Top 20 Autobiographical Graphic Novels of All Time

Holocaust survival, revolutions, dental disasters and quiet grief — these illustrated lives swing from gut-punch tragedy to laugh-out-loud confession. Big-name landmarks share the field with cult favorites. Cast your vote!

1

Maus

Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer-winning account of his father's Holocaust survival, drawn with mice and cats.

1000pts

2

Fun Home

Alison Bechdel's intricate family tragicomic about her closeted father and her own coming out.

653pts

3

Good Talk

Mira Jacob's collage-style memoir built around conversations about race with her young son.

625pts

4

Smile

Raina Telgemeier's hugely popular memoir of dental disaster and middle-school growing pains.

515pts

5

American Splendor

Harvey Pekar's pioneering series finding drama in the mundane life of a Cleveland file clerk.

446pts

6

Are You My Mother?

Alison Bechdel's introspective companion to Fun Home, focused on her relationship with her mother.

446pts

7

They Called Us Enemy

George Takei's memoir of his childhood in WWII Japanese American internment camps.

446pts

8

Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi's stark black-and-white memoir of growing up during the Iranian Revolution.

446pts

9

Stitches

David Small's wordless-at-its-core memoir of a childhood scarred by silence and surgery.

365pts

10

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?

Roz Chast's wry, tender chronicle of caring for her aging parents.

365pts

11

Rosalie Lightning

Tom Hart's wrenching graphic memoir of grief after the sudden loss of his young daughter.

365pts

12

Hyperbole and a Half

Allie Brosh's hilarious, raw illustrated memoir of depression, dogs, and childhood chaos.

365pts

13

Epileptic

David B.'s phantasmagoric memoir of his brother's epilepsy and his family's desperate search for cures.

365pts

14

The Arab of the Future

Riad Sattouf's darkly funny memoir of a childhood split between France, Libya, and Syria.

365pts

15

Blankets

Craig Thompson's sweeping coming-of-age memoir of first love and an evangelical childhood.

268pts

16

Marbles

Ellen Forney's candid memoir of living with bipolar disorder as a working artist.

268pts

17

Spinning

Tillie Walden's quiet, elegant memoir of competitive figure skating and coming out.

268pts

18

Calling Dr. Laura

Nicole Georges's memoir untangling family secrets and identity after a shocking revelation.

268pts

19

The Best We Could Do

Thi Bui's moving memoir of her family's flight from Vietnam and the meaning of parenthood.

149pts

20

One! Hundred! Demons!

Lynda Barry's vivid 'autobifictionalography' painting scenes from her life in collage and ink.

149pts