Comics and graphic novelsFrom superheroes to memoirs, there’s never been a richer time for comic books. But where does one start with a genre that is exploding so quickly? I am a man with an immoderate number – some might say a houseful – of comic books, which is probably why people ask me questions like: “Where on earth do I start with all this stuff?” and “Is that really a wedding ring?

Children's booksGlobalThe Alice in Wonderland quizThe Imagine Festival is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! We have lots of events that you can come to during the festival. Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk? How well will you do in our Alice quiz? Find out what else is happening in our Imagine Festival takeover ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaJuYnrmlvsSnqmaan6S4tHnSoqueZ6Gqtrt7kWlobmeWmq9wfo9omKWhk5p6qrqMsKannJWnuaK6w2aorqGq

FilmFrom climate change to evolution versus religion, Jennifer Connelly's latest films take on some of the day's most controversial issues. Patrick Barkham talks to an actor focused on the big pictureEven though a dirty twilight barely seeps through the windows, the lights in the suite at Claridge's are dimmed unusually low, leaving Jennifer Connelly encased in crepuscular splendour. With her jet-black hair parted almost in the centre, black cardigan and pale skin, she looks oddly like a young Morticia Addams.

ArtInterviewAnarchy at the south pole: Santiago Sierra plants the black flag to destroy all bordersStuart JeffriesThe Spanish provocateur, who once filled a former synagogue with lethal gas, has gone to the ends of the Earth to liberate humankind ‘I travel a lot,” says Santiago Sierra. “But entering a country is like going to jail. Borders disgust me – as an idea and as a personal experience. This work denies all of that.

Islamic State This article is more than 6 months oldFormer UK rapper Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary goes on trial in Madrid for joining ISThis article is more than 6 months oldThe 32-year-old allegedly posted an image of himself holding a severed head on Twitter while visiting Syria Former British rapper and notorious Islamic State suspect Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, who was arrested in Spain in 2020, went on trial in Madrid on Wednesday.

Texas This article is more than 2 months oldHiker rescued after wandering lost in Texas park for more than a weekThis article is more than 2 months oldTwenty-five-year-old Christy Perry survived alone in the 1,200 sq mile Big Bend national park by drinking rainwater A woman who had gone missing for more than a week while hiking in a national park in west Texas – resorting to drinking rainwater to stave off dehydration or worse – was found alive and rescued on Friday, according to federal officials.

Book of the dayFictionReviewMoshfegh’s fiction provides welcome respite from a culture submerged in positivity – but is there more than shock value to her catalogue of perversity in a medieval village? Once a provocation, it is now a commonplace to lament the thinness of likability as an aesthetic criterion. In a forum on the subject in the New Yorker in 2013, Margaret Atwood warned that “the qualities we appreciate in a character are not the same as those we would look for in a college roommate”.

Russia This article is more than 2 years oldRuben Sergeyev, longtime Guardian fixer in Moscow, dies at 65This article is more than 2 years oldFormer colleagues remember ‘intelligent, playful, constantly curious’ news assistant and friend Ruben Sergeyev, a longtime consultant and friend to Guardian correspondents in Moscow from the Gorbachev era through to the Putin years, has died of Covid-19 at the age of 65. He died on Wednesday after being admitted to hospital in Moscow.

Syria This article is more than 11 years oldProfileThis article is more than 11 years oldBashar al-Assad's brother-in-law may have fallen foul in the past but his importance within regime's inner circle is unquestionablePresident Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, was also the deputy defence minister. He was one of an inner circle of security chiefs focused on the Assad family, one of the top three in the regime, alongside the president's younger brother Maher although he was not always in favour.

FanDuel signage at Yankee Stadium in New York on 22 September 2023. Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesFanDuel signage at Yankee Stadium in New York on 22 September 2023. Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesThe big betBusiness This article is more than 1 month oldTop US betting firm lobbied against rules to protect young people and problem gamblersThis article is more than 1 month oldExclusive: documents show FanDuel fought crackdown on ads near college campuses and ‘deceptive’ marketing