Comics All Fans Should Read

If you only ever read twelve comics, read these. The books that show up on every list, every time — and actually deserve to. It's a hand-picked shelf of 12 picks — the twelve everyone agrees on.

Start with the shortest one you recognise — momentum matters more than order here. On this page the picks are listed in recommended order, so "The Dark Knight Returns" is the one to buy first.

Ask a hundred readers for the greatest comics ever made and the same twelve titles keep coming back. They're here because each one broke something open: Watchmen killed the straight superhero story, Dark Knight Returns aged Batman, Sandman proved comics could be literature. None of them need any prior reading, and once you've finished the shelf you'll understand every reference the internet makes.

No. Every pick here is beginner-friendly and reads on its own, so you can start with any of them without prior reading or continuity homework.

Picks start from around $15 and cover comics. Prices change often on Amazon, so each item links straight to its current listing — buy the whole shelf at once or work through it one pick at a time.

Every pick links directly to its Amazon listing. Explaining Superheroes earns a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you — nothing here is paid placement.