I tend to do my comic book reading in spurts: read them for a year or two, then drop them for a decade or so. I’m toying with the idea of getting back again and am looking for ideas. My preference:
[ol]
[li]No superheroes. The form seems pretty moribund to me.[/li][li]Few fight scenes. They bore me. I can take a page or three, but epic battles are just plain dull.[/li][li]No sadism for sadism’s sake. A liitle bit of grit is fine, but I don’t find people having their faces eaten by rats entertaining.[/li][li]Good characters and strong plots.[/li][/ol]
I tend to prefer graphic novels (even collected ones), so I don’t have to go to the store all the time.
To give you an idea of my tastes, the last book I read seriously was Fables (in collected form). The last book I read issue by issue was Preacher (I quit after awhile, tired of the of the need to be more and more gross). My favorite of all time is Sandman, with Swamp Thing (Len Wein version), Watchmen, V for Vendetta (well most Alan Moore), and Maus (though that is sort of outside the genre).
The guy at the comic book store suggested Autumnlands, which was pretty good (first volume).
Seriously, they’re in the middle of a major renaissance right now. They’ve ditched the old house-style art and gotten some of the biggest names in artists and writers on board. If the relationship comic angle doesn’t grab you, they’ve got ones with zombies in, now. And the occasional Great Old One.
Locke and Key is a great, high-concept horror comic. Following the brutal mudrer of his father, teenager Tyler Locke has just moved back to his dad’s old home, the rambling, pre-Revolutionary mansion known as Lockehouse, along with his mother and two siblings. They start to find keys hidden around the house - and then they start finding the doors they open… Excellent, Lovecraft-tinged horror with an eye for the surreal.
Saga is arguably the best science fiction story being written right now. Imagine Romeo and Juliet, except in space, and Romeo has horns. Also, Inspector Javert is there for some reason, and he’s a television set. It all makes sense in context.
Also, Sex Criminals. Two people find out that they share a unique superpower. When they have sex with each other, time stops. They decide to use this ability to rob banks.
There are unforeseen complications with this plan.
I’ll second Locke & Key. A bonus: the run has ended so you can get a complete story.
Another one which you may have read since it has been out for some time is Y: The Last Man. Nearly every male mammal on earth just suddenly up and dies except for Yorick and his pet monkey. It’s another one that has ended so you get a full story.
I have been enjoying Lazarus. It’s about a future where families control the world and fight amongst themselves for resources and power. It does have some fight scenes but I don’t think they are over done.
My current favorite is Gold Digger. Okay, yeah, it has some superheroes as guests, but the principal characters are Gina Diggers, hyper-archaeologist, and her were-Cheetah sister. Sexy, snarky, satiric, decent art, good characters, extreme situations. (They toss galaxies around the way ordinary superheroes toss city buses.)
Somewhat more accessible is the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Aimed at teens and tweens, there’s enough fun here for grown-ups. Ian Flynn (writer) has been knocking 'em out of the park for years now.
Webcomic: Girl Genius. Still mad! Now with more trilobites! Finest art ever, and a pretty solid storyline. (Complex; a little tough to pick up in the middle.)
The only other non-superhero book I’m reading that I’d recommend is Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye. Not sure if that’s the sort of thing which would appeal outside of Transformers fans, but it’s got very rich story and characters, and anyone who’s a fan of Doctor Who would feel right at home with the style.
Queen & Country was pretty good, but really I’d just suggest getting into manga. No superheroes and a wider variety of styles and topics than all of Hollywood. Try Nausica or Aqua Knight, maybe.
I still reread Love and Rockets comics by the Hernandez brothers. Jaime’s stories center around Maggie and Hopey, two Latina punk rockers who are now entering middle age. Gilberto’s characters started out as a family from a fictional town in Mexico, who each wind up getting involved in magic realism, gang wars, government plots, B movies and body modifications. Jaime’s art style is more noir, like the absolute black and white Spirit comics. Gilberto experiments with a lot of abstract art forms and expressionism.
I’d recommend everyone take a look at Marvels. Yes, it has superheroes and fights, but the main storyline is focused on the everyday citizens and what the whole superhero phenomenon looks like from their point of view. The entire thing is hand-painted and absolutely gorgeous. Some knowledge of major Marvel Universe plot points from WW2 up to about the mid-70s would be helpful to fully appreciate the story, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
You sound like a horror fan. So, for you, I suggest the following:
Anything Brian K. Vaughan. Maybe even Runaways,** which is in a superhero universe but not the same old thing.
IDW is currently doing comics about Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently. A sort of whimsical take on horror comic motifs.
I’ve not read much of it, but Platinum End is a manga with really weird (kind of socially inept) angels trying to manipulate suicidal humans into fighting each other until one–becomes God? I’m not sure.
And–and this may seem out of left field–John Allison’s Giant Days. Mostly more slice of life, though of course related to the Scary-Go-Round/Bad Machinery/Mordawwa webcomics with their giant grab bag of British fantasy/horror tropes. I think you’d probably like the misadventures of three very freshmanny college freshmen, with an occasional touch of the surreal via unreliable narration.
If you liked Sandman, you might want to give Mike Carey’s Lucifer ( [announcer]now a major TV show![/announcer] ) a try. I think Carey does a good job with the character. If his writing appeals to you, you can move on to Crossing Midnight ( supernatural doings in modern Japan with competing Yōkai ) or Unwritten ( the secret supernatural world and power of literature ).
I highly recommend Transmetropolitan, which is several years old (and its story is concluded). You can get the entire series’ in graphic novel compilations pretty readily available on Amazon and elsewhere, I believe. It’s about a foul-mouthed journalist in a sci-fi/cyberpunkish setting (looks like New York of the future), and it’s hilariously funny. Very adult – lots of sex and bad language, moderate amounts of violence (but occasionally graphic violence). Great characters and stories, both funny and serious.
Another vote for Saga. The story, the art, and the characters are utterly fantastic. Best thing I’ve read since Sandman, which is my all-time favorite.
Speaking of which, are you aware that Gaiman recently released another Sandman story? It’s called Overture, and tells the story of Morpheus’ last adventure before he was captured by Burgess at the start of the main series. I thought it was great, better than my least favorite volumes, but not as good as my all time favorites (Vols I, II, and IV). It’s approximately as long as one of the trade paperbacks, but it’s only available in hard cover.
It sounds like you like genre stuff, not necessarily slice of life or reality based stuff.
The Sixth Gun ran for several years, but is now wrapping up. It’s available as TPB.
Summary- The Sixth Gun takes place in super natural old west, shortly after the end of the Civil War. The story centers around a set of six mystical pistols, each imbued with dark powers. The wielder of each pistol gains an ability unique to that weapon, and is tied to the pistol until his or her death.
I’d also recommend a book called “The People Inside” since it is amazing. It’s a book that can only exist within this medium and also transcends the medium. I can’t talk up this book enough.
Elfquest is my favorite comic book/graphic novel series of all time. I think a lot of people are put off by the thought of a graphic novel about cutesy little elves, but it is fairly gritty (for example, the first few pages involve the elves’ ancestors being murdered by ancient humans, and then flashes forward, where one of the elves is being tortured by humans). The characters, plot and artwork are all top-notch.
There are thousands of pages of Elfquest, but the Original Quest is here. You can also read it for free at elfquest.com, along with most of the rest of the saga.
And seconding Runaways. The later books are a little iffy, but I loved the first few.
Many of the other recs are on my to-read list, but they are not at my local library and I haven’t gotten around to requesting them from the other libraries in the system. I really should get on that though.
