Martian Manhunter

Best Comics of 2015

If you've been a PanelBeats reader for any length of time, you'll be aware that for one reason and another, we haven't had an incredibly busy year in terms of writing about comics. But we've still been reading them, and so with the end of the year upon us, it seems a good time to check in and let you know what we've enjoyed in 2015, in case you've missed any of it yourself. Look, it's an end-of-year post: you know how these things work.

Rather than doing a ranked countdown based on any kind of consensus, we've instead individually written about which books stood out for us this year. As ever, our tastes and consumption habits can vary hugely (although there is some crossover); and of course, we're aware that we don't necessarily cover the full spectrum of everything that was published across the industry in 2015. Nevertheless, if we've mentioned it below, then as far as this site's concerned, it was a highlight of our year - and is well worth checking out if you haven't already.

DC's Divergence mini-relaunch: a run-down

So, you can't have missed the news that DC are overhauling their publishing line in June, following the upcoming crossover event Convergence. While Marvel are busy planning what looks like an almost-full-scale universe reboot (in the manner of DC's New 52 relaunch back in 2011), DC are almost going the opposite way, with something that seems more akin to Marvel's "All New Marvel NOW!" of a few years back.

In the process, the "New 52" branding is finally being dropped (although the continuity itself will remain in place - albeit with, if word is to be believed, a slightly looser approach to a rigid universe-wide continuity) in favour of the new "Divergence" brand - but the most notable aspect is that a range of new titles are being launched, some spotlighting characters that have yet to have their due since the relaunch, and several with exciting (and, crucially, demographically diverse) creative teams. Oh, and a Hitman spinoff.

While it's nothing like as big a shake-up as the 2011 one was, it's nevertheless the most significant since then - so we thought we'd take a look at the list of new and updated titles, to see what we think of their prospects...

Review: Justice League United #0

If DC want to tempt back a lapsed reader like me (and I do mean specifically like ME), then having Jeff Lemire write a fun, light-hearted team book featuring Animal Man, Supergirl, Green Arrow and Stargirl certainly feels like a gigantic stride in the right direction.