Labor Day weekend has arrived, and if you’re lucky, you’ve carved out some time to relax. Maybe there’s a cold drink in your hand, a grill sizzling nearby, and a hammock gently swaying. You’ve worked hard all year, and now it’s time to give your brain a break with some pleasure reading.
Comics are the perfect companion for this kind of downtime. They’re engaging enough to be exciting but also offer the kind of immersion that helps you forget about deadlines, emails, and meetings.
To help you find your perfect escape, here is a list of the 11 best comics to read over this long weekend. Some are classics, some are heartfelt memoirs, and others are brand-new 2025 releases that will keep you turning pages long after the fireworks die down. Each one brings something different to the table: big ideas, big laughs, or just pure fun.
1. Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons & John Higgins
The best comic you will ever read is Watchmen. Originally published in the 1980s, this twelve-issue saga didn’t just tell a superhero story; it deconstructed the entire idea of superheroes.
The setup is a noir-thriller classic: a washed-up vigilante is found murdered, and his paranoid colleague Rorschach begins to unravel a conspiracy that drags their entire world into the light. But beneath that simple premise, creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons crafted a layered study of morality, power, and obsession. The structure is as meticulous as the story itself, with its signature nine-panel grids, recurring symbols, and a comic-within-a-comic that mirrors the main narrative. Every panel feels purposeful.
This is a book you can fall into and not come out of for hours. It’s heavy, yes, but incredibly rewarding, the kind of story that keeps echoing after you have put it down. If you want something meaty to balance a long weekend of burgers and naps, Watchmen will give your brain plenty to chew on.
2. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
If Watchmen is a slow-burn moral epic, Saga is a wild rollercoaster with a lot of heart. Imagine Star Wars, Romeo and Juliet, and Game of Thrones smashed together, but drawn with lush, painterly art and sprinkled with humor so sharp it’ll make you laugh out loud. The story follows Alana and Marko, soldiers from opposite sides of a brutal galactic war who fall in love and have a child together.
The galaxy doesn’t take this kindly, and soon they are hunted by bounty hunters, political factions, and even a TV-headed robot prince. It’s this balance that makes Saga remarkable. One page, you’re gasping at an epic space battle, the next you’re watching two exhausted parents argue about diaper duty. Staples’ art brings an impossible universe to life, with winged warriors, spider-legged assassins, and forests that hatch eggs, yet it still feels emotionally grounded.
3. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper is a breath of fresh air for your weekend reading. While some stories are cosmic or apocalyptic, this one is a sweet, simple reminder that sometimes, a book that just makes you smile is exactly what you need.
It follows Charlie, a sweet, shy boy, and Nick, a rugby player who surprises himself by falling for Charlie. Their friendship slowly blossoms into something more, with all the awkwardness, warmth, and joy of real teenage discovery. The line art is simple but expressive, every panel radiating sincerity.
Heartstopper is pure comfort food. It’s the blanket you wrap around your shoulders at night, the cool breeze on a warm afternoon. If you’re looking for something wholesome that will leave you grinning, this is it.
4. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
This One Summer is a lot like standing barefoot on the edge of a lake, feeling childhood slip away with the tide. While Heartstopper is a comforting warm blanket, this graphic novel has a more bittersweet and nostalgic feel.
The story follows two best friends, Rose and Windy, during one last summer at a beach town. It perfectly captures both the innocence of their friendship and the cracks that come with growing up. As the girls find themselves on the cusp of adolescence, they are pulled into the complexity of the heavy, unspoken struggles that the adults around them are dealing with.
Jillian Tamaki’s art is stunning, with hazy blues and expressive character work that perfectly nails the feeling of late summer evenings.
Much like Labor Day, the book acts as a hinge between summer and fall. It’s a reflective, bittersweet read that captures the exact mood you might feel as the long weekend winds down.
5. Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum by W. Maxwell Prince & Martín Morazzo
This new 2025 release takes Superman in a trippy direction by introducing a new conceit: Kryptonite doesn’t just weaken him, it mutates him. Red, gold, blue, and stranger varieties of Kryptonite each trigger different powers, transformations, and crises.
This concept, which could have been a gimmick, becomes something much richer. Maxwell Prince, of Ice Cream Man fame, uses Superman’s shifting states to explore the true nature of his character: the loneliness of being an outsider, the terror of losing control, and the pressure of embodying hope. Morazzo and O’Halloran’s art, meanwhile, is stunningly psychedelic, bending reality to reflect Superman’s fractured experience.
6. Mamo by Sas Milledge
Cozy, magical, and beautifully drawn, Mamo is the comic equivalent of brewing tea on a rainy afternoon. The story follows Jo, a young witch who returns home after her grandmother’s death, only to find her seaside town in disarray. Spirits are restless, magic is unstable, and Jo must navigate this supernatural chaos while also confronting her own strained family ties. It’s during this tumultuous time that she builds a tender bond with a local girl who asks for her help.
Milledge’s artwork is lush and painterly, full of folklore charm and warm, earthy tones. The art brings to life a world where magic feels both whimsical and dangerous, rooted in nature and personal history.
Mamo draws you in gently, like a campfire story, and leaves you with that lingering feeling of warmth. Ideal for quiet evenings after the barbecue smoke clears.
7. Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates & Brian Stelfreeze
When journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates took on Black Panther in 2016, he brought with him a voice steeped in history, politics, and philosophy. The result was one of the most ambitious superhero comics in years.
T’Challa isn’t just battling supervillains here; he’s facing rebellion, ancient gods, and the very legitimacy of his rule. Wakanda is torn by unrest, and Coates writes it as a living, breathing nation with competing voices, grievances, and aspirations. Brian Stelfreeze’s art renders it with grandeur and intimacy, from high-tech palaces to grassroots uprisings.
Between cookouts and fireworks, you can sink into a story that wrestles with leadership, justice, and tradition, all while still delivering pulse-pounding action. It’s the kind of book that leaves you thinking even after you have put it down.
8. Lady Killer by Joëlle Jones & Jamie S. Rich
Lady Killer is what happens when a character like Betty Draper picks up a knife between cocktail parties. Set in the picture-perfect suburbs of the 1960s, the story follows Josie Schuller, who appears to be the perfect housewife, complete with pearls and a spotless kitchen. However, she’s secretly a contract killer. This creates a delicious juxtaposition where she can be at a Tupperware party one moment and stabbing someone in a motel bathroom the next.
With art by Joëlle Jones, the comic is sleek, stylish, and infused with mid-century design. The violence is balletic, the humor is pitch-black, and the narrative is a blend of satire, pulp fiction, and empowerment. Lady Killer is a fast-paced, gory, and addictive read you’ll tear through with a grin, then wonder why you hadn’t heard of it sooner.
9. Dogs and Punching Bags by Kaori Ozaki
Every so often, a manga sneaks up and punches you in the heart while holding your hand. That’s Dogs and Punching Bags, a brand-new English release from Kaori Ozaki (The Gods Lie) in January 2025.
The story centers on love, trauma, and the healing process. Nichiko, a 34-year-old woman, returns to her island home to care for her dying father. There, she bonds with a younger man named Chimaki who reminds her of a childhood puppy, even sharing a similar mark on their faces.
Ozaki’s art is delicate and almost fragile, featuring expressive characters and careful pacing that allows the emotions to breathe. The visuals enhance the emotional depth, creating a bittersweet experience for the reader.
If you’re looking for a moving story to wind down with, this manga delivers. It’s the kind of book you’ll want to recommend to a friend as soon as you finish it.
10. Dr. Werthless by Harold Schechter & Eric Powell
If you want to understand just how fragile comics once were and how close we came to losing them, then you should read Dr. Werthless. This book, by true crime master Harold Schechter and illustrated by Eric Powell (of The Goon fame), is a nonfiction graphic novel about Fredric Wertham, the psychiatrist who blamed comic books for the ills of American youth in the 1950s. His infamous book, Seduction of the Innocent, led to Senate hearings, public outcry, and the creation of the Comics Code Authority, which significantly impacted the industry for decades.
However, Schechter and Powell don’t simply paint Wertham as a cartoon villain. Instead, they dig into his contradictions: here was a man who opened clinics for Black communities and fought segregation, yet sensationalized “corrupting” Batman and Wonder Woman stories. Powell’s grotesque yet satirical art underscores the absurdity of the moral panic, while also revealing the real wreckage left behind: bankrupt publishers, censored creators, and an entire generation of neutered storytelling.
11. Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta
You think you know Batman, but you’ve never seen him like this. This is the world of Absolute Batman, a gritty, ground-level take on the Caped Crusader that reimagines his core identity.
In this story, Bruce Wayne isn’t a billionaire. Instead, he’s a working-class engineer who grew up poor after his parents were murdered. This change sets the stage for a Gotham that is dirtier and meaner than ever, run by corrupt politicians and ruthless crime families.
Since he lacks the usual tech, this Batman doesn’t glide across rooftops with billion-dollar gadgets. He swings a bat-axe and fights with raw fury. Writer Scott Snyder strips the mythos down to its bare steel, focusing on themes of class warfare and systemic corruption, creating a hero who bleeds as much as he breaks bones.
Artist Greg Dragotta’s jagged, punk-inspired art perfectly matches the story’s chaotic energy, transforming Gotham into a dystopian warzone. Even familiar characters are reimagined, like Alfred, an ex-MI6 agent who almost kills Bruce before becoming his ally.
Wrapping It Up
So there you have it: 11 comics, each one bringing its own flavor to the long weekend. Some are stone-cold classics, others are new voices pushing the medium forward. Together, they show just how wide comics can stretch: Epic, Cozy, Funny, Devastating, Experimental.
This list is a testament to the power of a good story. While Labor Day is a time for rest, that rest doesn’t have to mean idleness. Sometimes it means giving yourself a story so compelling that you forget the clock, or characters so vivid that you carry them with you after the last page.
What’s first on your reading list? We’re excited to hear about it!
