6 Great Mystery and Thriller Comics

Written by Eisner Award-winning author Mariko Tamaki and Eisner-nominated illustrator Nicole Goux, This Place Kills Me is centered on an elite school and its even more elite Theatrical Society. At the top is Elizabeth Woodward, who has the lead in Romeo & Juliet. On the other side of the social spectrum, there’s a new transfer student, Abby Kit, who is trying to find her way in her elite school. So when Abby is the last person to see Elizabeth before she dies, Abby cannot believe the idea that Elizabeth killed herself. Abby finds herself on a mission to find out who really killed the golden girl of the stage.

I think we can all relate to being haunted by our phones and losing track of time on these doom machines. But in Hell Phone, a flip phone is a real menace to friends Sissy and Lola. They can’t get rid of it or escape the creepy calls. Sissy picked up the phone, only to receive instructions about a decades-old murder. As each phone call comes through on the thing they cannot get rid of, the two friends find themselves dragged into an investigation that reveals horror after horror in the world they thought they knew. 

Iron Circus has released a comic anthology centered on all things crime! There are 25 short comic stories, each with different artistic styles and tones, from lighthearted heists and thefts to noir and thriller stories with dark motives and dead bodies. It’s got a pretty hard-hitting group of talented creators, including stories by Ryan Estrada, Tango, and Amy Chase.

And the cover? It’s by Jeff Smith of Bone fame.

This award-winning graphic novel is a snapshot into the lives of two girls, Ece and Meltem, at Bosphorus University in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1995-1996. They are trying to keep their grades up while making ends meet on their very limited budgets. But in their spare time, they enjoy scuba diving and pretending to have magical powers, like Medusa’s stare.

One day, the duo witnesses a woman drive her car into the water. Fearful that they caused the accident with their evil eye stare, they soon learn that the woman’s death may not have been an accident. Several people had significant reasons to make the victim disappear. Suddenly, the two students find themselves unexpectedly immersed in the world of conservative politics and organized crime. 

If you need an alternative to a certain magic school, here’s a beautifully illustrated and creepy witchy YA series for you. When Abby’s best friend, Noreen, goes missing, Abby is very alarmed. But everyone at Younwity’s Institute of Magic is too busy putting together the Samhain festival to look into the disappearance. In fact, the Headmistress has expressly told Abby to stop or risk being expelled from the school. But Abby knows something is wrong and can’t wait for things to take their course. With some friends’ help, the group learns that Noreen isn’t the first witch to go missing at the school. The sequel, Speak of the Devil, came out earlier this year.

Sam and his wealthy Aunt Merry travel the world collecting antiques and solving dastardly murders. They certainly did not expect that their trip to Paris would result in becoming suspects in a grisly murder. They had gone to get some items appraised, and Aunt Merry wanted to purchase some picture frames. But things go wrong quickly. They are robbed and stumble on a crime scene. Now, they’ve got to solve the crime and stay out of French prison while dodging jewel thieves, art forgers, and a French detective who doesn’t want them to get involved.