Drawn In: Stories that Stick

Graphic novels aren’t just “pretty comics.” Over the past decade they’ve become a powerful literacy tool, a booming segment of the book market, and a respected storytelling form that bridges art and text in ways traditional prose can’t.

Why graphic novels matter for literacy

Graphic novels combine visual storytelling with written text, and that combination helps readers decode meaning, follow complex narratives, and practice inference skills—especially readers who struggle with long blocks of text. Research on comics and graphic texts shows they can support reading comprehension, motivate reluctant readers, and help build vocabulary and narrative sense because readers must integrate images and words to make meaning. One peer-reviewed study found that reading comics can be faster while yielding similar comprehension outcomes to traditional texts, suggesting graphic formats provide an efficient route to practicing reading skills.

From a market perspective, the reach of graphic novels is substantial: comics and graphic-novel sales in North America continue to represent a major slice of the book business (nearly $2 billion in total comics/graphic-novel sales reported for 2024), and children’s graphic-novel series regularly top bestseller lists—an important pipeline into literacy for younger readers. These market dynamics mean libraries and schools can rely on graphic novels to get books into hands at scale.

Librarians and educators also report that graphic novels increase engagement—students who might avoid long prose often pick up a graphic novel, build stamina and confidence, then transfer those reading habits to other texts. Literacy organizations and classroom pilots have used graphic novels to support ELL/ESL students and struggling readers with promising results.

From comic book to graphic novel: how the form evolved

The distinction between “comic book” and “graphic novel” is partly historical and partly marketing. Comic books traditionally referred to periodic, magazine-style issues; “graphic novel” came into wider use in the late 1970s to describe book-length comics with more literary or standalone ambitions. Creators such as Will Eisner (A Contract with God) and later landmark works like Art Spiegelman’s Maus helped popularize and legitimize the term; by the 1980s and ’90s book-format comics and collected trades were widely called graphic novels in bookstores and libraries. The label signaled both a different physical format (book-length) and often a different tone or audience expectation—though scholars note the boundary is porous and contested. Wikipedia

Awards and recognition

As graphic novels matured, major awards and institutions built categories to celebrate them. Key awards and honors include:

• Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (the “Eisners”) — often called the Oscars of comics/graphic novels.

• Harvey Awards and Ignatz Awards — peer and indie-focused recognitions for excellence in comics.

• Hugo Awards (for graphic-novel or graphic-story categories at times) and the Ringo Awards — further mainstream recognition.

• Library-centered lists and honors (e.g., YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens, ALA recommended lists) help librarians discover and promote high-quality titles.

These awards and curated lists help teachers and librarians justify purchases, create displays, and recommend titles to students across reading levels.

Popular titles of the past five years (kids, teens, adults)

Below are representative titles and trends from roughly 2020–2025 across age groups. Rather than a single definitive ranking (which varies by retailer and list), I’ve pulled examples that repeatedly appear in bestseller and critic lists, and that libraries/BookScan data show as having large reach.

Kids / Elementary

• Dog Man series — Dav Pilkey’s series remains a powerhouse in children’s graphic novels, with new volumes selling in the hundreds of thousands to millions and frequently topping kids’ bestseller lists.

• Raina Telgemeier titles (e.g., Guts, Smile) remain perennial checkout favorites and classroom staples. (Appearing repeatedly on library and school lists.)

  
  

Teen / YA

• Heartstopper — Alice Oseman’s YA graphic series gained extraordinary popularity following a screen adaptation, driving sales, library demand, and broader teenage readership.

• Graphic memoirs and YA originals (diverse voices) have been strong on critics’ “best of” lists and library picks in recent years. Titles from Publishers Weekly critics’ polls repeatedly include such YA works.

  
  

Adult / Literary and genre graphic novels

• Award-winning and critically heralded works (for example those appearing on Publishers Weekly critics’ polls and year-end lists) such as Feeding Ghosts (Tessa Hulls) and Victory Parade (Leela Corman) were among the most-discussed graphic novels in 2024. These show the continued growth of graphic novels as serious literary works for adults.

(Note: “Manga” and international graphic novels remain a major portion of the market—publishers like Viz and Kodansha consistently rank among the top sellers, and manga titles frequently dominate sales charts alongside children’s series.) 

What this means for libraries, teachers, and parents

1. Access = literacy growth. Because graphic novels can motivate reluctant readers and scaffold comprehension, stocking strong graphic-novel sections is a straightforward literacy intervention. The category’s robust sales and library-circulation data mean readers will find pathways from picture-driven reading to longer texts.

2. Diversity of voices. Many graphic novels tell stories from perspectives underrepresented in mainstream prose publishing—memoirs, immigrant narratives, and historical graphic nonfiction—making the format an important way to diversify collections and classroom reading.

3. Curriculum integration. Teachers can use graphic novels to teach narrative structure, visual literacy (how images convey meaning), historical topics via graphic nonfiction, and media analysis—skills that transfer to other reading and critical-thinking tasks.

   
   

Conclusion

Graphic novels are here to stay—not just as entertainment, but as effective literacy tools and serious literary works. They lower barriers to reading, expand readers’ visual and narrative fluency, and—backed by robust sales and library circulation—offer a scalable route to improving engagement and comprehension across age groups. If you want a ready-to-print shelf talk or a kid/YA/adult title list tailored to your collection, I can make that next (including call numbers and purchase links).

Check out our collection of graphic novels, most found in our Hamilton Curriculum Library. Happy Reading and Happy Thanksgiving. We will return in December celebrating the birthday of a timeless author!

References

Circana / BookScan (reported via ICv2). (2025). Full year 2024 Circana BookScan – Top 20 adult and kids graphic novels (summary). ICv2. ICv2

DiverseTechGeek. (2024). 2023 bookstore graphic novel sales: Viz and Scholastic are ... DiverseTechGeek. Diverse Tech Geek

EBSCO Research Starters. (n.d.). Awards for graphic novels. EBSCO. EBSCO

ICv2. (2025, July 11). Comics and graphic novel sales up in 2024. ICv2. ICv2

Publishers Weekly. (2025, February 20). 2024 children's bestsellers: Graphic novels, YA sequels, and old favorites chart high. Publishers Weekly. PublishersWeekly.com

Rasamimanana, M., et al. (2025). Is comprehension in comics more effective than in traditional texts? PMC (National Library of Medicine). PMC

United Through Reading. (2024, July 22). The benefits of graphic novels: Why they count as reading. United Through Reading. unitedthroughreading.org