The best graphic novels of 2025

Alison Bechdel and Joe Sacco return; plus Black Country cowboys, vengeful gods and an angling classic reimagined

Up, up and away: Superman comic found in attic sells for $9.12m to become most expensive ever sold

The pristine copy of Superman No 1, the character’s first solo title from 1939, was discovered in an attic in California last year

Angoulême comics festival in crisis as creators and publishers declare boycott

French government withdraws funding after claims of toxic management and dismissal of staff member who lodged rape complaint

The Once and Future Riot by Joe Sacco review – a masterclass in visual reportage

The author of Palestine turns his attention to the legacies of Indian partition in this brilliant portrait of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution review – spectacular if baffling anime is out to thrill and bewilder

Remix of old and new material from TV series includes tremendous battle sequences but there’s an awful lot of lore for new viewers to catch up with

100 Meters review – mesmerising anime of young athletes in search of physical and spiritual high

Dazzling rotoscoped running sequences make up for a lack of narrative subtlety in Kenji Iwaisawa’s film

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc review – gore-soaked demonic anime squats in the manosphere

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s coming-of-age saga continues with a surreal encounter with a chainsaw-wielding demon living in a teenager’s soul

100 Nights of Hero review – Emma Corrin leads starry cast in a queer fable with a serious streak

Gender, sexuality, status and power are all in flux in Julia Jackman’s playful medieval fairytale, adapted from Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel, also starring Maika Monroe and Charli xcx

Cannon by Lee Lai review – a meditative graphic novel laced with horror and humour

The author of Stone Fruit returns with the story of a young queer Chinese woman struggling to express her emotions and be heard

Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback review – anime sleuth wades through a bamboozling bureaucratic maze

A labyrinthine but lively 28th instalment of the hit manga series juggles byzantine intrigue, spies and cop rivalries with stylish flair

‘I’m from where you learn to run before you can walk’: the comic strip artist telling the story of DRC’s conflict

Edizon Musavuli uses his art to depict the daily struggles and constant insecurity of living in the rebel-occupied city of Goma

Kathleen Folbigg’s memoir, an ode to condiments and ‘a work of art’: the best Australian books out in September

Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on

The X-Men are heading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things will get weird

An X-Men reboot is in the works, but how will the studio integrate the alternate timelines? Will it use the Blip again? Some chaos magic from Scarlet Witch? The Celestials from Eternals even? Let’s consider the options

‘It was the Nasa of puppetry’: how we made 1990 kids movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The performers and director of the original TMNT film describe how they battled hellish costumes and slippery sets to bring their tale of family bonding and kung fu to life

‘They all looked the same, they all dressed the same’: has Hollywood distorted the Smurfs’ communist roots?

In Chris Miller’s new film, a Smurf is told to ‘believe you were born great’. But does this approach contradict what Peyo’s original Smurfs stood for?