Tag: graphic novels

ALA’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table announces the first Outstanding Comics for Adults Awards

‘The Night Eaters,’ ‘Insectopolis,’ ‘Tongues’ and more were recognized by the ALA.

The American Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table announced plans to launch an awards program in 2026, and this week they revealed the winners of the first-ever Outstanding Comics for Adults Awards.

“In libraries, we see how comics bring people together, new readers, lifelong fans, and everyone in between,” said the round table’s president, Shauntee Burns-Simpson. “The Outstanding Comics Award honors works that expand our understanding of what stories can look like and ensure that there is something on the shelf for everyone.”

The awards launch with three categories — fiction, non-fiction and series, and for each category they chose one winner and one or two “honor books,” or runners up. Check out the winners below.

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‘Supergirl: The World’ will feature stories by creators from 15 countries

The anthology graphic novel will arrive in June ahead of the Supergirl film.

Ahead of the theatrical debut of the Supergirl film, DC will release Supergirl: The World, an anthology graphic novel featuring stories by international creative teams.

Like the previous volumes featuring Batman, The Joker and Superman, Supergirl: The World will be published simultaneously by DC and their global publishing partners on the same day, June 2. The creative teams contributing stories include:

  • United States: Mariko Tamaki (writer), Skylar Patridge (artist), and Joëlle Jones (cover)
  • Spain: Aneke (writer, artist, cover)
  • Italy: Francesca Michielin (writer) and Federica Croci (artist, cover)
  • Serbia: Uroš Dimitrijević (writer) and Stevan Subic (artist, cover)
  • Cameroon: Njoka Suyru (writer), Coeurtys Ulrich Minko (thumbnails), and Ejob Nathanael Ejob (artist, cover)
  • Finland: Johanna Sinisalo (writer) and Rosi Kämpe (artist, cover)
  • Argentina: Tomás Wortley (writer) and Rocío Zucchi (artist, cover)
  • Turkey: Mahmud Asrar (writer, artist, cover)
  • France: Kid Toussaint (writer) and Joël Jurion (artist, cover)
  • Brazil: Fernanda Chiella (writer, artist, cover)
  • Poland: Anna Krztoń (writer) and Kasia Nie (artist, cover)
  • Mexico: Mariana Moreno (writer, artist, cover)
  • Germany: Yann Krehl (writer) and Marie Sann (artist, cover)
  • Colombia: Sara Rodríguez (writer, artist, cover)
  • Japan: Satoshi Miyagawa (writer) and Kai Kitago (artist, cover)

Each country’s edition will feature a different cover by a local artist, some of which you can check out below:

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My favorite comics of 2025

And some graphic novels, too.

Last year was a rough one when it came to comic book and graphic novel availability — not only did you have the collapse of Diamond Comics and the fallout that impacted publishers, retailers and inevitably readers, but you also had numerous book bans being enacted in schools and libraries. Add to that the ongoing turmoil here in the U.S. around tariffs, and you’ve got all sorts of headwinds beyond just the usual ones.

That being said, the comics themselves kind of rocked. Marvel and DC’s “rebooted” universes, the Absolute line and the Ultimate line, both delivered some creative highs for the company, while everyone from Skybound and their Energon line-up to Tiny Onion to Oni Press, brought their A games. New distributors have filled the void left by Diamond, and newer digital platforms like Neon Ichiban and Global Comix brought some competition to the dominant Comixology. Despite the distractions, there was a lot to be excited about.

So, all that being said, here is my own list of my favorite comics and graphic novels from 2025, presented in no particular order. Also I’m sure I’m forgetting something, so maybe I’ll add to it later.

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Picture + Panel | Jesse Mechanic + Tom Hart on creating comics on grief and loss

We continue our interview series in advance of a live question-and-answer session between the two creators in Boston next week.

Today we continue our interview series with creators speaking at the monthly Picture + Panel event in Boston, which brings together two comic creators to talk about a specific topic. Today, Tom Hart and Jesse Mechanic will talk about grief and the impact it has had on their work, and we’re fortunate to present a preview of that conversation. You can find more details on the event here.

Picture + Panel is a monthly conversation series produced in partnership by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Porter Square Books and the Boston Figurative Arts Center, Picture + Panel provides thought-provoking discussions for the unique form of expression that is the comics medium.

Tom Hart is a critically acclaimed Eisner-nominated cartoonist and the Executive Director of The Sequential Artists Workshop in Gainesville, Florida. He is the creator of Rosalie Lightning and the Hutch Owen series of graphic novels and books. The Collected Hutch Owen was nominated for best graphic novel in 2000 and has received a Xeric Grant. Tom has taught sequential art at the University of Florida and at NYC’s School of Visual Arts.

Jesse Mechanic is an opinion columnist, essayist and artist. He has published work in Mother Jones, In These Times, HuffPost, Truthout and other publications. Jesse enjoys woodworking, the television show Cheers and working diligently to dismantle the various oppressive systems that define our world. The Last Time We Spoke is his debut graphic novel.

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‘Lunar Boy’ by Jes and Cin Wibowo wins at the 2025 Ignyte Awards

The awards ‘celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy and horror.’

Lunar Boy, the graphic novel created by Jes and Cin Wibowo and published by Harper Alley, has won a 2025 Ignyte Award in the “Outstanding Comics Team” category.

The first graphic novel created by the Indonesian identical twins is the story of Indu, a young trans boy who lives on the moon until his mom takes him to Earth to live with his new blended family.

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Exclusive | Oni Press serves up another helping of ‘Chef’s Kiss’ in 2026

Series co-creator Jarrett Melendez teams with artist Irene Flores for the next chapter in the culinary love story.

Love is in the air—or is that the aroma of garlic and butter sizzling in a pan? For fans of culinary romance, it’s about to be both: Oni Press will publish Chef’s Kiss Again!, the sequel to the Alex Award-winning graphic novel Chef’s Kiss. The new volume arrives in stores next August.

Series co-creator Jarrett Melendez returns to write the continuation of Ben and Liam’s love story, this time teaming with artist Irene Flores (Heavy Vinyl, Disney’s Mirrorverse: Belle).

“The response to the first volume of Chef’s Kiss was better than I ever could have dreamed,” Melendez said. “I knew right away I wanted to pick up where our dear crew leaves off. Now we get to see the aftermath of Ben’s article, what that does for the restaurant, Watson’s ego, and the relationship between Ben and Liam. Like the first volume, this chapter is deeply personal to me, and I hope it will resonate with readers as it deals with all sorts of new universal problems: how to balance life and work, the horrors and delights of a new relationship, and the many varied flavors of anxiety. This volume is bigger, gayer, and has what volume one was missing: DRAG!”

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NYCC | Rock out with ‘Superpunk’ next year

Oni Press will publish the punk-rock graphic novel by Guilherme Petreca and Mirtes Santana next year.

Lace up your Vans, charge your walkman and get ready to crank the volume: Oni Press has announced Superpunk, a new middle-grade graphic novel from artist Guilherme Petreca and writer Mirtes Santana, and it looks like pure punk rock comics in the best way possible.

Superpunk follows Violeta, a 13-year-old skateboarder and podcaster who discovers her grandfather’s old cassette player…and decides to play a tape backward. Naturally, that gives her musical superpowers and accidentally unleashes a horde of monsters on her hometown of Hollow Hills. Just like the 1980s warned us about.

“We wanted to make a comic that feels like a punk mixtape – loud, full of heart, and carrying you until the very last beat,” Santana said.

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NYCC | Dave Baker brings ‘Halloween Boy’ to Oni Press

The ‘Mary Tyler MooreHawk’ creator brings his self-published pulp epic to Oni in 2026.

Cartoonist Dave Baker is teaming with Oni Press for a new edition of his underground hit Halloween Boy.

Announced at New York Comic Con, Halloween Boy Vol. 1: Last of the Halloween Boys arrives in May 2026, collecting the first five self-published issues of Baker’s duotone sci-fi pulp adventure in hardcover for the first time, complete with a new cover.

The Mary Tyler MooreHawk creator described Halloween Boy as “a two-fisted adventurer for the post-superhero age.” It’s a high-concept, meta-pulp romp that mixes cosmic quests, interplanetary warfare and pulp heroics with a personal story about family and legacy.

“Does the book feature megalomaniacal villains, inter-planetary warfare, and classic pulp-inspired escapades? You bet,” Baker said in Oni’s announcement. “But it’s also a deeply personal reflection on family, fraternity, and purpose… I really wanted to re-construct the heroic iconography that lured me into this great medium as a child. To repurpose, remix, and rebuild the best aspects of these types of stories in a hyper-earnest and sincere way.”

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‘Putty Pygmalion’ by Lonnie Garcia wins at the 2025 Lambda Literary Awards

‘Putty Pygmalion’ competed against four other works in the LGBTQ+ Comics category.

The 37th annual Lambda Literary Awards were presented this weekend in a virtual ceremony from Charlie’s Queer Books in Seattle, Washington that celebrated the best in LGBTQ+ literature across 26 categories.

In the LGBTQ+ Comics category, Putty Pygmalion by Lonnie Garcia took home the award. Published by Silver Sprocket, this innovative graphic novel offers a queer reimagining of the classic Pygmalion myth through Garcia’s distinctive multimedia comic art style.

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Abrams ComicArts line expands with Eric Powell’s ‘Thor: Behemoth of the Black Moon’

“I’m doing exactly what I want—a big cosmic adventure with giant Kirby style monsters …”

The Goon creator Eric Powell will prove himself worthy in a new graphic novel coming next May from Marvel and Abrams ComicArts.

Thor: Behemoth of the Black Moon will be published through Abrams’ Marvel Arts line, an initiative curated by Alex Ross and edited by Charles Kochman, editor-in-chief of Abrams ComicArts. It’ll be a cosmic adventure featuring giant monsters and a burden left to Thor by his dad, Odin.

“Growing up a Marvel kid as I did, getting free rein to tell a story with a premier character like Thor is a dream come true,” Powell said. “I didn’t want to waste this opportunity, so I’m doing exactly what I want—a big cosmic adventure with giant Kirby style monsters. Yeah, this book is absolutely my love letter to Jack Kirby and Walt Simons on, and I think their influences will be clear. Did I mention cosmic monsters? Cosmic . . . MONSTERS. The kid in me is giddy. I’m so appreciative of Alex Ross, Marvel, and Abrams ComicArts for offering me this project and allowing me to do my thing in this universe.”

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Picture + Panel | Štěpánka Jislová + Sofia Szamosi on ‘the lies the TV told me’

We continue our interview series in advance of a live question-and-answer session between the two creators in Boston next week.

We continue our interview series on creators speaking at the monthly Picture + Panel event in Boston, which brings together two comic creators to talk about a specific topic — for September, Štěpánka Jislová and Sofia Szamosi will discuss “the lies that TV told me” about body image, women and relationships.

Next Monday, you can join the creators and moderator Rebecca Hains, Ph.D. for the discussion at the Boston Figurative Arts Center. You can find more details on it here.

Štěpánka Jislová is an award-winning comics artist based in Prague and the cofounder of the Czech branch of Laydeez do Comics, an international organization that promotes female comic artists and their work. Jislová collaborated with Czech writer Tereza Čechová on the 2021 Muriel prize–winning Bez vlasů, later published by Graphic Mundi in English as Bald. Srdcovka (the original Czech edition of Heartcore) received the Muriel Award in three categories in 2024, including the main prize.

Sofia Szamosi is an artist and author originally from New York City. In addition to making books, she enjoys painting and creating art in analog photobooths. Along with her debut graphic novel, Unretouchable (Lerner/Graphic Universe), she is the author of BAD KID: My Life as a Troubled Teen (Little, Brown Ink, forthcoming Spring 2026), a graphic memoir exploring her adolescence in and out of the troubled teen industry. A third graphic memoir is currently in development with Street Noise, focusing on healing from eating disorders and the journey of recovering fertility. Szamosi now lives in a small town in Massachusetts—just the right distance from New York City—with her husband, two daughters, and their elderly Pomeranian, Breakfast.

Check out the interview below, and big thanks as always to Gina Gagliano and Jason Viola, who organize the monthly series in Boston and brought this Q&A series to Smash Pages!

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‘Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way’ wins a Hugo Award

The interactive graphic novel by Ryan North, Chris Fenoglio and team took home the award at this weekend’s Seattle WorldCon.

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, written by Ryan North with art by Chris Fenoglio, Charlie Kirchoff and Jeff Eckleberry, won the 2025 Hugo Award in the “Best Graphic Story or Comic” category.

The graphic novel, which was published by IDW and edited by Heather Antos, features the cast of the popular animated series (which also won a Hugo Award) in a choose-your-own-adventure story involving different paths to death, destruction and coffee.

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