Days of ‘graphic novels are only for children’ are gone.
Combining literature with comic art gives you graphic novels for adults. But you should not be ashamed to read graphic books as adults. Yes, we all have our guilty pleasures and this is one of them.
Thus, below we give you a list of the best graphic novels that even adults can read.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
A graphic memoir, Bechdel narrates the story of her relationship with her late father and the secrets that saw the light after his death. It is written with precision and complexity in a comic-book form to give you one of the best non-fiction graphic novels out there.
My Depression by Elizabeth Swados
Another memoir on our list is My Depression by Elizabeth Swados. A musician and theatre director, Swados, tells the story about her battle against clinical depression. The illustration, simplicity and the candour of the book will empower you by lifting the stigma around the issue and urges the reader to find hope.
March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
March is a trilogy that re-counts the Civil Rights movement from the perspective of the U.S. Congressman, John Lewis. The first book gives an account of his struggles and the meeting with Martin Luther King Jr. With illustrations by Nate Powell, the graphic novel provides a deep understanding of the historical movement.
The Graphic Canon
Edited by Russ Kick, The Graphic Canon is a three-volume series that illustrates some of the world’s most famous literature in a graphic form. You can find works of Shakespeare, Hemingway, the Bronte Sisters and more. The visual feast might inspire you to pick up a few of the original classics.
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Satrapi narrates the story of her loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. It provides an intimate view of her life’s struggles as she comes to terms with family, faith, political upheaval and personal identity. It is an edgy, candid, raw humour and heartbreaking graphic novel by one of the most talented graphic artists.
An Unsuitable Princess by Jane Rosenberg Laforge
Laforge combines two stories: a memoir of a trauma-marked Hollywood childhood and an extravagant fairy tale to give you a brilliant graphic novel that highlights ways people build fantasy and memory to shield themselves. It is filled with illustrations by May Ann Strandell and defies the normal comic-book style.
