10. Bandette, Volume 1: Presto! by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (MonkeyBrain/Dark Horse)
Bandette is a charming gentlewoman thief in Paris, "liberating" works of art from the unworthy and the criminal for a fee. She is joined by some street kids, a trio of ballerinas, and her darling pup Pimento, as well as love interest, a Thai food delivery boy called Daniel. But her actions bring her to attention of FINIS, a criminal syndicate pretending to be a charity. Also joining the cast is chain-smoking Inspector Belgique and gentleman thief and rival of Bandette's, Monsieur. Paul Tobin's light, witty writing lends itself well to this joyful comic drawn in a European style by artist wife Colleen Coover. The comic deservedly won the Eisner this year for Best Digital Comic and is simply a wonderful read for anyone looking for a fun and imaginative adventure/comedic heist story.
9. Battling Boy by Paul Pope (First Second)
Paul Pope's latest book takes place in an alternate world to ours where superheroes are real. The city of Arcopolis is menaced by ghoulish ninjas and rampaging monsters, and it's up to the young lad Battling Boy, equipped with t-shirts that give him superpowers, to save them all! Joining him is newly orphaned daughter of hero Haggard West, Aurora West, as they prepare to go up against the evil Sadisto. Pope's comic is a homage to Golden/Silver Age superhero comics with Battling Boy as a young Superman and Aurora as an amazing Rocketeer/Batman blend. Pope convincingly builds up his world that has enough familiar elements to our own to seem real but packed with plenty of imaginary goofiness to be fantastical - a wonderful balancing act. Pope's amazing artwork produces some fantastic character models, particularly the Grinch-like Sadisto who is creepy as all-hell! An absolutely genius all-ages superhero comic from a comics legend, Battling Boy is a first class comic.
8. Room For Love by Ilya (SelfMadeHero)
Pamela is a divorced middle aged romance novelist who no longer wants to write fiction. Cougar is a teenage runaway male prostitute living rough on the streets of London. Somehow the two strike up an unlikely relationship which explores the complexities of human love and how it can go some way to healing two broken, lonely individuals at a crossroads in their lives. Beautifully told by writer/artist Ilya, Pamela and Cougar both come across as real characters and their story is an utterly compelling one. Dramatic, insightful, and deeply moving, Room For Love is one of the year's finest comics and a masterpiece work from this artist.
7. The Private Eye by Marcos Martin and Brian K Vaughan (Panel Syndicate)
Set 60 years in the future, The Cloud, which stored all of our personal information, has burst leading to an internet-free society where privacy is sacred and everyone has a secret identity. Brian K Vaughan and Marcos Martin's dystopian sci-fi/noir series stars PI, a detective/paparazzo hot on the trail of a murdered client's killers which leads to all sorts of shenanigans. The series features some of Vaughan's best writing though the art team of Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente make this comic a must read for their eye-poppingly gorgeous visuals. The comic is only available digitally and is actually free on the Panel Syndicate website - though you can pay what you want for it and, for comics this good, you should throw in something for the creators. The Private Eye is an exciting original take on the gumshoe/noir trope and a helluva great comic - check it out today!