Abrams ComicArts was launched in 2009 by editor Charles Kochman. Abrams ComicArts has published groundbreaking, award-winning graphic novels and illustrated books about the creators and the history of comics art, animation, and cartoons, including Daniel Clowes, Will Eisner, Jules Feiffer, Rube Goldberg, Jaime Hernandez, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Patrick McDonnell, and Charles M. Schulz. This list was built on such earlier, seminal Abrams titles as The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman, and Mom's Cancer by Brian Fies.
Fies added this about being an Abrams author: "I love Abrams books, even ones I didn't write. An Abrams book doesn't just read well, it looks and feels and even smells just right. In my experience, the company culture focuses on what's best for the book. Abrams ComicArts helps my books--and by extension, me--be the best they can be."
One of the first and groundbreaking Abrams ComicArts titles was The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, published in 2017, portraying one family's journey as immigrants from war-torn Vietnam. It was an American Book Award winner, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC).
Other notable titles include Nat Turner by Kyle Baker; Economix: How and Why Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work), in Words and Pictures by Michael Goodwin and Dan E. Burr (2012), which was a New York Times and international bestseller; Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy, and John Jennings (2017), which was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, and Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy, and John Jennings (2020), which won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story; and My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf, which was also a national bestseller and made into an award-winning movie in 2017.
Over the past 15 years, Abrams ComicArts has won 14 Eisner Awards and received 48 nominations; won 10 Harvey Awards and received 47 nominations; and had 6 New York Times bestsellers.
In 2021, Abrams established Megascope, a graphic novel line curated by comics creator John Jennings showcasing work by and about people of color with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, and magical realism, as well as creative nonfiction narratives centered on social justice.
Also in 2021, Abrams launched Surely Books, a line of fiction and nonfiction graphic novels by LGBTQIA creators celebrating queer stories curated by Eisner-award winning author Mariko Tamaki.
In addition, in 2022, Abrams ComicArts began a line of books with Marvel called Marvel Arts. The first title, Fantastic Four: Full Circle: A Graphic Novel by legendary comics artist Alex Ross, was a national bestseller and won multiple awards, including the prestigious Reuben Award for Graphic Novel of the Year.
Abrams ComicArts has also published three graphic novel adaptations of the widely popular Dune books by Frank Herbert. The adaptations, written by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert's son) and Kevin J. Anderson, are illustrated by Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín, with covers by Bill Sienkiewicz: Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1: Dune (2020), Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 2: Muad'dib (2022), and Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 3: The Prophet (2024).
Last year, the Abrams ComicArts imprint became a new division of the company, overseen by publisher Rodolphe LaChat, that will have its first list as a division this fall. As part of that, Abrams ComicArts is publishing manga for the first time under the new Kana imprint whose titles include Frank Miller's Ronin Rising Manga Edition and Leviathan, Volume 1 by Shiro Kuroi. In addition, for the first time, Abrams ComicArts will publish single-issue comics, beginning in November with Human Nature from Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel and Jeff Welch, illustrated by Martín Morazzo; legendary comics creator Frank Miller also joins the list with Pandora and Invasive Species.