Today I went to Excelsior Comics in Bristol with my best boy friend Jake to learn ALL about comics and graphic novels. I realised that, although I may have an English degree, I know absolutely nothing about a very important literary genre. Before now I’ve only really read Peanuts and Simon’s Cat which, although fabulous, don’t exactly explore the gritty, adult themes one might see in other graphic stories. To be fair, Snoopy can sometimes find himself in a real pickle, but I suspect there are other works with more complex plots. So we went to explore!

Jake is quite the connoisseur of comic fiction, so he pointed me towards a couple of titles to get me started. The first was Morning Glories, which he said I would like because I enjoyed Lost. Apparently it’s about an eerie private school that isn’t all it seems, which sounds coolies.

The second choice was the first issue of The Movement. Jake chose this for me because I’m not super keen on superhero fiction, but he is in love with Gail Simone and said this one would warm me to the genre.

I shall read these and hopefully enjoy them! I do like the idea of the stories being released in serials like Charles Dickens or Elizabeth Gaskell, so I can pretend I’m in some kind of futuristic Victorian world reading them. Speaking of which, I am just starting to get to grips with Steampunk because my friend Rupert loves it. He is a fantastic writer who has created his own fictional Steampunk world, so please take a look at his blog or follow him on Twitter! I skimmed through one of his Steampunk books (with lots of pictures) about it and this is currently my favourite song, Honey Bee by Steam Powered Giraffe. It’s just so lovely! I am very happy with my development into a nerd.