When I was a kid, my Mom would take me with her on grocery shopping trips. The first stop in the store would be at the magazine rack, where she would stuff the latest Archie comic in my hands to keep me occupied while she ran down her list. Through that little ritual, I found a deep love of not just comics, but reading in general.
Now that I’m a father to a 4th grader with reading challenges, I’ve found myself revisiting how I learned to read. The combination of picture and narrative that comics offer has helped my kid move up (I kid you not) 4 reading level grades in one year after struggling for most of the previous grades.
Comics can awaken imagination in a way that other reading styles can’t, and in today’s world of apps, games, and visual narratives, comics can be a bridge to finding that love of reading.
Here are 20 books to help your kid find their love of reading. Some of these comics are for younger children, while teens in your household can enjoy others.
Ultimate Spider-Man
In 2000, Marvel was struggling. Properties were being sold off like candy to prevent bankruptcy. Comics had become stale and were in a state of disrepair thanks to the collector boom-and-bust of the 1990s. A facelift was drastically needed. Enter: Ultimate Spider-Man.
Ultimate Spider-Man presented a new and fresh look at what Marvel’s key characters would look like in a modern, updated setting. No longer was Peter Parker a struggling science teacher and part-time photographer. Instead, he’s the 15-year old genius and webmaster at the Daily Bugle. All your favorites are there, Mary Jane, Aunt May, Uncle Ben, the Osborns, etc, but with fresh, updated stories and characterizations.
Brian Michael Bendis wrote most of the initial 160+ issue run, and there was nary a dud among them. Ultimate Spider-Man is so good, it not only sold in the millions, keeping Marvel afloat in a tough time, but also spawned an entire Ultimate Universe that continues to this day. It also gave us the absolute treat that is Miles Morales.
All Star Superman
Superman is set to make his return to the Silver Screen this summer. If you want your kids to get a feel for what Superman is all about before heading to the movies, All Star Superman and its series of interconnected individual stories is the perfect stop.
Comics Heavyweight writer Grant Morrison puts Superman through the paces in a classic and fun way. Kids can explore the Fortress of Solitude, Superman’s Robots, The Phantom Zone, Krypto, and more via Frank Quitely’s fantastic artwork. It’s a fun read and an excellent look at what makes Superman so very super.
Bone
We’ve all been there. You want to sit down and watch all the extended edition Lord of the Rings movies with your kid, but they can barely make it out of the Shire without their attention wandering. Well, Bone is an epic fantasy tale just like The Lord of the Rings, but with kids in mind.
The Bone Cousins (Fone, Phoney and Smiley) set out from Boneville and end up using a mysterious map to traverse The Valley and play a central part in its liberation from an evil king and his Rat Creatures. It is a funny, exciting story presented in the original black-and-white or updated color versions. It has messages about family, standing up for what’s right and even deeper subtext about dynamics of power and greed.
This comic initially spearheaded a huge rise in indie comics when it was released in the 90’s and hasn’t slowed down since, with millions of copies sold and kids hooked.
Dog Man
Dev Patel is an insanely productive cartoonist. The creator of the excellent Captain Underpants saga, Patel’s art emulates that of a kid’s and gives them the feeling that they created it themselves. Dog Man is terrific because it’s even more simplified and done in a more traditional, panel-by-panel comic book style. A Dog Man movie starring Pete Davidson and Isla Fisher was released this year, if you’re looking for an easier introduction to the Dog-Man-iverse.
Through the various stories, Dog Man fights crime, takes on a superhero persona, adopts a young kitten, and battles his arch-nemesis, Petey. The enjoyable part is that, throughout the story, Petey starts as an evil villain but gradually softens, showing kids that people can change and that second chances are a significant part of growing up. The volumes are also released in really nice, affordable hardcovers for the bookshelf.
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: The Long Halloween is a bit more mature, but it is one of the greatest mysteries Batman has ever had to solve. A killer is targeting mobland figures, striking only on holidays starting with Halloween. Batman must run through his entire rogues gallery of enemies to figure out who The Holiday Killer is. The story also serves as a retelling of the origin of Two-Face and what happens when good people are pushed too far.
The late Tim Sale’s art creates the perfect atmosphere for this noir-style tale. If you or your kid has seen the classic Batman: The Animated Series, The Long Halloween is similar in tone. The sequel, Dark Victory, brings Robin the Boy Wonder into the fray, and the issues of a final volume, The Last Halloween, began being released last year.
Runaways
Most kids think their parents are super villains at one time or another. For The Runaways, it turns out to be true. They must deal with their parents, intervening superheroes, huge events, and then take care of each other in a world that insists they become adults. It’s fast-paced, exciting, witty, and had my 9-year-old begging for the next chapter every time we read it.
With truly shocking twists, positive messages about being who you are and standing on your own two feet, Runaways is a Marvel Superhero book unlike any other. A word of warning, the book is a little violent, with deaths playing a central role in the story. Runaways began around the year 2000, and as such, some of the language and opinions may be a bit dated. However, whenever someone uses an outdated term or acts in a toxic manner, they are called to account for it and given opportunities to atone.
They Called Us Enemy
Of course, Comics are good for more than just superheroics and fantasy spells. Non-Fiction comics have taken their place over the years at the top of the genre, and one of the best I’ve read recently is They Called Us Enemy by the one and only George Takei, Sulu of Star Trek.
Takei tells his family’s story of being Japanese Americans interned in a camp during World War II. Harmony Becker provides art that is both simple and deeply emotiona,l as Takei asks questions like what it means to be an American? Who gets to decide? As a Canadian, I was also enthralled by this question during the firsthand telling of a very dark chapter of American life.
Bad Guys
Another series that’s great for kids and has a ton of volumes to keep them hooked is the Bad Guys series. This series stars Mr. Wolf and his gang of, well, Bad Guys as they work to change their ways and become (you guessed it! Good Guys! Themes of redemption, friendship, and trust are throughout these stories, and Bad Guys is another book that has an entertaining accompanying movie to watch as well.
What worked well in my household with the Bad Guys was the lettering that utilized different sizes and fonts to express tone and intent. My 9-year-old, who lives with dyslexia and dysgraphia, was able to read these books much easier than a novel because the text is broken up into different sizes and styles. That constant refresh of the text made it easier to keep within a line or a thought.
Also, Bad Guys is very, very funny.
Make sure you watch the first Bad Guys movie and get ready to see the next film in theaters on August 1, 2025. It even made our list of the 2025 children and family movies we’re taking our kids to see.
Mouse Guard
Another fantasy series, Mouse Guard, is a little more serious in tone than, say, Bone, but it is gorgeously illustrated and is terrific at world-building. Initially, the Mouse Guard was formed to defend against predators. Still, when we join the story, it is in a relatively peaceful time, and the Guard isn’t a military force, but rather a group of escorts, pathfinders, weather watchers, scouts, and bodyguards for the mice who live in the territories.
There are seven books in the Mouse Guard world, telling stories of the Guard in the past and present. There is also a fantastic and award-winning role-playing game that came out in 2008, in which you and your kid can play as the characters.
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson are one of the classic couples of comics. They’ve gotten married, gotten divorced, had kids, lost each other, found each other, and then done it all again. Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is about a teenage MJ who has a massive crush on Spider-Man, but has to navigate high school with her best friend, Peter Parker, always getting in the way.
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane was initially part of a manga-influenced push from Marvel to attract young female readers with its romance and high-school-centered stories. While this still holds in today’s world, it emphasizes the importance of maintaining healthy relationships not only with crushes but also with friends and family. It’s lighthearted and fun, with some of the best art of Takeshi Miyazawa’s career.
Tiny Titans
This one is for the younger kids, but adults will have a blast reading it with them. Tiny Titans is a gag-based comic strip by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, set in a kid-friendly, elementary school environment, primarily featuring DC’s Teen Titans as kids, hanging out in their clubhouse getting into mischief.
The art in Tiny Titans is gorgeous, often looking like a crayon drawing that a kid might do themselves. The text and dialogue are all straightforward, which makes Tiny Titans a good read as a bedtime story or a great introduction to reading that’s a little more exciting than Goodnight Moon.
Cursed Pirate Girl
Set on the Omerta Seas, Cursed Pirate Girl is a nautical fairytale of strange creatures, whimsical characters, swashbuckling danger, and the most bizarre pirates imaginable. It’s a swashbuckling cross between Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Cursed Pirate Girl is an artistic treasure. Writer/Artist Jeremy Bastion’s art is incredibly detailed and impossible to take your eyes off of. This is good because the dialogue is a bit more advanced, but that means you and your kid can re-read it all over again to pick up on nuances and new clues in the art.
The Cartoonist’s Club
To tell you about this book, I have to tell you about its creators. Raina Telgemeier is one of the top cartoonists for young adults. Her books Smile, Guts, Sisters, and Drama could all be on this list. Scott McCloud wrote and drew the stunning Making Comics, which is the best instructional manual for making comics in the world, done in the form of a comic itself! So, it makes sense that these two would team on a graphic novel called The Cartoonist’s Club.
The Cartoonist’s Club is a story about friendship, collaboration, creative freedom and the magic of making comics. If your kid doesn’t reach for a pencil and a piece of paper to start their own Cartoonist’s Club after reading this book, then reread it.
Calvin and Hobbes
The days of lying out on a Sunday morning with the newspaper comics section may be over, but don’t count out the comic strip format as a way to get your kids into reading. The short, 3-4 panel strip style makes for lots of laughs and provides ample breathing room to take a break or have a giggle.
For my money, Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes is the gold standard of comic strips. Calvin is the little mischief maker we all want to be, and Hobbes is the greatest friend a kid can have. I feel confident saying that your kid probably has or has had their own “Hobbes” in their life, which makes relating to Calvin’s imaginary adventures and pranks super relatable.
The Ultimates #1 And The Ultimates #2
If you and your kid have checked out and enjoyed any of the Marvel Movies, you have the Ultimates to thank. The creators of The Ultimates, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, asked themselves, “What if we made a comic like a big-budget movie that had infinite money?” The result is two stories (Ultimates and Ultimates 2) that sow the seeds of what we see in the MCU, up to and including casting Sam Jackson as Nick Fury.
There are some more mature moments (the Hulk does some pretty gruesome damage, as does Hawkeye), but these versions of the characters will feel closer to what was on the screen than most other stories will. Epic in scale and extremely bold in its story, Ultimates reset the tone of superhero comics for a new age when it came out in the early 2000s and still holds up today.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
If you saw the big screen adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs The World with Michael Cera, you know that Scott Pilgrim is a lot of goofy fun laced with video game and music flair. The books take on a similar tone, but pack a lot more information into them. For example, the Seven Evil Exes are all fleshed-out characters, and each gets their time to shine.
Scott Pilgrim is, at heart, a story about growing up, so it may be better for the 13 and up crowd who are just on the cusp of it. As someone who grew up in Toronto during the era the book is set in, I can tell you that it’s painstakingly realistic, as well. Settings, events, and even people were all truly present, and it lends Scott Pilgrim an authenticity unlike any other book out there.
Hooky
Originally a webcomic from Webtoons, Hooky has been my 9-year-old’s obsession for the last few months. Hooky is about twins Daniela “Dani” and Dorian Wytte, two 12-year-old witches who end up in the middle of a conflict between non-magical people and witches. The story features evil parents, unexpected twists, a touch of romance, and a Dragon-summoning frog named Carlo.
The art in Hooky is very Manga-influenced, and the three books are very thick tomes so that they will occupy your kid’s nightstand for a while. The story has received praise for its world-building and inclusivity, but the English translation from the original Spanish sometimes falls short. A great story for anyone looking for Harry Potter alternatives in magical form.
March
Another non-fiction entry is the March trilogy. Written by the late Congressman John Lewis, March tells the story of Lewis’s lifelong fight for civil rights. From Jim Crow to sit-ins, the Freedom Riders to the march in Selma, Lewis’s first-person accounts offer a new perspective to the generations that have followed, as they enter their tumultuous times.
The art is extraordinary, which is to be expected of the extraordinary Nate Powell. March has won numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award, the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, and the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. If you have a history buff in the house, March (and it’s sequel, Run), are must haves.
Bonus Comics: Your Kids Probably Know The Cartoons
Every comic book company out there has dipped its toes into making various licensed content, some of it better than others. In the past, these books could be disregarded because they were primarily rehashes or mediocre stories. Not so in the current times. Many of these books are now done by top-level creators, feature the wonderful characters that we all know and love, and sometimes even influence the TV show or movie they are based on.
Some particular standouts on the shelf these days are titles like My Little Pony, Steven Universe, and Gravity Falls. There’s also an excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series (which may be a bit more mature than kids’ fare) and even Marvel is on board with a slew of excellent Star Wars comics and graphic novels.
The Archie Universe Offers Many Unique Storyline Options
Let’s end this where we began with the lovable gang from Riverdale. Archie and his pals have been around for 86 years, which means they have seen and done everything there is to do over several generations. That means the characters have remained relevant and up to date in stories for decades. The stories tend to be short, only a few pages, and the compact digest format collects dozens and dozens of them in one shot.
Modern Archie books have even branched out into more mature reader fare with Afterlife With Archie (in which zombies invade Riverdale) and Archie: The Married Life, which features the gang as adults in two different timelines, one where Archie and Betty get married and one where Archie and Veronica get married. Couple that with 86 years of wholesome, funny, slice-of-life stories, and Archie becomes a virtually never-ending source of new reading material.
