I’m not sure if I should be sticking with superhero/traditional-style-comic books, or if I could suggest non-traditional stuff like Maus or Acme Novelty Library. I get the feeling I should go with the latter.
I haven’t read superhero stuff for ages, and am probably not up on the state of the art of current comics, but still enjoy re-reading the following:
Daredevil: Born Again. DD’s ex-girlfriend sells Daredevil’s secret identity to his nemesis, the Kingpin, who then begins breaking down DD’s life and sanity. I don’t know how much knowledge of Dardevil continuity is required to read it, but it seemed fairly self-contained to me.
Kingdom Come, Marvels: I put these two together because, IMO, they provide the same kind of awe of “what would it be like if the DC or Marvel Universes were real” to comics readers, with the awe made effective by the use of the artist Alex Ross. “Kingdom Come” (a non-continuity story) takes then-current 90’s DC Universe continuity and extrapolates 20 years to the future as old-school DC superheroes take on newer, darker heroes. “Marvels” (an in-continuity historical story) takes a human POV as a photographer’s career spans the history of the Marvel Universe and the rise of superheroes’ effect on society. Both series are well-researched, fitting in with prior established continuity with a lot minor details, in-jokes, and background material that serve to coalesce each universe into a real-seeming place.
Sandman (various titles). Neil Gaiman, as a writer, is as popular here as Joss Whedon, as a TV show creator, is. So, I’d feel kind of stupid trying to explain why I like the stories so much, since someone will be sure to poke holes in my explanations with a heavily researched essay/diatribe. Anyway. It’s a series of stories regarding the rather dour immortal lord of dreams, his interactions with a family of other immortals who lord over other aspects of humanity and human society. Some stories are human dramas colored by the interference/interaction of those immortals, others are dramas involving the immortals themselves. As a comics reader, I was delighted with the fact that Gaiman was not only writing an intricately-woven set of story arcs that referenced mythology, Shakespeare, world religions and more, but that Gaiman seemed to genuinely enjoy weaving in odd, quirky threads of continuity generated over decades of DC comics. The stories are tenuously related to both older Sandman characters, the House of Secrets/House of Mystery horror comics, and other obscure characters. That said, it’s a self-contained series, with no knowledge of DC needed.