After a couple of years in the wilderness, Leanne Franson is back with her new comics collection Don't be a Crotte.

Sorry? Did I hear a "Leanne who?" from someone at the back over there? The author may not (yet) be a household name in the UK, although it depends on which household you're in, so let me explain.

Leanne Franson is a cartoonist and illustrator based in Montreal. She's been publishing her own work for years, and she's also garnered a ton of fans through her two previous book-sized 'toon collections Assume Nothing and Teaching Through Trauma. Don't be a Crotte is a brand new collection of strips.

All the stories in Don't be a Crotte have elements of autobiography, but Franson has a secret weapon called Liliane. This ultra-cute, occasionally naïve, happy-go-lucky bi-dyke is the kingpin who holds the various stories together. Part alter-ego, narrator, protagonist and all-round heroine, Liliane is a sympathetic character who occasionally makes a fool of herself but is always completely charming.

So what's a crotte? And why is Franson urging us not to be one? The answer lies in the author's French Canadian background. A crotte is slang for - I don't know how to put this politely, so please forgive me - a shit. It follows that Don't be a Crotte examines some rather shitty behaviour, from a lover who lies about his partners, to an evil flatmate, by way of drunken egomania, dodgy photographers, slum landlords and sanctimonious little sods.

Like the author, Liliane is a bi-dyke, and a couple of the stories feature run-ins with some of the more conservative members of the lesbian and gay community. Oh all right, I'll say it: they deal with blatant, bizarre, stupid and if-you-don't-laugh-at-it-you'll-cry episodes of bi-phobia. Where some of us would just get angry about this kind of experience Franson picks up her pens and creates smart, cutting and brilliantly-observed strips that show the idiocy of that particular shade of prejudice.

What makes Don't be a Crotte, and Franson's comics in general, so great is that whilst the strips have a deceptively light touch, they also deal with some meaty subjects. Franson's writing and drawing is sweet and accessible, but my word, it packs a decent punch too. Don't miss it.

Don't be a Crotte by Leanne Franson
Published by: Dansereau Editeur
ISBN: 2923162056

Email inkspots@videotron.ca for UK ordering information.

Treat yourself to the classic Liliane collectionAssume Nothing: Evolution of a Bi-dyke. Buy online and save!