The first of my picks from the 2018 Glasgow Comic Con. Portal Comics Anthology #1.

This issue features strips from Jonny Cannon and Gavin Boyle. Space Rats by Jonny Cannon is first up. The vibe is The Expanse but with a bit of Glasgow hustle – a spaceport called Gorbals and dialogue like “half this tech is totally gubbed”. Wonderful in other words.

Gavin’s Escape from Coatbridge is next. Some might argue that it doesn’t take a great feat of imagination to picture Coatbridge as a horrific dystopian wasteland. It is not for me to say. Read this dramatic and funny strip, then visit Coatbridge then decide for yourself.

Finally The Divided, a continuation of Jonny’s The United. At one of the panels at the con I expressed the view that there was no local contemporary equivalent of Crisis to catalogue Brexit, the Scottish Indyref or the disintegration of democracy in our century. But you know what, The Divided does it, taking on racism, violence, conspiracy and the breakdown of the state. Yes, there is a lot of gore but not in a cheesy 90s gritty way. Instead we are left distinctly uneasy by the actions of our ‘heroes’.

So, for £3 you can’t go wrong. Get your copy from Cannonhill Comics.