17 September 2025
Comics & Graphic Novels Catalogue 2025 Highlights
This autumn, the R&B Comics & Graphic Novels Catalogue 2025 presents stunning titles by award-winning artists and rising stars. See the newest highlights below and discover a range of titles and new instalments of existing series in the full catalogue.
Emerging Talents and Internationally Renowned Artists
Award-winning Juliana Hyrri’s work explores the intricate relationship between language and expression. Blending visual storytelling with literary nuance, her graphic narratives often draw from autofiction, delving into themes of childhood, memory, and the complex tension between innocence and evil.
Hyrri explores power relations and morality with hopeful and playful tones in her newest title, Darling (Lellikki, 2025 WSOY). It is a bittersweet story about a lonely, imaginative girl navigating the quiet cruelties of childhood and the complexities of human connection. Her previous titles include The Sea of Daisies, (Päivänkakkarameri, 2022 Suuri Kurpitsa) in which she initiates a skilful dialogue with her childhood, where the child’s point of view takes first place as well as the 2020 Critics’ Award winner The Nightingale That Never Sang (Satakieli joka ei laulanut, 2017 Suuri Kurpitsa).
In a city of fire and ice, betrayal burns brightest. Forthcoming Empyrean by comic artist Hansel Eldor is a dark, gender-flipped court drama from a major new talent. We’re excited to share the news that World English rights have already been sold in a five-book deal.
Aino Louhi is an established illustrator, painter and cartoonist who works in various art forms. The Space Between Stars (Tähtien välinen avaruus, 2025 Suuri Kurpitsa), shortlisted for the 2022 Torch-Bearer Literary Export Prize is a combination of a graphic novel and a picture book for adults. Her award-winning debut graphic novel, Imaginary Girl (Mielikuvitustyttö, 2020 Suuri Kurpitsa) portrays interpersonal relationships during youth.
Matti Hagelberg is a multi-awarded and internationally renowned comics artist and graphic novelist who has authored over 30 comic books or booklike objects that have been translated into various languages. Sinking Ateneum 1, (2025 Asema kustannus) 2025 Comics Finlandia Prize nominee, launches a new four-part series that tells an alternative history of the famous Ateneum building. Hagelberg’s Läskimooses (2021 Asema kustannus) is an all-embracing story of the birth, history and destruction of the world. The almost 1500-page comic giant in three volumes, packaged in a stunning case was among the Most Beautiful Books in 2021.
Eeva Meltio’s 2025 Comics Finlandia Prize-winning title Sand (Hiekka, 2024 Kraft Ink) is a multi-layered story about grief and forgiveness, about a broken family’s struggle to find a way to deal with the past and an allegory of climate change. Ultimately, however, it is a book about hope. According to the Finlandia jury, “The book is a carefully crafted masterpiece, down to its covers.” Sand was also among the selections of the Most Beautiful Books 2024.
Celebrated comics artist and illustrator Mika Lietzen’s Pnuk (2024 Asema kustannus) is a dystopia set in an alternative 1980s and an homage to classic French scifi. In the West, a ruined city lies beneath the motorways, inhabited only by individuals who no longer adapt to the new social order. When an outsider arrives, the fate of one inhabitant is irrevocably changed. Pnuk was among the 2025 Comics Finlandia Prize nominees.
Sami Makkonen’s latest release Kalevala Anniversary Edition (Kalevala juhlalaitos, 2025 Like) is an impressive comic interpretation of the Finnish national epic. In honour of the 190th anniversary of Kalevala, both Kalevala and Kalevala – Sampo are now available as a stunning 300-page compilation remasterered by the Makkonen.
An Exciting and Whimsical Selection to Inspire Readers of All Ages
Mari Luoma’s new series, Freya & Eldi, is the first in a fantasy adventure graphic novel series suitable for readers of all ages – everyone who enjoys richly woven tales of magic, friendship, and epic quests.
In a world where myths and magic intertwine, two young women embark on an epic journey of danger, destiny, and self-discovery. Freya & Eldi – Journey to Ejderha (Freya & Eldi – Matka Ejderhaan) was recently listed by Helsingin Sanomat, the national newspaper, as one of this autumn’s must-reads.
Kai Vaalio is a comic artist and illustrator who has illustrated a dozen commercially successful children’s books. Gullman and Wonder Owl 1: The Toilet Monster (Lokkimies ja wonderpöllö – Pönttömörkö, 2025 Otava), the first part in an entirely new series , is an anarchist and wacky children’s comic about a dynamic duo who find themselves in a series of extraordinary adventures.
Young comic enthusiasts are in for a sweet treat as the nutty adventures of Ozzy the Squirrel and Chirp the Bird continue. Author and artist Johanna Witick returns this season with the fifth book, Stories from Squirrel Valley: Sweet Nightmare (Oravalaakson tarinat: Makea painajainen, 2025 Otava). This time, Ossi and Titityy have to overcome their fears when a joyous costume contest takes an unexpected turn. In the fourth book, Time Travel Hassle (Oravalaakson tarinat: Aikahässäkkä, 2025 Otava), published earlier in the year, Ozzy and Chirp set off on a wild and wacky time-travel adventure.
Now presented in an all-new softcover format that collects the comics of both Tove Jansson and Lars Jansson, the Moomin Adventures series reintroduces these timeless classics to a new generation of readers of all ages. Moomin Adventures 2 (2025 Drawn & Quarterly) continues the series that began last year with a collection of stories that offer a timeless treasure trove of good-hearted whimsy and delight.
See the latest Comics & Graphic Novels Catalogue here.
