What are the best comics?

March 26, 2006 8:32 PM

Comics--old, new, and just plain good. Suggestions?

I've always wanted to get into comics but never did like some of my friends have. I want to know comics in the same way I know video-games--right know I'm clueless as far as the comic scene goes. With video-games, I'm up on 'the scene,' as it were, consuming everything from weird underground games to long essays on game theory. I want to get the point where I can visit a local comic book store and not feel like it's all too daunting and back out quickly.

So. Where should I start? I love dark/dark humored, but mature comics, I know that. With entertainment in general, I love surrealism. Things like Transmetropolitan and Sin City intrigue me. But I also am very attracted by things like American Splendor (saw the movie), and such. I know I'd like Bone. At the same time superhero comic books would be fine (whether old or new).

Graphic novel-series can be included.

So, what are your favorite comic series of all-time that I should read? What are some current ones that are looking sexy? And where should I go for the best scene news and discussion?

posted by Lockeownzj00 to media & arts (53 comments total)

losbros Hernandez
posted by johngumbo at 8:45 PM on March 26, 2006

Amen on the Transmetropolitan. And if you end up digging it, go find some more Warren Ellis stuff, particularly Desolation Jones, Global Frequency, and Fell.

I'm a huge fan of Y - The Last Man from DC's Vertigo imprint (to the point where I'll read just about anything else Brian K. Vaughan writes), and as far as superhero stuff goes, Robert Kirkman's Invincible is about as good as it gets.

I'm trying to limit my recommendations to self-contained stories that don't require a lot of knowledge about a particular 'universe' or set of characters, but if that doesn't sound like a big deal to you, I think some of the best 'mainstream' comics these days are in Marvel's Ultimate imprint, particularly The Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man.

My favorite place to go for comic discussion is the comics forum at Something Awful, called Batman's Shameful Secret. Though I believe you have to be a paying member of the forums to read it.
posted by toddshot at 8:48 PM on March 26, 2006

PS, good question, I'm following this one.
Oh, and Copper
posted by johngumbo at 8:49 PM on March 26, 2006

Hands down, my favorite comic of all time is Grant Morrison's The Invisibles. Think X-Files crossed with James Bond, only much better than both. A group of outsiders with psychic powers (to put it very simply) fight the evil forces of The Conspiracy. That is, virtually every conspiracy you could ever think of, it's in there. Voodoo, magick, parallel universes, quantum physics, smart drinks, demons, concentrated space-time, paradoxes, UFOs, secret bases, the Mayan Eschaton of 2012...and that's just scratching the surface! Quite a head trip (especially the last 12 or so issues!)

Morrison has a forum for fans of his comics, but not just that, discussions on many different topics. Check out Barbelith.
posted by zardoz at 8:49 PM on March 26, 2006

Yay Invisibles
posted by thirteenkiller at 8:50 PM on March 26, 2006

You're on the right track with Transmetropolitan and Sin City, two of my favorites that I would have recommended straight away, just read the whole series of Transmet again and once again was blown away by how good it is. Lately I've been reading a lot of Moore's work, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Watchmen are all ones to check out.

Frank Miller's 300 is awesome as well, about the battle of Thermopalie. His Dark Knight Returns is a must read. Also his Wolverine miniseries.

The Lara Hama run of Wolverine is good, issues 33 to 100 and change.

Battle Angel Alita, definately.

Let me check what else I've got in my comics folder.

The miniseries Empire is great.

I'd reacommend the Earth/Universe/Paradise X books, but if you've never read comics a lot of it will be meaningless. Marvels is good, but again it takes some knowlege of Marvel history to really appreciate.

Spawn is another you should definately check out.

Oh yeah, the Invisibles. As the torrented copy of it I have says: Dopest shit ever.

That should get you started.
posted by Jawn at 8:51 PM on March 26, 2006

Um but I don't think Grant Morrison runs Barbelith
posted by thirteenkiller at 8:51 PM on March 26, 2006

I don't know anything current, but... Watchmen.

Also, I have always loved Death, the Sandman's sister.
posted by amro at 8:52 PM on March 26, 2006

Not sure where you are in your search, but Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns (Amazon) is my all-time fave. Also just read V for Vendetta and was very impressed.
posted by johngumbo at 8:55 PM on March 26, 2006

Can't...stop...posting...
I take it back, Miyazaki's Nausicaa (lousy link) is my all-time fave. NOT the video, the graphic novel, in many, many volumes.
posted by johngumbo at 9:00 PM on March 26, 2006

I actually have a few Nausicaa in my room. First two or three volumes.
posted by Lockeownzj00 at 9:06 PM on March 26, 2006

I didn't give 'adult' comics much credit until I read the Sandman series. They are amazing books.
posted by blacklite at 9:06 PM on March 26, 2006

For DC/Marvel-type comics, you can't go wrong with Alan Moore (Watchmen, Swamp Thing), Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Hellblazer), Garth Ennis (Preacher), Neil Gaiman (Sandman) and Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets). Frank Miller, who does Sin City, is excellent but can get a little overbearing--check out his Dark Knight Returns to get a sense of the best stuff you can do with Batman.

If you're looking to get into superhero comics, I can't recommend the Ultimate Marvel line enough. Simple, clear, well-written plotlines that draw on the mythologies without being confusing to too reliant on old stories.

For alt/underground "comix," AKA non-superhero comics, you should probably grab some old R. Crumb collections, and then move on to Art Spiegelman (Maus, obviously, is the first thing to look at) and maybe Gary Panter. Of the current generation, the guys who get the most press are Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes and Adrian Tomine--also recommended are the Hernandez brothers, Marjane Satrapi and Joe Sacco.

If you're looking for a cool, quarterly, avant-comix journal, try MOME. For a good introduction to contemporary sequential art, McSweeney's 13 is pretty good all-around.

Also, don't--and I mean it--don't start reading comics without looking at Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, which, besides being a great introductory to literary/aesthetic theory in general, provides an exhaustive background for what might be called "comics theory." His second, Reinventing Comics, is way more hit-or-miss.
posted by maxreax at 9:07 PM on March 26, 2006

It crashed and burned before its time, but if you stumble across an issue, be sure to give Magnus Robot Fighter a chance. (Just the Valiant '90's run... that's the good stuff.)

Classic good guy vs. evil robots... with just a touch of sexiness and crossover excitement tossed in.
posted by diocletian at 9:16 PM on March 26, 2006

The most popular duo these days seems to be Loeb and Sale. They've done a lot of projects, mostly old-school and all good — but I'd say the only must-read is their Superman story, A Superman For All Seasons. Most Superman writing sucks, but not this. It's possibly the best, most pure, no-frills old-school superhero comic I've ever read.
posted by cribcage at 9:18 PM on March 26, 2006

Sorry, too lazy to make links, but:

http://www.newsarama.com/
http://www.comicbookresources.com/
http://www.thefourthrail.com/

are all good sites for both mainstream and indie (not the underground stuff though) alike.

Bacchus (Eddie Campbell)
Powers (Brian Michael Bendis)
Whiteout (Greg Rucka / Steve Lieber)
Queen & Country (more Greg Rucka)
Preacher (Garth Ennis)

Further recommendations for The Invisibles (but if you accidently pick up Invincible, you won't be disappointed either)

Anti-recommendation for Spawn

On preview, maxreax is spot on. Some of the Magnus and lots of other Valiant books are cool too (Quantum and Woody comes to mind)

I might have some stuff to send you. Send me an email to my username + @gmail.com if you are interested.
posted by gaelenh at 9:22 PM on March 26, 2006

The Authority - Ellis
Top Ten - Moore
Red Son - Millar
The Ultimates - Millar
Hellblazer - All of them
Lucifer - Carey
Bone - Smith
posted by doctor_negative at 9:23 PM on March 26, 2006

As fall-down drop-dead genius as I think Watchmen is, I think it's really impossible to enjoy it fully as a newcomer to comic books. Save it for after you've got a couple of years of reading under your belt, and you won't be disappointed.

And another recommendation for Invisibles, as long as you don't mind having your shit well and truly fucked with.
posted by toddshot at 9:33 PM on March 26, 2006

Wanted

It's often mean-spirited. It's often juvenile. It's a great satire on comics. A must-read.
posted by frogan at 9:36 PM on March 26, 2006

I will second or third many of the excellent suggestions already made here, and add a few I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Potential, by Ariel Schrag.
Amazing autobiography by a teenager coming out during the waning years of high school.

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, by Jhonen Vasquez.
Not for everyone, but those who get the humor like it a lot. If you're familiar with the animated series "Invader Zim", this is the same guy, his older, wilder, looser stuff.

Jar of Fools, by Jason Lutes.
Realistic slice-of-life story of losers in bad straights.

It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken, by Seth.
Written as if an autobiography, an interesting story of an artist's obsession with another artist.

Whiteout, by Steve Lieber and Greg Rucker.
Potboiler mystery set at the research stations of Antarctica ... (oh, on preview, someone did mention this one. Well, I'll leave it in anyway.)

Kabuki, by David Mack.
This odd ninja-esque adventure story starts out without doing too much groundbreaking, but later in the series (the parts collected in "Skin Deep" and "Metamorphosis") it becomes astonishingly surreal as the main character is trapped in a "The Prisoner"-like mental hospital for deranged spies.


I'd also like to recommend some additional works by authors who have already been mentioned:

It's already been said, and I agree, that Scott McCloud's nonfictional "Understanding Comics" is a must, but you might also want to check out his refreshing alternate-universe superhero series "Zot!", which starts out breezy and light and gets more and more intricate and deep as it goes on.

"The Invisibles" by Grant Morrison has been mentioned; you might also want to check out his work on "Animal Man" or "Doom Patrol" to see some interesting takes on traditional superhero stories.

Some of Brian Michael Bendis' work has been brought up - I'd recommend his fictionalized story of America's first serial killer, "Torso".


And a big second to just about everything else mentioned here, but especially Alan Moore's "Watchmen", Hayao Miyazaki's "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", Neil Gaiman's epic "Sandman" series, and Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns".
posted by kyrademon at 9:40 PM on March 26, 2006

I'm down to reading only four ongoing series: Lucifer, Fables, Powers, She-Hulk (which is being written as a humor book in this incarnation, and it's hilarious.) Ditto the love for all things Moore and most things Morrison, especially the Invisibles.

I recommend the graphic novels Concrete Blonde, and Through the Habitrails, too.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 9:41 PM on March 26, 2006

Start by asking your friends that are into comics what they like, or what they think you'd like. They'll do a better job than us, plus they can lend you their copies.

Some choices in order of decreasing likelihood of being mentioned elsewhere in the thread:

• Sandman by Neil Gaiman. I know what you're thinking: this will turn me into a goth. That's what I thought too, but it didn't! And it's good!
  
• Anything by Alan Moore (my personal favorite is From Hell, but people tend think of Watchmen as more important. Since you used the word 'surreal' you might want to try A Small Killing).
  
  
• Mignola's Hellboy has the best art of all time.
  
  
• Astro City by Kurt Busiek. If you read Watchmen, read this series afterward. Moore deconstructed the superhero genre, then Busiek took a step back for perspective and wrote a tender, insightful eulogy. In tone, it's like Bill Hicks versus Garrison Keillor. Anyway, it's a great series.
  
  
• Hellblazer, especially the Garth Ennis and Brian Azarello runs. It's about a guy who is playing in the big leagues—going up against heaven and hell—with no real powers except the willingness to take calculated risks.
  
  
• Fables, Y: The Last Man, and The Walking Dead are also perennial favorites for lists like these.
  
  
• I also really like 100 Bullets, which is a high concept crime series by Brian Azarello. I don't know if anybody else will mention this, but if you like gritty crime stories, this is the best ongoing series for that kind of thing.
  
  
• The Goon is a great ultra-violent, gross-out horror romp by Eric Powell. Lots of toilet humor and zombie head cracking.

Ack, on preview, many of these are already being mentioned. I strongly second maxreax's recommendation to stop and read Understanding Comics right now. It's definitely not like reading game theory to understand games.. it's entertaining in its own right, and written for popular audiences.

Long story short, I think you've got the right idea starting with Bone and Transmetropolitan. You can't go wrong with either of those!
posted by Hildago at 9:42 PM on March 26, 2006

I would agree with most of what’s been recommended.
However, since you’re looking for the dark, the humour and, most especially, the surreal, then I think you’re looking for Shade, the Changing Man by Peter Milligan.
It was part of the Vertigo line (like Sandman, Transmet, Invisibles, etc.) but, while it is every bit as good as the other series, was somewhat weirder and less popular.

Also, Warren Ellis’s Planetary is quite good.
There a few vertigo torrents around that would be a great way to get a taste of some of these titles.

Btw, shouldn’t this comics recommendation question be in the askme FAQ by now?
posted by Zetetics at 9:42 PM on March 26, 2006

Second (or thirdishly fourth) Sandman and Preacher.
posted by the giant pill at 9:48 PM on March 26, 2006

The Maxx (also an animated series on MTV, which was actually very well done).
The (un)collected works of Paul Pope - his work strikes me as being perpetually experimental - awesome manga-esque artwork, published in a variety of physical formats, seemingly for the hell of it. At least some of the books I've read have included personal esays on the thought process behind the pages. Also: cute schoolgirl heroines.
posted by unmake at 9:56 PM on March 26, 2006

I don't think this site is updated anymore, but it contains many reviews of graphic novels for you to peruse: http://artbomb.net/
posted by gaelenh at 10:09 PM on March 26, 2006

Finder by Carla Speed McNeil. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Queen and Country by Greg Rucka. He also did Whiteout, which is also an outstanding work.
Black Hole by Charles Burns.
The Goon by Eric Powell.
Hellboy by Mike Mignola (don't let the movie spoil you on the book).
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo (once again, the original comic is superior to the movie adaptation).
The Tale of One Bad Rat, The Adventures of Luther Arkwright or Heart of Empire by Bryan Talbot.
Palestine, Safe Area Gorazde, or anything else by Joe Sacco.
Bacchus by Eddie Campbell.

Recommended without reservation: Alan Moore (From Hell, Watchmen, Swamp Thing), Los Bros Hernandez (Love and Rockets), and Neil Gaiman (Sandman).

Also recommended: Matt Wagner (Mage, Grendel), Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Desolation Jones, Fell), Garth Ennis (Preacher), Bill Willingham (Fables), Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets), Brian K. Vaughan (Y The Last Man, Ex Machina).

Kurt Busiek's Astro City is also well-written, but it tends to be a love letter to old school comic characters, tropes, and storylines which might be lost on you since you're not familiar with them. The stories are still great by themselves, but I just thought I'd mention that.

On preview: gaelenh is right about both Quantum & Woody (yes!) and Spawn (no!). Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is worthwhile, as is his own superheroish book, Zot!
posted by ooga_booga at 10:10 PM on March 26, 2006

It might be helpful to divide some of these up by category:

Postmodern Superheroes (new, surreal, or contemporary takes on the superhero genres - some of these are only recommended after you read some other series to get what they're riffing on):
Watchmen, The Invisibles, Planetary, The Dark Knight Returns, Powers, Animal Man (Morrison), Doom Patrol (Morrison), Top Ten, The Authority

Classic Superheros (well-done modern versions which hew more closely to silver- or golden-age superhero themes):
Zot, Astro City

Contemporary Life and Autobiography:
American Splendor, Love & Rockets, Jar of Fools, It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken, Potential, Peep Show, Box Office Poison

Dark Humor:
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Squee

Modern Fantasy, Myth, and Occult (contemporary takes on fantasy, magic, or religion):
Sandman, The Books of Magic, Preacher, Hellblazer, Hellboy, Death the High Cost of Living

Classic Fantasy:
Bone, Stardust, Fables (I think - I admit I haven't read them)

Just Plain Goth:
Gloom Cookie, Oh My Goth

Science Fiction:
Transmetropolitan, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Neo-Noir (modern versions of the noir, mystery, and suspense genres):
Sin City, Torso, Whiteout

Historical and Quasi-historical:
From Hell, Berlin, Maus & Maus II, The Cartoon History of the Universe

True Life:
Safe Area Gorazde

Action Adventure:
Kabuki, Whiteout - Melt

Comics Crit:
Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics
posted by kyrademon at 10:11 PM on March 26, 2006

You notice the names that keep cropping up -- Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Grant Morrisson, Neil Gaiman, etc. Just like fiction. Find authors you like, and they'll rarely let you down. Though Miller's sequel to Dark Knight was so atrocious I felt embarrassed for having read it.

If you like surreal, and you like meta, then definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY check out Grant Morrison's work on Animal Man. As weird and meta as it gets, baby. Brilliant stuff using a second-tier hero. You might also check out his run writing for The Doom Patrol, in which he comes up with shit so weird I'm amazed DC published it. Seriously. Gay streets. Paintings that eat Paris. Sheer brilliance.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:15 PM on March 26, 2006

(Also, since you seem like you are also potentially interested in actual older, classic superhero titles, you might want to check out:

Chris Claremont's work on "X-Men" - just the stuff from around the late 70's through about the mid-80's, don't bother with before or after,

Frank Miller's work on "Daredevil",

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's wonderful, horrible, wretched, inspiring work on a billion titles in the 1960's such as "The Fantastic Four")
posted by kyrademon at 10:19 PM on March 26, 2006

Brian Michael Bendis' "Alias" series was one of the first I got hooked on. Highly recommended.

And I want to third? fourth? Y: the Last Man. I'm addicted.
posted by anjamu at 10:24 PM on March 26, 2006

If you haven't already read it, Eisner's Contract with God trilogy is now out in hardcover.

Mike Mignola's Hellboy is wonderfully moody, funny and spooky.

Rick Geary's Victorian Murder books are strange, insightful accounts of historical events. I recommend his Jack the Ripper and the Borden Tragedy especially.
posted by SPrintF at 10:29 PM on March 26, 2006

I'll second that recommendation of Alias.
posted by Jawn at 10:50 PM on March 26, 2006

Right now, the series I am enjoying most is Kurt Busiek's revival of Conan. I'll fifth(?) Y: The Last Man, too. I also look forward to my monthly issue of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo (don't let the talking animals put you off!).

Also, given that "[you] love surrealism" do check out Alan Moore's Promethea.

You can't go wrong, really, with Moore and Gaiman, and, as others have pointed out, there are a number of other names worth following (though personally I can't recommend Frank Miller any longer. While I enjoyed Sin City and Dark Knight Returns, his recent work is starting to convince me that he just isn't that good. But your mileage may vary). But it is always good to check out the canon-- Watchmen, Maus, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlmen (I'll go ahead and canonize it if it isn't considered so already), Sandman, A Contract With God, From Hell...
posted by synecdoche at 10:52 PM on March 26, 2006

I agree about recent Frank Miller ... I heard somewhere that he basically went nuts after 9/11, but I don't know how true that actually is.
posted by kyrademon at 12:23 AM on March 27, 2006

Walking Dead and Invincible by Robert Kirkman!!
posted by Megafly at 12:51 AM on March 27, 2006

I heard somewhere that he basically went nuts after 9/11, but I don't know how true that actually is.

I think you could probably argue that he's always been nuts, but I think pitting Batman against Osama seals the deal for most people.
posted by maxreax at 1:12 AM on March 27, 2006

Another vote for Y: The Last Man, Fables, Sandman, Watchmen, Bone

Some that haven't been mentioned: Concrete, Stray Bullets, Superman: Secret Identity, Grendel, the graphic novel Why I Hate Saturn, and the graphic novel Blankets
posted by spira at 1:49 AM on March 27, 2006

Someone to check out, though he's not very dark at all, just rather light and offbeat and funny: James Kochalka. His stuff is unbelievably cute and insightful. Also insightful and amusing: Halo and Sprocket.

Otherwise, people have mentioned pretty much anything and everything I might mention.

A general tip, though: something useful to that I did when I decided to do exactly what you're doing, i.e. kind of a major survey of the comics world at present (just a few months ago, actually!), was go on Amazon.com and search for a few things I'd heard of—Bone, Blankets, etc. Then I looked through the user recommendation lists that came up with those included, and that got me to a lot of graphic novels that sounded cool. Then I also looked at the "those who bought ___ also bought ___" links to find more. That got me to a nice web of comics, which I kind of intuitively navigated upon the basis of what I'd heard of before/what my comic artist boyfriend had recommended/talked endlessly about before.

Then I went to the public library and searched for authors I'd heard of. I checked out everything they'd ever drawn. Then I did keyword searches for "comics" and "graphic novels" and checked out almost everything I found that sounded like it was in the same vein I like. In my case, that narrowed it down a lot, 'cause I like kind of autobiographical, Crumb-derived things, for the most part, as well as cute fiction like Bone—and not very much on the superhero front (though reading Watchmen kind of roused my curiosity as far as superheroes are concerned). YMMV—but the library is a FANTASTIC place to check out lots of comics for no cost while trying to figure out what you like.

By taking this approach, I found and read over 40 good graphic novels/comix anthologies over this past winter break and kind of kick-started my comics craze.
posted by limeonaire at 2:33 AM on March 27, 2006

I recommend these. (self-link to reviews of mainly extremely dark and surreal comics).

I've been meaning to expand that page, though. Right now I read and enjoy Ex Machina (West Wing meets X-files, sort of) and The Ultimates (Which is like a well-plotted, though not too deep, superhero blockbuster movie); both are available in TPB form.
posted by martinrebas at 3:18 AM on March 27, 2006

In middle school, I had an incredible teacher who handed me a copy of Maus. That was surreal, dark, and an incredibly effective way to deal with the subject matter. It's also not exactly a fun read. Absolutely fascinating and haunting, though, and I can't recommend it enough if you've somehow skipped over it.

Seconding Grendel whole-heartedly. Fifth/sixth/x-ing V, Preacher, Nausicaa, and Sandman. I adored Johnny the Homicidal Maniac several years ago, but I think we grew apart when I gave up trying to be goth.
posted by honeydew at 3:33 AM on March 27, 2006

Dave Sim's Cerebus the Aardvark series. Get the phone book editions.

Jeff Nicholson's UltraKlutz and Through the Habitrails.
posted by flabdablet at 3:49 AM on March 27, 2006

If you're going to do Paul Pope, I would suggest starting with 100% or Heavy Liquid. Those are both great examples of his art and writing, as well as being self-contained. His sprawling THB series, while cool for its experimental qualities listed above, may turn you off as it's just perpetually ongoing and sporadically published. That being said, it usually has self-contained stories set in the THB universe, so you don't have to go issue-to-issue necessarily.
posted by Slothrop at 4:13 AM on March 27, 2006

I'd also highly suggest checking out the archives at Comics 101. Scott Tipton gives some great overviews of characters and titles.
posted by FreezBoy at 5:53 AM on March 27, 2006

John Ostrander and Timothy Truman's Grimjack: hard boiled detective stories that take place in a city where all the dimensions in the universe meet. Great mix of crime/sci-fi/fantasy, with a terrific set of characters. The original run was in the 80s and was one of my favorite books at the time, and those are being reprinted now. They also did some new issues last year, but I haven't read any of those yet.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:52 AM on March 27, 2006

A quick plug: I am in the process of starting Four Color Comics, a site about comics for adults. I'm still finding my footing with the site, but eventually I intend for it to be a resource discussing exactly the kind of thing you're looking for here. (And, actually, I'm looking for people willing to contribute reviews, editorials, articles, etc., if anyone is interested.)

As for the question at hand, there are some great suggestions in this thread. You could treat it like a reading list for months and years to come! I'll add a couple that I didn't notice above:

I thoroughly enjoyed the recent DC: The New Frontier. "New Frontier reenvisions the superheroes DC Comics launched in the late 1950s by placing them firmly in the Cold War milieu that seldom surfaced in the original stories. The results could be ponderous but aren't, thanks to author-artist Cooke, who freshly reimagines the earliest exploits of such hoary heroes as the Flash and Green Lantern, and offers compellingly unorthodox versions of some venerable superstars: he portrays Superman, for instance, as a smug government lapdog. Cooke's intelligently retro art style is perfectly suited to the task at hand. Its cartoonish simplicity, though unfashionable among today's detail-obsessed comics fans, possesses nearly matchless elegance and dynamism. "

I'm also enjoying Eric Shanower's retelling of the Trojan War in comic form, Age of Bronze. "Shanower won 2001's Will Eisner Comics Industry Award for Best Writer/Artist for this extraordinary project: the first part of a seven-volume graphic novel about the Trojan War. He has researched every imaginable source about the war, from ancient legends to medieval romances to contemporary scholarship, and synthesized them into a fantastically rich narrative. He's also delved deep into the architectural history of Mycenaean Greece, so that the dress and settings in the book look like Bronze Age artifacts, rather than the Classical Greek styles normally associated with the story."

Of the other stuff mentioned frequently above, I'm quite fond of Fables, Powers, and Y: The Last Man. (I think Powers is probably closest to your taste.)

Believe it or not, you might want to give a couple of the current comic strip compilations a try if you have the time and inclination. The Peanuts reprint project (called The Complete Peanuts) gets the most press — and is excellent — but there are ongoing collections of Krazy Kat (called Krazy & Ignatz) and Gasoline Alley (called Walt & Skeezix). I never would have thought I'd recommend a Gasoline Alley compilation, but the strip was terrific when it started in the early twenties. Definitely worth checking out.

Remember to check out your local public library. That's a great way to explore comics, to learn what's out there, to discover what you like. All at no cost. Have fun!
posted by jdroth at 7:22 AM on March 27, 2006

Also, I thought this comment was excellent: You notice the names that keep cropping up -- Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Grant Morrisson, Neil Gaiman, etc. Just like fiction. Find authors you like, and they'll rarely let you down.

This is very, very true. With comics, it's the artists who often get most of the credit, but for myself I've found that while I enjoy certain artists more than others, if a favorite artist is illustrating a crappy story, I still think the comic sucks. The most important thing for me is the story. I'd still like my stories to have great art, but I'd much prefer a poorly illustrated Alan Moore story to a well-illustrated Todd Macfarlane book.

Find the writers you like, and stick with them.
posted by jdroth at 7:29 AM on March 27, 2006

This is a very timely post for me because I too recently decided to get into comics a few months ago. A friend of mine just started publishing one and when I went to go buy it at the store to support him, I was overwhelmed with the choices out there today.

I was turned onto Transmetropolitan right out of the gate, and now I'm fiending to get that same unbelievable high from every book I read. As far as my limited knowledge/taste is concerned - that series is my gold standard.

Like you, I didn't want to get bogged down in the huge back stories of the classic superhero comics, although my favorites superhearo comics are still Batman and Punisher.

Here are a few that are current or you can digest in a trade or two that I really liked:

Bite Club and the upcoming Bite Club: Vampire Crime Unit

Down and Fell by Warren Ellis

DMZ from Vertigo

The Hire Series from Dark Horse
posted by marc1919 at 7:53 AM on March 27, 2006

I forgot to mention Lone Wolf & Cub by Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima. If possible, get a hold of Dark Horse's first series of reprints which were full-sized. They're still being sold in digest-sized reprints in which you can still enjoy them, but to me the smaller form detracts from the art.

Is Halo & Sprocket still being published?
posted by ooga_booga at 9:51 AM on March 27, 2006

For a Swiftian satirical take on dystopias, I strongly recommend Nil: A Land Beyond Belief by James Turner.

For a hilarious view on philosophy, history and mythology, try Epicurus: The Sage by Sam Keith and William Messner-Loebs.

For more mainstream fare, I'll point to kyrademon's recommendations by category above. I would add Alias by Brian Bendis to the "post-modern" superhero category.
posted by tdismukes at 9:52 AM on March 27, 2006

the maxx and kabuki (the painted stuff) seconded.
popbot by ashley wood is very pretty but expensive.
posted by juv3nal at 10:43 AM on March 27, 2006

If you want to check out the world of manga, which are really a pretty integral and important part of the spectrum these days, I recommend the book Manga! Manga! by Frederik Schodt as a good introduction.

Second (third?) Scott McCloud, and his site is not a bad place to keep an eye on some of the comics and webcomics (which is a whole other topic) scenes. His bibliography in Understanding Comics is an education in itself.
posted by nanojath at 1:32 PM on March 27, 2006

Whedon/Cassaday: Astonishing X-Men.
posted by A dead Quaker at 7:44 PM on March 27, 2006