UK-based curated graphic novel subscription Gutter & Spine in the works

By John Freeman on January 15, 2026 • ( 0 )

Taking a leaf from other subscription packages such as Wordy and Wild, a new UK service, Gutter & Spine, offering a curated graphic novel subscription, is testing the waters to gauge interest.

Aimed at curious adult readers, the team plan to offer subscribers one carefully chosen indie graphic novel a month, and have opened a Waiting List to gauge interest.

Each book will be announced in advance, so if you already own it, you can swap if you already own it. The curator card will explain why it was chosen, and you’ll also receive at least one extra that could be related to the novel, to encourage you to read or to make your reading experience more enjoyable.

As yet, there isn’t much to indicate what kind titles will be offered, but we’re told the choices wil, be creator-led, story-first and Indie-leaning. You won’t be offered selections from midway through a series – the aim is to introduce, not bewilder.

Void Rivals by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici

Although UK based, the publishers they’ve mentioned so far are Image, BOOM!, Dark Horse, IDW, and Oni Press, with Mark Millar’s The Magic Order, and Void Rivals by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici mentioned in early social posts.

Gutter & Spine aim to be beginner friendly, so if you’ve always liked the idea of comics but never knew where to start, you’re exactly who this service is for, and, they say, if you already read, it’s a solid way to discover something new.

• Check out Gutter & Spine at gutterandspine.co.uk and sign up for their Wait List here

• Check out the book subscription service Wordy and Wild (unconnected with Gutter & Spine) at wordyandwild.com

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.