100 Greatest Adventure & Thriller Comics of All Time
One hundred extraordinary stories. Dangerous journeys. Dark conspiracies. Forbidden desires. A world where adventure, intrigue, and human ambition collide.
One hundred extraordinary stories. Dangerous journeys. Dark conspiracies. Forbidden desires. A world where adventure, intrigue, and human ambition collide.
One hundred extraordinary works. A world of secrets waiting to be uncovered.
From the sensual mysteries of Djinn to the political betrayals of Murena, from the international conspiracies of XIII to the atmospheric crime fiction of Blacksad, these comics demonstrate the remarkable possibilities of mature graphic storytelling.
Some will transport you into forgotten historical worlds. Others will lead you through conspiracies, dangerous relationships, and morally complicated decisions. A few will take you somewhere entirely unexpected. Every selection offers its own journey into danger, intrigue, and imagination.
Discover the mysteries. Follow the conspiracies. Explore the artwork.
Begin with number one ↓All one hundred, in order.
Showing 100 of 100
| # | Title | Writer & artist | First published | Publisher / origin | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Criminal | Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips | 2006 | Marvel / Icon; later Image Comics / USA / UK | Hardboiled crime, heists, psychological thriller |
| 2 | The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec | Jacques Tardi | 1976 | Casterman / France | Belle Époque mystery, historical adventure, occult conspiracy |
| 3 | The Killer (Le Tueur) | Matz & Luc Jacamon | 1998 | Casterman / France | International crime thriller, assassination, political intrigue |
| 4 | Corto Maltese | Hugo Pratt | 1967 | Sgt. Kirk / Italy | Historical adventure, espionage, international intrigue |
| 5 | Barracuda | Jean Dufaux & Jérémy Petiqueux | 2010 | Dargaud / Belgium | Pirate adventure, Caribbean intrigue, survival |
| 6 | The Eagles of Rome (Les Aigles de Rome) | Enrico Marini | 2007 | Dargaud / Switzerland / France | Roman historical epic, betrayal, political intrigue |
| 7 | Djinn | Jean Dufaux & Ana Mirallès | 2001 | Dargaud / Belgium / Spain | Erotic historical adventure, mystery, political intrigue |
| 8 | Blacksad | Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido | 2000 | Dargaud / Spain / France | Hardboiled detective noir, crime, political conspiracy |
| 9 | Largo Winch | Jean Van Hamme, Éric Giacometti & Philippe Francq | 1990 | Dupuis / Belgium | International adventure, corporate espionage, conspiracy |
| 10 | XIII | Jean Van Hamme, Yves Sente & William Vance, Youri Jigounov | 1984 | Dargaud / Belgium | Political conspiracy, espionage, action thriller |
| 11 | Desert Star (L’Étoile du désert) | Stephen Desberg & Enrico Marini, Hugues Labiano | 1996 | Dargaud / Belgium / Switzerland | Western mystery, revenge thriller, frontier adventure |
| 12 | Noir Burlesque | Enrico Marini | 2021 | Dargaud / Switzerland / France | Gangster noir, crime, femme fatale, romantic thriller |
| 13 | Bouncer | Alejandro Jodorowsky & François Boucq | 2001 | Les Humanoïdes Associés / Chile / France | Revisionist Western, revenge, psychological thriller |
| 14 | Pin-Up | Yann & Philippe Berthet | 1994 | Dargaud / France / Belgium | Historical espionage, erotic noir, wartime intrigue |
| 15 | Lady S | Jean Van Hamme, Philippe Aymond & Philippe Aymond | 2004 | Dupuis / Belgium | International espionage, political thriller, secret identities |
| 16 | Long John Silver | Xavier Dorison & Mathieu Lauffray | 2007 | Dargaud / France | Pirate adventure, lost civilizations, dangerous expeditions |
| 17 | Spooks (W.E.S.T.) | Xavier Dorison, Fabien Nury & Christian Rossi | 2003 | Dargaud / France | Historical espionage, supernatural conspiracy, political thriller |
| 18 | The Third Testament (Le Troisième Testament) | Xavier Dorison & Alex Alice | 1997 | Glénat / France | Medieval conspiracy, religious mystery, historical adventure |
| 19 | Undertaker | Xavier Dorison & Ralph Meyer | 2015 | Dargaud / France | Revisionist Western, mystery, revenge, adventure |
| 20 | The Eternaut (El Eternauta) | Héctor Germán Oesterheld & Francisco Solano López | 1957 | Hora Cero / Argentina | Survival thriller, science-fiction adventure, political allegory |
| 21 | Torpedo 1936 | Enrique Sánchez Abulí & Jordi Bernet; Alex Toth (early stories) | 1982 | Creepy / Toutain Editor / Spain | Gangster noir, organized crime, hardboiled thriller |
| 22 | Alack Sinner | Carlos Sampayo & José Muñoz | 1975 | Alter Alter / Argentina / Italy | Detective noir, political crime, psychological thriller |
| 23 | The Hunting Party (Partie de chasse) | Pierre Christin & Enki Bilal | 1983 | Dargaud / France | Cold War political thriller, historical intrigue |
| 24 | The Nikopol Trilogy | Enki Bilal | 1980 | Métal Hurlant / Les Humanoïdes Associés / France | Dystopian political thriller, surreal mystery, science fiction |
| 25 | The Black Dahlia | David Fincher, Matz & Miles Hyman | 2013 | Casterman / France / USA | Historical crime, murder mystery, psychological noir |
| 26 | The Fade Out | Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips | 2014 | Image Comics / USA / UK | Hollywood noir, murder mystery, historical conspiracy |
| 27 | Murena | Jean Dufaux & Philippe Delaby, Theo Caneschi | 1997 | Dargaud / Belgium | Ancient Rome, political thriller, historical conspiracy |
| 28 | Velvet | Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting | 2013 | Image Comics / USA | Cold War espionage, international conspiracy, action thriller |
| 29 | Queen & Country | Greg Rucka & Steve Rolston, Leandro Fernández, various artists | 2001 | Oni Press / USA / UK | Realistic espionage, intelligence operations, political thriller |
| 30 | Parker | Darwyn Cooke; adapted from Richard Stark & Darwyn Cooke | 2009 | IDW Publishing / Canada / USA | Hardboiled crime, heist thriller, revenge |
| 31 | 100 Bullets | Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso | 1999 | DC / Vertigo / USA / Argentina | Conspiracy noir, organized crime, psychological thriller |
| 32 | Scalped | Jason Aaron & R. M. Guéra | 2007 | DC / Vertigo / USA / Serbia | Undercover crime thriller, political corruption, neo-noir |
| 33 | Sleeper | Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips | 2003 | DC / WildStorm / USA / UK | Undercover espionage, crime conspiracy, psychological noir |
| 34 | Fatale | Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips | 2012 | Image Comics / USA / UK | Supernatural noir, femme fatale, historical mystery |
| 35 | Road to Perdition | Max Allan Collins & Richard Piers Rayner | 1998 | DC / Paradox Press / USA / UK | Prohibition-era crime, revenge, historical thriller |
| 36 | The Bombyce Network (Le Réseau Bombyce) | Corbeyran & Cécil | 1999 | Les Humanoïdes Associés / France | Belle Époque mystery, steampunk noir, crime thriller |
| 37 | Miss: Better Living Through Crime | Philippe Thirault & Marc Riou, Mark Vigouroux | 1999 | Les Humanoïdes Associés / France | Historical gangster noir, assassination, crime romance |
| 38 | I Am Legion (Je suis légion) | Fabien Nury & John Cassaday | 2004 | Les Humanoïdes Associés / France / USA | World War II espionage, supernatural thriller, conspiracy |
| 39 | The Last Templar | Raymond Khoury & Miguel Lalor | 2009 | Dargaud / France / USA | Archaeological mystery, religious conspiracy, action thriller |
| 40 | Carthago | Christophe Bec & Éric Henninot, Milan Jovanović, various artists | 2007 | Les Humanoïdes Associés / France | Underwater exploration, conspiracy, archaeological thriller |
| 41 | Sanctum (Sanctuaire) | Xavier Dorison & Christophe Bec | 2001 | Les Humanoïdes Associés / France | Submarine thriller, archaeological mystery, supernatural horror |
| 42 | Gypsy (Gipsy) | Thierry Smolderen & Enrico Marini | 1993 | Dargaud / Belgium / Switzerland | International adventure, smuggling, action thriller |
| 43 | Raptors (Rapaces) | Jean Dufaux & Enrico Marini | 1998 | Dargaud / Belgium / Switzerland | Gothic action thriller, vampire conspiracy, supernatural noir |
| 44 | The Coldest City | Antony Johnston & Sam Hart | 2012 | Oni Press / UK | Cold War espionage, Berlin spy thriller, political intrigue |
| 45 | Whiteout | Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber | 1998 | Oni Press / USA | Antarctic murder mystery, survival thriller, crime |
| 46 | The Black Monday Murders | Jonathan Hickman & Tomm Coker | 2016 | Image Comics / USA | Financial conspiracy, occult crime, psychological thriller |
| 47 | Asgard | Xavier Dorison & Ralph Meyer | 2012 | Dargaud / France | Viking historical adventure, monster hunt, survival thriller |
| 48 | Lethal Lullaby (Berceuse assassine) | Philippe Tome & Ralph Meyer | 1997 | Dargaud / Belgium | Psychological crime thriller, marital intrigue, noir |
| 49 | A Hell of an Innocent (Le Crime qui est le tien) | Zidrou & Philippe Berthet | 2015 | Dargaud / Belgium / France | Australian crime noir, murder mystery, psychological thriller |
| 50 | The Art of Dying (L'Art de mourir) | Raule & Philippe Berthet | 2018 | Dargaud / Spain / France | Barcelona crime noir, psychological mystery, family intrigue |
| 51 | The Scorpion (Le Scorpion) | Stephen Desberg & Enrico Marini | 2000 | Dargaud / Belgium / Switzerland | Historical swashbuckler, religious conspiracy, adventure |
| 52 | The Black Order Brigade | Pierre Christin & Enki Bilal | 1979 | Dargaud / France | Political thriller, historical conspiracy, international pursuit |
| 53 | The Bloody Streets of Paris | Léo Malet (adapted by Jacques Tardi) & Jacques Tardi | 1988 | Casterman / France | Historical detective noir, murder mystery |
| 54 | West Coast Blues | Jean-Patrick Manchette (adapted by Jacques Tardi) & Jacques Tardi | 2005 | Casterman / France | Hardboiled crime, assassination thriller, psychological noir |
| 55 | Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot | Jean-Patrick Manchette (adapted by Jacques Tardi) & Jacques Tardi | 2010 | Casterman / France | Assassin thriller, organized crime, international pursuit |
| 56 | The Secret History (L’Histoire secrète) | Jean-Pierre Pécau & Igor Kordey | 2005 | Delcourt / France | Historical conspiracy, espionage, occult political thriller |
| 57 | The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia | Mary M. Talbot & Bryan Talbot | 2016 | SelfMadeHero / UK | Historical political drama, revolutionary intrigue |
| 58 | Tango | Matz & Philippe Xavier | 2017 | Le Lombard / Belgium | South American crime adventure, cartel thriller |
| 59 | Wayne Shelton | Jean Van Hamme, Thierry Cailleteau & Christian Denayer | 2001 | Dargaud / Belgium | International mercenary adventure, espionage, political thriller |
| 60 | I.R.$. | Stephen Desberg & Bernard Vrancken | 1999 | Le Lombard / Belgium | Financial crime, international conspiracy, investigative thriller |
| 61 | Alpha | Youri Jigounov, Pascal Renard, Emmanuel Herzet & Youri Jigounov, Alain Queireix | 1996 | Le Lombard / Belgium | CIA espionage, geopolitical thriller, covert operations |
| 62 | Sisco | Benec & Thomas Legrain | 2010 | Le Lombard / Belgium | Political espionage, assassination, intelligence thriller |
| 63 | Insiders | Jean-Claude Bartoll & Renaud Garreta | 2002 | Dargaud / France | Undercover espionage, organized crime, international thriller |
| 64 | Black Crow | Jean-Yves Delitte | 2009 | Glénat / France | Maritime historical adventure, piracy, naval intrigue |
| 65 | Angel Wings | Yann & Romain Hugault | 2014 | Paquet / Switzerland | World War II aviation adventure, espionage, historical thriller |
| 66 | The Grand Duke (Le Grand Duc) | Yann & Romain Hugault | 2008 | Paquet / Switzerland | World War II aviation, wartime intrigue, historical adventure |
| 67 | Night Owl Society | James Venhaus & Pius Bak | 2017 | IDW / USA | Crime mystery, secret societies, vigilante thriller |
| 68 | The Prague Coup | Jean-Luc Fromental & Miles Hyman | 2017 | Dupuis / Belgium | Cold War espionage, historical conspiracy, political noir |
| 69 | The Photographer (Le Photographe) | Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre & Emmanuel Guibert; photographs by Didier Lefèvre | 2003 | Dupuis / France | Afghan war, dangerous journey, documentary adventure |
| 70 | The Arab of the Future (L’Arabe du futur) | Riad Sattouf | 2014 | Allary / France | Political memoir, Middle Eastern historical drama |
| 71 | The Sheriff of Babylon | Tom King & Mitch Gerads | 2015 | DC / Vertigo / USA | Iraq War crime thriller, murder mystery, political conspiracy |
| 72 | The Other Side | Jason Aaron & Cameron Stewart | 2006 | DC / Vertigo / USA | Vietnam War, psychological survival thriller |
| 73 | Sara | Garth Ennis & Steve Epting | 2018 | TKO Studios / USA | World War II sniper thriller, historical military adventure |
| 74 | Battlefields | Garth Ennis & Russ Braun, Peter Snejbjerg, Carlos Ezquerra | 2008 | Dynamite / USA | World War II military adventure, survival, historical drama |
| 75 | War Stories | Garth Ennis & Various artists | 2001 | DC / Vertigo / USA | Historical military thriller, wartime survival |
| 76 | The Losers | Andy Diggle & Jock; Shawn Martinbrough | 2003 | DC / Vertigo / USA | Black-ops espionage, revenge, military conspiracy |
| 77 | The Activity | Nathan Edmondson & Mitch Gerads | 2011 | Image Comics / USA | Special operations, military espionage, covert missions |
| 78 | Torso | Brian Michael Bendis, Marc Andreyko & Brian Michael Bendis | 1998 | Image Comics / USA | Historical true crime / investigative noir |
| 79 | Stumptown | Greg Rucka & Matthew Southworth, Justin Greenwood | 2009 | Oni Press / USA | Private detective noir, organized crime, mystery |
| 80 | The Violent | Ed Brisson & Adam Gorham | 2015 | Image Comics / USA | Crime noir / family survival |
| 81 | Kill or Be Killed | Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips | 2016 | Image Comics / USA | Psychological crime thriller, vigilante noir |
| 82 | Reckless | Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips | 2020 | Image Comics / USA | Los Angeles private-eye noir, conspiracy, crime |
| 83 | Pulp | Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips | 2020 | Image Comics / USA | Depression-era crime, historical Western noir |
| 84 | Scene of the Crime | Ed Brubaker & Michael Lark | 1999 | DC / Vertigo / USA | Private detective mystery, psychological noir |
| 85 | Jinx | Brian Michael Bendis | 1996 | Caliber Press / USA | Bounty hunter noir |
| 86 | Stray Bullets | David Lapham | 1995 | El Capitan / USA | Crime anthology, psychological noir, criminal underworld |
| 87 | The Good Asian | Pornsak Pichetshote & Alexandre Tefenkgi | 2021 | Image Comics / USA | 1930s detective noir, historical crime, political intrigue |
| 88 | Newburn | Chip Zdarsky & Jacob Phillips | 2021 | Image Comics / USA | Organized crime, private investigation, detective noir |
| 89 | That Texas Blood | Chris Condon & Jacob Phillips | 2020 | Image Comics / USA | Texas crime noir, murder mystery, psychological thriller |
| 90 | Southern Bastards | Jason Aaron & Jason Latour | 2014 | Image Comics / USA | Southern Gothic crime, corruption, revenge thriller |
| 91 | The Creep | John Arcudi & Jonathan Case | 2012 | Dark Horse / USA | Private detective mystery / psychological noir |
| 92 | Green River Killer: A True Detective Story | Jeff Jensen & Jonathan Case | 2011 | Dark Horse / USA | True crime, serial-killer investigation, police procedural |
| 93 | My Friend Dahmer | Derf Backderf | 2012 | Abrams / USA | True crime, psychological mystery, biographical thriller |
| 94 | Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? | Harold Schechter, Eric Powell & Eric Powell | 2021 | Albatross Funnybooks / USA | Historical true crime, psychological horror, criminal investigation |
| 95 | The Fix | Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber | 2016 | Image Comics / USA | Corrupt police, organized crime, dark comedy thriller |
| 96 | The Damned | Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt | 2006 | Oni Press / USA | Prohibition-era gangster noir, supernatural crime thriller |
| 97 | Tyler Cross | Fabien Nury & Brüno | 2013 | Dargaud / France | Gangster noir / period thriller |
| 98 | The Kitchen | Ollie Masters & Ming Doyle | 2014 | DC / Vertigo / USA | 1970s New York organized crime, gangster thriller |
| 99 | The Last Siege | Landry Q. Walker & Justin Greenwood | 2018 | Image Comics / USA | Medieval siege / military adventure |
| 100 | The Big Hoax (La Grande Arnaque) | Carlos Trillo & Domingo Mandrafina | 1989 | Puertitas / Argentina | Political crime satire / black comedy |
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An editorial celebration of 100 exceptional adult adventure and thriller comics and graphic novels. This collection excludes manga and superhero comics and focuses on works listed as available in English. It encompasses historical adventure, espionage, crime, mystery, noir, political intrigue, supernatural thrillers, and related genres. Mature themes, sexuality, nudity, and violence may be present, but are not requirements for inclusion. Rankings reflect editorial judgment rather than an absolute or universally agreed canon.