1. Saga (Image)
Writer: Brian K Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Vaughan returned with a sci-fi hit literally a lifetime in gestation, half-childhood daydreams and half Return To Oz-style clockpunk weirdness meets the cosmic, world-rocking storytelling of Star Wars.
Buy Saga Vol 1 for £6.75 from Amazon.co.uk
2. The Manhattan Projects (Image)
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Nick Pitarra
A many-layered tale of a macabre alternate Manhattan Project in which a deranged gang of scientists instead pursue even more destructive ends, crossing between worlds and gunning down aliens.
Buy The Manhattan Projects Vol 1: Bad Science for £9.89 from Amazon.co.uk
3. The Defenders (Marvel)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Terry Dodson
An oddball metaphysical romp in which Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Red She-Hulk, Silver Surfer and Namor – and later Nick Fury, Ant Man and Black Cat – “protect humanity from the impossible”. It was too left-field to live, it seems.
Buy The Defenders Vol 1 for £9.59 from Amazon.co.uk
4. Batman: Earth One (DC)
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
Johns and Frank’s bespoke graphic novel subtly reimagined the Dark Knight detective as a flawed and ultimately human vigilante. It’s a refreshing respite from the all-knowing super-genius who builds Bat-robots and stares down gods.
Buy Batman: Earth One for £14.44 from Amazon.co.uk
5. Fatale (Image)
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Coming off the back of a number of noir titles from Brubaker and Phillips, Fatale lulled us into a false sense of security with a writer, a secret, a femme fatale, a faded starlet and other tropes before unexpectedly opening a box of Lovecraftian horror.
Buy Fatale Vol 1: Death Chases Me for £7.58 from Amazon.co.uk