Tag: kill six billion demons

The 10 Best Dark Fantasy Graphic Novels

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Noble warriors? Just rulers? Good triumphing over evil? Hah! Whether I’m cracking open a graphic novel or pondering eldritch truth held within my wizarding orb, my rule is the same: I’ll believe it when I see it. In a dark fantasy, there are no heroes. When it comes to the adventuring game, people are only in it for one thing: themselves. It’s a dragon eat dragon world out there, one where the rules are decided by whoever is holding the sword. If your idea of a good time is a graphic novel that feels more “Red Wedding” than “Bilbo’s 111th Birthday,” boy do I have a list for you. Here are the 10 best dark fantasy graphic novels around.

Monstress

(Image Comics)

Monstress by Marjorie Liu will have you Mon-stressed out. Inspired by East Asia’s bloody 20th century, this graphic novel is set in a grimdark world at war. This realm is being torn apart by a never-ending struggle for power between matriarchal sorcerers that rule the human world, and the eldritch Arcanics that can pass for people. Maika Halfwolf is an Arcanic – hunted for her magical abilities like the rest of her kind. Not content to serve as a magical battery for the ruling class, she strikes out alone on a quest to avenge her mother. Well, not entirely alone. She’s got a frenemy of sorts, a demon that lives in the stump where her left arm used to be. In order kill the monsters the did her family wrong, Maika will need to learn to embrace the beast within – before it can consume her from the inside. Don’t let the glittering art deco style fool you, this epic fantasy is as dark as they come.

Kill Six Billion Demons

(Image Comics)

Kill Six Billion Demons by Tom Parkinson Morgan is a martial arts manual, a spiritual treatise, and a sapphic romance all rolled into one. Before she was kidnapped by a runaway god, Allison Ruth was a barista whose biggest concern was loosing her virginity to her boyfriend. After being spirited away to a city at the center of the multiverse, she now has bigger fish to fry. Those fish are The Demiurges, seven tyrannical divinities that each rule 111,111 of the 777,777 universes that make up all of existence. With the help of an angelic martial arts teacher and a demonic sapphic lover, Allison will learn to embrace her budding divine power to and break the cosmic cycle of violence and suffering. If all goes well, she might even inherit the throne of God themself. Brutal, beautiful and gloriously queer, this dark fantasy is one of a kind.

Something Is Killing The Children

(BOOM! Studios)

In case the title didn’t clue you in, James Tynion IV’s Something Is Killing The Children is set in a world where not even the most innocent of us are safe. Kids in Archer’s Peak fare about as well as children in a Stephen King novel – they tend to go missing and turn up dead. Frantic for answers, the townspeople lay the blame on a chainsaw wielding new arrival – a young woman who claims to be able to see monsters that they can’t. Erica Slaughter is an agent of the Order of Saint George, an ancient organization dedicated to eradicating monsters that are spawned from the darkest human fears. Sadly, they’re also dedicated to eradicating any humans that find out about their clandestine organization – a policy point that creates some tension between the merciful Erica and her ruthless handlers. Grim, gory, and grotesque, this novel is perfect for anyone who could stomach It.

Berserk

(Dark Horse Manga)

The poster child of dark fantasy, Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is one of the genre’s most seminal works – inspiring grimdark games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. The story follows Guts, a linebacker sized mercenary with the sword the length of a four door sedan. Guts wanders a demon haunted world searching for a former comrade, the man who betrayed him and sacrificed his friends to demons. Armed with a dragon slayer of a blade and a repeating crossbow, Guts is 300lbs of pure, grass fed hate. He walks the dark path of vengeance, and he’ll pulverize any demon standing in the road. While the author tragically passed away before the story could be finished, his assistants have taken up the narrative torch and are seeing it through to the bitter end. Guts would be proud.

The Wicked and The Divine

(Image Comics)

The Wicked and The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie is Almost Famous mixed with ancient myth. Every ninety years, a pantheon of twelve gods is reincarnated into human form. Upon awakening, the young gods have two years to walk among mortals before dying and beginning the cycle again. Through supernatural powers, supernatural talent, and supernatural good looks, these divinities make very good use of their time. They become movers and shakers, pop stars, celebrities, idols, burning hot and bright before finally sputtering out. Like any self-respecting divine pantheon, this gaggle of gods comes with some serious family drama. When multiple lifetimes of emotional baggage combine with the pressures of fame, the results are messy, violent, and explosive.

The Last God

(DC Comics)

At the beginning of The Last God, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, the big bad has already been defeated – the heroes won. Thirty years ago, a group of warriors claimed to have felled The God of the Void and his undead army after journeying to an alternate dimension. Problem solved! Except for the fact that the undying legions have reappeared to renew their assault on the world of Cain Anuun – sounds like we haven’t heard the last of The Last God after all. Now a new group of heroes must traverse dimensions in order to slay the dark divinity once and for all – a perfectly sensible plan. What doesn’t make sense is why the old group of heroes claimed to have killed The God of the Void when they very obviously didn’t. Somebody is playing a trick, and The Last God is having the last laugh.

Redlands

(Image Comics)

Redlands by Jordie Bellaire takes place in the darkest of dark fantasy worlds: small town Florida. The town of Redlands is ruled by a matriarchal coven of witches, who have asserted their dominion through decades of demonic sacrifice. Serving as the local law enforcement, the terrible trio maintains an uneasy peace with the average citizens. When young woman start turning up dead, the peace dies with it. A serial killer is stalking the streets of Redlands, and the vengeful spirit of one of the murdered can’t rest until her killer is found. It’s a swampy, Southern Gothic detective story steeped in feminist revenge. Like a witch’s victim, you’ll be charmed.

Through The Woods

(Margaret K. McElderry Books)

Through The Woods by Emily Carroll is a collection of dark fantasy fairy tales that would make the Brothers Grimm proud. Five separate stories are rendered in a muted color scheme of ghastly black, grim grey, and bloody crimson – including Carroll’s viral webcomic sensation His Face All Red. These bleak fables don’t end well, just ask the main character of the novel’s most famous story. Granted, he killed his own brother, so he kind of had it coming. What he probably didn’t expect was how it came, at the hands of the sibling he thought he murdered, returned from the dead. Unless it was some kind of magical doppelgänger? In this macabre world, it’s highly plausible.

Black Magick

(Image Comics)

Black Magick by Nicola Scott is a hard boiled dark fantasy noir. The plot revolves around Rowan Black, a loose cannon detective who doesn’t play by the rules, which in this case are the laws of physics. She’s a witch, and uses her magical abilities in order to help crack cases while working her police detective day job. While she’s managed to keep this secret under wraps, someone is now targeting her – threatening to expose a fact of her existence that would have gotten her burned at the stake a few hundred years before. This tense police procedural blends magic and mundane to create a tight drama drawn in shades of morally grey.

Pretty Deadly

(Image Comics)

Pretty Deadly is a hallucinatory murder ballad – something that late career Johnny Cash would sing about while tripping balls off of discount acid. It’s the story of Deathface Ginny, the gunslinging daughter of the grim reaper himself. She can be summoned via song, and her vengeful spirit will aid anyone who has been wronged by a man. At least, that’s what the legends say. Sissy isn’t sure, she’s been traveling across the wasteland with an old man named Fox for quite some time now; she and her guardian have been trading bits of Ginny lore back and forth, but the stories seem to conflict. Little does little Sissy know, her to the legendary gunslinger might go deeper than she ever imagined – perhaps they even share a common ancestor. Who’s to say death’s daughter is an only child?

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Sarah Fimm

Sarah Fimm (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like… REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They’re like that… but with anime. It’s starting to get sad.

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Sarah Fimm

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September 19, 2025
The 10 Best Graphic Novel Series

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What’s the problem with great graphic novels? They come to an end. While all good things must, some do so sooner than others. Imagine the disappointment when the graphic novel you expected to last through the rains of April only holds out for a few afternoons. You had an entire month of coziness planned! But those dreams were dashed by an author who selfishly decided to make their graphic novel a standalone. Oh the frustration! The disappointment! The sheer tragedy of it all!. When the single issues let you down, these titles will provide a long-running shoulder to cry on. Here are 10 of the best graphic novel series, to last you through this April and the next.

Saga

(Image Comics)

Brian K. Vaughn’s Saga is the ultimate soft sci-fi, a space opera of truly epic proportions. The series centers around two star-crossed lovers on opposite sides of an interplanetary war, who put their allegiances aside to escape with their new baby in tow. Refugees in a hostile and alien universe, Alana and Marko have few friends and an ever growing list of enemies. It turns out that carrying a literal poster-child for peaceful coexistence doesn’t bode well for war propaganda, and the lovers’ former governments have ordered them to be eliminated to bolster moral. As this nuclear family vaults across the stars, they discover an extended found family in the alien worlds between. Romance novel writing cyclopses, ghost nannies, adorable seal-men with an arsenal of high powered weapons – each of these extraterrestrial oddballsaid Alana and Marko on their quest to find peace and quiet, and do so with overwhelming violence. To ensure a pristine future, sometimes you gotta get your flippers dirty in the present.

Fables

(Vertigo)

Fables by Bill Willingham was recently made all the more famous by Telltale Games’ detective series The Wolf Among Us, centered around Bigby Wolf – a morally reformed Big Bad Wolf turned sheriff. After he and the rest of his fairytale ilk were exiled from their fantastical homelands by a being known as The Adversary, fable-kind had to learn to walk among humans. Disguised as “mundys” these mythical beings blend in with mundane people in order to get by. But when one of these folklore characters ends up getting murdered in cold blood, it’s up to Bigby to sniff out the killer. Snow White’s sister is dead. Was it the ex-fiance? The current boyfriend? Or does this conspiracy go deeper down the rabbit hole than it appears? RIP Brothers’ Grimm, you two would have loved this series.

Something Is Killing The Children

(BOOM! Studios)

If James Tynion IV’s Something Is Killing The Children doesn’t have you hooked by the title alone, then allow me to reel you in further. It’s the story of an average American town come under the grips of extraordinary evil – something is carrying off the kids of Archer’s Peak, and they’re never seen again. When monsters have taken up residence in the wilderness nearby, there’s only one person you can call: Erica Slaughter, appropriately named for the job. Armed with a trusty chainsaw, Erica is prepped and ready to strike back against the creatures that lurk in the shadows – beings made of the sum of all human fears. But when the terrified townsfolk are looking for a culprit, they might just pin the blame on the lady with the bloody chainsaw, even if she is the only thing standing between their children and the hungry dark. Monster hunting is a thankless job.

Transmetropolitan

(Vertigo)

Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan is the story of Spider Jerusalem, a drug sniffin’, muck-slingin’, power-fightin’ journalist willing to stick it to the system. Fresh off his latest drug bender, Spider returns to his city to dig up the dirt on a sociopathic presidential candidate who craves power for power’s sake. Spider trades the usual crime-fighter’s arsenal for a more unique set of armaments: photo-taking sunglasses and a gun that forcibly loosens people’s bowels. A lover of mankind but a hater of the average man, Spider Jerusalem is the ultimate misanthrope – a man who endeavors to bring the truth to the populace no matter how many powerful people it ticks off. Smarmy, cynical, sublime, Transmetropolitan reads like a gossip rag preaching gospel truth.

(VIZ Media LLC)

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa proves that the crackpot thinkers of The Renaissance were right, you really CAN turn lead into gold! Provided you offer something of equivalent value in return. Edward and Alphonse Elric live in the kingdom of Amestris, an autocratic regime where government alchemists uphold law and order. After these two alchemical prodigies commit the ultimate taboo and try to resurrect their dead mother through magic, their unwittingly forfeit their body parts in order to balance the equation. Deprived of their essence , Ed and Al go on a quest to find what they lost by uncovering ancient alchemical truths – and a massive government conspiracy along the way. It turns out the brothers aren’t the only humans who have tried to transmute a human soul – a shadowy organization is coming close, and the nation itself may by the price. I’m not exaggerating when I say this series is one of the greatest works of fiction ever.

Lumberjanes

(BOOM! Box)

From Nimona author NK Stevenson comes Lumberjanes, a rustic series about a gaggle of woodsy women who solve supernatural mysteries. Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for outdoorsy types is more than meets the eye, the grounds are home to all sorts of magical beings – as this quintet of woodchoppers will soon find out for themselves. Three eyed foxes, malevolent yetis, perambulatory statues, all these ethereal oddities appear and more. If you’re a lover of spooky wilderness stories in the style of Gravity Falls, Lumberjanes will land right in your neck of the woods.

Monstress

(Image Comics)

Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu is an art deco-drenched reimagining of 20th century East Asia. The action follows Maika Halfwolf, a teenage girl attempting to keep her identity a secret from the powers that be. Maika is an Arcanic, beings that is harvested by human sorcerers for their magical abilities. Hiding right under the nose of the ruling class, Miaka’s cover is nearly blown by the demonic being that resides in the stump of her left arm. When you’re a young woman on a quest to avenge your mother, you need to learn to manage your inner monster before consumes you entirely. Great Gatsby glamour combines with divine imagery to serve up an epic of biblical proportions.

Kill Six Billion Demons

(Image Comics)

Tom Parkinson Morgan’s Kill Six Billion Demons is many things – a martial arts manual, a spiritual text, and the biography of a barista turned god-breaker. Allison Ruth was a simple business major before being spirited away to Throne – the divine city that lies at the center of all 777,777 universes. Blessed with newfound holy power by a runaway god, Allison is charged with defeating the Demiurges – seven tyrannical divinities who have each claimed 111,111 universes for themselves. With the help of an angelic martial arts teacher and a demonic sapphic lover, Allison might have what it takes to break the cyclical nature of universal suffering – inheriting the powers of God themself. Action packed, beautifully drawn, and gloriously queer, this ongoing series is one of the most underrated fantasy titles of all time.

Akira

(Kodansha Comics)

Often hailed as the greatest graphic novel series of all time, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira laid the groundwork for the cyberpunk genre, and is one of the most significant sci-fi titles to come out of Japan alongside Ghost In The Shell. Illustrated by the legendary Satoshi Kon, Akira transports the reader to the neon-drenched metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, built on the ruins of World War III. Biker gangs rule the dystopian streets, but one young rider’s world is turned upside down after he comes into contact with an escaped government experiment. Exposed to metaphysical contamination, young Tetsuo begins to develop psychic powers. Not the “bend spoons” kind, but the “implode reality” kind. As Tetsuo’s power grows, his warped mind begins to bend the physical laws of the universe to the breaking point – resulting in a climax of cosmically horrible proportions.

Pretty Deadly

(Image Comics)

Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick is a western horror that gives Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series a run for its money. This is the tale of Deathface Ginny – the daughter of Death himself. She’s an avenging angel, a supernatural gunslinger who can be summoned by those who have been done wrong. The plot follows a young girl named Sissy and an old man named Fox, traveling across the wasteland trading snippets of Ginny’s story. Little does Sissy know, she and her companion play a bigger part in the legend than the little girl can possibly imagine. Hallucinatory, surreal, and sinister, Pretty Deadly is a true acid western – assuming you bought the acid off a toothless old prospector in an abandoned ghost town. You’re for a very good bad trip.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Sarah Fimm

Sarah Fimm (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like… REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They’re like that… but with anime. It’s starting to get sad.

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Sarah Fimm

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September 16, 2025
The 10 Best Queer Graphic Novels

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If you’re looking for LGBTQ+ graphic novels, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got a little something for everyone. Shapeshifters who refuse conform to gender or moral norms. Sapphics who ride spaceships across the stars to find the ones they love. Gay teens experiencing high school romance for the very first time. Trans angels that teach martial arts to chaotic bisexual baristas. Whatever your fancy, you’ll find it here. These are the 10 best queer graphic novels, perfect to cozy up with on a rainy gay. I mean, day.

Nimona

( Quill Tree Books)

The novel that elevated author ND Stevenson to queer internet royalty, Nimona is the story of a shapeshifter who refuses to play by physical, societal, or moral rules. In a kingdom where science and magic intertwine, the teenage Nimona is a social outcast, ostracized for their ability to change the shape of their body in myriad way. In order to stick it to the man, which in this case is a government organization called The Institute, Nimona dedicates their life to crime – and seeks to become the sidekick of famous criminal Ballister Blackheart. Ballister was once a poster child of the Institute, but left it and his ex-lover behind after a disastrous falling out. Now he’s out for revenge, and Nimona is willing to help him get it. But on the quest for retribution, the pair uncover a conspiracy that the Institute would rather keep under wraps, and are determined to drag it kicking and screaming into the light.

The Magic Fish

(Random House Graphic)

Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish is a semi-autobiographical memoir about Tiến Phong, a second generation Vietnamese American attempting to teach his mother English through fairy tales. As Tiến recounts tales of runaway princesses, magical talking fish, and lovestruck mermaids, he begins to slowly get in touch with his own sexuality. Tiến soon discovers that he is gay, but is fearful that his mother will refuse to accept him. It’s the story of a young man attempting to bridge the divide between his family’s culture and the culture of the new nation they find themselves in – along with his struggle to find acceptance by his community and his peers. Through fantasy, we better understand reality. No one understands this better than Tiến.

Kill Six Billion Demons

(Image Comics)

Tom Parkinson Morgan’s Kill Six Billion Demons is many things: a progression manga, a spiritual text, and a sapphic fantasy. The plot revolves around Allison Ruth, a barista who was kidnapped from her dorm room by a runaway god and spirited away to Heaven – which is a seedy city at the center of the multiverse. Armed with newfound divine power, Allison is charged with liberating the multiverse from the grip of the Demiurges – seven divinities that carve up reality for their own gain. With the help of a trans angelic martial arts teacher and spell-slinging demon turned sapphic lover, Allison may just become the most powerful being in the entire universe: God themself.

Mooncakes

(Oni Press)

Mooncakes by Joamette Gil and Suzanne Walker is the story of teen witch Nova Huang, who works at her grandmother’s bookshop selling spells in her New England town. While rambling through the woods beyond, she discovers her old crush Tam Lang. There’s no time for love confessions here, Tam is busy locked in combat with a horrible demon! The forces of darkness are after werewolves like Tam for their magic, and Tam turns to Nova for help. The two teens must combine their arcane abilities in order to stamp out evil – with a little help from Nova’s badass grandma. As cozy and spooky as a black cat kitten, Mooncakes is a genre classic perfect for an October night.

On A Sunbeam

(First Second)

On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden is the epitome of soft sci-fi, a tender read similar to the work of genre stalwart Becky Chambers. Much like Chambers’ The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet, On A Sunbeam provides an introspective look at an interstellar crew. On the surface, the newest crew member of the Aktis may seem cool and withdrawn, but the young Mia’s chill demeanor hides an inner fire of devotion. Mia once loved and lost a girl named Grace in a whirlwind boarding school romance. Newly graduated, Mia has taken to the stars to find Grace again in the gulf of space. For a novel set in a frigid and barren void, it’s surprisingly warmhearted – a sunbeam that will shine straight into your shriveled up soul. You’re welcome.

Fun Home

(Mariner Books)

Before it was a groundbreaking Broadway musical, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home was a devastating and devastatingly funny graphic novel. It’s the story of the author’s relationship with her late father, an English teacher and funeral home director. Two weeks after coming out as gay, Bruce Bechdel died of apparent suicide, leaving his daughter Alison to pick up the pieces. Alison, who is gay herself, attempts to come to terms with the troubled relationship she had with her father – one defined by emotional distance and occasional outbursts of anger. It’s the story of what happens when a person denies their truth, and the day to day devastation that comes with living a lie. Even if we don’t fully know someone, we can still love them, as Alison comes to understand. Warning, this novel may make you ugly cry, and it will be worth it.

Blue Is The Warmest Color

(Arsenal Pulp Press)

Before it was an emotional gut punch disguised as a feature film, Jul Maroh’s Blue Is The Warmest Color was an equally devastating graphic novel. Drawn in a watercolor style that looks like paint mixed with human tears (soon to be your tears) the novel details the tragic romance between Clementine and Emma, two teenage French girls. After falling madly in love, the pair struggle with the social repercussions of their queer relationship – which compound upon the emotional difficulties that come with romance. Sweet as a first kiss and brutal as a goodbye, this novel is a devastating downward spiral of the heart. No, it doesn’t end well. Yes, your tears will wet the pages. Yes, it’s absolutely worth the read – and about ten boxes of tissues.

Heartstopper

(Graphix)

Before it was a Netflix smash, Heartstopper was an explosively popular graphic novel about two high school boys in love. Charlie is a quiet and reserved intellectual, Nick is an outgoing rugby player with a heart of gold. While the pair first begin their relationship as friends, these opposites soon attract. Navigating love in a hostile high school world, the two boys find solace in one another and a supporting cast of LGBTQ+ teens. It’s the ultimate cozy read, a tender narrative that doesn’t shy away from the harsh and confusing reality faced by many queer youth. Unlike lovers in many gay romances of yesteryear, these two lovers aren’t broken by the world around them. The hardships they overcome only bring them closer together, and deepen the roots of their blooming ardor.

Gender Queer: A Memoir

(Lion Forge Comics/Oni Press)

Gender Queer is the autobiographical story of Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, detailing eir self-discovery journey as someone who is non-binary and asexual. It’s an unflinching account of Maia’s childhood growing up as gender non-conforming, and the euphoria and dysphoria that comes with it. While Maia originally wrote the novel as a way for eir family to better understand eir identity, Gender Queer has since become an emotional roadmap for many young queer people. It’s also one of the most challenged books in American libraries, and holds the Guiness World Record for “most banned book of the year” – so you know it’s good. At its core, Gender Queer is a novel that allows queer people and allies to better understand their own struggles and the struggles faced by loved ones – a great stride on the road towards acceptance and understanding.

Our Dreams At Dusk

(Seven Seas)

Our Dreams At Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani is a no punches pulled look into the harsh reality faced by many queer teens. It’s the story of Tasuku Kaname, a teen who is outed by his classmates and is considering suicide. Just as he’s about to take his life, he witnesses a mysterious figure standing at the window of a building. This figure, who calls themself “Someone” runs a drop-in center for queer youth, a safe space for kids of all walks of life to find acceptance and community. As Tasuku listens to the stories of his peers, he begins gain a better understanding of his own life – realizing that it is worth living after all. Our Dreams At Dusk is not a cozy read, and that’s its power. It’s a story about the inner strength that queer people must cultivate in order to live in this world, a trait that will be necessary until the world better understands us. The novel is ultimately a story of hope – while widespread social acceptance may elude queer people, we can find it in pockets – found families spreading light and joy right under our noses. Just like the one Tasuku finds.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Sarah Fimm

Sarah Fimm (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like… REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They’re like that… but with anime. It’s starting to get sad.

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Sarah Fimm

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September 9, 2025