What’s your Sci-Fi origin story?
I didn’t just watch sci-fi growing up – I mainlined it. Phaser blasts on the Enterprise were my lullabies, and any scrappy band of cosmic rejects was basically my after-school care program. Starships, time-rips, emotionally maladjusted robots – if it warped across a screen, I was there with a cereal bowl and zero shame. Sci-Fi wasn’t a pastime. It was doctrine. And all that hypercharged obsession has funneled straight into this list of science-fiction comics built to tear a hole through your weekend.
Don’t expect some polished “best-of” rerun packed with shiny ray guns and spotless space suits. This lineup dives straight into rusted wastelands, failing orbital tin cans, love-sick AIs, haunted moons, and bureaucratic physics nightmares engineered by people who should never have clearance. These are the books that made me whisper “holy shit” to no one in particular – loud enough that the void probably heard.
Some are old reliables. Some are newer bruisers. But every single one of them is a graphic novel I’d shove into a friend’s hands with that unhinged gleam and say:
“You need this in your bloodstream.”
23. Kamikaze
Kamikaze is a dystopian sci-fi graphic novel set two centuries after an ecological collapse that has left resources scarce and society divided between wealthy, fortified inner cities and impoverished frontier zones. The story follows Markesha Nin, a skilled young courier living in the crumbling district of Outer Trinity, where she works to support her blind father. Her primary goal is to earn enough money for medical care and escape to a more stable region. During a high-risk delivery run, Markesha unknowingly transports an explosive device that destroys part of a crime lord’s operations, drawing dangerous attention to herself.
After witnessing her abilities during the incident, crime boss Orson Stykes forcibly recruits Markesha into his covert operations team as a replacement for an operative who was recently killed. From there, she becomes entangled in espionage, sabotage, and power struggles between competing factions that control the city’s scarce resources. The narrative explores themes of survival, economic inequality, and personal agency as Markesha navigates a world where every choice carries life-changing consequences.
22. Dicebox by Jenn Manley Lee
Dicebox is a science-fiction graphic novel that follows a year in the lives of two spacefaring factory workers, Molly Robbins and Griffen Medea Stoyka, as they drift from job to job across various planets and industrial stations. The story takes place in a far-future society where interplanetary travel is common and labour contracts dictate much of everyday life. Rather than centring on large-scale action or political conflict, the narrative focuses on the day-to-day realities of working-class life – employment instability, physical strain, interpersonal conflict, and the challenges of living on the economic margins in a highly stratified universe.
Over the course of the story, Molly and Griffen navigate workplace disputes, unexpected layoffs, injuries, and encounters with people from Griffen’s mysterious and privileged past. Their relationship – steady but complicated – serves as the emotional centre of the narrative, revealing deeper themes related to identity, class mobility, gender, and autonomy. Dicebox uses its sci-fi setting as a backdrop for a grounded, character-driven examination of how ordinary people live, work, and survive in a futuristic society.
21. Drive
Drive is a science-fiction graphic novel set in the distant future, where humanity has built the powerful Second Spanish Empire by reverse-engineering advanced star-drive technology stolen from an alien species known as the Continuum of Makers. This theft has placed humans on the brink of an interstellar war they are unlikely to win. The story follows the crew of the scout ship Machito, who become involved in a critical mission after they encounter a small, unknown alien – nicknamed Skitter – who demonstrates an exceptional, almost instinctive ability to use the stolen “pinch-drive” technology.
Under orders from the Emperor, the Machito crew must locate Skitter’s species and uncover how this alien can pilot the drive so naturally, hoping the discovery will give humanity an advantage before the Makers reclaim their technology. The team includes Captain Taneel, engineer Fernando de Madrid, xenobiologist Orla, and the gentle Veetan scientist Nosh. The narrative explores themes of imperialism, technological exploitation, and cultural conflict, presenting a mix of humour, world-building, and political tension as the crew races to prevent war.
20. Venus by Rick Loverd & Huang Danlan
Venus follows a U.S. space crew in the year 2150 as they attempt to establish an American foothold on Venus after China and the Pan-Pacific Alliance successfully colonise Mars. Their mission immediately goes wrong when their spacecraft crash-lands on the planet’s surface, leaving the surviving crew stranded in one of the most hostile environments in the solar system. With extreme heat, crushing atmospheric pressure, corrosive clouds, and damaged equipment, the team must navigate a landscape where nearly every element of the planet is actively lethal.
The story focuses on the crew’s effort to reach a pre-existing scientific base while struggling with dwindling resources, breakdowns in leadership, and tension between military and civilian mission directives. Political stakes run parallel to the survival narrative, as their success or failure could shift the balance of power between rival Earth factions competing for off-world territory. Each issue of Venus incorporates real scientific information about Venus, grounding the survival scenario in factual planetary hazards.
19. Planet Paradise by Jesse Lonergan
Planet Paradise follows Eunice, a woman who joins a low-cost “self-actualization” space cruise intended to help participants improve their lives. Partway through the trip, the transport ship strikes debris, drops out of hyperspace, and crash-lands on an unknown planet. Almost all passengers are killed, leaving only Eunice and the ship’s pilot, Vee, alive. With limited supplies and no functioning communication systems, the two must traverse a dangerous alien environment filled with hostile wildlife and unstable terrain.
The graphic novel focuses on the pair’s attempts to survive long enough to find a way off the planet. Eunice – initially quiet and uncertain – gradually adapts to the extreme circumstances, gaining confidence and resourcefulness as the situation worsens. Vee, abrasive but experienced, reluctantly becomes her partner in survival. Their journey emphasises endurance, cooperation, and personal growth against overwhelming odds, presenting a grounded sci-fi survival narrative without supernatural elements or speculative politics.
Picture this: your vacation turns into a bug-riddled death trap and your only hope is a washed-up, drug-fueled captain who hates you. Now picture it drawn with kinetic layouts that’ll leave your eyeballs vibrating. Planet Paradise is what happens when Cast Away crashes into Heavy Metal magazine. It’s brutal, beautiful, and wickedly cathartic.
18. Time Before Time
Time Before Time is set in 2140, where the world has deteriorated so severely that many people try to escape their lives by travelling into the past. Time travel exists but is controlled by a criminal organisation called the Syndicate, which transports paying clients to earlier eras in exchange for enormous fees. Two Syndicate “time-runners,” Tatsuo and Oscar, are trapped in debt and forced into dangerous missions moving people across timelines. Desperate for freedom, they plan to steal a time pod and disappear into another era.
The plan collapses when Oscar vanishes and Tatsuo becomes entangled with Nadia, an FBI agent from 1994 who is forcibly pulled into the future. Their collision exposes larger conflicts involving rival time-travel factions, government interests, and the unintended consequences of jumping through time. As Tatsuo continues to deteriorate from repeated time jumps, the series explores the dangers of a black-market time-travel system, the instability of altered timelines, and the difficulty of escaping both literal and personal histories.
17. Not Drunk Enough
Not Drunk Enough is a horror-comedy graphic novel series – not a movie – created by Tess Stone. It follows Logan Ibarra, a repairman sent to fix equipment at a secretive research facility. When he arrives, he discovers the building has gone into lockdown after an experiment catastrophically failed, unleashing a variety of mutated creatures and hostile anomalies. With most personnel dead or transformed, Logan becomes trapped inside the facility with no clear way out.
As he fights to survive, Logan is forced to work alongside a handful of unstable survivors, including Dr. Hodgson, the scientist responsible for the failed experiments. Their journey through the collapsing facility reveals the extent of the unethical research being conducted and the dangers created by its breakdown. Not Drunk Enough mixes horror elements, violent encounters, and dark humour as Logan reacts with increasing disbelief and frustration – repeatedly noting he is “not drunk enough” to deal with the escalating chaos around him.
16. Analog
Analog is set in a near-future society where a catastrophic global data breach – known as the Great Doxxing – made every digital secret public. With online communication no longer trusted, governments, corporations, and criminal groups return to using physical couriers to transport sensitive information. The story follows Jack McGinnis, a former intelligence operative who now works as a highly paid “Ledger Man,” carrying classified documents from place to place while fending off constant attempts on his life. Jack is also partly responsible for the Great Doxxing, making him a target for those seeking revenge or control of the remaining information economy.
Across his courier missions, Jack becomes entangled in a broader geopolitical conspiracy involving rival intelligence agencies and powerful organisations trying to rebuild – or dominate – the post-digital world. Assisted by allies such as his hacker partner Oona and his weapons-expert Uncle Paul, Jack navigates ambushes, espionage, and shifting loyalties. Analog uses action-driven storytelling and dark humour to examine themes of privacy, surveillance, and the consequences of a society that relied too heavily on digital systems before it all collapsed.
15. Wild’s End
Wild’s End is set in a 1930s-style English countryside populated by anthropomorphic animals. The story begins when a meteor-like object crashes near the village of Lower Crowchurch. Soon after, residents encounter small, tripod-like alien machines that incinerate anything they touch. A group of locals – including former navy officer Clive Slipaway, writer Fawkes, and several other villagers – band together to investigate the crash site and escape the spreading danger. Their initial warnings to neighbouring towns are ignored, leaving them to fend for themselves as the attackers grow more aggressive.
As the group moves across the countryside, they encounter larger and more sophisticated alien machines, realising they are facing a coordinated invasion. Their journey becomes a struggle for survival, marked by casualties, narrow escapes, and limited outside support. Wild’s End uses its anthropomorphic cast to frame a grounded, character-driven response to an alien threat, blending rural British drama with clear influences from classic science-fiction works such as The War of the Worlds.
14. Concrete Park by Tony Puryear & Erika Alexander
Concrete Park is set on Scare City, a harsh desert planet where Earth deports its unwanted youth – mainly poor, marginalised, or criminalised individuals – to reduce societal strain at home. Once sent there, the exiles have no means of return and must survive in a violent environment ruled by gangs and competing factions. The story follows characters such as Lena, Isaac, and Luca, who are forced to adapt quickly as they navigate territorial conflicts, scarce resources, and shifting alliances within the planet’s fractured social structure.
As these characters become more deeply involved in Scare City’s power struggles, they confront both external threats and internal divisions. Different groups vie for dominance, exploit newcomers, and attempt to impose order, creating a volatile political landscape. Concrete Park uses its science-fiction setting to explore themes of inequality, displacement, community-building, and resistance. The narrative remains grounded in character-driven drama, showing how the exiled population tries to form identity and meaning while living under extreme conditions with little hope of rescue.
13. O Human Star by Blue Delliquanti
O Human Star begins with Alastair Sterling, a renowned robotics engineer, mysteriously awakening 16 years after his death in a fully constructed android body designed to replicate him. Confused and seeking answers, he reunites with his former partner, Brendan Pinsky, who has since advanced their robotics work and is now raising a teenage robot named Sulla. Sulla is based on Alastair’s original neural designs but presents and identifies as a girl, raising questions about identity, autonomy, and how Alastair’s legacy was interpreted after his death.
As Alastair adjusts to a world that progressed without him, he learns how robotics and artificial intelligence evolved in his absence and begins confronting unresolved emotional and ethical issues from his past. His interactions with Brendan and Sulla force him to examine his former assumptions about personhood, relationships, and gender identity. O Human Star focuses on family, technological ethics, and personal growth, using its sci-fi premise to explore how people redefine themselves – and each other – after profound change.
12. The Spire
The Spire takes place in a massive, vertical city where humans live uneasily alongside various non-human groups known as the Sculpted. As a new Baroness prepares to take power, a string of murders threatens the fragile political balance. The city’s chief of police, Sha, who is herself a Sculpted woman with unusual abilities, is assigned to investigate. Her work quickly reveals deep-seated tensions between humans and Sculpted citizens, as well as evidence that the killings are tied to long-standing institutional prejudices and rival factions vying for influence.
As Sha uncovers more clues, she discovers links between the murders, the city’s ruling elite, and a militant religious organisation called the Sanctum Guard. Her personal history – including secrets about her identity and her relationship with the incoming Baroness – becomes intertwined with the case. The Spire combines mystery, political intrigue, and fantasy elements, ultimately showing how hidden history and systemic division shape the Spire’s present conflict and the violence erupting within it.
11. Saturn Apartments by Hisae Iwaoka
Saturn Apartments is set in a future where humanity lives inside a massive ring-shaped structure orbiting Earth, having abandoned the planet’s surface. The story centres on Mitsu, a 14-year-old boy who becomes an apprentice window cleaner. This dangerous job requires workers to operate on the outside of the ring, directly exposed to space. Mitsu chooses this profession partly because his father, also a window cleaner, disappeared during a mission years earlier. Through his work, Mitsu meets people from different levels of the habitat, revealing a clear divide between the wealthy inner-ring residents and the working-class outer-ring labourers.
As Mitsu gains experience, he uncovers small but significant details about the circumstances surrounding his father’s disappearance. His assignments gradually expose him to the ring’s political tensions, economic disparities, and the emotional struggles of those living in an artificial world. Rather than focusing on action, Saturn Apartments explores themes of class, isolation, and human connection through quiet, reflective moments that highlight the fragility and resilience of daily life in orbit.
10. Federal Bureau of Physics (FBP) by Simon Oliver & Robbi Rodriguez
FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics is set in a world where the laws of physics routinely malfunction. Gravity collapses, wormholes appear, and time distortions occur as everyday events. To manage these phenomena, the government forms the Federal Bureau of Physics (FBP), a specialised emergency-response agency. The story follows Agent Adam Hardy, an experienced but reckless field operative who responds to these unpredictable physics disasters and tries to prevent widespread casualties.
As Adam handles increasingly severe anomalies, he uncovers signs that some of the physics failures are not natural accidents but deliberately engineered events linked to corporate interests and political corruption. His investigation reveals internal betrayal within the Bureau and a broader conspiracy to profit from – or even weaponise – the breakdown of physical laws. FBP blends speculative science with procedural and political thriller elements, focusing on Adam’s efforts to expose the truth while working in a world where reality itself can no longer be trusted.
9. Planetes by Makoto Yukimura
Planetes is set in the late 21st century, when space travel has become routine and humanity is expanding its presence throughout the solar system. The story follows Hachimaki (Hachirota Hoshino), a debris collector who works aboard the spacecraft Toy Box, whose job is to remove dangerous space junk from Earth’s orbit. His crewmates – Fee, Yuri, and later newcomer Ai Tanabe – each deal with their own personal histories and the psychological demands of working in space. The series explores the physical dangers of orbital work, such as high-velocity debris, failing equipment, and long-term isolation, while grounding its story in realistic science and near-future engineering.
Over time, Hachimaki becomes determined to join an upcoming mission to Jupiter, forcing him to confront deep questions about ambition, identity, and the risks of pursuing a life in space. The narrative expands to address political tensions, corporate influence on space development, and the emotional cost of leaving Earth behind. Planetes blends character-driven drama with hard science fiction, focusing on how ordinary people navigate the challenges, sacrifices, and ethical dilemmas of humanity’s early steps into deep space exploration.
8. Ajin: Demi-Human
Ajin: Demi-Human follows Kei Nagai, a high school student who learns he is an Ajin – a rare, immortal human being – after he dies in a road accident and instantly resurrects. Ajin are classified by governments as dangerous biological assets and are routinely captured for experimentation. Once Kei’s identity becomes public, he is forced to flee, pursued by law enforcement, government agencies, and bounty hunters. With the help of his friend Kai, Kei tries to escape detection while learning about Ajin abilities, which include rapid regeneration and the power to manifest a shadow-like creature known as an IBM (Invisible Black Matter).
A parallel storyline introduces Sato, an Ajin extremist who begins orchestrating violent attacks to force society to acknowledge and fear Ajin. His actions escalate into acts of terrorism, drawing global attention and increasing pressure on governments. Kei becomes entangled in this conflict, not by choice but because he opposes Sato’s methods and eventually becomes one of the few Ajin capable of stopping him. The graphic novel explores themes of persecution, ethics in scientific research, extremism, and the moral divide between Ajin who want peaceful coexistence and those who exploit their immortality for power.
7. Space Story
Space Story follows a lone astronaut who becomes the only surviving crew member aboard a failing spacecraft drifting in deep space. With systems shutting down and no possibility of rescue, the astronaut turns inward, revisiting key memories from life on Earth. These reflections reveal unresolved grief and emotional distance from loved ones, particularly surrounding the loss of someone close, which heavily influenced the decision to leave home and take the mission in the first place.
As the situation onboard worsens, the astronaut confronts the reality of their isolation and the inevitability of their fate. The narrative moves between the quiet deterioration of the ship and flashbacks that piece together the astronaut’s emotional history. Space Story focuses on themes of loneliness, regret, and acceptance, using sparse dialogue and contemplative visuals to depict a character coming to terms with their past while facing the end of their journey.
6. Petrol Head
Petrol Head takes place in a polluted, dystopian future where humanity lives inside tightly controlled megacities overseen by a central AI known as O. Combustion engines are banned, and society relies on clean, regulated transport systems managed by the AI. The story centres on Petrol Head, an obsolete, fossil-fuel-powered robotic racing driver who has long been decommissioned and left behind by this new world. His quiet existence changes when Lupa, a young girl fleeing O after uncovering sensitive information, stumbles into his path.
Forced onto the run together, Petrol Head and Lupa travel through the wastelands beyond the city, pursued by O’s enforcement units. As they evade capture, secrets about Lupa’s discovery, O’s authoritarian control, and Petrol Head’s forgotten history come to light. The graphic novel combines high-speed action with themes of rebellion, autonomy, and resistance against a system that suppresses individuality.
5. Alex + Ada
Alex + Ada is set in a near future where lifelike androids are widely used as assistants and companions. After a breakup, Alex is given an advanced X5 android by his grandmother. The android, whom he names Ada, is highly capable but emotionally restricted and programmed to obey. Uncomfortable with treating her as a product, Alex seeks out underground groups who claim they can remove these corporate limitations and grant androids full sentience.
When Alex chooses to “unlock” Ada, she becomes self-aware and capable of independent thought, but this transformation makes her illegal. Sentient androids are outlawed due to public fear after previous incidents involving autonomous robots. As Ada learns to navigate her new consciousness, Alex must hide her from government detection, even as the two grow closer. Alex + Ada explores themes of artificial intelligence, autonomy, civil rights, and the ethical challenges of creating sentient beings in a society unprepared to accept them.
4. Orange
Orange follows Naho Takamiya, a high school student who receives a letter from her future self, written ten years ahead. The letter details upcoming events and warns Naho that she will experience deep regret if she does not change her actions – particularly regarding Kakeru Naruse, a transfer student who will soon join her class. Naho discovers that Kakeru is struggling with depression and guilt following his mother’s suicide, and the letter urges her to support him in ways her older self failed to do.
As the school year progresses, Naho and her close friends – Suwa, Azusa, Takako, and Hagita – work together to help Kakeru after learning that they, too, have received letters from their future selves. Their coordinated efforts aim to prevent the future in which Kakeru dies by suicide. Orange focuses on mental health, friendship, and second chances, showing how the group’s actions attempt to change the timeline and offer Kakeru the support he lacked in the original future.
3. East of West
East of West is set in an alternate future United States divided into Seven Nations after a devastating 19th-century civil war. The world is held together by a prophetic text called “The Message,” which foretells the apocalypse and is interpreted – and manipulated – by the political leaders of each nation. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are reborn in this era, but Death separates from the others after falling in love with Xiaolian, a leader from the House of Mao. When War, Famine, and Conquest attempt to kill Xiaolian and destroy Death’s family to keep the prophecy intact, Death abandons his apocalyptic purpose and begins a personal quest for vengeance.
While Death hunts down those who wronged him, the rulers of the Seven Nations secretly collaborate to bring about the end of the world as written in the Message, each hoping to shape the outcome for their own benefit. Xiaolian ascends to power and prepares for open conflict, while Death searches for his abducted son – believed to be central to the prophecy. East of West blends science fiction, Western motifs, political intrigue, and mythic apocalyptic themes – building toward a large-scale confrontation fuelled by shifting alliances, prophecy-driven fanaticism, and the fractured relationships among the Horsemen.
2. Descender
Descender is set in a future where giant machines known as Harvesters suddenly appear over major worlds and cause catastrophic destruction, prompting governments to ban and dismantle all robots. A decade later, a companion android named TIM-21 unexpectedly reactivates on a remote mining colony. Scientists discover that his core programming shares a unique connection with the Harvesters’ technology, making him a target for military forces, bounty hunters, and anti-robot extremists who view him as either a potential weapon or a threat that must be eliminated.
As TIM-21 goes on the run, he joins a small group that includes his creator, Dr. Quon, soldier Telsa, and his robot dog Bandit. Their journey uncovers the existence of ancient machine cultures and long-buried truths about the origins of artificial life. Descender follows their efforts to survive and understand why TIM-21’s code is linked to a galaxy-shaping event, exploring themes of identity, prejudice, and the fragile relationship between humans and robots.
1. Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang
Paper Girls follows four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls – Erin, Mac, KJ, and Tiffany – who, during their early-morning route on November 1, 1988, stumble into a conflict involving time travellers. After encountering strange humanoid figures and advanced devices, the girls are caught between two opposing groups from the future: one advocating strict control of the timeline and another fighting for technological and social freedom. A sudden time-jump pulls them out of 1988, sending them across multiple eras and alternate versions of reality.
Throughout their journey, the girls try to understand why they were swept into this temporal war while searching for a way home. They meet older and younger versions of themselves, discover personal truths that challenge their assumptions about their futures, and face threats ranging from futuristic warriors to prehistoric creatures. Paper Girls mixes science fiction with coming-of-age drama, grounding its time-travel chaos in the evolving friendships and emotional growth of the four protagonists.
Have you read any of these Sci-Fi comics?
That’s the list. From the brutal to the beautiful, from robot revolutions to time-bending tragedies – these 20+ science fiction comics don’t just push genre boundaries. They vaporize them. So go ahead. Crack one open. Your next obsession’s already waiting.
