Welcome to our rundown of the best 50 indie and small press comics of 2021. These are chosen by the team from Pipedream Comics and each entry has a mini review from the writer who picked it, telling you exactly why these books rocked!! We begin with: dream like webcomics, horrific crime dramas, urban slice of life and star crossed sci-fi lovers!

50. Candles (Cast Iron Books)

Alex says: “We’ve been huge fans of artist Lyndon White from the moment we first saw his work in The Mind of James Svengal. Along with his work on books like Hexes and Mandy The Monster Hunter he has crated a unique niche in small press thanks to his beautifully painted artwork and fantastical dream like landscapes. Candles is his first full length graphic novel which seems him take on the whole creative process and it really is a wonderfully ambitious and beautifully realised book. Set in a fantastical world which is ravaged by a dark disease and our intrepid heroes must find a way to quell this darkness, it’s mix of fantasy, magic and wondrous locations makes for a brilliantly conceived world that allows Lyndon’s stunning artwork really stand out from the shadows.”

Read our full review of Candles here

49. LDN (Good Comics)

Lydia says: “LDN by author Ramzee and various different artists is an exciting trip to five different corners of London! We are greeted with five separate stories with visually distinct art styles. From a conventional Greek tragedy to a skit about Boris Johnson to the breakdown of a loving relationship, your trip through LDN will make you laugh, cry and say, ‘what the heck did I just read?!’ I loved how utterly bizarre some of the stories were, and the use of different illustrators per corner was a real treat!”

Read our full review of LDN here

48. Longpig (Don’t Look Now Comics)

James says: “Grayham Puttock and Adam Jakes’ Longpig was a deeply intriguing and addictive read as the first issue introduced to us a mysteriously creepy family as well as those people who sought to fight them. The mystery surrounding the story with the question ‘is it a crime comic or is it a horror comic’ keeps the premise in your head long after reading while the art is so unique and captivating that it more than helped get Longpig’s hooks into you, eager for future issues.”

Read our full review of Longpig here

47. Boat Volume 4 (BHP Comics)

Mike says: “Boat tells the story of a post-apocalyptic flooded Britain from the perspective of young Charlie and his father. Marc Olivent’s artwork manages to capture action-packed fight scenes and smaller character moments equally well. David Lumsden’s plotting is tight, his narrative very well-structured and his characters rounded and interesting. He uses a device here that’s present in earlier volumes with the story switching simply from ‘Then’ to ‘Now’ but it’s a device that works really well. As well as giving a consistency to the four volumes completed so far, it’s also a very effective way of adding depth to Charlie’s character as we gradually start to understand the horrors that he’s seen and experienced. It’s a grim story but this volume does offer glimpse of hope and signposts a hopefully happy ending for Charlie in volume 5.

Read our full review of Boat Volume 4 here

46. Black Cotton (Scout Comics)

Alex says: “This politically charged tale from writers Patrick Foreman and Brian Hawkins shines a light on racial tensions and privilege by flipping the traditional protagonist and antagonist roles. Set in a world where whites are an oppressed minority, when a black police officer from a wealthy family shoots a white protestor, it opens up the familiar issues of bias and racism which we see played out in the news, but told from an alternative viewpoint. It shines a sharp light on the topic and provides a really potent look at the subject as a result of this different perspective. With strong artwork from Mauro (Cuddles) Perugini , this is a really under-rated gem from Scout Comics who are having a really strong year in 2021 with lots of entries to come on this list. It is also one of those books which, while great in single issues, will really come into its own when collected into a full volume, as then you will really get to see the story in its entirety.”

Read our full review of Black Cotton here

45. Access Denied (Signal Comics)

James says: “It feels like no one works harder in British small press at the moment than Samuel Gordon London and Mikael Hankonen. With the pair bringing out the complete collection of Milford Green; London producing his podcast Comics of the Apocalypse, and creating Band of Warriors; And Hankonen continuing his webcomic, Year in Hereafter; they’ve been going great guns. However, they’ve also hit the high mark with this, their most underrated comic, Access Denied is an absolutely beautiful comic in every manner of speaking. London wrote a phenomenal sci-fi story about a Romeo and Juliet-esque pairing while Hankonen matched up with artwork which gave a mesmerising locale and characters. While I’ve no doubt that the pair will be thought of for their other works, this poignant and delightful read was a real highlight of the year.”

Read our full review of Access Denied here

44. Where No-One Grows (Zorika Gaeta)

Alex says: “This is the 3rd volume of Zorika Gaeta’s dreamlike webcomic, but the first time we have come across it. Thanks to her background in animation, her artwork has an incredible lush quality to it, with expressive characters and sumptuous backdrops. It feel like a book which could have been published by Nobrow, reminding us of books like Deadendia with its rich tone and style. While the stories are slightly inconsistent from one volume to another, they have this wonderful found quality to them that makes you forgive the lack of structure as they feel like dream like expressions rather than rigid traditional tales. This certainly allows the visuals on show to truly shine and each instalment looks utterly sublime as Gaeta mixes lush jungles and dark forests with flaming monkeys and female grim reapers that look like they have stepped out of coco, to create an utterly sumptuous read.”

Read our full review of Where No-One Grows here

43. Shadow Service (Vault Comics)

Mike says: “Shadow Service tells the story of how Gina, a reluctant potty-mouthed witch, crosses paths with the sinister Section 26, an organisation who specialise, as Gina puts it, in “spooky bullshit”. Scott creates a world that that is both fresh and familiar. There are plenty of nods to cult TV and comics, with haunted paintings right out of Ghostbusters 2, a sinister encounter on Harkness Avenue and a secret headquarters that’s “bigger of the inside”. Even The Professionals gets a look in, with MI5 and Bodie and Doyle being replaced with M1666 and Aashi and Coyle. Scott does this with élan and a great sense of fun. Corin Howell’s art is beautiful throughout, at times reminiscent of Jim Baikie.”

Read our full review of Shadow Service here

42. Double Walker (ComiXology Originals)

Alex says: It’s been a strong year for ComiXology’s Originals stable this year with big name creators like Scott Snyder, Chip Zdarsky and Jock bringing their unique brand of story telling to the digital original. However for us this understated Celtic infused horror story was one of the best. Reminding us of perennial Brit horror landmarks like Wicker Man and American Werewolf in London, it is much more than just another trad story about tourists vs locals. It is a really well told character study about a couple lost in the Highlands, that really tugs at the emotional heartstring as well as chilling you to the bone. Writer Michael Conrad and artist Noah Bailey have crafted a really smart and engaging story which is every bit the equal of books from its more high profile Originals stable mates.”

Read our full review of Double Walker here

41. Elle(s): The New Girl  (Europe Comics)

Lydia says: “What looks like a generic coming of age story is so much more, in Elle(s) Volume 1: The New Girl, by Kid Toussaint and Aveline Stokhart. Our main character, Elle, has multiple personalities who could appear at any moment – some are harmless, whereas some are more sinister. Artist Aveline Stokhart does an incredible job of differentiating so many personalities belonging to Elle, who all look the same physically, but through use of colour and facial expression, become hugely distinct. This bildungsroman turned mystery definitely plays with your expectations!”

Read our full review of Elle(s): The New Girl here