Best Graphic Novels: May 2025

June 20, 2025 Eugene Tierney

Best Graphic Novels: May 2025

Starting this year, I’m going to post the best graphic novels I’ve read each month; as the year goes on, this will also turn into the top list of what I’ve read.

I knocked out 6 graphic novels in May.

Graphic Novels: Falling In Love On The Path To Hell Vol 1

Falling In Love On The Path To Hell Vol 1
W: Gerry Duggan
A: Gary Brown
Publisher: Image Comics
Amazon

What happens when a cowboy and female samurai die on a shoreline? Obviously, they are transported to a purgatory like island where they fight to prevent a zombie army from escaping an afterlife while falling in love.

We join the 2 leads, Macraith (the cowboy) and Asami (the samurai), towards the end of their lives; as they “die”, they are on the shore of their homelands. When they wake, they are on an island. After discovering other people, they learn that the island is like purgatory and each night, the waterfall on the island stops and an undead army marches through; it’s up to the “survivors” to keep the undead from leaving the area. As they discover, Mohan, the leader of the survivors, rules with an iron fist and doesn’t take dissention well.

Duggan sets up an interesting world here, but much of the book is building to the larger story; there is a reason Macraith and Asami are there, but we don’t know why yet. The budding romance between the 2 is interesting, as they are polar opposites that are put in a situation where they need each other.

The only real character building we get is Macraith and Asami, although we do get hints to Mohan and who he was. Many of the other characters are just cannon fodder for the battles.

The art is fantastic; it’s a weird combination of rough lines with intricate details, which makes the purgatory feel different than the real world.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Prophet Vol 1: Remission
W: Brandon Graham
A: Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, Giannis Milonogiannis
Publisher: Image Comics
Amazon

I hadn’t read a Prophet comic since Rob Liefeld created the character in the mid-90s; I was hesitant because he was pretty much a forgettable ’90s Image character that flooded the market back then. But this book was getting praise all over Reddit.

John Prophet is a clone soldier who goes into statis until he has a mission; the first volume focuses on 3 different version of the character. It’s key to know this going in, or you’ll be lost.

I picked up Volume 1 of this new series and, without the above knowledge, felt completely lost. Each issue was pretty much stand alone, but built off what they were establishing; it was interested, but I struggled to really follow what was going on…almost to the point of putting it down. Once I stopped trying to understand how this fit into the narrative, I started to enjoy it for the weird sci-fi it was.

There is a ton of world-building here. Each version of Prophet is different, along with the environment and situations they are thrown in. Graham does well in creating all of this, but didn’t do much to explain the setup.

The art is interesting; a different artist handles each different Prophet (and continues with that version in future volumes). The art is rough, but it’s a futuristic tale where the style fits.

Rating: 3 out of 5; it might go higher if I continue reading it and it starts to make a little more sense.

The Eternaut
W: Hector German Oesterheld
A: Francisco Solano Lopez
Translator: Erica Mena
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Amazon

The Eternaut was another series that Reddit raves about, and this one has been adapted into a series by Netflix. It’s hard to find right now, but rumors of Fantagraphics reprinting it are circulating; I got my copy digitally.

The story is of Salvo, a Buenos Aires family man. We first meet him after the events of the book, where he explains to author Oesterheld (a character in the story as well as the writer) that he’s traveled through time after aliens invaded Earth. He then tells the story.

Basically, a radioactive snow falls that kills anyone it comes in contact with. The survivors initially wonder who they can trust before ending up in the military, fighting off an alien invasion.

It’s a dated comic strip translated from it’s native language, so the writing doesn’t always flow; there are obvious translation issues and a lot of recap since this was told in small bits. Even with these minor issues, the story was very compelling; you were continually wondering where this was going next.

The art is pretty plain; it’s a black and white book from an era when extravagant art in the comic book medium wasn’t a thing.

There were some attempts at reviving the story; first through a reboot with a new artist, then a continuation of the story. Neither of them were very successful.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Shirtless Bear-Fighter! Vol 1
W: Jody LeHeup
A: Sebastian Girner, Nil Vendrell
Publisher: Image Comics
Amazon

When bears come out of the forest and attack in the city, who do you call? The Shirtless Bear-Fighter.

It’s absurd, but it works. The Shirtless Bear-Fighter was raised by bears, but they turned their backs on him. He lived in the wilderness on his own until the U.S. Government tracked him down to stop the bears. They quickly learn that someone is pulling the strings of the bears; who is it and how do they tie into Shirtless’ past?

It’s a very fun book if you don’t take it too seriously. There is some off-beat humor that got me to laugh out loud. The action is over the top. There are some predictable twists and turns in the story, but I never felt that they were dumb or poorly written.

The art is pretty standard; it’s almost cartoonish at times, but very well done for the style of the book.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5; I’m looking forward to volume 2.

Time Before Time Vol 1
W: Declan Shalvey, Rory McConville
A: Joe Palmer
Publisher: Image Comics
Amazon

In 2140, the criminal Syndicate illegally runs a time traveling smuggling operation. Tatsuo wants out of the Syndicate, but his debt is too much to just be given his freedom. So he’s going to make a run for it and get lost in time.

Until a rogue FBI Agent interrupts his jump. Now they have to stay one step ahead of the Syndicate while also watching out for rival time-hopping organizations.

This is one of Shelvey’s first full stories and he does pretty well. The story is strong; it’s a mix of Looper’s time travel and Saga’s sci-fi weirdness (but not as good as either). Tatsuo is pretty well fleshed out as a character, and while you probably shouldn’t root for him, you do.

The art is fine. The people are kind of funny looking, but it doesn’t detract from the story. The colors are kind of dull, but it gives the future kind of a dreary look that fits with the story.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5; I’m intrigued enough to keep going at some point.

Ultramega Vol 1
W: James Harren
A: James Harren, Dave Stewart
Publisher: Image Comics
Amazon

Another alien invasion, but this time with Kaiju. Rather than your typical humans fight Kaiju or humans create mechs to find Kaiju, this time aliens give 3 humans powers to fight the Kaiju.

I don’t want to give too much else away because this story takes a hard turn at the end of the first issue (the book collects that first 4 issues).

The story was pretty fresh as far as these types of stories go. It’s violent and gory, as the battles don’t hold back. The environment is bleak and the story is dark at times; it’s also hopeful about the future of Earth and mankind. It’s homage to Ultraman is obvious, but it takes it beyond just homage.

Harren’s art comes off as unfinished, but grounded. It’s more effective the later it goes on. I did have problems following the art early on in the book. Stewart’s coloring brings everything to life though; another colorists wouldn’t be able to do the book justice.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5; I’m in for the ride.

2025 Rankings: