Ten Best Spy Graphic Novels

Do you want a picturesque way of storytelling? Try graphic novels that have emerged as a great contributor to the modern genre. Besides being youthful, you can get exposure to the creative way of reading novels. No wonder you come across an interesting storyline. Have you heard of “INFOGRAPHICS”? The graphic novels rightly suit. If you are interested in a spy story, here we have compiled some best novels.

Ten Best Spy Graphic Novels

Take a trip to the bygone era. The spy graphic novels are more realistic. The readers can see artworks along with texts explaining the story. The ancient craft of spying includes devilish arts of betrayal. Besides, sabotage and fraud also comprise spy graphic novels. These reflect more realistic events. Also deals with action, sex, and intrigues.

1. The Queen and County

The Queen and County are worth mentioning. The writer is an old veteran from the industry, Greg Rucka. From 2001 to 2007, the publication was done via Oni Press. The storyline rotates around the SIS agent. The agent’s name was Tara Chase. She was also designated as Minder Two.

You would find the book with various sections. The series has been done to capture different missions undertaken.

Operation: Broken Ground is one such story that narrates about the Russian General. Who turns into a mob enforcer. Tara was assigned to a mission to kill him. She was successful in the mission. But, the mob puts a bounty on her head. The beauty of the episode lies in how Tara’s character has been portrayed.

Tara was a strong and sarcastic character. She was put to therapy post-assassination. But to her commitment to the profession, she betrays the doctor even. The events show how committed she was to the profession when she neglects her health hazards too.

The other most commendable feature of Rucks was her devotion to national politics. Whether it was capturing politicians selling secret information to Russia. Or dealing with rocket attacks, she was exceptional. Hence, it can be stated that politics took center stage in all missions.

The success led to the approval of their assignment by the head of Minder. Tara’s actions and special agents of the Minder. It has been perceived by normal spying activity by readers. They include tailing. Also gathering information. The detailed discussion with superiors.

2. The Sleeper

Sleeper is another renowned spy graphic novel. It narrates about the character in the WildStorm series, Holden Carver. The story is the platform for primitive collaboration of superstars. Like Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. The most prominent character in the WildStorm Universe was the agent Holden Carver. He was the most prominent counterpart of intelligence services. The Sleeper narrates a tale of morality. The main mission of Carver was to Infiltrate. The infiltration was targeted for the corporation, which formerly Wildcat-gone bad TAO. Unfortunately, things became more complicated. When an attempt to assassinate the important files got burned. The former director of IO and Holden got in troubled water. All the records that could have helped got burnt. Carver was desperate to prove his authenticity to TAO. He tried every means to hide his secret and confine his actual identity.

Holder’s arc got converted to a full circle when he confronted TAO finally. Holden had every chance to get destroyed with sex rackets and violence. But morality matters in life.  The claim made by TAO was describing Holden as belonging to the rest of humanity. One side of how he was perceived. The other side is what he feels he was.

The dark twisted, yet Brubaker and Phillips have put up the glorious lifestyle of a spy. But the duo overshadowed the Sleepers performance with later seasons.

3. The Checkmate

Another spy graphic novel, comic series, penned by Rucka, is the Checkmate. It’s the story of a sanctioned UN organization formed. IIt was after the death of Maxwell Lord and the rise of Infinite Crisis. The basic motto of the Checkmate is about overlooking the metahuman threat. The metahuman activities to counteract the threats. If The rule Of Two defines for every powered group member, there should be a powerless member. The storyline of the Checkmate quite resembles Queen and county. Both stress heavily on political aspects. Especially, the Checkmate portrays the conflict between black and white queens. Very much identical to a checkerboard game. The opponent’s white Queen was Amanda Waller.

The black Queen was Sasha Bordeaux. The consequences of the story describe how the author wants to relate morality with duty. The consequences after deception. Sasha thought about how to begin afresh. Sasha was portraying a carefree attitude in her action at the beginning of the season. Following the cobra attack, the compound was set ablaze in the Gulf of Aden on Shasha’s command on Fire. But as a result, Shasha’s knight got killed. Also, upward of 50 cult members died in the course. Lastly, after mana’s dismissal, the new beginning could be visualized. It led to the realization phase. Infants were getting introduced to weapons. The future of the Checkmate was dicy.

The advent of Batman occurred as Sasha’s vision started working for a new beginning. The Wonder Woman is a series that is a second series. Rucka reintroduced Sasha.

4. The Velvet

Velvet is another spy graphic novel that expresses the difference between normal and spy life. It has a burden of secrets to reveal; the famous story is about betrayal and bitterness. The story rotates about people most trusted through the entire life. The story’s main character was earlier the secretary. Also an agent for a top-secret intelligence service called ARC-7. The writer of the story was Ed Brubaker.

The story got illustrated by Steve Epting. Elizabeth Breitweiser did the artwork and coloring. The start of the story is to find the reasons behind the murder. The murder of the operator, Jefferson Keller, was also designated as X-14. The story describes how Velvet became a rogue to find the murderer. She also suspected a mole in the case related to Keller’s murder. Hoards of secrets arose. Velvet tried uncovering each secret. But the result was more questions arose while answers got revealed.

Velvet learned living the life of a spy. She also forgot about trusting her near and dear ones. Velvet led her entire life as a liar. Her subordinate agents set the path for her. Keller’s murder, her husband’s death, the exact reason for Brubaker’s writing is debatable. But the storyline is sharp. The essence of dynamic brutality could be traced in Epting’s artwork. Breitweiser’s lush color combination makes the Velvet series iconic.

5. The Grayson

The story Tom king wrote Grayson. Tim Seeley assisted him. This story is about Dick Grayson, who was an all-rounder. The contribution of Mikel Janin and Stephen Mooney, the artwork came to life. Jeromy Cox produced colors. Lex Luthor kills Dick. In 2014 the activities of Dick got focussed. The story Grayson mostly speaks about Dick’s past before becoming a secret agent. Dick was known to be a boy wonder.

Dick was an acrobat. He was a team leader as well. Before becoming a secret agent has been a caped crusader also. Lately, he became a double agent with the spy organization Spiral. In the organization, he was designated as Agent 37. Dick was responsible for uncovering Spiral’s secrets. He worked as per the instructions of Batman. Ultimately the organization got destroyed.

In the mission, Dick partners with Hellena Bertellinni. Helena was head of a boarding school. This boarding school is under cover of the Spiral. While on the mission, Dick discovers a lot about Spiral. Not only was Spiral stockpiling information. That information was regarding the identities of the League. In issue 14, Dick unites with Gotham. The storyline describes how dick was close to the bat-family. Also reveals the types of interaction were happening. 

6. The Secret Avengers

The spy graphic novel series of Secret Avengers is the best spy series over any other series later. Created by Ales Kot. In association with Micheal Walsh. Also contributed by Mathew Wilson, the story is all about spies and superheroes. The story is all about trauma and empathy besides explosions and recovery.

The typical spy genre has been combined in a new form altogether. Kot and Walsh include the adventures of leading agents. The main characters Hawkeye, Black Widow, Maria Hill, and Nick Fury, spice up the storyline.

The main sources of attraction of viewers in the although double-crossing. Also, the lies create suspicion. Moreover, the fights shown in deep Amazon rain forests are mind-blowing. In this story, the role of spycraft masters like Maria Hill. Or the partner MODOK imitates to play a game of chess. They constantly keep the viewers as they change their intentions. The outcomes are varying, likewise.

Hence, it would be wise to claim that before the introduction of Secret War Marvel. Also the other Secret Avenger series. Or, Jonathan Hickman’s New Avengers, the Secret Avengers, was far better.

7. Planetary #11

This spy graphic novel Planetary is the best creation by Warren Ellis. Associated with John Cassaday. This series can be regarded as the best composition by the creators. However, the theme varies from the normal genre of spies. The story rotates around three archeologists. These archeologists were on a mission to unearth the secrets hidden on planet earth. If you recognize, every series displays a variety of pop culture. It has used its transmission from trends of one genre to another.

The tone of adventure has been beautifully crafted for Legendary creator Jim Steranko. Adherence to issue Nick Fury: Agent of shield# four has been widely depicted. At the same time, Ellis portrayed the transition of the height of the Cold War and espionage. His inclusions are related to spycraft, secret organizations, and gadgetry. The spy graphic novel combines the fun at spy camps. Also inspirations from real life.

The creation of the James Bond character is praiseworthy, You should check out some other good James Bond movies. The insights gathered in preparation of the Planteory series enabled the process. The Planetary# 11 series reflects the good spy genre. Characters such as James Bond and Nick Fury were quite eminent.

8. The Zero

This was a creation by Ales Kot. The story of Zero might not end as a spy theory. But, the story commences with the spy genre. The story is about Edward Zero, who was an English operative. He was a man of secrets. His lifelong involvement in violence has been widespread. Various artists portray different stories about Edward. Every story is stand-alone completed in its sense.

Jordie Bellard assembled it. Jordie stitched together the stories using his vibrant color concept. The best part of spy stories is covered in the first volume of the series. 

An Emergency is the first volume of the Zero series. It includes the inductions of history of assassinations in war-torn Irish land. It also includes the high tech war strategies used in the Middle East.  Every series of Zero is capable of hitting your gut. When read together, the storyline becomes yet more powerful.

All the actions and tensions are brought to life by the brilliant creators of the spy graphic novel. The scripts from Kot have been brilliantly illustrated. The wise efforts of Micheal Walsh and Tradd Moore have added to the success.

9. The City of Spies

The author of the story is Susan Kim. The associate author is Laurence Klavan. Pascal Dizin did the illustration. The storyline of the spy graphic novel is all about intrigue, mystery, and spies. The story tells us about Evelyn.

Evelyn is the central character. She was adventurous. The pen and paper used to be her companion until she became friends with Tony. It was a breakthrough opportunity for her. She left her legal interest in art and got exposure to know about real-life spies.

Evelyn’s story dates back to 1942 when she shifted from her father’s place to New York in 1942. She stayed under the guidance of her unconventional aunt Lia.

But the daydreaming about superheroes remained intact for Evelyn. She dreamt about foul plays by the Nazis. She met her friend by chance, a superintendent’s son Tony. They together solved the complexities in life. Side by side, they would sniff troubles around. All of a sudden, they came across a real Nazi Plot.

The classical artwork by Pascal quite resembles Herge’s Tintin characters. The tale embodies a kid detective story in the World War II espionage scenario. During the World War II period, a lot of German spies were spread all over New York. Evelyn and Tony’s investigation of spies was not always right. But the effort to find real Nazi spies was appreciable. The duo hid in bakery vans Also intervened at party events. With the help of aunt Lia and a friendly policeman, they could tackle secret code languages.

10. The Super Spy

It is based on personal experience as an agent in the espionage circuit. It is the record of events that took place around the mid-40s. The story is based on real-life consequences a spy undergoes. The author Kindt provides a broad perspective about how spies. He got involved with the secret world and their consequences in life. The author has dedicated his writing to the espionage world. It covers both trade and politics.

The explanation about spies and nations can develop someone’s perspective about the profession. The author claims that espionage is not at all glamorous. It is quite different from what Le Carre or Fleming’s stories say. The Super Spy has humorous content, but it is a darker sort of life that has been portrayed in general.

Though all protagonists do not end up with bitter consequences. It’s not that their lives get indeed ended. But there may be regret, sadness, and depression.

The tragic conclusion may crop up from physical distress. The reason may be knives. The bombs or even the bullets. The Super Spy story has become popular, sighting the clever plot. Also, the characters are quite sharp and intelligent. The essence of the stories is very human, not fictitious. The stories are not technical but spiritual.

Final Thought

The spy graphic novel are written to capture the secretive lives of spies. It has the espionage tales about the brave hearts who risked their lives to serve their nation. The picturesque representations would add to your interest. We tried to compile some of the best spy graphic novel that are popular. If you are interested in spy stories check out our post of best spy movies.