Phonogram: Rue Brittania - Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie

A very good, very clever comic written by the type of person you would want to punch if you knew them in person. This is made clear in the glossary of Britpop at the back, which is almost as informative an interesting as it is arrogant and condescending, but not quite. Ok, Britpop was never my thing, especially viewed as something set up in opposition to the soul-shaking musical phenomenon of grunge, and of course it irks me to see Radiohead dismissed as "experimental rock for people who don't listen to experimental rock" so yeah, I'm biased on the music front. As a comic it's just the right length to let its brilliant premise sustain it (magic powered by music, mages who centre their personalities on and thus draw power from musical scenes) so I can't slag it off even though I really want to.

Locke and Key Vol. 1 to 3 - Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez

Best comic to have come out in the last few years, surely (ok, I don't read that many). Very reminiscent of Hill's dad, and not just because it's about a haunted house in New England. It's got that perfect balance between human drama and supernatural shenanigans. The characters are, without exception, deep and relateable. Themes of childhood and adolescence (kids and teenagers are running the show while the adults struggle along as best they can) shine through with just the right emphasis between the awesome, magic-imbued action scenes. Can't wait for the next one!

The Earthsea Quartet - Ursual LeGuin

Studied the first book when I was twelve; didn't remember much about it. The writing style is very dense, but not in an unfriendly way. It just goes very deeply into things. Some great fantasy concepts here, such as the language of magic, where everything is called by its "true name" rather than words being simply signifiers, so speaking it gives you power over reality. It struck me that each book is very self-contained and different from the others, unlike many fantasy series that give the impression of really being one long book cut into manageable sections. Deep and interesting and well-written; I still prefer The Left Hand of Darkness.

Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb

My first actual foray into the overcrowded genre of high fantasy (not counting Lord of the Rings or Dark Tower) and I loved it. The setting is vividly evoked but doesn't steal the show. Each character is very well-written. The story is all politics, espionage and assassination, but with a streak of the supernatural. The magic is very subtle (all about telepathy and empathy) and the "Red Ship Raiders" are superbly frightening. The spying and assassination stuff reminded me very much of the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion. This is one writer I'll definitely be coming back to.