January
Pim and Francie: The Golden Bear Day, by Al Columbia (Fantagraphics)
Walt Disney reimagined by David Lynch. This reissue of the only book collection of the cartoons of Al Columbia feels just right for a world that is about to enter the Trumpian years. This compilation of strips and artwork reads like a recurring sadistic nightmare armed with razor-sharp teeth.
February
Fire!! The Zola Neale Hurston Story, by Peter Bagge (Drawn & Quarterly)
One of the thrills of Bagge’s excellent comic strip biography of feminist and parental control pioneer Margaret Sanger was the realisation that his raucous humorous style familiar from Neat Stuff and Hate translates to historical narrative too. As a result, we can’t wait to read his biography of African-American novelist Zola Neale Hurston.
The Interview, by Manuele Fior (Fantagraphics)
Set in 2048, Italian cartoonist Fior’s new graphic novel comes with a weight of expectation given the critical success of her debut 5,000 KM Per Second. From what we’ve seen it looks an intriguing, grown-up drama.
Haddon Hall: When David Invented Bowie, by Nejb (SelfMadeHero)
A comic strip account of Bowie’s transformation from hippy to Hunky Dory era pop star, centred around the time he spent at Haddon Hall in 1969. Intriguing.
Good News Bible: The Deadline Strips of Shaky Kane (Breakdown Press)
What’s that? We mentioned this last year? Well, yes, that’s possible. But such are the uncertainties of being a small indie comic publisher. No matter. The wait just makes the expectation all the greater. Kane’s Deadline strips, which would appear between Tank Girl strips and interviews with The Senseless Things, are a great example of late-era music press cartooning. Imagine a post-punk take on Jack Kirby tropes as scripted by William Burroughs and you are halfway there.
The Senses, by Matteo Farinelli (Nobrow)
There are not many neuroscientists active in the comic strip field so huzzah for Matteo Farinelli who here explores the science of the senses in word and image.
Girl From the Other Side: Siuil, a Run, by Nagabe (Seven Seas)
Hands up, we no little about this new manga series about a girl and her demonic companion. But just look at that cover and tell us you don’t want to read it.
Pretending is Lying, by Dominique Goblet (New York Review Comics)
The Belgian cartoonist’s confessional graphic biography took ten years to finish. The result is an account of childhood trauma, her love life and parenthood which sounds as if it is no holds barred. L’Express said of it: “Goblet hides nothing … A Shocking kind of autobiography.”
March
Sticks Angelica Folk Hero, by Michael DeForge (Drawn & Quarterly)
The most exciting cartoonist to emerge in the last couple of years, DeForge returns with a gather-up of surrreal strips from his weekly webcomic. Expect flora, fauna, cello solos, Canadian mounties and moose dreams.
Corto Maltese in Siberia, by Hugo Pratt (IDW Publishing)
IDW’s commitment to republishing Hugo Pratt’s Corto Maltese comic strips is to be commended. This latest collection sees the adventurer travel from Venice to Shanghai and ultimately Siberia, meeting revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries and Rasputin along the way.
Fires and Murmur, Lorenzo Matotti (Dover)
Another reissue, but this repackaging of two of the Italian cartoonist’s graphic novellas is an essential purchase. One of the founders of Italy’s Valvoline movement, Mattotti’s cartoons are giddily expressionistic and he uses colour better than any of his peers. There is a level of ambition here that stretches far beyond most graphic novels. Oh, and at Graphic Content we think Fires is a bit of a dreamy masterpiece.
April
The Little Mermaid, by Metaphrog (Papercutz)
Glasgow-based comic duo Metaphrog (aka Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers) last year won the Sunday Herald Scottish Culture Award for Best Visual Artist. April sees them continue their comic book take on familiar fairy tales with their adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story.
Collecting Sticks, by Joe Decie (Jonathan Cape)
Collecting Sticks is an account of a family camping trip, or, in other words, another quiet, sweet vignette of family life from Joe Decie.
On to the Next Dream, by Paul Madonna (City Lights Books)
At last, a new collection of Paul Madonna’s gorgeous architectural strips from the San Francisco Chronicle. This latest volume, though, sees a new political edge as he offers a personal account of how his hoe city has been transformed by the housing market overheating in the wake of the tech boom.
May
A Castle in England, by Jamie Rhodes and various artists (Nobrow)
This sounds intriguing. It’s a collaboration between Rhodes and the National Trust to tell the story of Scotney Castle in Kent. Each chapter is set in a different time period and illustrated by a different artist. Becky Palmer and Graphic Content favourite Isabel Greenberg, among them.
Livestock, by Hannah Berry (Jonathan Cape)
Hannah Berry’s new novel is a sci-fi satire that mixes up human cloning and celebrity culture. A parable for the Trump era,” according to Paul Mason no less. Which is were we came in.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article