Assassin’s Creed: Best Comic Books in The Franchise, Ranked

From supplemental spin-offs to new and interesting narratives, here are 10 of the best comic books and graphic novels in the Assassin’s Creed series.

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While the Assassin’s Creed franchise has yielded ten critically acclaimed novels, it has also spawned a few noteworthy comics. Most of these graphic novels follow the same format as the games, recounting the tale of an Assassin through the eyes of their future descendants.

The one major difference between the novels and the comics is that, while the former mostly served as official novelizations of the games, the latter mostly introduced new characters and storylines. For instance, members of the Brotherhood such as Nikolai Orelov and Arbaaz Mir don’t appear in the games and are comic-exclusive characters.

10 Blade Of Shao Jun (2019)

This recent manga is a unique twist on the franchise, as it distances the story from the usual European histories and settings on which the games’ are typically based. Based on a Chinese chapter of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles, the manga series focuses on its titular protagonist and her backstory.

Much like Ezio and other characters, Shao Jun wishes to avenge her comrade’s deaths at the hands of the Ming Dynasty. But, rather than engaging in unrealistic battles, China’s last assassin devises a strategy-filled journey to attain her goal. Along with the Chinese context, her travels in Europe are also covered. Hopefully, in the future, manga fans would want it to be adapted to an anime.

9 Templars (2016)

Templars was a nine-issue comic miniseries that mostly dealt with the history of the Templar known as Black Cross and his adventures in 1920s-era Shanghai.

While the history of the Brotherhood has been explored in great detail in the comics, there is still a narrow understanding of the Templars. As the title suggests, this comic series provides a much-needed glimpse at their history and motives. Instead of just being relegated to one-dimensional video game villains, the Templar Knights are also humanized enough to get their own spotlight.

8 Brahman (2014)

The Brotherhood had branched out all over the world, including to territories such as India. Focusing on this setting, Brahman is a graphic novel that revolved around an assassin called Arbaaz Mir. Like other protagonists of the games and novels, he too loses his land and his people at the hands of a powerful adversary whom he vows to overcome.

Still, Brahman holds its own ground through its introspective approach to the philosophical concepts that the protagonist learns in his journey. Apart from the usual dose of hyperviolent action, Brahman incorporates a conscious approach to discuss the universe, the Piece of Eden—a piece of Koh-i-Noor diamond, in this case—and the series’ recurring theme of intergenerational identity.

7 Uprising (2017)

When the Assassins and the Templars aren’t busy fighting each other off, they share a common enemy in Instruments of the First Will. The latter is a society that wishes to revive certain deities and bring about a new world order.

As it draws members from both the Brotherhood and the Knights, the two sides must join forces. This central aspect to the storyline is what makes Uprising unique. For centuries, these opposing teams have been at odds with each other, but the very fact that they have to collaborate shows the reader the extent of the imposing threat that the Instruments pose.

6 Conspiracies (2016)

Assassin’s Creed is a franchise that relies on a lot of ‘what if’ moments of history. In the case of Conspiracies, the history-altering moment is around the race for the atomic bomb and the British Assassin Eddie Gorm. Set in 1943, the comic focuses on the World War II setting and how it came at a great cost to humanity.

Often, pop culture pieces set in war-torn periods tend to glorify conflict and patriotic fervor. But, Conspiracies follows a no-nonsense approach towards saving the world and avoiding as much destruction as possible. After all, that is what the stealthy Assassins stand for in the first place.

5 Trial By Fire (2016)

The Assassins have to search for Pieces of Eden even in the midst of tumultuous moments of history. In the comic series Trial By Fire, Assassin Thomas Stoddard is similarly tasked with finding a Piece in the middle of the notorious Salem witch trials. Chaos ensues as the Templars are invoking a strange illness in Salem that makes the townfolk see certain women as witches.

Subversion of history is a constant part of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and Trial By Fire is a testimony to this fact. With enough world-building and thrills, this five-part miniseries makes for a great read.

4 Awakening (2014)

A manga based on Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Awakening was initially published serially in the famed Japanese magazine Jump X. The plotline was mostly similar to its source material with minor deviations and a deeper analysis of the historical context.

Fans of the character Edward Kenway should definitely give Awakening a read, as it deals with his origins and how he crossed paths with the legendary pirate Blackbeard. Overcoming the recurring tropes of swashbuckling pirate movies and books, Awaking is an interesting chapter to the pantheon of Assassin’s Creed.

3 The Chain (2012)

If The Fall added a background to Nikolai Orelov, The Chain raised the stakes for his character. A sequel series to the aforementioned graphic novel, this makes Nikolai’s story even more personal, as he now leads a new life with his son in America. However, when old colleagues prompt him to head back to Russia and rejoin the Brotherhood, he must make a tough choice.

The Chain is notable for showcasing how even the Brotherhood can take a toll on an Assassin’s life. In their eternal quest to preserve magical objects and to ward off the Knights, they end up sacrificing all the means to a normal life. Nikolai’s mental struggles in The Chain humanizes the Assassins in this manner.

2 The Fall (2011)

Set during a historical phase of the Soviet Union, The Fall is a graphic novel miniseries that documents the journey of Russian Assassin Nikolai Orelov. While Nikolai fights off the Templars in search of a powerful artifact, his own native land undergoes major changes.

As the story starts in the 1880s, the Tsardom is in its final decades, with the Bolshevik Revolution of the 1910s serving as the perfect closing curtain to The Fall. Apart from retaining the high-octane action of the initial games, The Fall is remarkable for showing not only the evolution of the lead character, but the Russian political landscape, too.

1 Valhalla: Blood Brothers (2020)

Blood Brothers takes place in the continuity of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, and its protagonists include two power-hungry brothers who accompany Ivarr the Boneless to England.

Readers can expect a lot of overindulgent bloodshed in the stunning action sequences, but, at the same time, the comic balances violence with the human condition. The interpersonal conflicts between the brothers coupled with the Anglo-Saxon history provides some classic Shakesperean drama. Blood Brothers also has to be one of the most artistic Assassin’s Creed comics for its emotive, monochrome manga-style artwork.

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