protected the people of Los Angeles at their film-studio-turned-fortress, The Mount. Together with his fellow heroes – Cerberus, Zzzap, and Stealth – he’s tried to give the survivors hope and something like a real life. But the swollen population of The Mount is becoming harder and harder to sustain, and the heroes are feeling the pressure.

Hope arrives in the form of a United States Army battalion, based in a complex a few hundred miles away in Arizona. This is not just any base, however. The men and women of Project Krypton are super-soldiers, designed and created before the outbreak to be better, stronger, and faster than normal humans. They want the heroes and all the people of The Mount to rejoin America and have normal lives again.

But can the military be trusted? And is there even a country left to rejoin? There is a secret at the heart of Project Krypton, and those behind it have an awesome power that will help them keep that secret hidden. The power of Freedom.
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3)Batman: Inferno
by Alex Irvine

Book Summary:Gotham’s never been so scorching, the Joker’s never been more despicable, and Batman’ s never been in such grave danger.

With more than thirty fires raging out of control across the city, Gotham is indeed a hell on earth. But torching the population is small potatoes for the arsonist extraordinaire known as Enfer. The pyromaniac’s mad masterpiece is Arkham Asylum, blazing like a Roman candle and engineered to provide the perfect escape for Arkham’s most infamous inmate, the Joker. But the dire situation goes from bad to beyond monstrous when the archvillain’s path to freedom leads directly to the Dark Knight’s cave.

The Joker believes in striking while the iron is hot . . . and now it’s never been hotter. After all, the diabolical villain has devised the ultimate joke: launch the mother of all crime waves, masquerading as the Caped Crusader himself! With Gotham erupting in flames and its #1 crime fighter fast becoming its #1 enemy, the burning question is: Who’s going to get the last laugh?
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4)Harley Quinn at Super Hero High: DC Super Hero Girls byLisa Yee

Book Summary:Harley Quinn investigates a high-tech carnival in this action-packed new DC Super Hero Girl novel!

Funny girl Harley Quinn loves fighting crime with her classmates like Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl, but she always does it her with own madcap style – and a big mallet! It’s no surprise that Harley can’t resist getting involved in a dance competition and organizing an outrageous battle of the bands. But when a high-tech carnival comes to town, Harley knows that things aren’t what they seem and that only she can get to the bottom of the mystery – and deliver a great punch line while doing it!
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5)Spider-Man 2 by Peter David, Matt Walton, et al.

Book Summary:The amazing adventures of one of the greatest superheroes of all time
continue in Spider-Man 2.

Two years have passed, and Peter Parker struggles to cope with the demands of life as a college student, a Daily Bugle photographer, and a crime-fighting superhero. But it hasn’t gotten any easier. Condemned by the press, tormented by secrets he can never reveal, forced to give up the girl of his dreams—at times the lonely burden of Spider-Man seems almost too great to bear . . . and the temptation to give up grows stronger by the hour.

Enter the archfiend Doc Ock, armed with a lethal invention powerful enough to destroy half the city. If Spider-Man tries to stop Doc Ock, he’ll be placing the lives of those closest to him in mortal danger. If he doesn’t, it could be the end of the Big Apple. With millions of lives hanging in the balance, high about Manhattan’s glittering skyline, Spider-Man confronts his destiny, his fiercest enemy, and himself.
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Conclusion

What do you think about our list of best comic books? If you have another genre that you prefer to read we have probably compiled a list of our favorites for that genre too. So if you are looking for something other than the best comic books you can find other genres here.

About the Author

CJ grew up admiring books. His family owned a small bookstore throughout his early childhood, and he would spend weekends flipping through book after book, always sure to read the ones that looked the most interesting. Not much has changed since then, except now some of those interesting books he picks off the shelf were designed by his company!