Fantasy has never been more popular; these days you can’t turn around without falling over a book about vampires or werewolves or zombies. With these recommendations, though, Nicola was looking for something a little different than your average urban fantasy. Graphic novels are brilliant at bringing such worlds to life; often the true nature of the world depicted is shown in the background of the action. And so without further ado, these are Nicola’s picks for the best fantastical graphic novels:

Girl Genius, Kaja Boglio

Girl Genius started life (and continues) as a webcomic. But if flicking through its not inconsiderable archives (it started in 2005) doesn’t appeal, you can take out the books in our collection. Set in an alternate history Steampunk Europe, which is currently under the control of the mighty Wulfenbach Empire. Into this falls Agatha, a teenage girl with almost magical powers of invention and the last scion of a great family. The scale of this world is almost indescribable; one really gets the sense that there’s a massive world beyond the page. This is certainly one of the best developed worlds in fiction.

Castle Waiting, Linda Medley

At the end of Sleeping Beauty, what happens to the castle? This graphic novel attempts to answer that question; the thorn forest persists, and the castle itself becomes a sanctuary to all sorts of odd people. The world is heavily based on fairytales, but it’s not limited by that. There are hints of darkness beneath the stories of lost princesses and noble woodcutters. Outside the warm and comforting walls of the castle is a real world, one scarred by war and disease. But this graphic novel never loses its gentle tone of optimism and kindness.

City in the Desert, Moro Rogers

Many fantasy settings start off with a premise that monsters are real; often those monsters are hidden from everyday life. In City in the Desert, however, monsters are out in the open and hunting them is the only real occupation that pays a decent wage any more. The desert setting seems to be unique, as well, which is always a good thing! Again, the world is fully developed. A nice touch is having the main characters, Irro and Hari, often in conflict with their society; they’re not big heroes, they’re two people who are trying to make their way in an often hostile world.

Tales from Outer Suburbia, Shaun Tan

You could make an argument that this is “urban fantasy”; in fact, it’s there in the title. However, this is a series of oddly realistic tales about the strange things that happen in the ‘burbs. The stories are narrated in a rather matter of fact way, but the subject matter lifts it beyond your average fantasy story; the helpful water buffalo in the long grass in a deserted lot, or a strange man in an old fashioned diving suit. The art is gorgeous. Shaun Tan is Australian, and the art is evocative of that baked-dryness of Australian summers, although perhaps this little book could be set anywhere. It’s not only a unique book in our collection, it’s one of my favourite graphic novels of all time.