10 Best Superhero Graphic Novels UK 2023 | Alan Moore, Frank Miller and More

The Joker's mindless anarchy has always held a mirror to Batman's relentless pursuit of what is right. Legendary writer Alan Moore expands this idea, revealing that, just as it was one significant event that birthed the Caped Crusader, it was 'one bad day' that gave rise to the Clown Prince of Crime.

Everything that makes Batman and The Joker two of the most enduringly compelling characters ever created is right here in an origin story that's intensely disturbing, yet somewhat sympathetic. But, most importantly, it's an essential read for comic book fans and fans of popular culture in general.

One of the primary appeals of superhero media, whether it be comics or the films, is that it allows you to experience their way of life and see things through their perspective. As this graphic novels shows, experiencing their world from the perspective of a bystander can be just as intriguing. 

The four-part series relives significant Marvel events from the perspective of photographer, Phil Sheldon. Whether it's watching the Human Torch set the city ablaze or Captain America fight the Nazis, this comic offers a unique perspective on our favourite heroes, showing them in all their awesome and terrifying glory.

Evil, insanity, and the fine line between hero and villain have always been at the core of Batman storylines. This graphic novel offers a truly haunting exploration of those themes as Batman descends into the house of madness, Arkham Asylum.

The inmates have overrun the asylum, demanding Batman become one of them. As he walks the halls of the asylum, his gradual loss of his grip on reality is reflected in Dave McKean's truly unsettling artwork. Low on dialogue, but high on psychologically impacting imagery, this is a story that'll stay with you for a long time after you read it.

At a time when the hero was always there to save the day, this storyline broke that tradition in particularly distressing fashion. By killing off Spider-Man's love interest, and one of the series' most popular characters, even Stan Lee himself was reportedly very upset!!

Not only was it a watershed moment for Spidey himself, lending further truth to the idea that 'with great power comes great responsibility', it also affected comic books as a whole, giving rise to grittier storylines that reflected real-world problems. It's an intense and historically significant story that you must read.

Perhaps a lesser known Marvel hero due to his absence from the Cinematic Universe, Frank Miller's depiction of Daredevil in Born Again is undoubtedly familiar to comic enthusiasts. This particularly intense storyline follows Daredevil's descent into madness and poverty as he battles against his nemesis, the Crime Lord, Kingpin.

Peppered with Christian symbolism, this is an intensely layered story that'll reveal something new every time you read it. Although the slightly pricier 'artisan edition', with colour scans of the artist's original sketches, it's a fantastic way of experiencing this incredible story.

In a future where the Justice League are now retired, Superman, Batman and co. are brought out of exile to battle a new breed of merciless superheroes. The task is not an easy one, resulting in the inadvertent deaths of loved ones and the ageing heroes having to come to terms with their declining abilities.

This is a particularly dark story, which explores themes as varied as xenophobia, to the thorny issue of depictions of violence in superhero media. All of this is perfectly complemented by Alex Ross' hyper-realistic art style, which allows the story to more accurately reflect our own world.

After his nemesis Lex Luthor leaves him with just a year to live, Superman reflects upon the meaning of his life. Facing off against a series of threats, this story gives him the opportunity to demonstrate every facet of his character, and proves exactly why this 80-year old character remains so popular.

In addition to showing him soaring through the air, this comic also reveals a more grounded side to The Man of Steel. Whether it's helping out friends and family, or talking a suicidal teenager down from a ledge, these stories show a compassionate, human side to a character that  often seems larger than life.

In this time-travelling story, a dystopian future is revealed, in which mutants are locked up in concentration camps. In order to prevent this terrible future, the X-Men must travel back in time to alter the course of events. 

Featuring allusions to World War II, and even a comic book version of Dante's infamous descent into hell, this is definitely not a comic book for kids. The actual 'Days of Future Past' storyline only forms 2 issues of this 7 comic collection, but this is a poignant story about how seemingly small actions can have huge consequences - for better or worse.

DC's 'Rebirth' event created a great excuse to rediscover Wonder Woman's origin story. Suffering from memory loss, Wonder Woman recalls her different origin stories, and with her Lasso of truth no longer working, she's unable to decipher her true roots.

This means journeying to find her vanished home, and resorting to desperate measures, such as teaming up with her arch-nemesis, Cheetah. Liam Sharp's artwork is gorgeous, and this first volume is a great set-up to a new series that you'll want to keep following.

Following an unfortunate event in which the actions of superheroes lead to the deaths of innocent civilians, the heroes of the Marvel universe are divided between those that feel they should work in accordance with the government, and those that wish to remain independent. With Cap and Iron Man working against each other, this storyline explores the difficult conflicts between freedom and security. 

While this graphic novel covers the core Civil War storyline, individual perspectives are missing. Therefore, if you want the whole picture, there are several other comics you'll need to collect.