Top 10 comics & graphic novels based on video games, ranked

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When people hear “video game adaptation,” they usually think of movies or television shows. Many of these re-imaginings are solid, and even the worst ones are fun to watch with friends. However, some of the best video game adaptations I’ve seen and read have been comic books and graphic novels.

I’ve loved comics and video games since I was too short to reach the top shelves at most comic and game stores. Since then, I’ve read dozens of comics based on video games. A few struck out hard, but others are fantastic companions to their source material, perfectly re-creating the feel of the games they’re from and building on their lore in fun ways.

Opinions are subjective, especially regarding both mediums I’m about to discuss. But, if you were to ask me, here are the top ten best comics/graphic novels based on video games.

10. Assassin’s Creed

Ubisoft’s future is as dim as sunset nowadays, but Assassin’s Creed is still full of unexplored potential. The series’ core concept, cerebral time travel, allows it to tell a story in any era of human history, and the Assassin’s Creed comic by Titan Comics (and later Dark Horse) takes full advantage of that glorious fact.

Told from the perspective of accountant-turned-Assassin recruit Charlotte de la Cruz, the Assassin’s Creed comic feels like well-written and drawn fanfiction. We get to see Assassins sneak around settings we’ll probably never get to explore in the video game, including the Salem Witch Trials and the fall of the Inca Empire, and a story built around familiar franchise tropes like the Pieces of Eden ties it all together in a satisfying bow.

9. The Halo Graphic Novel

I vividly remember the awe that shot down my spine when I first loaded up Halo: Combat Evolved. The series’ galaxy-spanning setting feeds my science-fiction-loving heart, but the main games’ stalwart focus on Master Chief can make it hard to appreciate its full scope. The bluntly named Halo Graphic Novel may feature the original SPARTAN, but his story doesn’t define it.

A four-part anthology series, Halo Graphic Novel explores undiscovered corners of the Halo universe through new characters and settings. Some highlights include a manga-inspired story by Tsutomu Nihei that features no dialogue, a horror-thriller orbiting around the Flood, and a grounded drama that presents humanity’s war with the Covenant through the eye of a frontline reporter.

8. Mass Effect

Mass Effect’s setting is almost as grand in scale as Halo’s, but the series’ focus on individual characters allowed it to explore more of its universe’s nooks and crannies. That said, the Mass Effect comics by Dark Horse help fill in the gaps that games didn’t have time to fill, even if you’re one of those players who’s re-played the games multiple times to experience every story branch.

The Mass Effect comics shift attention from Commander Shepard to give more details about the lives of the Normandy crew before the game. Players who took the time to get to know their crewmates already know about the events the comics explore, but seeing these events play out through their eyes adds another layer of depth to their histories. It also helps that the art is awe-inspiring.

7. Life is Strange

If you ask me, the Life is Strange games have always felt like interactive comic books. The chapter/episode-based nature of their stories mimics the issue-by-issue narrative format most comics follow, and the series’ trademark cel-shaded art style would look right at home in a panel grid. This probably explains why the Life is Strange comic by Penguin Random House works so well.

Set in the aftermath of Life is Strange’s “Sacrifice Arcadia” ending, the comic follows Max Caulfield and Chloe Price as they try to come to terms with their relationship and choices, all while Max’s time-jumping powers develop in chaotic ways. Expertly recreating the expressive art style of the games, Life is Strange takes advantage of the comic medium to tell a new story with familiar characters rooted in themes of consequence, avoidance, and acceptance.

6. Bloodborne: The Death of Sleep

Bloodborne is one of my all-time favorite games, an adventure I return to at least once yearly. There’s something magnetic about the Victorian-influenced, Lovecraft-inspired world of Yharnam, and the main game’s cryptic storytelling left a snarling horde of enticing mysteries unsolved. While we still don’t have a sequel, we have an epic comic by Titan Comics.

Telling a unique story that revisits many of the main game’s iconic locales, the Bloodborne: The Death of Sleep comic is a rip-roaring nightmare in comic form. Piotr Kowalski’s art effortlessly recaptures the subtle beauty and overt horror of Bloodborne’s level design, re-capturing the shadowy streets of Yharnam and the misty shores of the Fishing Hamlet. While the story isn’t always coherent, it stays true to the original game’s spirit by raising fascinating questions and giving readers enough clues to forge their own answers.

5. Tomb Raider

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Lara Croft was the defining factor behind Tomb Raider’s success. Most games in the series are fun to play, but Lara’s raw wit, natural agility, and undeniable sex appeal helped the series reach peaks of success other action-adventure games have struggled to achieve.

While the games did a solid job of establishing Lara’s character, the Tomb Raider comics by Top Cow. Set in the same community as the original Tomb Raider games, these comics explored Lara’s backstory, establishing her as a child of nobility who abandoned her life of privilege after a traumatic yet enlightening near-death experience. Both Tomb Raider reboots reused elements of this comic’s backstory, which should prove to you how good the story of these comics is.

4. Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 has always thrived on the strength of its cast. Armed with personalities as unique and eccentric as their weaponry, TF2’s maniacal mercenaries have always felt like the cast of a gruesome slapstick comedy. Unsurprisingly, that’s the vibe the pages of Valve’s Team Fortress 2 comic strive to recreate. At first, at least.

At launch, the Team Fortress 2 comic was little more than a gag comic, tied together by a loose narrative about Mann Co., which employs TF2’s playable characters. However, as the comic continues, the lore becomes a surprisingly complex narrative tapestry enveloping every beat of the story. The comic even ends on a remarkably touching note, a milestone many long-running comics never reach.

3. Injustice: Gods Among Us

Injustice: Gods Among Us is based on a single question: What if Superman, the paragon of the DC Universe, broke bad? Injustice and its sequel answered this question well enough, but a story this fascinating could never reach its full potential with just two games. That’s where the Injustice comics come in.

Embracing the game’s popularity, DC expanded Injustice’s dystopian universe into an official branch of the DC multiverse. Following the Man of Steel’s tragic fall from start to end, the Injustice comics show the full impact of Superman’s turn to tyranny, exploring how his new, authoritarian approach to justice affects every corner of the DC universe. It’s like a car crash; it’s hard to watch but harder to turn away from.

2. The Last of Us: American Dreams

Best video game comics The Last of Us American Dreams

At its core, The Last of Us is the story of Ellie, a girl born into a world ravaged by a fungus that turns people into mindless, clicking zombies. While Ellie’s bond with Joel drives the story of both games, the prequel comic The Last of Us: American Dreams, explores her relationship with, arguably, the second most important person in her life: Reily.

Set a year before the events of the first game’s heart-wrenching DLC, The Last of Us: Left Behind, The Last of Us: American Dreams recounts the beginning of Ellie and Reily’s fateful friendship. With a simplistic yet expressive art style and an interesting duo of main characters, The Last of Us: American Dreams is, in my humble opinion, essential reading for any The Last of Us fan.

1. Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog

Best video game comics Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog has had several comic adaptions, and the ongoing comic by IDW was a solid contender for this list. However, most fans agree that the best Sonic comic out there is Sonic the Hedgehog by Archie Comics.

Casting the Blue Blur as the leader of a resistance group battling the mechanized tyranny of Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog is a wild ride. Even at its lowest points, Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog is fascinating to read, and when it’s riding high, it touches the clouds. Characters have clear arcs, storylines take interesting turns, and the charm of classic Sonic titles bleeds into every page.

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