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Top 7 Comics, Graphic Novels & Manga:
December 2025
Fewer new titles get released during the festive month of December, but this select band of my personal picks are well worth checking out, from Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas’s fantastical yet topical collaboration…
...to Melinda Gebbie’s much-anticipated retrospective of her artistic career…
...to Alex Krokus’s touching and amusing recollection and reconnection with his deceased father. These and my other suggestions are listed and linked for you below…
All the Living
by Roman Muradov
Fantagraphics Underground
$29.99
The publisher says:
A captivating mediation on existence by acclaimed artist and graphic novelist Roman Muradov. Waking up in Purgatory, a young woman is forced to take part in a lottery, which she wins. Unfortunately for her, since she has had enough of life, the prize is to return to the world of the living and continue her life from where she had left it, with one significant difference: this time, she can see and communicate with ghosts―her own included. Her dull, monotonous life carries on, though her profound solitude is now mitigated by the presence of the ghosts of the dead, most notably her own. She discovers that living with her ghost has its advantages, until this relationship suddenly turns into a spectral triangle… By turns compassionate and cruel, All the Living is a quiet, melancholy story full of delicate details, and unexpected humour. It’s a slow and subtle meditation on loneliness, rendered in Muradov’s shifting style, full of finesse and sensuality. A parable―at the same time gentle, penetrating, and occasionally profane―that marks the return of a master of the modern graphic novel. 160pgs colour paperback
The Amazing Spider-Man by Steve Ditko Artist’s Edition
by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Image / Act 4 Publishing
$195.00
The publisher says:
The very first appearance of Spider-Man to some of his most memorable moments, like no one has seen before, from world-renowned co-creator, Steve Ditko. This Artist’s Edition features the web-slinger’s very first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, as well as three more incredible, complete stories: The Amazing Spider-Man #20, #26, and #33—the latter of which is regarded by many as the apex of Ditko’s finest on Spider-Man. Also included are scanned photocopies of Steve Ditko’s rarely seen The Amazing Spider-Man #31 pencil art, scanned art from more than 20 other issues (including covers, splash pages, pin-ups, and panel pages), and more. Although appearing to be in black and white, all the art is scanned in colour, enabling the reader to see the work as close to the original as possible—ink gradients, blue pencil, and all the unique nuances that make original art so special—are all clearly visible and printed at the same size as drawn. 176pgs colour oversized hardcover
The Magnificent Adventure
by Milo Manara, translated by Kim Thompson
Fantagraphics
$24.99
The publisher says:
Milo Manara’s famously inept adventurer returns to the U.S. and stumbles into his first quest. Young Giuseppe Bergman, thirsting for escape from the banal, soul-crushing boredom of his everyday life, answers a mysterious ad offering the adventure of a lifetime. But before he even gets a chance to understand what that means, he’s swept up in a headlong rush of outrageously convoluted danger and fast-paced action―for which he is absolutely unprepared―all at the behest of the enigmatic “H.P.” and an unseen television audience. Artist/writer/creator Milo Manara skewers adventure comics, “reality” TV, and narrative convention itself in this absurdist, sophisticated satire that launches the innocent Giuseppe into the first of many adventures to come. The Magnificent Adventure, complete in one volume. 120pgs B&W paperback
Melinda Gebbie’s Greatest Fits
by Melinda Gebbie
Mad Love Publishing / Knockabout Comics
£59.99
The publisher says:
Melinda Gebbie, who co-created the acclaimed erotic masterwork Lost Girls with her husband Alan Moore, is releasing a large-format, full-colour retrospective of her artistic career. Published by Mad Love, Melinda Gebbie’s Greatest Fits is exclusively available from Knocabout. Melinda was a Haight-Ashbury runaway in 1967; a post-war glamour girl, a compulsive delineator since her childhood she emerged as perhaps the most accomplished artist in the predominantly masculine San Francisco underground comics movement of the 60s and 70s. Moving to the UK, she worked as an old-school animator on Raymond Briggs’ harrowing When the Wind Blows, and has the unique accolade for a contemporary artist of having her pioneering book Fresca Zizis declared obscene by a British Court and subsequently burnt. It remains illegal to have a copy in the UK. Attracted to the field’s most marginalised and least-explored territories—politics, female identity, fetishism and unflinching autobiography—she crafted bulletins on everything from anarchist Emma Goldman to a first-hand account of the British Miner’s strike, taking in talking vulvas, Marat-Sade, and surrealist French poets on the way. The book gives insight into these and into her work as the creator of a multitude of visionary canvases that span the jewelled ground between the mystical and the psychedelic. By turn sexy, funny, scathing, human and profound, Gebbie’s extraordinary work distills a woman’s experience in the late 20th century western world into every blazing line. Includes a signed book plate, limited to 1000 copies, and an introduction by Dr. Melanie West, PHD Ethnic Studies, UC San Diego. 312pgs colour oversized hardcover.
Snafu: The Atlas Comics Library No.8
by Stan Lee, John Severin, Bill Everett, Joe Maneely; Series editor Dr.
Michael J. Vassallo
Fantagraphics
$39.99
The publisher says:
Marvel in a Mad mode! The complete 1955 Snafu magazine collected for the first time, featuring satire by John and Marie Severin, Russ Heath, Joe Maneely, Stan Lee and others in a gorgeous new package. When Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Gaines launched EC’s Mad comic book as a warmly received satirical magazine, a flood of imitators soon filled newsstands, but the first and best to follow in Mad’s footsteps (coinciding with the second issue of Mad magazine) was Snafu, edited and written by Kurtzman’s former boss: Stan “The Man” Lee! Snafu was packed with Marvel/Atlas’ top humour creators and, following the Mad playbook, filled pages with ad and news spoofs, alongside film, television, and book parodies like “The Blackboard Forest” by Russ Heath, “Pete Kelsey’s Booze” and “Bleed, You Bum!” by Joe Maneely, “Drugnet” by Howie Post, “Emily Toast’s Etiquette Page” by John Severin, and “Snafu’s Lovely Ladies” by Bill Everett, with production supervised by Marie Severin. Seen here is some of the most eye-popping work of Maneely’s short life, including great Hollywood caricatures done in a wash style. In this new volume in our Atlas Library collaboration with Marvel, Fantagraphics is tickled pink to present for the first time, the complete Snafu collection along with a history of Martin Goodman’s humour publications in all genres by editor Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. 256pgs B&W hardcover.
Squire
by Sara Alfageeh & Nadia Shammas
Quill Tree Books
$26.99 / $18.99
The publisher says:
From two incredible rising talents comes the fantasy graphic novel Molly Knox Ostertag calls “instantly compelling.” A New England Book Award and Harvey Award winner. Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It’s the highest military honour in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program. It’s not how she imagined it, though. Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realises that the “greater good” that Bayt-Sajji’s military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined. In this breathtaking and timely story, Aiza will have to choose, once and for all: loyalty to her heart and heritage, or loyalty to the Empire. 336pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Talking to My Father’s Ghost: An Almost True Story
by Alex Krokus
Chronicle Books
$22.95
The publisher says:
“Shortly after his funeral, my dad started haunting me . . . and it’s been a delight!” —Alex. Inspired by real-life experience, Alex Krokus’s graphic novel is a heartfelt and humorous story of losing a parent and getting to know him better after his passing. Set over the course of a single year, this book follows Alex and his father’s ghost as they stroll along winter beaches, camp in rattlesnake-infested deserts, and share countless diner meals together. Between fielding fatherly lectures on the importance of doing his taxes, how to properly shovel the driveway, and why he should always tip twenty percent, Alex tries to figure out what he needs to say to his dad. Is this a good time for him to come out as bisexual? Or maybe he should ask his dad why he loved drinking so much when it nearly destroyed his health? With help from his mom, his brother, a whole cast of extended family members, and, of course, the ghost himself, Alex tries to figure out how to say goodbye. In the tradition of Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, this graphic novel uses humour to examine family foibles and eccentricities as well as the experience of losing a parent. Relatable and heartfelt, it speaks to the universal experience of grief and how it ripples through a community. Told in a series of vignettes with illustrated panels, this graphic narrative evokes the nostalgia of Sunday comic strips. Alex casts his family and friends as anthropomorphic animal characters, lending a playful irreverence to their most serious conversations. His insightful and honest exploration of grief and memory is punctuated with moments of levity and warmth, making this a cathartic, funny, and uplifting read. This is the first long-form graphic novel from cartoonist Alex Krokus. His webcomic, Loud & Smart, follows the mundane misadventures of raccoon Alex and his millennial friends as they navigate their arguably “adult” lives in the big city. In Talking to My Father’s Ghost, Krokus brings his trademark humour to new narrative terrain, guiding readers through big, scary feelings with expert comedic timing and refreshing honesty. 208pgs colour paperback
The Three Musketeers: Fleetway Comic Archives
by Alexandre Dumas & Arturo Del Castillo, edited by Steve Holland
Book Palace
£25.00 / $38.99
The publisher says:
New hardcover limited edition of just 300 copies worldwide. Collected in a single volume for the first time, this classic of comic strip adaptation brings to life all the action and poignancy of Dumas’ novel and its sequel (the enthralling mystery surrounding The Man in the Iron Mask). Arturo Del Castillo was one of the greatest masters of the comic strip. His artistic skill is recognised internationally and his great artistry on The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The King’s Musketeers (all included here) is regarded as some of the finest pen and ink work ever created for comic strips. These 3 comic strips originally appeared in the British comics Film Fun and Lion in the early 1960s. This is the first time they have ever been reprinted in this complete form. The quality of his penmanship is simply stunning on these strips. Also included here are 14 pages of rare reproductions of original del Castillo artwork. The Three Musketeers are amongst the handful of literary characters who are known to virtually every person on the planet! Unlike most literary characters, the Musketeers are fashioned out of history: there really was a d’Artagnan and historical counterparts for each of his companions, although the romance woven around the characters came from author Alexandre Dumas’s imagination. 112pgs B&W hardcover.
