23rd St. Books, an imprint of Macmillan
Interrogating her upbringing in an evangelical community, Stephanie Stalvey weaves a story of faith, alienation, romance, and acceptance in this beautifully painted graphic memoir. Stephanie grew up where love and obedience overlapped, sin was inevitable, and desire was dangerous. As she built a life of her own and fell in love with a seminarian named James, she began to question those rigid borders. Through striking prose and mixed media illustrations, Stalvey traces a journey of faith, romance, motherhood, and reclaiming a love that is healing and transformative.
At first, it may seem unusual to think about comics about faith and religion. But if you think about the long history of art, images have long helped in illustrating creation stories, morality tales, stories about God and pantheon of deities, across the world. After all, monks illuminated texts in the Middle Ages, often including incredible scenes from the story they were writing as well as playful, and at times bawdy marginalia.
Comics seem like a continuation of that need to bring words and images together to explore issues of faith, spirituality, and religion. Here are a selection of six comic books that explore different elements of religion and faith.
The Contract With God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue by Will Eisner
It seems appropriate to start with what is considered the first graphic novel ever. The title story is all about faith and grief. Frimme Hersh is an Orthodox Jew, and his faith is shattered at the untimely death of his adopted daughter. He decides to renounce his contract with God and spends his life immorally. It’s kinda like a twisted story of Job. The trilogy in this book chronicles Jewish life in the mid-20th century in New York.
As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman
Charlotte “Charlie” Lamonte is not really enjoying her time at a Christian summer retreat. She’s the only Black girl there and she’s queer, which the community condemns. But that’s not all; she’s not happy with the power dynamics that favor men and the general culture of the place. She feels that this is not the place for her. She soon befriends another camper named Sydney who is trans, which she keeps a secret. They will have to find a way to navigate this hostile land together.
Mahabharata: Designs of Dharma by Sanjay Patel
You may know Sanjay Patel from his Oscar-nominated Pixar short “Sanjay’s Super Team.” He’s adapted Ramayana, the famous Indian epic, into comic book form (Ramayana: Divine Loophole) and most recently, he’s published a version of the Mahabharata, another incredibly important Indian epic that is filled with spiritual lessons. Patel managed to take the story composed of 200,000 lines in Sanskrit and put it together in a 400-page book. And if you want more, he’s also published delightful children’s books that also adapt famous Indian stories. Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth, co-written with Emily Haynes, is a favorite in our house.
49 Days by Agnes Lee
In Buddhist tradition, it takes 49 days for the soul to fully cross over. In this devastating graphic novel, we follow the 49-day journey of Korean-American teenager Kit as she visits her grieving family and friends while also coming to terms with her own untimely death. It’s a quiet story but it will hit you in the gut.
Someday Perfect by Kat Schneider (April 21, 2026)
Daughter of a pastor, Meg is trying to navigate the world of religion and teenagehood. She’s told to act one way, but sees people acting very differently. Things get even more confusing when she goes to Bible camp and falls in love with a boy there. Is she supposed to act on these feelings that feel so true or save herself? Or is it even more confusing than that?
Totem By Laura Pérez Granell
While the other books may have characters go on metaphorical journeys, this one focuses on two women on a road trip to have a spiritual moment. The story blends this world, the spiritual world. and other worlds together into a mysterious journey that makes you question everything in the narrative.
Boxers by Gene Luen Yang, inked by Lark Pien
Here’s a classic graphic novel that focuses on religion. In this two-volume set of Boxers and Saints, Yang explores the Boxer Rebellion around 1900 in China. The first book focuses on Little Bao, who finds himself drawn to the Boxer movement due to hunger and violence. The movement places the blame on Western powers occupying China and rejects everything Western, including Christianity. Now they must fight against the West and the Chinese people who have been seduced by Western values. In a parallel story, Saints, Vibiana, a Chinese girl, finds meaning and comradeship in Christianity and becomes a devout believer in her new faith. But she’s a witness to the growing movement against all things from the West. She’s torn by her Chinese heritage and her Christian faith.
Those are seven texts that explore different journeys of faith and religion. If you want more books on religion and faith, here’s a list of 100 novels on religion. If you want comic books about mythology, here’s the list for you.
English (US) · 