There have been non-fiction comics for a long time. In fact, that’s what one of the appeals of True Comics (1941-1950) was, which provided educational material in a form that appealed to children while trying to help legitimize the medium maligned by criticism of superhero books. They were fairly simplified biographies of scientists, inventors, and other figures of history. It was also less impactful than Crime Does Not Pay (1942-1955), the first “true crime” comic book series, which propelled the crime comics to the top with its sensationalistic appeal.
We are not talking about “true crime” today (it will be the subject of another list), but biographical comics. Not just works of documentary value, but also autobiographies, personal memoirs, from the groundbreaking series American Splendor (1976–2008), that changed the idea of what stories comic books could tell, to the artists of the 2000s (James Kochalka, Kate Beaton, Julia Wertz, etc.) who developed their craft online by chronicling the story of their lives, and beyond.
Today, biographical comics are a widely respected genre. They range from meticulously researched historical biographies to intimate diaries and experimental visual essays. They are studied in classrooms, exhibited in museums, and celebrated with major literary awards. This once niche corner of comics has become one of its richest and most innovative traditions.
The following list is not in any particular order, but is divided into two parts: the biographical comics and the autobiographical comics
Biographical Comics
1. Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert
This is the famous story of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller, a historical account and an emotionally rich relationship that changed public perceptions of blindness and deafness. With his use of color and drawing styles, Joseph Lambert focuses on the teacher-student relationship, presenting Annie’s own difficult upbringing in a poorhouse, her partial blindness, and how these experiences shaped her methods. The book traces Helen’s journey from isolation to communication, capturing moments of frustration and triumph.
2. Andre the Giant: Life and Legend by Box Brown
Box Brown is known for his comics exploring pop culture history. With this biography, he examines the life of wrestling icon André Roussimoff, aka Andre the Giant, presenting him as both a pop-culture legend and a man living with acromegaly. The book moves through key moments of his career, from his early days in France to his rise as an international star and his transition into Hollywood roles. Brown delivers a portrait of a larger-than-life figure who was both celebrated and deeply human.
3. Guantanamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-Gharani by Jerome Tubiana and Alexandre Franc
The harrowing true story of Mohammed El-Gharani, who was captured at age fourteen and detained for years at Guantánamo Bay without trial. Based on extensive interviews, it details his treatment, including abuse and solitary confinement, as well as his resilience and eventual release. Jerome Tubiana and Alexandre Franc deliver an account that sheds light on systemic injustice while keeping El-Gharani’s voice at the center.
4. Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller – The Man Who Created Nancy by Bill Griffith
Legendary cartoonist Bill Griffith has created a meticulously researched biography of Ernie Bushmiller, the creator of the iconic Nancy comic strip. The book explores Bushmiller’s meticulous cartooning style, work ethic, and his place within American comic culture. Through a combination of cultural history, personal anecdotes and formal analysis, Griffith demonstrates how Bushmiller’s seemingly simple strip evolved into a masterclass in visual storytelling and timing, influencing generations of cartoonists.
5. Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics/I Am Stan by Tom Scioli
In two graphic novels, Tom Scioli explores the lives of two comic book giants: Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the creative forces behind Marvel’s superheroes. These biographies chart their early years, creative breakthroughs, business struggles and complicated partnerships. Scioli’s Kirby-inspired artwork pays homage to their myth-making whilst also examining the human cost of their rivalry and collaboration. Together, the two graphic novels paint a complementary portrait of two men who changed the course of comic book history.
6. Feynman by Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick
This biography introduces the life of physicist Richard Feynman, from his childhood in Long Island to his work on the Manhattan Project and the Challenger disaster. By balancing theory with Feynman’s love of drumming, storytelling, and curiosity, Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick transform complex scientific ideas into clear, engaging scenes. The result is a captivating portrait of one of the most charismatic and influential scientists of the 20th century, which makes physics accessible without losing its sense of wonder.
7. Miles Davis and the Search for Sound by Dave Chisholm
Writer and artist Dave Chisholm, who holds a doctorate in jazz trumpet from the Eastman School of Music, invites us to accompany him on a journey through four decades of musical innovation, all centred around Miles Davis’ quest to recreate a mysterious sound he heard on a moonlit country road as a child. In doing so, the book chronicles Davis’s constant evolution as a musician, from his bebop beginnings to his fusion innovations. Structured like a musical composition, the book moves through key periods of Davis’s life, highlighting his restlessness, genius, and personal struggles.
8. Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo by Sandrine Revel
This thoughtful portrait of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould explores his unconventional career, reclusive tendencies, and devotion to classical music. Using her soft, painterly style, Sandrine Revel navigates between his public performances, private routines, and philosophical reflections on recording and interpretation, illuminating Gould’s intensity and vulnerability.
9. Monk!: Thelonious, Pannonica, and the Friendship Behind a Musical Revolution by Youssef Daoudi
In his graphic novel, Youssef Daoudi examines the friendship between jazz legend Thelonious Monk and Pannonica de Koenigswarter, a wealthy patron who supported many bebop musicians. Channeling the energy of Monk’s music through his visual narrative, Daoudi details the pianist and composer’s contributions to modern jazz and the challenges he encountered, including racism and mental health issues.
10. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martínez
This graphic history seeks to reveal the often-overlooked role of women in leading slave revolts. Historian Rebecca Hall blends personal research with narrative reconstruction to bring to life the experiences of women whose acts of resistance went unrecorded. It is magnified by Hugo Martínez’s artwork that captures both historical scenes and the present-day archival work, establishing a dialogue between the past and the present.
11. The “Rebel Women” series by Peter Bagge: Woman Rebel/Fire!!/Credo
Peter Bagge’s trilogy profiles three pioneering women: birth control campaigner Margaret Sanger; writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston; and libertarian thinker Rose Wilder Lane. Through his famously lively cartooning and humour, Peter Bagge makes these complex figures accessible without oversimplifying their controversies. Each biography delves into its subject’s accomplishments, contradictions, and impact, providing an engaging and nuanced introduction to remarkable women who defied expectations and reshaped culture in unique ways.
12. Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos Papadimitriou, Alecos Papadatos & Annie Di Donna
Logicomix is a blend of biography, history, and philosophy, following philosopher Bertrand Russell’s search for a logical foundation for mathematics. The graphic novel traces Russell’s intellectual journey and his relationships with other thinkers, while exploring the tensions between abstract reasoning and human experience. The book also breaks the fourth wall, revealing the authors’ debates about how to present the story, a metafictional approach that makes weighty ideas accessible and engaging for a general audience.
13. Kafka by Robert Crumb & David Zane Mairowitz
This graphic novel introduces Franz Kafka’s life and works through a combination of biographical information, literary analysis and visual metaphors. Robert Crumb’s detailed illustrations capture Kafka’s Prague, his family tensions and the surreal logic of his writing. Meanwhile, Mairowitz’s text connects Kafka’s experiences with themes in “The Metamorphosis” and “The Trial.” This provides context for readers who are new to Kafka’s work, while deepening the appreciation of long-time admirers of his unique worldview.
14. Louis Riel by Chester Brown
Chester Brown’s Louis Riel is a meticulous account of the Métis leader’s life, from his political activism to his execution. The comic book examines Canada’s 19th-century conflicts over land, language, and identity, presenting Riel as both revolutionary and mystic. Brown’s restrained art and careful pacing shed light on a complex historical episode, presenting it as a study of resistance and nation-building.
15. Life of Che by Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Alberto Breccia & Enrique Breccia
This biography of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara brings together Héctor Germán Oesterheld’s impassioned script and the striking artwork of the Breccias, blending documentary detail with visual experimentation. Originally published in Argentina, the book was politically controversial and at times subject to censorship. The graphic novel chronicles Che’s transformation from a medical student into a revolutionary icon, exploring the ideals and contradictions that defined his life.
16. Vincent by Barbara Stok
In her comic book, Barbara Stok tells the story of Vincent van Gogh’s years in the south of France, focusing on his creative highs and emotional lows. Inspired by the artist’s letters, this visual biography portrays his struggles with mental health issues, poverty, and his search for meaning. The book is both a moving tribute and an introduction, with Stok’s clean lines and bright colours providing a visual contrast to the intensity of the story.
17. Fax from Sarajevo by Joe Kubert
In Joe Kubert’s Fax from Sarajevo, the legendary artist adapts the real faxes sent to him by a friend who was trapped during the Bosnian War. The book recounts survival under siege, the perils of daily life, and the struggle to escape. Through his art, Kubert emphasises the immediacy and danger of the situation, transforming personal correspondence into an emotional and compelling account of a modern war from a civilian perspective.
18. The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt by Andrea Wulf & Lillian Melcher
This graphic biography recounts the early 19th-century explorations of naturalist Alexander von Humboldt in Latin America. Wulf’s graphic novel blends scientific discovery with adventure, demonstrating how Humboldt’s observations transformed our perception of nature. Melcher’s artwork incorporates maps, archival documents, and imaginative visual touches, making this an engaging read and an educational resource that captures Humboldt’s curiosity and his enduring influence on science and ecology.
19. The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York by Peter J. Tomasi and Teo DuVall
This is the story of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Roebling family behind it. This comic book explores John A. Roebling’s vision, his son Washington’s perseverance following his injury, and Emily Roebling’s pivotal role in completing the project. Peter J. Tomasi and Teo DuVall weave together the history of engineering with human drama to celebrate the bridge as a feat of design and a symbol of determination.
20. The Hunting Accident by David Carlson & Landis Blair
This graphic novel introduces us to Charlie Rizzo, a friend of David Carlson, whose life is about to take a turn for the worse. That’s when his blind father reveals the truth about the ‘hunting accident’ that caused his blindness: a robbery gone wrong that lands him in the same cell as the notorious criminal Nathan Leopold in the Stateville Correctional Facility. Leopold, a literature buff, introduces Rizzo to Dante’s Inferno, changing his life forever. This highly creative visual exploration of life in darkness is also a criticism of the prison system and a captivating ode to literary education.
Autobiographical Comics
21. American Splendor by Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar turned his life as a Cleveland file clerk into a series of short, slice-of-life comics. The stories follow his daily routine, encounters with coworkers and friends, hospital visits, money problems, and philosophical musings. Spanning three decades and featuring the artwork of collaborators such as Robert Crumb, Gary Dumm, Greg Budgett, Spain Rodriguez, and Joe Zabel, among others, the series evolves into an extensive chronicle of everyday life, capturing its frustrations, humour, and quiet dignity with unflinching realism.
22. Blankets/Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson
Blankets is a coming-of-age memoir about faith, family, and first love. Ginseng Roots, on the other hand, shows the other side of his youth: the summers he spent with his brother, Phil, and his sister, Sarah, harvesting ginseng at a time when pesticides were king. Both works explore themes of identity, longing, and the challenges of growing up in America. These two substantial, complementary graphic novels, created twenty years apart, reveal Craig Thompson’s reflections on his life and the world he grew up in, offering an emotional insight into both.
23. March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell
This trilogy traces John Lewis’s life from his youth on an Alabama farm to his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. The books follow his involvement with the Freedom Riders, sit-ins, the March on Washington, and the Selma voting rights marches. Framed by Lewis attending President Obama’s inauguration, the memoir offers an inside look at key events that shaped U.S. history through Lewis’s eyes. See also the follow-up series, Run.
24. My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
Derf Backderf revisits his teenage years alongside Jeffrey Dahmer, long before the latter became a serial killer. The book follows Dahmer through high school, where he was socially isolated and began to drink heavily. He displayed disturbing behaviour that went largely unnoticed by adults. By combining personal memories with research, Backderf reconstructs Dahmer’s adolescence, creating an unsettling portrait of how warning signs were missed.
25. Epileptic by David B.
David B.’s surreal autobiographical work revolves around his experience of growing up with a brother who suffered from severe epilepsy. Mixing memoir, myth, and allegory, the story explores the impact of illness on a family, childhood fears, and the author’s evolving understanding of difference. The graphic style shifts between stark realism and expressionistic abstraction to create a visceral and psychologically rich account of trauma, memory, and familial love.
26. Stitches by David Small
In his memoir, David Small recounts his traumatic childhood in 1950s Detroit, Michigan. He describes his parents’ neglect and the life-threatening illness that left him unable to speak for years. Through watercolour illustrations, he portrays himself as a fearful, alienated adolescent who gradually empowers himself through art, finding his own way to survive.
27. It’s Lonely At The Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood
Zoe Thorogood documents six months of her life while battling depression and suicidal thoughts. The memoir follows her daily routines, interactions, creative blocks, and moments of humor as she attempts to process her emotions on the page. Shifting art styles mirror her mental state, creating a story that feels raw, confessional, and self-aware.
28. Disappearance Diary by Hideo Azuma
Hideo Azuma recounts two periods during which he ran away from his job as a manga artist. The first time, he lived homeless, surviving on discarded food and temporary labor. The second time, he enters rehab for alcoholism. Told with gentle humor despite its serious subject matter, the memoir follows his slow path toward stability and his decision to keep drawing.
29. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me by Ellen Forney
Ellen Forney’s graphic memoir chronicles her experience with bipolar disorder. Diagnosed just before her thirtieth birthday, she grapples with the implications of her condition on her identity and creativity. Through candid illustrations and introspective storytelling, she explores her fears about medication dampening her artistic abilities, exploring the relationship between mental illness and creativity through historical examples of artists like Van Gogh.
30. I’m a Terminal Cancer Patient, but I’m Fine by Hilnama
Hilnama, a 38-year-old manga artist, was diagnosed with colon cancer and began treatment despite the terminal diagnosis. However, maintaining a positive outlook can be difficult when going through such a gruelling process. To face what’s happening to her, Hilnama put everything on the page. By sharing everyday details, she presents her story as one not only of illness, but also of finding humour and connection, even in the face of death.
31. Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story by Julia Wertz
In her previous autobiographical work, Julia Wertz chronicled her drinking habits, which led her to end up in a ditch during a trip to Puerto Rico. From that point, she looks back with her trademark deadpan humour and raw honesty at how her addiction evolved to consume her life, and at how she got sober. Wertz offers an authentic look at her personal struggles, detailing the good and bad decisions that make her recovery story fun, touching, personal, and substantial — and certainly not average.
32. Until I Love Myself by Poppy Pesuyama
Poppy Pesuyama was thrilled to become a manga assistant. But that was before they were sexually harassed by their employer because of their appearance. A body they came to hate. In their memoir, Pesuyama chronicles their experience as a non-binary person in Japan, their career as a mangaka, and their struggles with mental health. In this manga, they confront their past, their friends, and their parents, reflecting the complexities of identity and the ongoing process of self-discovery.
33. Peepshow by Joe Matt
In his comic book Peepshow, Joe Matt reveals his obsessions, flaws, and failures with brutal honesty and humour. He documents his relationships, his childhood and family, his addiction to pornography, and his self-destructive tendencies. The result is often uncomfortable yet compelling, as Matt exposes his unflattering qualities in a simple, cartoony style without apology.
34. The Playboy/I Never Liked You/Paying for It by Chester Brown
Chester Brown’s autobiographical works explore adolescence, sexuality, and adult choices in a minimalist, emotionally restrained style. The Playboy examines his teenage obsession with pornography; I Never Liked You explores his early romantic encounters; and Paying for It chronicles his decision to engage exclusively with sex workers. Together, these works candidly examine intimacy, shame, and personal ethics, establishing Brown as one of the most controversial yet influential autobiographical cartoonists.
35. Jeffrey Brown’s Girlfriend Trilogy
Jeffrey Brown’s Girlfriend Trilogy, comprising Clumsy, Unlikely, and AEIOU, chronicles the beginnings and endings of romantic relationships experienced in his twenties. The books are drawn in a deliberately sketchy, intimate style and document small moments of affection, awkwardness, and heartbreak. Brown’s honesty and vulnerability helped to define a new wave of autobiographical comics in the early 2000s, influencing many younger cartoonists.
36. Spinning by Tillie Walden
In this memoir, Tillie Walden recounts her years as a competitive figure skater, waking before dawn to practise and competing in tournaments. The story chronicles her struggles with bullying and the pressure to perform, as well as her growing disillusionment with the sport. As she discovers her sexuality and begins to explore her identity, quitting skating becomes an act of liberation, setting her on the path to becoming an artist.
37. Smile by Raina Telgemeier
In her graphic novel, Raina Telgemeier tells the story of how a bad fall in sixth grade damaged her front teeth, leading to years of dental procedures. This memoir chronicles her journey through middle school, navigating braces, awkward headgear, evolving friendships, and her first crushes. Her upbeat cartoon style transforms these challenges into a humorous and relatable coming-of-age tale.
38. Tomboy by Liz Prince
Liz Prince chronicles her childhood through her teenage years, charting her struggle with gender norms and self-identity. From the age of about four, she rejected traditionally “girly” things, and as she got older, she had to deal with her confusion, romantic interests, and deep discomfort with how femininity is supposed to look and act. Over time, through friendships, creative work, and finding people who accept her, Liz begins to embrace who she is—not to become a boy, but to live as a girl on her own terms.
39. One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry
Lynda Barry presents a series of “autobifictionalography” stories inspired by “drawing demons” from her life. She discusses her sensitivity to other people’s smells, her acid consumption at the age of 16, the color of lice, the art of domesticating abused dogs, and a lot more told with Barry’s signature hand-lettering and collage-like art. The book reads like a collection of vivid diary entries, blending humor and melancholy.
40. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
This graphic novel relates Marjane Satrapi’s childhood and early adulthood in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution. It follows her as she witnesses the fall of the Shah, the rise of the Islamic Republic, and the impact of war with Iraq on everyday life. When her family sends her to Europe as a teenager to escape repression, she struggles with isolation, identity, and cultural displacement.
41. Pretending is Lying by Dominique Goblet
In this memoir, Dominique Goblet moves between childhood and adulthood, weaving together two main threads. In one, she visits her estranged, alcoholic father for the first time in years, bringing her young daughter and reliving memories of fear, neglect, and emotional abuse from her youth. In the other, she navigates a turbulent relationship with her lover, who remains haunted by a past romance and whose betrayals force her to confront issues of trust and intimacy. Told through shifting scenes and visual styles, the book explores memory, trauma, and the difficulty of separating truth from illusion in family and love.
42. Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls
In her graphic novel, Tessa Hulls traces three generations of women shaped by political persecution and inherited trauma. Her grandmother Sun Yi fled China after being targeted by the Communist regime, then suffered from mental illness that marked the family. Her mother, Rose, grew up in exile, carrying the weight of caring for her unstable mother. Tessa spends years running from this legacy until she returns, travels with her mother to China and Hong Kong, and confronts the family’s history to understand how it shaped them all.
43. My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi
When she was 28 years old, Nagata Kabi was struggling with severe depression, social anxiety, and feelings of inadequacy. Having never experienced romance or sexual intimacy, she hires a female sex worker to explore her sexuality, confronting her fears and insecurities. Through flashbacks, she examines the roots of her isolation. The story traces her journey toward self-understanding and acceptance. Its sequels, My Solo Exchange Diary and My Wandering Warrior Existence, continue her exploration of adulthood and mental health.
44. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
In her now-classic graphic novel, Alison Bechdel looks back on her childhood in a small Pennsylvania town, in her family’s funeral home. The memoir chronicles her coming of age as a lesbian, her complex relationship with her father, and her discovery of his closeted homosexuality. As she traces his hidden life and eventual death, possibly by suicide, Bechdel reflects on family secrets, grief, and identity, interweaving personal narrative with literary and historical references to create a layered and intimate story.
45. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Growing up feeling disconnected from the gender assigned at birth, Maia Kobabe relates their experiences of confusion, dysphoria, and isolation in childhood and adolescence, including struggles with relationships, school, and self-expression. As Kobabe discovers the language and community to understand eir nonbinary and asexual identity, the narrative charts the challenges and small victories of living authentically.
46. The Bride Was a Boy by Chii
This autobiographical manga chronicles Chii’s journey as a transgender woman in Japan. Through a series of diary-style comics, she narrates her experiences from childhood, living as a boy, to her decision to transition in early adulthood. The story highlights her relationship with her boyfriend, who becomes her husband, and the challenges they face together, addressing societal and legal issues surrounding transgender individuals in Japan, providing educational insights into gender identity and the complexities of transitioning.
47. Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey by Akiko Higashimura
In this manga, Akiko Higashimura looks back at the path she followed to become a mangaka. In high school, she dreams of becoming a popular manga artist but lacks the necessary skills. Seeking improvement, she enrolls in an art class led by the strict and unconventional teacher, Hidaka-sensei. His rigorous training and tough love push her to develop her artistic abilities. Through dedication and perseverance, she navigates the challenges of art school and the manga industry, reflecting on her growth and the influences that shaped her journey.
48. Life, in Pictures: Autobiographical Stories by Will Eisner
In this collection of autobiographical stories, Will Eisner looked back on his experiences as a Jewish-American artist. The central story, “To the Heart of the Storm,” follows a young man on a train to the South in 1942, reflecting on his childhood in the Bronx and his parents’ early lives. Other stories include “The Name of the Game,” which explores the lives of two Jewish families from the late 19th century up to World War II, and “A Sunset in Sunshine City,” a meditation on aging and solitude.
49. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine
Well-known for his autobiographical work, Adrian Tomine reflects in this graphic novel on his journey from self-publishing his comic series Optic Nerve to achieving recognition in the comic-book industry. The book explores themes of insecurity, the challenges of fame, the complexities of the creative process, the absurdity of the comic-book industry, and his own fragile ego.
50. A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
In his semi-autobiographical work, Yoshihiro Tatsumi chronicles his journey from adolescence to adulthood from 1945 to 1960. He slightly fictionalises his life to discuss the challenges of post-war Japan, including familial struggles, financial hardship, and the evolving manga industry. Inspired by his idol, Osamu Tezuka, Tatsumi strove to create a new form of manga known as gekiga: realistic, adult-oriented comics.
51. Ichi-F: A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by Kazuto Tatsuta
Written under a pseudonym to protect his identity, Kazuto Tatsuta gives a firsthand account of his experiences working at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant following the 2011 earthquake. He details the daily realities of cleanup work, from the stringent safety measures to the psychological toll, and the complex subcontracting system that defined the labor force. Through a series of vignettes, the memoir offers an unflinching look at the human side of the nuclear disaster’s aftermath.
52. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
This is the story of Kate Beaton, who worked in the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta, Canada, to pay off her student loans. Through the character of “Katie”, she navigates the harsh realities of life in the male-dominated oil fields, addressing issues such as sexual harassment, environmental degradation, social isolation, and the exploitation of workers, particularly women. Beaton examines the challenges of labor and gender dynamics, providing an immersive portrayal of a young woman trying to find her way in a difficult and alienating workplace.
The last three books in this list are related to World War II. Two of them are already part of our selection of must-read WWII comics.
53. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
Without a doubt, one of the most celebrated and discussed comic books ever published, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus is also a chilling tale set during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats. Maus is weaving the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into an astonishing retelling of one of history’s most unspeakable tragedies. It is an unforgettable story of survival and a disarming look at the legacy of trauma.
54. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven R. Scott
Today, a celebrated figure of pop culture thanks to his role in Star Trek, George Takei was also a four-year-old boy growing up in America after the bombings of Pearl Harbor. The famous actor sheds a light on this dark chapter and a gross miscarriage of government in his graphic memoir, revisiting his haunting childhood in American concentration camps, as one of over 100,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II.
55. I Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa
In this short but impactful Manga, Keiji Nakazawa provides a first-person account of surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a six-year-old child. The book shows the moment of the blast, the destruction of the city, the immediate aftermath as he searched for surviving family members, and the impact on his life years later. A stark and unforgettable testimony of one of history’s darkest events.