15. Another Castle: Grimoire
- Fun, cute, colourful, compact and fantastically diverse princess tale. Great eighties video game homage for the modern age. Read my review here.
Honorable mention goes to Spell on Wheels, too.
14. Mockingbird, Vol 1: I Can Explain
- One of Marvel's cleverest titles. Starring a genius woman, and penned by a genius woman, it was unjustly cancelled before its time. It treats its reader with intelligence and respect - a challenging, fulfilling action comic. Read my review here.
13. Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart
- A teenage black female Iron Man gets her introduction and solo outing. Revolutionary in a myriad of ways, not least due to its intricate spiderweb of complex, fascinating female characters. Balancing harsh, violent darkness with lighthearted action fun is not easy for a writer to accomplish at all, but Marvel got it just right this time. Read my review here.
12. She-Hulk, Volume 1: Deconstructed
- Awesome. A smart, psychological, uneasy, and well-researched depiction of PTSD which doesn't often receive the treatment - the care - it deserves in the superhero comic medium. But Mariko Tamaki did it. Deconstructed is dark, thrilling and addictive - for the first time, it made me really interested in She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters as a character. One of the very few good things to have come out of Marvel's Civil War II garbage, I cannot recommend it enough. Another progressive point for Marvel comics. Read my review here.
11. The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Part One
- Ha ha, I think my review speaks for itself here.
10. Goldie Vance Vol. 1
- Yeah! A fun detective comic for girls of all ages! Fantastically colourful, sunny, adorable, and cartoony, and never patronizing. It's like Scooby Doo meets Nancy Drew, but better than that! LGBTQ rep all the way as well! Read my review here.
9. Motor Crush, Vol. 1
- Complicated, yet simple sci-fi story, containing great artwork and memorable and diverse characters, plus bike races? Sign me the hell up! Wild and energetic, the racing pacing never stops! The comic is such an intense ride, surprising the reader at every page turn, like popping candy of all flavours. Diversity always wins; also a mystery to keep readers coming back for more. Read my review here.
8. Heathen Volume 1
- Norse mythology, Valkyries, and lesbian viking warriors. 'Nuff said. Read my review here.
7. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink
- A nostalgic treat for me! Kimberly Hart is the best. It's like an updated nighties kids' cartoon presented in graphic novel glory. I unashamedly love pink again, and Power Rangers. Read my review here.
6. Persepolis
- A long-delayed reading requirement. Happy to have read this autobiographical, graphic novel masterpiece at last. Educational, political, powerful, entertaining, brave, honest, human, and extremely important. Read my review here.
5. Wonder Woman, Volume 2: Year One
- One of the best Wonder Woman comics in recent years. A lovingly-told origin story with absolutely amazing artwork and characters. Fresh and relevant, Year One is a must-read for any Wonder Woman fan, especially those who have seen the 2017 hit movie. So enjoyable and good! Read my review here.
4. The Tea Dragon Society
- Warm, snugly, and cuddly, that's what this is. Princess Princess Ever After was Katie O'Niell's success in comics last year, and one of my favourites. Now along comes The Tea Dragon Society, a rich, lovable and unconventional fantasy tale about young girls taking care of little dragons, that you can drink up like tea on a freezing winter's day. Every panel is breathtakingly, beautifully drawn. Not just as colourful and adorable as a teddy bear shop, or as nice, refreshing and relaxing as a little cake and tea cafe - The Tea Dragon Society is meditative, like being on a mountain top. Like exploring ancient Asian culture. A wonderful, transcending reading experience. Of course there's LBGTQ content as well. Read my review here.
3. The Legend of Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Origins
- My most anticipated Wonder Woman graphic novel - and well worth the wait of nearly a year. Love Wonder Woman, love Etta Candy, love the gorgeous artwork and the deep, complex war story by Renae De Liz. Epic, stunning, sublime, funny, dark, I love everything about it. Puts the wonder back into Wonder Woman. Read my review here.
2. Heartstopper
- How's this for a surprise for the end of the year? An as-yet unfinished webcomic that can be read for free online in under an hour - in order to receive the best experience in love that is purely, passionately, honestly, priceless. Like pretty much all of the inclusions on this list, beautiful doesn't begin to describe Heartstopper. Just... just read my gushing of it here. It deserves all its praise. The young adult LBGTQ webcomic has the power to change lives, I'm serious.
1. One Hundred Nights of Hero
- My new favourite comic book of all time. It was specifically made for me, I feel, as pompous and preposterous as that sounds. When I came across it in my local library one day, never having heard of it before, it was like destiny. The One Hundred Nights of Hero has it all: fairy tales, storytelling, symbolism, moon powers, light and darkness, feminism, sisterhood, lesbians, love conquering all, a revolution. It is epic, sweet, funny, biting, scary, fierce, and yes, revolutionary. It beats and mocks the patriarchy using every ounce of deserved vehemence. Social justice and feminism are about hope, love, and ending corruption and inequality. They are about a much-needed change, for happiness to be possible for everyone. Read my review of the empowering mistresspiece The One Hundred Nights of Hero here.
Next up: My Top 10 Favourite Non-Fiction and/or Geeky Books of 2017!
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