Weird, surreal, and psychedelic comics
This list of bizarre and trippy comic book series and graphic novels is intended as a companion to my list of weird literature. The comic book medium appears to be particularly well-suited to portraying dreamlike and hallucinatory narratives; it can be said that the visual aspect it utilized to the fullest when the artist is given the opportunity to depict the most unreal and wildly imaginative scenes. It is worth noting that many of the titles included on this list are often recommended as the best examples of the medium in general; this demonstrates the strong link between the comic book and the strange.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the list is very eclectic. For one thing, “weird” is a very broad descriptor. More importantly, it is a relative term that is determined by one’s own personal standards of normalcy. This explains why some relatively tame and sanitized mainstream comics appear alongside some truly off-the-wall bonkers avant-garde, underground, or alternative comix titles on the list. The jaded connoisseurs of the bizarre among us should remember, however, that the comics belonging to the first category are pretty weird when compared to even more mainstream offerings!
I’ve seen the vast majority of the titles on the list described as “surreal” and “psychedelic” (sometimes both at once). Each of these terms means something different, and each is frequently misused; many ostensibly “surreal” comics have very little to do with the ideas and practices of André Breton and his circle, whereas “psychedelic” is overused as a synonym for “colorful” or simply “strange”. I’ve also noticed that people tend to exaggerate the weirdness of comic books that are merely formally inventive, even when they deal with very mundane subject matter and slice-of-life narratives. But pedantry aside, my goal was to be as inclusive as possible, accounting for all types of strangeness: whimsical, disturbing, fabulist, oneiric, and grotesque alike.
There is a noticeable overlap between the present list and some of those I compiled earlier under different headings. I especially recommend looking through my lists of horror comics, sci-fi comics, and disturbing and transgressive comics, each of which expands on its own flavor of weirdness and imaginativeness.
The Invisibles
by Grant Morrison and various artists
5 figs out of 5
Doom Patrol
by Grant Morrison and various artists
5 figs out of 5
The Filth
by Grant Morrison, Chris Weston, et al.
4.5 figs out of 5
Black Hole
by Charles Burns
4.5 figs out of 5
Shade, The Changing Man
by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo
4.5 figs out of 5
Promethea
by Alan Moore and J.H. Williams III
4.5 figs out of 5
Prophet
by Brandon Graham et al.
4.5 figs out of 5
The Sandman
by Neil Gaiman and various artists
4.5 figs out of 5
The Incal
by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jean Giraud (Moebius)
4 figs out of 5
Nameless
by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham
4 figs out of 5
Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron
by Daniel Clowes
4 figs out of 5
Flex Mentallo
by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
4 figs out of 5
Saga of the Swamp Thing
by Alan Moore and various artists
4 figs out of 5
The Frank Book
by Jim Woodring
4 figs out of 5
Weathercraft
by Jim Woodring
4 figs out of 5
Animal Man
by Grant Morrison and Chaz Truog
4 figs out of 5
Stray Toasters
by Bill Sienkiewicz
4 figs out of 5
The Maxx
by Sam Kieth and William Messner-Loebs
4 figs out of 5
Last Look
by Charles Burns
3.5 figs out of 5
Transmetropolitan
by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson
3.5 figs out of 5
The Metabarons
by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Juan Giménez
3.5 figs out of 5
ODY-C
by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward
3.5 figs out of 5
Rogan Gosh
by Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy
3.5 figs out of 5
Lone Sloane
by Philippe Druillet
3.5 figs out of 5
Saga
by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
3.5 figs out of 5
Batman: Arkham Asylum (A Serious House On Serious Earth)
by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
3.5 figs out of 5
Chew
by John Layman and Rob Guillory
3.5 figs out of 5
Gideon Falls
by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino
3.5 figs out of 5
Casanova
by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba
3 figs out of 5
Uzumaki
by Junji Ito
3 figs out of 5
The Manhattan Projects
by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra
3 figs out of 5
Planetary
by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday
3 figs out of 5
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.
by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen
3 figs out of 5
Crawl Space
by Jesse Jacobs
3 figs out of 5
BodyWorld
by Dash Shaw
3 figs out of 5
Asterios Polyp
by David Mazzucchelli
3 figs out of 5
Enigma
by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo
3 figs out of 5
Space Riders
by Fabian Rangel and Alexis Ziritt
3 figs out of 5
Mind MGMT
by Matt Kindt
3 figs out of 5
Ed the Happy Clown
by Chester Brown
3 figs out of 5
The Courtyard and Neonomicon
by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows
3 figs out of 5
Doctor Strange
by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
3 figs out of 5
Preacher
by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
3 figs out of 5
Zero
by Aleš Kot and various artists
3 figs out of 5
Forming
by Jesse Moynihan
3 figs out of 5
Ant Colony
by Michael DeForge
3 figs out of 5
Aâma
by Frederik Peeters
3 figs out of 5
We3
by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
3 figs out of 5
Providence
by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows
3 figs out of 5
Daytripper
by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá
3 figs out of 5
The Squirrel Machine
by Hans Rickheit
3 figs out of 5
Silver Surfer: Black
by Donny Cates and Tradd Moore
3 figs out of 5
Flaming Carrot Comics
by Bob Burden
3 figs out of 5
God Hates Astronauts
by Ryan Browne
3 figs out of 5
Crossed
by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows
3 figs out of 5
Cerebus
by Dave Sim
3 figs out of 5
Ice Cream Man
by W. Maxwell Prince and Martín Morazzo
2.5 figs out of 5
Scud: The Disposable Assassin
by Rob Schrab, Dan Harmon, et al.
2.5 figs out of 5
Elektra: Assassin
by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz
2.5 figs out of 5
City of Glass: The Graphic Novel
by Paul Karasik, David Mazzucchelli, et al.
2.5 figs out of 5
Batman
by Grant Morrison and various artists
2.5 figs out of 5
Sweet Tooth
by Jeff Lemire
2.5 figs out of 5
Heavy Liquid
by Paul Pope
2.5 figs out of 5
The Complete Eightball
by Daniel Clowes
2.5 figs out of 5
The Bulletproof Coffin
by David Hine and Shaky Kane
2.5 figs out of 5
Safari Honeymoon
by Jesse Jacobs
2.5 figs out of 5
Big Baby
by Charles Burns
2.5 figs out of 5
Miracleman
by Alan Moore et al.
2.5 figs out of 5
Madman
by Michael Allred
2.5 figs out of 5
From Hell
by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
2.5 figs out of 5
Black Science
by Rick Remender and Matteo Scalera
2.5 figs out of 5
The Wrenchies
by Farel Dalrymple
2.5 figs out of 5
The Motherless Oven
by Rob Davis
2.5 figs out of 5
The Department of Truth
by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds
2.5 figs out of 5
Patience
by Daniel Clowes
2.5 figs out of 5
Multiple Warheads
by Brandon Graham
2.5 figs out of 5
King City
by Brandon Graham
2.5 figs out of 5
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
by Chris Ware
2.5 figs out of 5
Cages
by Dave McKean
2.5 figs out of 5
By This Shall You Know Him
by Jesse Jacobs
2.5 figs out of 5
The Unwritten
by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
2.5 figs out of 5
Sex Criminals
by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
2.5 figs out of 5
Seaguy
by Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart
2.5 figs out of 5
Locke & Key
by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
2.5 figs out of 5
Hard Boiled
by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow
2.5 figs out of 5
Final Crisis
by Grant Morrison, J.G. Jones, and Carlos Pacheco
2.5 figs out of 5
The Airtight Garage
by Jean Giraud (Moebius)
2.5 figs out of 5
The Umbrella Academy
by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
2.5 figs out of 5
The Complete Works of Fletcher Hanks
by Fletcher Hanks
2.5 figs out of 5
Tales Designed to Thrizzle
by Michael Kupperman
2.5 figs out of 5
Megg, Mogg, & Owl
by Simon Hanselmann
2.5 figs out of 5
Annihilator
by Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving
2.5 figs out of 5
Young Liars
by David Lapham
2.5 figs out of 5
Trillium
by Jeff Lemire and José Villarrubia
2.5 figs out of 5
The Multiversity
by Grant Morrison and various artists
2.5 figs out of 5
Mister Miracle
by Tom King and Mitch Gerads
2.5 figs out of 5
The Night
by Philippe Druillet
2 figs out of 5
The Best of Milligan & McCarthy
by Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy
2 figs out of 5
Red Room
by Ed Piskor
2 figs out of 5
Pachyderme
by Frederik Peeters
2 figs out of 5
Moon Knight
by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood
2 figs out of 5
Jim
by Jim Woodring
2 figs out of 5
David Boring
by Daniel Clowes
2 figs out of 5
Monstress
by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda
2 figs out of 5
Hellblazer
by Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, et al.
2 figs out of 5
Harrow County
by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook
2 figs out of 5
Spider-Man: Fever
by Brendan McCarthy
2 figs out of 5
Skin Deep
by Charles Burns
2 figs out of 5
Shade, the Changing Girl
by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone
2 figs out of 5
Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
by Jim Steranko
2 figs out of 5
Little Nemo
by Winsor McCay
2 figs out of 5
Kabuki
by David Mack
2 figs out of 5
House of Penance
by Peter J. Tomasi and Ian Bertram
2 figs out of 5
Copra
by Michel Fiffe
2 figs out of 5
Wytches
by Scott Snyder and Jock
2 figs out of 5
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
2 figs out of 5
Seven Soldiers of Victory
by Grant Morrison and various artists
2 figs out of 5
Orc Stain
by James Stokoe
2 figs out of 5
Kid Eternity
by Grant Morrison and Duncan Fegredo
2 figs out of 5
Injection
by Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, et al.
2 figs out of 5
Hellboy
by Mike Mignola et al.
2 figs out of 5
The Green Lantern
by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp
2 figs out of 5
Dial H
by China Miéville and Mateus Santolouco
2 figs out of 5
Zap Comix
by R. Crumb et al.
2 figs out of 5
The Zaucer of Zilk
by Al Ewing and Brendan McCarthy
2 figs out of 5
Square Eyes
by Anna Mill and Luke Jones
2 figs out of 5
Rare Bit Fiends
by Rick Veitch
2 figs out of 5
Plastic Forks
by Ted McKeever
2 figs out of 5
Omega: The Unknown
by Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple
2 figs out of 5
Mr. Punch
by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
2 figs out of 5
Hewligan's Haircut
by Peter Milligan and Jamie Hewlett
2 figs out of 5
Doom Patrol
by Gerard Way and Nick Derington
2 figs out of 5
Deadly Class
by Rick Remender and Wes Craig
2 figs out of 5
Coffin Bound
by Dan Watters and Dani Strips
2 figs out of 5
Cankor
by Matthew Allison
2 figs out of 5
Black Stars Above
by Lonnie Nadler and Jenna Cha
2 figs out of 5
Beanworld
by Larry Marder
2 figs out of 5
Abraxas and the EarthMan
by Rick Veitch
2 figs out of 5
The Technopriests
by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Zoran Janjetov, and Fred Beltran
2 figs out of 5
The Black Monday Murders
by Jonathan Hickman and Tomm Coker
2 figs out of 5
Starstruck
by Elaine Lee, Michael William Kaluta, and Lee Moyer
2 figs out of 5
Shaolin Cowboy
by Geof Darrow
2 figs out of 5
Pim & Francie: “The Golden Bear Days”
by Al Columbia
2 figs out of 5
The World of Edena
by Jean Giraud (Moebius)
2 figs out of 5
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
by Jhonen Vásquez
2 figs out of 5
Prison Pit
by Johnny Ryan
2 figs out of 5
Joe the Barbarian
by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy
2 figs out of 5
Fourth World
by Jack Kirby
2 figs out of 5
Fell
by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith
2 figs out of 5
East of West
by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta
2 figs out of 5
Descender
by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen
2 figs out of 5
Arzach
by Jean Giraud (Moebius)
2 figs out of 5
X-Force / X-Statix
by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred
1.5 figs out of 5
Upgrade Soul
by Ezra Claytan Daniels
1.5 figs out of 5
The Wicked + The Divine
by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
1.5 figs out of 5
The Underwater Welder
by Jeff Lemire
1.5 figs out of 5
The Sandman: Overture
by Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams III
1.5 figs out of 5
The Furry Trap
by Josh Simmons
1.5 figs out of 5
The Cage
by Martin Vaughn-James
1.5 figs out of 5
Skip
by Molly Mendoza
1.5 figs out of 5
RASL
by Jeff Smith
1.5 figs out of 5
Pretty Deadly
by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Emma Rios, et al.
1.5 figs out of 5
Pinocchio
by Winshluss
1.5 figs out of 5
Panther
by Brecht Evens
1.5 figs out of 5
Milk and Cheese
by Evan Dorkin
1.5 figs out of 5
Metropol
by Ted McKeever
1.5 figs out of 5
King of the Flies
by Michel Pirus and Mezzo
1.5 figs out of 5
Kaijumax
by Zander Cannon
1.5 figs out of 5
I Breathed a Body
by Zac Thompson and Andy MacDonald
1.5 figs out of 5
Howard the Duck
by Steve Gerber et al.
1.5 figs out of 5
Here
by Richard McGuire
1.5 figs out of 5
Green Lantern: Willworld
by J.M. DeMatteis, Seth Fisher, et al.
1.5 figs out of 5
Ghost World
by Daniel Clowes
1.5 figs out of 5
Farmer Ned's Comics Barn (Cryptic Wit)
by Gerald Jablonski
1.5 figs out of 5
El Borbah
by Charles Burns
1.5 figs out of 5
Eddy Current
by Ted McKeever
1.5 figs out of 5
Dope Rider
by Paul Kirchner
1.5 figs out of 5
Blood: A Tale
by J.M. Dematteis and Kent Williams
1.5 figs out of 5
Big Questions
by Anders Nilsen
1.5 figs out of 5
Battle Pope
by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, et al.
1.5 figs out of 5
Batman: Odyssey
by Neal Adams
1.5 figs out of 5
Automatic Kafka
by Joe Casey & Ash Wood
1.5 figs out of 5
Abandoned Cars
by Tim Lane
1.5 figs out of 5
Tomie
by Junji Ito
1.5 figs out of 5
The Nikopol Trilogy
by Enki Bilal
1.5 figs out of 5
The Biologic Show
by Al Columbia
1.5 figs out of 5
Tank Girl
by Alan C. Martin and Jamie Hewlett
1.5 figs out of 5
Supergod
by Warren Ellis and Garrie Gastonny
1.5 figs out of 5
Stray Bullets
by David Lapham
1.5 figs out of 5
Paper Girls
by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang
1.5 figs out of 5
Moonshadow
by J.M. DeMatteis and Jon J. Muth
1.5 figs out of 5
Low
by Rick Remender
1.5 figs out of 5
The Obscure Cities (Cities of the Fantastic)
by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters
1.5 figs out of 5
I Hate Fairyland
by Skottie Young et al.
1.5 figs out of 5
The Arrival
by Shaun Tan
1.5 figs out of 5
Goodnight Punpun
by Inio Asano
1.5 figs out of 5
Brat Pack
by Rick Veitch
1.5 figs out of 5