• Five Graphic Novels People Need to Read - The Bomb: The Weapon That Changed the World by Didier Alcante, Laurent-Frédéric Bollée and Denis Rodier (illustrator)
  • Five Graphic Novels People Need to Read - An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar by Reinhard Kleist
  • Five Graphic Novels People Need to Read - Iranian Love Stories by Jane Deuxard and Deloupy (illustrator)
  • Five Graphic Novels People Need to Read - Chaos in Kinshasa by Barly Baruti (illustrator) & Thierry Bellefroid
  • Five Graphic Novels People Need to Read - GoSt 111 by Henri Scala, Marion Mousse (illustrator) & Mark Eacersall

Five Graphic Novels People Need to Read, recommended by Ivanka Hahnenberger

Comics are a great way to read all sorts of stories, whether fiction, nonfiction, or a compelling blend of the two. Ivanka Hahnenberger, translator of more than 70 graphic novels, talks us through some of her favourites, from the history of the atomic bomb to the heartbreaking story of Olympic athlete Samia Yusuf Oman, from the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ to contemporary Iran and Paris.

  • Best Graphic Histories - Maus by Art Spiegelman
  • Best Graphic Histories - Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
  • Best Graphic Histories - Usagi Yojimbo: Origins, Vol. 1: Samurai by Stan Sakai
  • Best Graphic Histories - Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
  • Best Graphic Histories - Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker and Jules Scheele (illustrator)

Best Graphic Histories, recommended by Eleanor Janega & Neil Emmanuel

Graphic histories can offer complex and layered insights into the past and are underused as a medium, argue historian Eleanor Janega and illustrator Neil Emmanuel, authors of The Middle Ages: A Graphic History. Here, they recommend five graphic histories that show the power of comics not only for telling moving stories but also transmitting difficult concepts.