It’s often said, with great fanfare, that we are living in the golden age of television. I’d submit that we are also in a golden age of the graphic novel, though it is perhaps less universally (and loudly) recognized. Has there ever been such a varied profusion of long-form comics for all ages, both fiction and nonfiction, published by presses large and small? The days when fans had to make a case for the graphic novel as a valid form of literature are long past; a book like Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina can now be longlisted for the ultraprestigious Booker Prize, while graphic works for young readers are regularly nominated for the National Book Award, as was Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice (Norton Young Readers, Sept. 27), a new memoir by athlete/activist Tommie Smith, written with Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.

The idea of this golden age of graphic novels occurred to me last month as I was reading Kate Beaton’s sneakily brilliant graphic memoir, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (Drawn & Quarterly, Sept. 13). Before she became widely celebrated for her webcomic “Hark! A Vagrant,” this artist from Cape Breton in Novia Scotia, Canada, traveled west at the age of 22 to work for a mining company in the province of Alberta. In that rugged landscape, where working conditions were tough and she was one of few women, Beaton sought to pay off college loans while receiving an unofficial education in the realities of sexual harassment, environmental degradation, and exploitation of labor. Like all great books—graphic or otherwise—it drops readers into a specific and vividly rendered world, full of memorable characters, while also making us contemplate broader themes. In a starred review, Kirkus called it a “fascinating, harrowing, unforgettable book about a place few outsiders can comprehend.”

Here are three more graphic works that Kirkus has recommended in recent months, all proof of the genre’s diversity and vitality:

Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross (Abrams ComicArts, Aug. 2): Celebrated comics artist Alex Ross, who has created memorable work for Marvel, DC, and others, delivers his first graphic novel, a new story for the family of superheroes originally created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1961. No surprise—the art is stunning. “A vibrant, wild ride that will bring joy to devoted comic book readers,” said our reviewer.

Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting by Kindra Neely (Little, Brown, Oct. 11): In 2015, Neely was attending Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, when an armed student shot and killed an assistant professor and eight other students, injuring eight more. “This exploration of a gun-violence survivor’s raw pain amid ever repeating disasters will resonate with far too many,” writes our reviewer. 

Notes From a Sickbed by Tessa Brunton (Graphic Universe, Nov. 1): This autobiographical comic for young adults offers a “painfully real” portrait of life with myalgic encephalomyelitis, aka chronic fatigue syndrome. “This honest work depicts a bleak but not comfortless world familiar to many readers with chronic illness and disability,” our reviewer says.

Tom Beer is the editor-in-chief.