10 Comics That Pair Perfectly With The 2025 Oscar Best Picture Nominees

Oscar best picture nominees 2025 comics

The 2025 Oscar Best Picture nominees are out, and everyone’s already cheering for their favorites. We’ve got fantastic contenders this year, like Anora, Conclave, I’m Still Here, and more. All of them are celebrations of different genres, messages, and styles. But this isn’t a movie site, it’s a comic book site! So to warm you up for the Academy Awards, we’ve selected 10 comics that pair perfectly with each of the Best Picture nominees.

Heck, even if you haven’t seen all — or most — of the nominees, these are still amazing reads worth checking out! So read on for the perfect pairing of movies and comics, with plenty of time to read and watch before this year’s Oscars on March 2.

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If You Liked Anora, You Should Read SFSX

Sean Baker is a master at diving into stories about people living in the margins of society. In his latest work, Anora, we meet the titular character, a sex worker who gets her chance to be seen and live a fairytale by marrying the son of an oligarch. It’s a mixture of tones, perfectly representing her complexity and intricate relationships, jumping from comedy to drama.

SFSX (Safe Sex) similarly examines the lives of a group of sex workers in an underground club and their turbulent relations. Even though it involves a more literal fight for empowerment, the comic blends different styles to explore female sexuality, identity, and sharp commentary. Maybe more important than that, it also follows strong, interesting protagonists who steal the spotlight.

Buy SFSX on Bookshop.org

If You Liked The Brutalist, You Should Read Asterios Polyp

An acute critique of capitalism, The Brutalist investigates art, class, reinvention, and violence through László Tóth’s story. A visionary architect, Tóth escapes post-war Europe and settles in Pennsylvania to rebuild his life. The movie’s runtime of almost 4 hours may scare viewers, but every minute is filled with such a bold attitude and incredible performances that it’s a waste to miss out on.

Equally (but also uniquely) bold, David Mazzucchelli gives a masterclass on visuals with Asterios Polyp‘s expressive and constantly shifting colors and page layouts. After his apartment burns down, Polyp, an architect and teacher, moves to a small town. Like with the Oscar nominee, we see a dense look at art and a man struggling with regret while trying to rebuild his life.

Buy Asterios Polyp on Bookshop.org

If You Liked A Complete Unknown, You Should Read The Fifth Beatle

Music biopics get more popular by the day, and it’s Bob Dylan’s turn with A Complete Unknown. The movie follows the artist in his early days, arriving in the West Village with nothing more than a guitar and astounding talent. Timothée Chalamet’s portrayal is marvelous and might even gift you with a new musical obsession.

The Fifth Beatle has a nice twist as, instead of focusing on the musicians, it has Brian Epstein, their manager, as the protagonist. It gives him much-deserved importance while representing the behind-the-scenes world of the music industry. You can see his and The Beatle’s rise and understand how he shaped the group’s career.

Buy The Fifth Beatle on Bookshop.org

If You Liked Conclave, You Should Read Second Coming

After the Pope’s death, Cardinal Lawrence is responsible for holding the ritual in which he and other important members of the Vatican will elect a new leader of the Church. Conclave‘s mournful and dramatic tone at the start might trick you, but the movie is surprisingly hilarious in its moral ambiguity and debates about faith.

If you enjoyed seeing how the priests discuss their points and how the movie challenges Catholicism, Second Coming is another good dose of the same. Set in modern times, God sends Jesus to Sunstar, Earth’s mightiest hero, so he can learn how to use his power more forcefully. It’s a very smart book that not only examines religion but also how people interpret Jesus’s teachings.

Buy Second Coming on Bookshop.org

If You Liked Dune: Part Two, You Should Read The Incal

In Dune: Part Two, director Denis Villeneuve uses the strengths from its first installment and overcomes the weaknesses, like its pacing, to make a true epic. Every second is a spectacle; it doesn’t matter if the characters are in a deadly battle or just talking. Paul Atreides’s story gets more complex, and it’s great to see there’s more to come.

If you know Jodorowsky, you knowThe Incal having similar themes and plot points with Dune is no coincidence. Before writing the book, he got the chance to direct the space opera in the ’70s. However, his project was so ambitious that it was canceled. That’s what this comic is: a spiritual successor, and one of the most innovative and imaginative works the art form has to offer.

Buy The Incal on Bookshop.org

If You Liked Emilia Pérez, You Should Read The Pervert

Emilia Pérez follows the titular character, played by Karla Sofía Gascón, trying to transition and abandon her old life as a cartel boss. Because of that, the musical also tackles other themes, like crime and marginalization.

Sadly, the Oscar nominee has sparked a lot of polemics. One of them is how it’s not good trans representation. If you’ve felt Emilia Pérez was lackluster in that regard or want more stories with transgender characters, The Pervert is a great choice. Besides being an emotional ride that handles trans struggles well, its protagonist also exists on the fringes of society, living as a sex worker.

If You Liked I’m Still Here, You Should Read Persepolis

I’m Still Here is a gut punch. The movie starts with the Paiva family happily living their daily lives during the military dictatorship in Brazil. Despite the unsettling background, for a moment, it seems like they’ll always have peaceful and cheery days. That’s until Rubens, the father, is taken for questioning. From there, it becomes an intimate and agonizing view of the horrors of political repression, with one of the strongest performances of the year by Fernanda Torres.

A lighter but still incredibly raw and emotional tale, Persepolis explores the childhood of Marjane Satrapi, the author, during the Islamic Revolution. Her childlike perspective of the world and the problems her family is facing make it even more honest and tragic. It’s a classic that, much like other incredible works like Maus, investigates someone’s life and human resilience in dark political times.

Buy Persepolis on Bookshop.org

If You Liked Nickel Boys, You Should Read The High Desert

Nickel Boys is an emotional and harrowing ride following Elwood and Turner’s friendship and the trials they face in reform school together. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age story with important implications, as it discusses racism and is inspired by a true story.

If you like coming-of-age stories, James Spooner’s memoir, The High Desert, might be perfect for you. Although not as harrowing, it’s a similar quest about discovering yourself while dealing with bigotry and finding salvation through friendship and community. If you love music, you’ll also appreciate how well the author understands and cares about punk culture.

Buy The High Desert on Bookshop.org

If You Liked The Substance, You Should Read The Beauty

The Substance is the biggest horror movie of 2024 (and in recent years). It’s a body horror masterpiece that discusses aging, beauty standards, and the commodification of women. The themes get even more powerful thanks to Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley’s acting and Coralie Fargeat’s incredible direction.

Similarly, The Beauty uses gore and violence to show our obsession with idealized aesthetics and looks. The comic follows a group of cops that investigate Beauty, a new type of STI. It lives up to its name, as anyone infected becomes almost instantly gorgeous, which makes many people intentionally infect themselves. But soon, they find out there are more side effects than imagined…

Buy The Beauty on Bookshop.org

If You Liked Wicked, You Should Read Wizard of Oz

Wicked is a marvelous musical with songs that take your breath away, like the showstopper “Defying Gravity.” It’s a great introduction to the world of Oz with colorful and happy sceneries, but does not forget its darker sides. It’s set in the past and follows Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, as she slowly uncovers the wizard’s secrets and befriends Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.

If you want to know more about that world and its future, Eric Shanower’s Wizard of Oz is your go-to. You’ll see Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and other characters on their journey to meet the great Wizard. Skottie Young’s art style fits them perfectly, giving even more of a fairytale-like feeling to the story.

Buy Emerald City of Oz: Volume 1 on Bookshop.org

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