I feel like I’m in a rut with the comics that I’m reading - I keep buying bullshit, creatively bankrupt series (anything that Marvel’s publishing at the moment with the exception of “New Avengers” and “Runaways”) out of a mix of nostalgia and “these things go in cycles, so it’s going to get good again maybe starting now.” It’s hard to find a “jumping on point” with any given series, especially long-running ones, so I find myself afraid to branch out and check out new books.
What should I be reading that I’m not?
I’m especially looking to get into some DC books - I always avoided DC because they had poor production values and always seemed to be aping Marvel’s ideas, but the tables seem to have completely flipped - Marvel is a gigantic embarrassment, and DC seem to have really gotten their stuff together. Their books are well-written and look great.
What should I be reading?
I currently read the X-books (garbage; embarrassing shells of what they once were), anything that Brian K. Vaughan writes (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways), anything Grant Morrisson touches, New Avengers (I think it’s great; nerds beg to differ), and am doing DC’s Infinite Crisis, which has been outstanding after only 2 issues.
Drop the fucking X-books now. You won’t regret it.
Slott’s She-Hulk is good, and I expect his new Thing series will also be good – the dude’s got the chops, and The THing you can jump on the ground floor. Steve Gerber’s Hard Time is also pretty solid and starting up against after a hiatus; I’m sure they’ll be taking pains to make it new-reader accessible at the beginning, so that’s a good jump-on point as well. Oh, and I like the new Green Lantern Corps miniseries so far; I believe it’ll be followed up with an ongoing once it’s over.
Other than that, I don’t know. You seem to be into superheroes, and I ain’t that much.
Rucka’s Wonder Woman is outstanding and very closely tied into the Infinite Crisis mess, as you might imagine if you’ve been following Infinite Crisis.
Simone’s Birds of Prey is a consistently fun read. It’s feels more like a spy adventure than superheroes to me, despite the occasional spandex or Brianiac virus. Simone’s amazing at entertaining character work.
Waid’s Legion of Super-Heroes is a blast. In a Utopian future grown stagnant and oppressive, a movement of youngsters gather together to emulate the heroes of old and fight fro their rights. They’re in way over their heads, and squabble like the teens they are.
Jonah Hex only just released its first issue, and if it’s any indicator of future quality, this grim western is a must buy.
I may be in the minority, but Loeb’s Superman/Batman is a hell of a lot of fun. Check it out if you like Morrison’s more balls-to-the-wall superhero stuff.