6. Bitch Planet (Image)
Comic books have always been seen as something of a boys club, with the majority of creators and readers over the years being of the male persuasion. That is still mostly the case today but there is currently an ever growing selection of top female creators making waves in the industry, changing that perception bit by bit every single year. For example, Becky Cloonan became the first woman to ever draw the main Batman title in 2012, and she now writes the highly successful Gotham Academy for DC. Arguably the most recognisable female voice in comics belongs to Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel, Avengers Assemble). She recently launched Bitch Planet for Image Comics, a 'feminist send-up of the exploitation film genre that takes place in a dystopian reality where non-compliant women are sent to an off-planet prison'. Besides that title (which is wonderfully loud and brash), Bitch Planet has already proven itself to be hilarious and inventive, with some very interesting subtext on the topics of feminism and the general depiction of women in comics and film. It's yet another example of the superb science-fiction that Image has been serving up for a number of years now and should take its rightful place alongside other successful series' like Saga, The Manhattan Projects and Lazarus.