I’ve read and liked:
Transmetropolitan
Sam & Max
Junko Mizuno’s Hansel & Gretel and Cinderalla
Larry Gonick’s stuff
R. Crumb’s stuff
Based on that, what would youse guys recommend me? I’ll read damn near anything, but superhero comics leave me cold.
Try Bill Willingham’s Fables. It’s already out in four trade paperbacks. The fifth collection’s coming out soon, I believe.
Try Hellboy by Mike Mignola. I think it’s the best comic series ever made; some people might just see it as a “superhero comic.”
You might also try Preacher by Garth Ennis. It’s way too dark for me to really like it, but I can appreciate the idea behind it (basically, to offend everyone).
Hellblazer has some great moments, and a good place to start is with the Dangerous Habits trade paperback, which was Garth Ennis’ first storyline on the series.
Oh yeah, I’ve always got to recommend The Amazing Screw-On Head by Mike Mignola. It was a one-shot comic, but I think it’s about the best damn single comic book ever made. I like to think that any proper fan of Sam & Max would appreciate the genius in it.
And since I’m reposting anyway, look for Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker. It’s definitely more dry and talky than I usually like, but it’s got some great lines, and Baker’s art style is just neat.
Winick’s BARRY WEEN
Bagge’s HATE
Smith’s BONE
Chadwick’s CONCRETE
Gaiman’s ENDLESS NIGHTS (and if you like that, tackle the rest of SANDMAN)
I’m going to recommend as my only “sorta” superhero pick is Warren Ellis’ PLANETARY – and only because you liked TRANSMETROPOLITAN.
I think it’s great that you’re interested in some decent comic reading material. The list you included is quite diverse and I can’t really recommend anything that quite encompasses that material but I’m going to recommend some of my favorite (non-super hero) titles that you might enjoy.
Maus & Maus 2 by Art Spiegelman
This might be one of the more predicable books to recommend because the mainstream press picked up on it when it was published, but it is one of the best graphic novels out there.
From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 and V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
Alan Moore is one of my favorite writers period. He writes mostly superhero comics but these fall outside of the genre. At least From Hell does entirely. From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen were unfortunally adapted into rather unsuccesful movies but don’t let that stop you from reading the source material. Both books show how much better comics can be as a storytelling medium than film (in their own way).
Fantagraphics Books have quite a great library. Including books by Crumb, reprints of comic strips like Peanuts and Krazy Kat and publishes some of the best independent writers/artists out there.
Chris Ware’s books have been making quite a splash lately. I think he’s a bit overrated myself but his work should still be checked out. Nothing out there like it.
And my favorites for last.
Los Bros Hernandez - Gilbert and Jaime. The creators of Love and Rockets. Long lost in the shuffle of hip and new artists that come and go throughout the years. Their stories can’t be beat. They just released their collected works Locus and Palomar. Pretty hefty volumes to start with but there are plenty of other collections of their works out there.
Hope this helps a little. 
You gotta go with Watchmen. Sure, a predictable pick, but it’s the greatest mimi series I’ve ever read. “Deconstructing the superhero genre” sounds trite, but just give it a try.
Age of Bronze: A phenomenal retelling of the Trojan War myths, with some of the most beautiful art you’ll ever see.
The Complete Baker Street: Some great mysteries set in an alternate history that mixes punk, the Victorian era, and a female Sherlock Holmes.
Broccoli Agenda. This one’s an intensely surreal about a damaged boy with a love for broccoli who becomes a superhero. Oh, with plenty of religion mixed in. Super bizarro, but if you’re into that sort of thing, it’s excellent.
Epileptic A devastating autobiography about the lives of a family growing up in France trying to care for a sick child amidst ignorance, confusion, and cults.
Finder. I’ve never seen an accurate review of this science fiction tale, and better writers than I have tried. It’s like receiving a dream feed straight from the mind of a most imaginative individual. There are some small samples over at Light Speed Press to get something of a feel for it.
Jinx. Noir about a female bounty hunter who falls for a wanted man.
Persepolis Two volumes about the (mostly autobiographical) story of a girl growing up in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution. Absolutely brilliant, often funny, sometimes harrowing, it’s always a great read.
Warning: angry talk below, stating why I have this list here, list of comics in next post. To avoid bile, read the next post.
Hooray! I am just a casual user of the substance, and when I heard that the Batman who killed people in the 30s,40s,50s, and early sixties was a “different person” then the Batman in comics today, I called Bullshit. Batman is Batman. I started a thread to express my anger, and wound up with someone who is convinced that the majority of Superohero material should be for kids. I posted a list of comic books that are either made for kids or enjoyable for all ages. No response or thanks. Maybe here it would be appreciated.
Comics in general that are appropriate for all ages, as well as being well written:
Akiko
Astro City
Bone
Cerebus
Oddly Normal
Little Lit
Zot!
Action Girl
KODOCHA: Sana’s Stage
Urusei Yatsure
Murder Can Be Fun
No, wait scratch that last one, it is for the great mature comics
Oh, and Dork storm press is publishing quite afew good titles that are appropriate fo children such as:
ps238, Dr Blink: Superhero Shrink and
SnapDragons
“Dark and Stormy Knights”
Trick or treat! It’s another helping of SnapDragons, the all-ages comic book that really IS for all-ages! "
And for the little H.P. Lovecraft fans out there (I loved haved loed this when I was a kid) POKETHULHU: The hilarious game of cute, cuddly cultists and seizure-inducing evil!
Here are one that disscuss superheroes:
Astro City
Action Girl
BlackJack
Cerebus
Zot!
The new Caption Marvel series
ps238, Dr Blink: Superhero Shrink
The marvel all ages series
Are all good titles that involve superheroes, cerebus in particular is well draw, well written, and exposes a number of superhero stereotypes. BlackJack visits themes that have been done a million times over, and takes a fresh spin on them.
Good stuff so far.
I should have mentioned that I’ve read Maus. Anything else noteworthy by Spiegelman?
These trade paperbacks I keep hearing about, are they usually available in comic stores? The few I’ve been in didn’t really have anything in the way of big paperbacks.
There’s In the Shadow of No Towers, which has gotten mixed reviews amongst the comic readers I know but seems to be getting generally positive buzz on Amazon. I haven’t read it yet, so can’t comment firsthand.
Selection varies from store to store, but I’d consider having a wide TPB selection to be one of the defining characteristics of a good store. If there’s not such a store in your area (check The Master List), there are many online retailers, from Amazon and Overstock to specialty comic book websites, to choose from.
Good stores, yes. Crappy stores, no. It’s probably about half and half which stores fit in either category. However, most of the TPB’s we’re talking about are still in print, so even if your LCS doesn’t have them, they can order them from Diamond. If the staff refuse, take your business elsewhere – they don’t deserve it and there’s a better than even chance they won’t last anyway.
You need to read Sandman. Start with vol. 1, “Preludes & Nocturnes.” I don’t think Endless Nights is the best of the group and if you read it first you’ll spoil a lot of the surprises in the series proper. (Sandman was originally a 75 issue monthly series which is collected in 10 TPB’s; Endless Nights came out some years later.)
I also love Y - The Last Man. Issue #31 came out yesterday and is about the halfway point of the series. Every man on earth dies in issue one except Yorick Brown. (No, it’s not a stroke book.) So far the first four TPB’s are out. Writer Brian Vaughan also has another excellent series, Ex Machina, about a superhero who becomes mayor of New York, but it’s only on issue #8 so far with one TPB.
Y is one of my two favorite comics. The other is Lucifer which is about, well, you can guess. It’s a spin-off from Sandman, though, so read it first.
–Cliffy
I second the reccomendation for Ex Machina. It’s a superhero book, but nothing like your typical one. It also unapologetically takes place in a post-9/11 (well, their 9/11, anyway) world, which is interesting if nothing else. Great artwork, too. Plus, the first trade (the only trade at the moment) is only $10.
If you like horror or zombies in particular, you might want to give The Walking Dead a look. The first trade collects six issues and is, again, only $10.
I reccomend places like Borders and Barnes and Noble if you can find the trades in your comic shop. You might also want to raid your local library.
Cliffy. I suggested ENDLESS NIGHTS for the eclectic art and stories, not because it’s the “best.” It does spoil a few surprises, probably the biggest being who The Prodigal is.
Damn, Selkie. I need to hang out with you.
Tentacle Monster, I should have mentioned earlier than an excellent place to look for interesting trade paperbacks is Artbomb. Judging by what you’re already reading, I think that site has the right vibe to connect you with the kind of material you’d enjoy.
Askia, by any chance are you planning to go to Novi for the convention this spring, or Chicago this summer? If so, drop me a note and perhaps we can meet & greet.
I thought Towers wasn’t nearly as good as Maus, but then I think Maus is one of the most powerful pieces of storytelling I’ve ever read.