The 10 Best Graphic Novels for Teens (All-Time Ranked List)

The graphic novel is an under appreciated art. It’s perhaps one of the best mechanisms for story in existence, combining visuals and the written word to transport readers to another world entire. The best graphic novels for teens? They deserve the true best graphic novels of all time.

9. Gender Queer: A Memoir

Gender Queer: A Memoir is a hot button graphic novel of late. It’s on the lips of nearly every Republican lawmaker in the country, and is at the top the list of books banned and challenged from schools. That means it’s GOTTA be good. Gender Queer: A Memoir is an autobiographical novel by Maia Kobabe about the author’s journey towards discovering queer identity. It’s a must read for queer youth, and I guarantee it will go down in history as one of the most culturally significant LGBTQ works of all time.

8. They Called Us the Enemy

They Called Us The Enemy is actor George Takei’s autobiographical tale of his time spent in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. The actor’s formative years were spent behind a barbed wire fence under armed guard, suffering the effects of institutional racism. Yet this story is also about his family’s perseverance through those hard years, and speaks to the question of what it what it means to be a citizen of a nation that would rather see your rights denied than upheld.

7. Heartstopper

Heartstopper is a boy meets boy lovestory that has the internet in a stranglehold. Shy Charlie sits next to gregarious rugby player Nick one morning in class, and the two become fast friends… and then their relationship blossoms into something more. Heartstopper is a the modern queer romance story that has been missing from the culture for far too long. It’s now a hit series on Netflix as well, and is becoming ever the more beloved by the day.

6. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life is the ultimate tale of the early 20’s. The plot centers around the affable young Canadian boy Scott Pilgrim, a 23 year old who plays in an indie rock band… and is dating a high schooler. Mistake. Scott soon becomes charmed by an American girl named Romana Flowers, who has been using his dreams as a convenient way to roller skate between realities. The graphic novel was later transformed into the indie rock cult classic film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It’s the perfect book for young adults who don’t have their lives quite figured out… so basically all young adults. And that’s okay! You’ve got time.

5. V for Vendetta

Alan Moore strikes again. V for Vendetta is to the graphic novel as George Orwell’s 1984 is to the regular novel. For those who didn’t see the iconic early 00’s adaptation with Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman, here’s the skinny: The government of England has become fascist and totalitarian, transforming the country into a xenophobic surveillance state. The populace has been beaten into submission by the brutal regime… but one knife wielding man in a porcelain mask has revolution on his mind. And he’s gonna make it a reality.

4. Nimona

ND Stevenson’s Nimona is a landmark graphic novel featuring a non-binary protagonist. The story takes place in a fantasy/sci-fi tech metropolis, where a shapeshifter named Nimona plays fast and loose with the kingdom’s laws. Nimona teams up with disgraced knight Lord Ballister Blackheart, who has a personal vendetta against the so called “heroes” of the kingdom that did him dirty. Nimona’s just along for the ride, and all the destruction that it will bring.

3. Akira

Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira is perhaps the most seminal manga of all time. It quite literally wrote the book on the cyberpunk genre. Without Akira, there would be no Ghost in the Shell, no Psychopass no Ergo Proxy, no nothing. The plot takes place in the William Gibson-esque city of  Neo-Tokyo, built upon the ruins of the old city that was destroyed in the early days of World War III. The plot centers around a lawless group of bikers who come in contact with an experimental government project that gives one of their group psychic powers. As visceral as it is philosophical, Akira is mind bending thrill ride of legendary proportions.

It’s worth noting that, while you’ll have to use your own judgment, some elements may leave this one better suited to older teens.

2. Watchmen

C’mon Alan Moore, save a slot for the rest of the graphic novel world. Watchmen is seen by many as the greatest graphic novel in the history of the medium, and it is the winner of the prestigious Hugo award. Without this superheroes-gone-bad story, modern dark superhero tales like, The Boys and Invincible simply would not exist. The plot chronicles a group of supes whose glory days are far behind them due to a number of public scandals, personal falling outs, and acts of abuse. When one of their number is assassinated by an unknown assailant, the former team has to come together once more to figure out why.

1. Maus

Hailed as “the first masterpiece in comic book history” and “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” Maus reimagines European Jews as mice fleeing from Nazis who have taken the form of cats. Aside from paining a brutal and chilling portrait of World War II, Maus tells a story within a story about the narrator’s fraught relationship with his father. It’s a work of art meant to be studied and understood by people of all ages, and stands as a testament to the humanity’s capacity for profound acts of evil and good.