Invisible Differences Review (Mademoiselle Caroline, Julia Dachez)

Originally published in French in 2016 and published in English for the first time this year, Invisible Differences is the nonfiction story of Marguerite, a 27 year old woman who slowly discovers that she is on the autism spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Queen and Country, Volume 1: Broken Ground Review (Greg Rucka, Steve Rolston)

Wow, this is one of the most tedious comics I’ve read in some time! It’s basically super-shite Bond. Female Bond-esque agent goes on a generic hit job somewhere out east – the Russians are the villains once again, unsurprisingly given how uncreative this book is – before heading back to Vauxhall Cross for a debrief. Cue endless interminable scenes of interdepartmental squabbling between bureaucrats from MI5 and MI6!

Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us: A Johnny Wander Collection Review (Ananth Hirsh, Yuko Ota)

I don’t know why this slice-of-life, lightly comedic webcomic is called “Johnny Wander” (beyond the creators moving about a bit) but Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us is a collection of these Johnny Wander strips starring the authors and their housemates John, Conrad and a small army of cats.

My Boyfriend Is a Bear Review (Pamela Ribon, Cat Farris)

Tail as old as time,
Furry as can be,
Bearly even friends…

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill Review

A fantasy world where tea leaves grow on tiny dragons and kids pootle around. No, I don’t see a story there either!!

Just because a book is aimed at youngsters, doesn’t mean it should get away with being boring and inane. Honestly: NOTHING happens in The Tea Dragon Society! A couple kids become friends, a pair of adults relate how they met and everyone sits about drinking tea.

Letter 44, Volume 6: The End Review (Charles Soule, Alberto Jiménez Albuquerque)

Eesh. I used to love Letter 44 but, after a strong start, the series started to rot halfway through and never recovered. So it goes with Volume 6: Thank God! The End - It’s Finally Over! (I know, I thought it was a weird subtitle too), which isn’t as bad as the previous book but is still terrible and a crummy finale to boot.

Letter 44, Volume 5: Blueshift Review (Charles Soule, Joelle Jones)

Up ‘til now Charles Soule’s lesser writing efforts could only be found in his blander-than-bland Marvel work but now it’s unfortunately crept into his best ongoing and creator-owned title, Letter 44. Take the word “blue” and letter “f” out of Blueshift and you’ve got an accurate description of this fifth volume’s quality!

Lucky Penny Review (Ananth Hirsh, Yuko Ota)

Penny gets fired from her job and booted out of her flat all in the span of a day. Ooooh, I gets it, the title’s irooooonnnnicccc! So she moves into a storage unit and goes to work at a laundromat run by her friend’s kid brother for comedy reasons. But romance is around the corner in the form of nerdy Walter - could Penny... get Lucky, (ohohoho, nudge nudge)?! 

The Sixth Gun, Volume 9: Boot Hill Review (Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt)

The apocalypse happened and the world ended. In the wake, all roads lead to Boot Hill where the evil witch Griselda seeks to remake the world in her image in the Devil’s Workshop while Becky, Drake and co. set out to stop her one last time.

The Sixth Gun: Dust to Death Review (Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt)

Dust to Death is the last Sixth Gun spinoff, comprising two three-issue arcs: Dust to Dust and Valley of Death. The first is good, the other is absolute drivel!

Rick and Morty: Lil' Poopy Superstar Review (Sarah Graley, Marc Ellerby)

So I discovered Rick and Morty in the last year and I’m now hooked on this fantastic show - but it’s only got two frikkin’ seasons! The third one is on the way but I’m jonesing for more, so I checked out this comic, Lil’ Poopy Superstar, and ooh, wee, it’s no substitute.

The Sixth Gun: Days of the Dead Review (Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt)

Days of the Dead is a spinoff/prequel to the main Sixth Gun series and, like most prequels, it’s unnecessary! But it could’ve still been entertaining and unfortunately it wasn’t. 

Letter 44, Volume 4: Saviors Review (Charles Soule, Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque)

In the midst of war and potential alien invasion, President Blades must make a difficult choice on behalf of the human race. Meanwhile the crew of the Clarke join forces with the alien Builders in an attempt to thwart the incoming hostiles. 

The Sixth Gun, Volume 8: Hell and High Water Review (Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt)

The Sixth Gun Volume 8 sees The Grey Witch Griselda finally unite the six guns and open the seal to bring about Armageddon. So it’s the end of the series? Nope! It’s the end of… er… the first “season”? Because the main cast are still around and have moved on to the next level or something. Well, Hell and High Water was such a crap finale I think this might be the end of The Sixth Gun for me at any rate.

Letter 44, Volume 3: Dark Matter Review (Charles Soule, Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque)

President Blades’ reveal to the world that the United States has discovered an alien race building what looks to be a giant weapon in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter has not gone down well. In fact it’s kicked off World War 3! Meanwhile on board the alien’s weapon, nicknamed the Chandelier, the human crew of the Clarke have found first contact to be... not quite what they thought. And if that wasn’t enough, a mile-wide asteroid is headed straight to Earth! 

The 10 Best Comics of 2015

Lotta great comics came out this year so whittling down my favourites to a manageable ten was tough. Image, the third biggest comics publisher in the world, continued to be the main counter-programming to Marvel/DC’s superhero stranglehold on the market with some amazing, original titles.

Capote in Kansas Review (Ande Parks, Chris Samnee)

In November 1959, two ex-convicts, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, murdered four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, a crime for which they would eventually be executed in 1965. The murders caught the attention of writer Truman Capote who would go on to immortalise the matter in his masterpiece, In Cold Blood. 

Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley Review (Scott Pilgrim #3)

Scott and his band Sex Bob-Omb square off against the more successful The Clash at Demonhead fronted by his ex, Envy Adams, and featuring the band's bass player/next Evil Ex-Boyfriend of Ramona’s, Todd. But Todd has powers - vegan powers! - and Scott’s old feels for Envy flare up again. 

Scott Pilgrim vs The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley Review (Scott Pilgrim #2)

Grrrrr, I spent the last 2 hours trying to write a musical version of this review - it was titled “Battling For Love” and I’ll include what I’ve got at the end - because it’d be appropriate as Scott’s in a band and he writes simple, terrible songs. But it’s too hard so I’ve given up! I always knew I wasn’t a songwriter but now you know too. 

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley Review

“Scott Pilgrim is dating a high schooler!” - so begins one of the finest comics sagas of all time.