Maybe no one remembers this, as it was a few years ago now, and some comics geeks can have very short memories, and require references and pictures and concrete statements from creators. But for a while, there was discussion in the X-Men comics about Beast’s sexuality.

As it turned out, he wasn’t really gay. It was a malicious lie he told the human girlfriend who dumped him by telephone because he now looked like a big cat; one that got away from him and returned to bite him on the ass. This all happened, of course, in Grant Morrison’s epic and unbeaten New X-Men run.

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Hi there and welcome back to another weekly review, this week I have one brilliant must read and another book penned by a sidekick favourite, hope you enjoy as much as I did.

First up are Spy Boy volumes I & II published by Dark horse comics. Written by fan favourite Peter David (Hulk Future imperfect, X-Factor) and illustrated by Pop Mahn (Ghost Rider, Batgirl) these books collect issues 1-6 of the series.

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Welcome back to another set of reviews of tradepaperbacks I picked up from the local libraries. It’s been an interesting mix of books this week with some random stuff and some more mainstream titles including a classic from one of my favourite writers. I’ll be giving some background on some titles and pointing you in the direction of some other books that are connected to the books reviewed.

First up from America’s Best Comics is Alan and Steve Moore’s “Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales, Book One”. Illustrated by a collection of artists including the legendary Arthur Adams (Uncanny X-men, Fantastic Four, Hulk), Jason Pearson (Starman, Legion of Super Heroes), and Jerry Ordway (Superman, Captain Marvel).

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Over the past few months I've gotten to know Daniel Clifford pretty well, either through listening to him lose his mind on his and co-host Lily's excellent podcast; North East Geek Feast, enjoying a Halo: Reach wild ride in true Mr Toad fashion or endless twittering back and forth. So when the opportunity came up to talk to Daniel about his latest project with the Paper Jam Comics Collective; Sugar Glider I jumped at the chance to delve deeper into that wonderfully weird mind:

So what is Sugar Glider all about?

Sugar Glider is a costumed crime-fighter comic based on Tyneside but like all the superhero comics I like best, it's more about the person in the costume than it is about the crime-fighting. And the person in the costume is Susie Sullivan; a teenager with no clue what to do with her life. Everyone around her has a clear path in life - her mam is a nurse, her sister is a mother and her best friend is a sports prodigy. But no matter what Susie tries, nothing ever sticks. She's done all the dead-end jobs you can think of and tried out fashion design, wildlife photography, filmmaking, judo, athletics, etc etc. But she can't commit. I really think this is a story people can relate to - everyone's under so much pressure to decide one thing to do for the rest of their life - it doesn't even matter that the 'one job for life' thing just doesn't happen anymore. But then there's the escapist part of the story - she's found herself with this gliding suit and is trying out something a lot less ordinary - super heroics!

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