Lewis Trondheim & Stéphane Oiry

Oddly enough this graphic novel was put together by two Frenchman (with translation by Emma Watson – not that one) but it couldn’t be more British. The rainy streets of Kilburn are depicted with almost obsessive care and attention along with suburban housing estates, dreary pubs and the seedier bits of Brighton. The titular Maggy has been on the dole for a couple of years and jumps at the chance to work as an assistant for Anthony Wright, a rather down at heel private detective who barely makes ends meet in between drinking bouts. After he receives a beating at the hands of some thugs, Maggy – after solving a missing budgie case in her own inimitable style – picks up the reins. She’s soon cast into a world of gangsters, corrupt coppers and crooked businessmen. Our ever-resourceful hero is easy to root for (despite her control-quality being on the blink when it comes to who she hops into bed with) and I sincerely hope that this isn’t the last of her misadventures.