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Science Fiction/Fantasy

Compelling New Science Fiction Graphic Novels

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Rachel Brittain

Contributing Editor

Rachel is a writer from Arkansas, most at home surrounded by forests and animals much like a Disney Princess. She spends most of her time writing stories and playing around in imaginary worlds. You can follow her writing at rachelbrittain.com. Twitter and Instagram: @rachelsbrittain

Sci-fi and comics make for natural companions. The world of science fiction can be so visual; it only makes sense to bring that visual nature fully to life through comics and graphic novels. Starlit expanses of space, futuristic technology, alien lifeforms: all these things and more make up science fiction and are just asking to be illustrated. That’s exactly what sci-fi comics are here to do. They bring to life all the possibilities that tomorrow—and the science fiction genre—has in store.

Several of my all-time favorite graphic novels, including Sentient, Woman of Tomorrow, and Cosmoknights, rest firmly in the world of science fiction. Sci-fi comics are often the inspiration for TV shows as well, like Vagrant Queen, Paper Girls (both sadly canceled before their chance to shine) and Resident Alien.

Those are all great sci-fi graphic novels to read, but what about some fresh new comics? Publishers like Image, IDW, Boom!, and Dark Horse often dominate the scene, but these new sci-fi comics include smaller imprints you might not have heard of before, including the pan-African entertainment company Kugali. From Battle Royale-style fights in space to alien invasions, these new sci-fi graphic novels have all the science fiction goodness you could want.

Leviathan Comic Book Cover

Leviathan by Shiro Kuroi

When looters break onto an enormous, abandoned spaceship called the Leviathan, they discover a middle school diary recording the horrific fate of its passengers. But as the looters—and the reader—follow the unfolding events, it becomes clear that they’re not the only people here. When disaster struck, there was room for one survivor in the cryopreservation pod at the center of the ship. Reaching it meant killing every other teacher and student on board.

The Prism comic book cover

The Prism by Matteo De Longis

A new environmental disaster is plaguing Earth, and music might just be the only way to stop it. A team of scientists has come up with a way to use music—and a carefully selected rock band—to push back the noise pollution that is destroying life on Earth. It’s either the biggest publicity stunt in the history of the music industry or humanity’s saving grace. Either way, it’s sure to be an epic show when rock music goes to outer space!

Murenga by Nyasha Mugavazi, Andrea Cancian, and Jason Lamy

On an alien planet colonized by a corporation, a group of friends flee to the wilderness after one of them discovers the shocking lengths the corporation will go to in order to control the population. The plant life on Murenga is supposedly hostile and the animal life certainly is, but it’s the child that runs away with them that will complicate their plans most of all. Are these five barely functional adults really ready to be runaways and parents?

Crave comic book cover

Crave by Maria Llovet

A mysterious new app called Crave promises to make all your deepest desires come true. The students at an elite university as using it as a hookup app—but is it more than that? When a student playing a game of seduction with an unattainable girl sees requests on the app escalate to a dangerous level, he and his friends will have to track down the creator to discover what Crave is really all about.

Oasis comic book cover

Oasis by Guojing

The lives of two young children living alone in a desert are changed forever when they stumble across an artificially intelligent robot in the junkyard. Up to now, their days have been filled with sandstorms and the search for any source of potable water while their mother works tirelessly to earn their admittance into Oasis City. But that’s all about to change. Now, they have something to give them hope.

We Called Them Giants comic book cover

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans

Lori, a recently adopted teen, wakes one day to discover nearly everyone is gone. Alone save for her classmate Annette and a roving gang called the Dogs, they scrape together what they can to survive. Then the giants arrive. These strange alien visitors speak a musical language Lori can’t understand, but one woman, Beatrice, seems to know more about them than Lori and Annette. It’s an apocalypse, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

The Ministry of Compliance graphic novel cover

The Ministry of Compliance by John Ridley, Stefano Raffaele, and Brad Anderson

The alien invasion has already happened, most people just don’t know it yet. For decades, the Devolution has been secretly shaping the future of Earth. But now a series of coups and conspiracies might ruin everything they’ve been working for. Can humanity be assimilated into their Empire when they can’t even keep from fighting amongst themselves?

Dandelion comic book cover

Dandelion by Sabir Pirzada, Martín Morazzo, Vanesa Del Rey, Eric Koda, and others

In this sci-fi anthology about climate change and automation, floating habitats have been created to house the displaced. There’s only one catch: once they board a Dandelion, they give up their right to ever set foot on Earth again. Through a series of comic vignettes, Dandelion explores the future of environmental collapse, wealth disparity, and the ever-growing number of refugees displaced by both political violence and environmental destruction.

Keep the sci-fi comics love going with even more great SFF comics and graphic novels:

18 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Comics to Cure Your Superhero Hangover

Space Fantasy Comics and Graphic Novels

Great Women-Centered Space Comics