I still read Love and Rockets.
The last comic that I ‘collected’- never in mint condition- was Preacher.
Brooklyn Dreams has been reissued.(yay)
I’ve been out of comics ever since the brought superheroes into Mike Grell’s Green Arrow. But I am back and have been buying
Futurama (Lots of naked Leela, yum. They must really love her)
Tenchi
Dragonball (Not Z, the original)
I was in the exact same boat as you were Looking Land except that I got back in a little over a year ago.
Marvel has gotten stronger in the last couple years, thanks to their experiments with the Ultimate line, which I credit with a return to good old-fashioned storytelling. To that end, I suggest checking out the Trade Paperbacks that they put out on a regular basis to get a crash course on what you’ve been missing. In addition to some of the stuff mentioned above. I HIGHLY recommend:
Alias: ex-superhero-turned private eye investigates cases in the cracks of the Marvel Universe. I was stunned at how the “Marvel Universe” could be portrayed in such a “real-life” way.
The Ultimates: The Ultimate version of the Avengers. Probably takes the most liberties with the characters as any of the Ultimate titles. Their characterization of Captain America is the best I’ve seen (I’ve always regarded Cap as too preachy a character in years past.)
(And I also think that both Michael Straczinski’s work on Amazing Spider-Man and Brian Michael Bendis’ work on Ultimate Spider-Man are top-notch.)
Wait…reading comics is a business?!! I’m rich! RICH I tell ya!
The Preacher, The Watchmen, Top Ten, the first five Rising Stars, Astro City is kickass but slow to come up with new issues, if you can find all three copies Exquisite Corpse is good, Ranma 1/2, Yuretsu Yusemi, Cerebrus and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when they were still violent and gritty.
Lots of Alan Moore, who some people don’t like, but I think his work is solid and a great read for adult comic fans. My g/f isa big Sandman fan, but it’s not my thing.
I second (or third or forth):
Y the Last Man
Rising Stars
Astro City
Ultimate SpiderMan and X-Men
My favorite book is self published by Mark Oakley out of Toronto called Theives and Kings. The time between issues is long (2 to 4 months) but I’m so happy when I see one I forget my grumbling.