swap_horiz Essex County Alternatives

1

Palomar (Heartbreak Soup)

Palomar is a fictional Central American town created by Gilbert Hernandez in the 1980s, serving as the influential setti...

Magical Realism Literary Fantagraphics Latinx

9.2 Excellent

2

Daytripper

Daytripper is a 2010 graphic novel by Brazilian twin brothers Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá that explores mortality through...

Literary DC Vertigo Fabio Moon Gabriel Ba

8.8 Great

3

Clyde Fans

Created by Canadian cartoonist Seth, this literary graphic novel details the decades-long decline of a fictional oscilla...

Family Melancholy Literary Drawn And Quarterly

8.8 Great

4

March (Trilogy)

March is a graphic novel trilogy by John Lewis, published from 2013 to 2016, detailing the civil rights leader's firstha...

History Nonfiction Civil Rights Shelf

8.7 Great

5

Building Stories

Building Stories is a 2012 graphic novel by American cartoonist Chris Ware, uniquely published as a boxed set of various...

Experimental Literary Pantheon Chris Ware

8.6 Great

6

It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken

Published in 1996 by Canadian cartoonist Seth, this graphic novel follows a man's obsessive search for an obscure mid-ce...

Nostalgia Literary Memoir Drawn And Quarterly

8.6 Great

7

Black Hammer

A superhero comic series created by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston in 2016, exploring a group of trapped heroes in a myste...

Literary Superhero Deconstruction Jeff Lemire

8.5 Great

8

The Underwater Welder

A 2012 graphic novel by Jeff Lemire about a deep-sea diver facing supernatural occurrences and personal ghosts while wor...

Psychological Literary Fatherhood Shelf

8.4 Great

9

Ice Haven

Ice Haven is a 2005 graphic novel by Daniel Clowes that interweaves multiple character perspectives to portray a darkly...

Experimental Crime Literary Pantheon

8.0 Great

10

Royal City

An independent comic series by Jeff Lemire launched in 2017 that follows a dysfunctional family haunted by their past in...

Ghost Drama Family Jeff Lemire

8.0 Great

11

George Sprott

Created by Canadian cartoonist Seth, this 2009 graphic novel pieces together the fragmented memories of an aging, fading...

Melancholy Literary Biography Drawn And Quarterly

8.0 Great

12

Skim (Jillian & Mariko Tamaki)

Created by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki in 2008, this coming-of-age graphic novel follows a Japanese-Canadian teena...

Canada Teen Lgbtq+ Drawn And Quarterly

8.0 Great

13

Habibi

Habibi is a 2011 graphic novel by American cartoonist Craig Thompson, noted for its intricate artwork and exploration of...

Epic Literary Middle Eastern Pantheon

7.9 Good

14

Alice in Sunderland

A 2007 graphic novel by Bryan Talbot that explores the local history of Sunderland, England, and its potential connectio...

Experimental British Literary Dark Horse

7.9 Good

15

Logicomix

Logicomix is a 2009 graphic novel by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou, exploring the foundations of mathema...

Mathematics Literary Greek Biography

7.8 Good

16

Lost Girls

Lost Girls is a controversial 2006 erotic graphic novel by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie that reimagines the adult lives...

Fairy Tale Literary Erotic Shelf

7.7 Good

17

Boundless

Published in 2017 by Jillian Tamaki, this anthology graphic novel collects short stories exploring modern anxieties, rel...

Experimental Literary Anthology Drawn And Quarterly

7.5 Good

18

Mail Order Bride

Published in 2001 by Mark Kalesniko, this adult graphic novel examines a lonely man who orders a Russian bride, explorin...

Drama Immigrant Literary Fantagraphics

7.0 Good

19

Push (Sapphire)

Published in 1996 by Sapphire, this literary novel follows an abused, illiterate teenager in Harlem who struggles to imp...

Drama Sapphire Novel Literary

6.8 Fair

20

Girl in Landscape

A science fiction coming-of-age graphic novel about a young girl whose family settles on an alien frontier planet, explo...

Sci Fi Coming Of Age Novel Literary

6.5 Fair