The Best Comics of the Year and the Century Altogether

Also, PRH's strong first quarter, the best comics of the year (Eisner Awards), and of the century (our picks), and more.

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The Best Comics of the Year and the Century Altogether

Also, PRH's strong first quarter, the best comics of the year (Eisner Awards), and of the century (our picks), and more.

Erica Ezeifedi

May 14, 2026

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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

Penguin Random House’s First Quarter Was Strong

Can you guess the books that drove sales the most? Internationally, For the Fans! (KPop Demon Hunters) by Angela Song sold 1.6 million copies in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, and Spain; while The Correspondent by Virginia Evans sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Stateside, leading sales were populated by books that had been adapted, such as Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

Florence Pugh Is an Adaptation Darling

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Miss Mamas is everywhere collecting an adaptation coin—and I can’t say I’m mad. The only performance of hers I’ve seen that didn’t quite do it for me was her role in Marvel’s Black Widow, and that was because of that Temu Russian accent she did. I would absolutely watch these other things she’s starring in, though! There’s the adaptation of Matt Haig’s super bestselling The Midnight Library, which she is also producing. Shooting for that is set to start in 2027. She’s also getting back to the classics with her role as Cathy Ames in East of Eden, which is being adapted from John Steinbeck’s book of the same name. The seven-episode series is out on Netflix this fall, and there’s already a trailer for it.

The 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees Have Been Announced

Comic-Con just announced the nominees for this year’s Eisner Awards , which are considered "the Oscars" of the comic book world. The nominees include more than 170 print and online titles from around 75 publishers, and are judged across 32 categories. As far as publishers go, DC Comics is leading the pack with the most nominated titles (16), but indie publisher Fantagraphics isn’t too far behind with its 14 titles. I also noticed that a few of the authors nominated were some of the same ones who authored comics nominated for our Best Comics of the Century So Far list (more on that below). Among them are Raina Telgemeier, K. O’Neill, Trung Le Nguyen, Mariko Tamaki, Alison Bechdel, and Juni Ba.

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Eisner Award winners will be announced during a gala awards ceremony on July 24.

The Best Comic Books of the Century So Far

Speaking of comics! I had a time helping to assemble our list of the Best Comics of the Century So Far . Even as a longtime comics reader, there were so many great titles nominated by our staff and contributors that were new to me. Comics have really been a part of cultural discourse for so long, and our list of the best ones from the 21st century really showcases their full range.

These comics, graphic novels, and graphic nonfiction include coming-of-age tales set during revolutions, ones that use fabulism to explore queer realities, and others that tell stories entirely through illustration. There are manga from Japan that have taken the world by storm, and even relatable comics geared towards younger readers that have ushered them into a lifetime of reading.

You should absolutely get involved with the list and let us know what you think! Which comics would you add? Or even takeaway, if you’re feeling spicy.