Order of Book Series
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Charles Burns Books in Order

Charles Burns has written 15 books, published between 1988 and 2024. The first book is Hardboiled Defective Stories (1988) and the newest is Final Cut (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1988–2024
Pages on record
597 in 5 of 15 books
See all 15 books in order Printable Charles Burns checklist
Photo of Charles Burns, author

Charles Burns, born September 27, 1955, is an American cartoonist and illustrator. Early Burns work ran in a Sub Pop fanzine, and Burns rose to prominence in the early issues of RAW. The graphic novel Black Hole (2005) won the Harvey Award. The catalogue lists 15 books from Hardboiled Defective Stories (1988) to Final Cut (2024), including El Borbah (1999), X'ed Out (2010) and the Last Look Trilogy.

How many Charles Burns books are there?

Charles Burns has 15 books, released between 1988 and 2024. They include 2 series and 6 titles listed outside any series.

Charles Burns Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Charles Burns books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Hardboiled Defective Stories by Charles Burns (1988)
  2. Cover of Curse of the Molemen by Charles Burns (1991)
  3. Cover of Facetasm by Charles Burns, book 1 of the Charles Burns Illustration series (1997)
  4. Cover of El Borbah by Charles Burns (1999)
  5. Cover of Black Hole by Charles Burns (2005)
  6. Cover of One Eye by Charles Burns, book 2 of the Charles Burns Illustration series (2007)
  7. Cover of X'ed Out by Charles Burns, book 1 of the Last Look Trilogy (2010)
  8. Cover of The Hive by Charles Burns, book 2 of the Last Look Trilogy (2012)
  9. Cover of Last Look by Charles Burns, book 4 of the Last Look Trilogy (2016)
  1. 1
    Hardboiled Defective Stories1988 · 95 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198895
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Curse of the Molemen1991 · confirmed 1/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    FacetasmCharles Burns Illustration #11997 · confirmed 1/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    El Borbah1999 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199996
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Skin Deep: Tales of Doomed Romance2001 · 86 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Black Hole2005 · confirmed 1/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    One EyeCharles Burns Illustration #22007 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    PermagelCharles Burns Illustration #32008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    X'ed OutLast Look Trilogy #12010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Johnny 23Charles Burns Illustration #42010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The HiveLast Look Trilogy #22012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Sugar SkullLast Look Trilogy #32014 · confirmed 1/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Last LookLast Look Trilogy #42016 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2016176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    VortexCharles Burns Illustration #52016 · confirmed 1/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Final Cut2024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Charles Burns books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Charles Burns Illustration in order

5 books
  1. 1. Facetasm
  2. 2. One Eye
  3. 3. Permagel
  4. 4. Johnny 23
  5. 5. Vortex

Last Look Trilogy in order

4 books
  1. 1. X'ed Out
  2. 2. The Hive
  3. 3. Sugar Skull
  4. 4. Last Look

Standalone books

6 books

6 Charles Burns titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Charles Burns books in order?

You only need to read Charles Burns books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Charles Burns

Start with Hardboiled Defective Stories (1988), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Charles Burns book?

Final Cut (2024) is the newest Charles Burns book released so far.

Is there a new Charles Burns book coming?

No next Charles Burns book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Charles Burns has won

Wikidata records 10 awards for Charles Burns. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist2025Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Inker2006Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Inker2005Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Inker2004Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Cover Artist2004Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Inker2002Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Inker2001Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Inker1999Won
  • Harvey Award for Best Inker1998Won
  • Best foreign work published in Spain1998Won

Charles Burns at a glance

Still publishing
Charles Burns published a book as recently as 2024.
Release pace
Charles Burns books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
597 pages across the 5 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 96 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Charles Burns books, 6 of 15, were published in the 2010s.

What the Charles Burns books are about

10 of the 15 Charles Burns books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: comics & graphic novels is tagged on 7 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.