Thanks for the link. artbabe, artbomb…close enough that I don’t feel like too bad.
Finished “Black Panther: The Client” last night. Enjoyable, and I especially liked the vividness of the artwork, which was a completely different style than “Daredevil.” But I found the story a little harder to follow. A few more clues would have stood me in good stead.
JLA hasn’t arrived yet, but Watchmen has. Am I ready? I feel like I should be taking an exam. 
Before I read Watchmen I had only read Sandman and Preacher so I don’t know why everyone thinks you have to have comprehensive knowledge of the comic book vibe before reading it. It’s flat out a good read.
It is very dense though. If it was a book it’d be comparable to Shogun or Dune.
FWIW, Watchmen was the very first comic I ever read. It hooked me on the medium instantly. I’ve developed a greater appreciation of it over the years as I read more comics and spot some of the references, none of which are essential to understanding the plot (it’s a completely self-contained work). There’s no reason why you shouldn’t read it now…
… except that the content violates the “no exploding heads” criterion you set forth in the O.P. It’s very dark and violent, in ways that are mature, intelligent, and important to the plot, but there’s no getting around that it’s the book that set the standard for grim 'n gritty superheroics. You may or may not like it because of that.
Glad you liked The Client even if you found it a little hard to follow. The second book, Enemy of the State eases up on using the flashback technique a little, IIRC, so if you enjoyed it enough to read more you might want to pick it up.
When you’re ready for some superhero comedy, played strictly for laughs, do check out The Tick. Lots of fun, and might be the perfect antidote to books like Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns.
Agreed, but only read the first twelve issues of The Tick by writer/artist/creator Ben Edlund. Everything that followed over the last 15 years or so is a pale imitation (although the cartoon series definitely has some classic moments). The Edlund issues are reprinted in The Tick Omnibus, Volumes 1-3.
Baker’s been doing a bang-up job on superheroes working on the new Plastic Man series.
Has anyone published the Kirby/Lee Fantastic Four run in a trade paperback (with color, I hate black & white) ?
That would be a run I’d reccomend.
And the Ditko/Lee Spiderman.
Good stuff.
I can’t believe no one has yet recommended Starman or H-E-R-O.
Starman might be a bit heavy for someone not yet immersed in the super-hero millieu, but the introductory story arcs stand well on their own, and the very human story of the relationships between Jack Knight and his father, and of the Knight family with the Mist family is amongst the best (and, in the case of the “sins of the Child” story-arc, innovative) story-telling in comics over the past ten years. Once you’ve read the first three books, you ought to be fine with the subsequent ones, which more heavily involve the rest of the DC Universe.
Start on Starman by buying the book “Starman: Sins of the Father.” If you like that, follow it up with “Starman: Night and Day.” If you’re hooked, you’ll buy the rest, if not, those stories are fine without feeling the need for follow-up.
H-E-R-O is a new comic which debuted last year, but the first two issues sold out, that’s how good it was. The first six issues are reprinted in the book “H-E-R-O: Powers and Abilities.” It’s the story of how ordinary human beings behave when granted super-powers by a mysterious device (which has a history in the DC Universe, but that’s not something a new reader needs to be familiar with - the issue that’s due out this coming Wednesday, though, brings the history into the current story), and it’s VERY, VERY well done. It takes a lot to make me want to start collecting a new comic series these days, but that’s proven to be worth it to me.