Transformers, Volume 1: Robots in Disguise by Daniel Warren Johnson Review

Autobots.

Decepticons.

(Duh-duh-duhduh-duuuh)

Fat Cop by Johnny Ryan Review

Murder, rape, necrophilia - all in a day’s work for Fatcop. But disaster strikes as Fatcop gets paired with a straight-shootin’ partner - however will he continue his heinous lifestyle? And what’s going on in the basement of Trader Joe’s!?

My Son the Fanatic by Hanif Kureishi Review

Parvez’s son Ali is behaving strangely: he’s broken up with his English girlfriend, begun giving away his possessions and abandoned his accountancy course. But why? Could it be drugs - or something more insidious…

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Review

There’s emptiness like the kind of emptiness that’s between Vin Diesel’s ears and then there’s this novel.

(That’s probably not fair on Mr Diesel - there’s gotta be mashed spuds or something in there to make his eyes blink)

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Winning Card Review (Tom King, Mitch Gerads)

The Winning Card is a retelling of Batman and Joker’s first encounter. In Tom King/Mitch Gerads’ version, Joker’s threatening to kill prominent members of Gotham society - and pulling it off, despite GCPD protection - but also targeting random civilians. Batman, still learning how to vigilante, must learn Joker’s methods to stop him from killing any more people.

Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine by Thom Jones Review

Amateur teen boxer Kid Dynamite doesn’t know quite what he wants to do in life just yet - continue with school, get a job, marry his girl Melanie? - but he knows what he wants in the short-term: beat Louis Reine, the kid who beat him last year, in his next boxing match.

Stitches Review (Hirokatsu Kihara, Junji Ito)

Stitches is NOT a manga.

To interested readers seeing this book online and not being able to physically open the book up (which I suspect make up a fair number), this is worth noting as I’m sure Junji Ito’s fans will see his name and art on the cover, from his usual manga publisher, and buy it based on that… only to find it’s a book of mostly prose short stories by Hirokatsu Kihara, with accompanying art from Junji Ito, and only a single short manga by Ito at the end. Which would be understandably disappointing, not least as the short stories suuuuuck!

Batman: One Bad Day - Clayface Review (Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing)

Clayface is posing as a wannabe actor in Hollywood, chasing his artistic dream rather than supervillaining it up in Gotham for a change. But when one of his compadres gets the part he wanted, will ol’ Basil be able to resist falling back into bad habits…?

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz Review

A “neighbour from hell” is murdered via crossbow in a posh London suburb. But when all of his neighbours hated him, whodunit? Hawthorne investigates - this time, from the past!

Esc & Ctrl by Steve Hollyman Review

In 2012, someone broke into Steve Hollyman’s flat and stole a manuscript he was working on. 9 years later, a mysterious academic called Ike A. Mafar contacts Steve to say he’s come into possession of his lost book - except someone has added pages to it. Someone with intimate knowledge of Steve’s life - but who? Steve and Ike go through the manuscript looking for clues to try and find out.

Thor: Vikings Review (Garth Ennis, Glenn Fabry)

Undead vikings invade Manhattan - Thor (and Doctor Strange) to the rescue!

Garth Ennis made a rare foray into superhero comics with his Preacher artist Glenn Fabry in this relatively-unknown 2003 Thor comic (when he does write for Marvel, he tends to write “street-level” characters like The Punisher and Nick Fury and ignore/slight the more colourful superheroes - this is the man who also wrote The Boys after all!). Unfortunately, I can see why this book is out-of-print and largely forgotten as it’s quite poor.

The Amazing Spider-Man, Volume 8: Spider Man's First Hunt Review (Zeb Wells, Patrick Gleason)

Queen Goblin gives Kraven a magic spear to turn Norman Osborn gobbly again - but not if Spider-Man can stop him! Also, Bizarro Spidey Rek-Rap returns to solve a case about a debt collector after Randy Robertson - but not if Spider-Man can buh buh…!

Prison Pit: The Complete Collection by Johnny Ryan Review

Aboard a prison spaceship, a prisoner is thrown into a pit (that’s basically a portal to another world) and must survive in a harsh landscape filled with killers. Insane amounts of gore and violence ensue!

Barefoot Gen, Volume One: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa Review

Barefoot Gen is both a fictional and autobiographical manga about life before, during and after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Fictional in the sense that Gen and his family are made-up and autobiographical in that the author, Keiji Nakazawa, was 6 years old at the time of the bomb and actually lived in Hiroshima throughout the experience, much of which he includes in this book.

James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE Review (Christos Gage, Luca Casalanguida)

There’s civil war within SPECTRE and Blofeld enlists the help of Bond, Jamesh Bond, to help him defeat his rival Titania (teehee) Jones. Bond and Blofeld on the same side? I can’t believe it’s not butter!