The pyplot.subplots returns inconsistent type of output dependent on the number of subplots requested. While this might be "convenient" sometimes, it is anti-intuitive and requires additional handling from the user side.

Suggestion: Return consistently numpy.ndarray of axes for any number of requested axes.

fig, axs = plt.subplots(2)
type(axs)
# numpy.ndarray

fig, axs = plt.subplots(1)
type(axs)
matplotlib.axes._subplots.AxesSubplot

[ ] Matplotlib version, Python version and Platform (Windows, OSX, Linux ...)
'1.5.3'; Python 3.5, OSX