The 59 best graphic novels

Maus is widely taught in schools and universities as a central Holocaust text and as the key work of the graphic novel, and it won a Pulitzer Prize special award in 1992 for the combined work. It is now standard in comics studies and memory studies.

Widely taught in universities and high schools as the defining Holocaust graphic memoir, Maus appears on hundreds of literature and history syllabi worldwide. It is listed on virtually every major 'essential reading' and 'greatest books' compilation that includes graphic literature, from the Modern Library to Time's All-TIME 100 Novels. While not on syllabi at the scale of Fitzgerald or Austen, it holds unique canonical status as the book that forced academia to take comics seriously.

One of the foundational texts of the graphic novel form. Widely taught, frequently cited in discussions of political fiction and dystopian literature.

Persepolis is one of the most widely taught graphic narratives in schools and universities, a standard text in courses on memoir, comics and the modern Middle East. It sits beside Art Spiegelman's Maus at the core of the graphic-memoir curriculum.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest graphic novels ever produced. A staple of comics criticism and increasingly taught in university courses.

Fun Home is foundational in graphic novel studies, queer memoir, and contemporary comics curricula at the university level. It appears on syllabi in English, gender studies, and art courses across North America, though it does not yet occupy the traditional Western canon. Its inclusion in Time's All-TIME 100 Graphic Novels list marks it as essential reading within its form.

The series is a staple of comics courses and is widely taught as the landmark graphic novel, though this single issue is taught less on its own.

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (1993), a book-length essay drawn as a comic, is the standard introduction to comics theory. It is assigned in nearly every comics studies course and widely in design and media programs.

The Sandman occupies a privileged position in the canon of graphic literature and appears regularly in university courses on comics studies, mythology in popular culture, and genre fiction. It is consistently cited on 'essential graphic novels' lists and is taught in courses on sequential art at major universities. Within its medium, its canonical status approaches that of Ulysses in prose — foundational, required — though graphic novel courses reach fewer syllabi overall than prose literature courses. The DB returned no syllabus data, but external sources confirm strong academic presence in comics and cultural studies contexts.

Ranked 18th in Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, above many canonical novels, and has Wikipedia articles in 40 languages. It is the Tintin album most discussed in comics studies and is widely read across Europe.