Recommend/Discuss Comic Books With Me.

[the protaginist]

So recently, I have gotten really into Comics. However, of the ones i've read so far, it's either the really famous ones (The Killing Joke, A Serious House on Serious Earth, Watchmen, Marvel's Civil War) Elseworld-y type stuff (Marvel Noir, Marvel 1602, In Darkest Knight, Dark Knight Dynasty ), or non Marvel/DC stuff (Time Lincoln, The Doctor Who comics) and am looking for more. I usually read these types of comics because i know they usually don't end in cliffhangers, something for some reason i imagine plain comics do all the time. Would those who read regular series recommend buying Volumes, what comics would you Recommend, who's your favorite superhero's, Etc.

Me, for example, would highly recommend Spider-man Noir (Spider-man set in The Great Depression, a really great retelling of the classic story), Marvel 1602 (Marvel characters set in the year 1602, Hijinks ensue), Watchmen (but who wouldn't recommend Watchmen), and Superman: Red Son(Elseworlds story, "What if supermans ship landed in Soviet Russia instead of Kansas?" a LOT better then it sounds).

I've been thinking about checking out Sandman, as Neil Gaiman's a fantastic writer, the Blackest Night series, as Green Lantern's one of my favorite characters, and The Walking Dead, though i'm more of a superhero comic type.

So yes, thought's, recommendations, opinions, everything comic-related welcome.

 

[ASan83]

I'm a fan of older comics, myself. Not a fan of today's 'Everything Has To Be An Event!' structure. My personal favorite run in comics would be Gerry Conway's work on Amazing Spider-Man (Which you can find in Essential Spider-Man 6 & 7). It's really the best example of 'Turning The Hero's Life Up On Its Ass' in comics, and what every writer has been trying to copy for the past forty years. In that run you get the death of Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn becoming the Green Goblin, the debuts of the Punisher and the Jackal, as well as Peter and Mary Jane coming together for the first time. It may be a little dated, but if you can look past that, it's a really good read that helped usher in the modern age of comics. Though most of it hasn't aged well, Chris Claremont's X-Men work is worth a read, especially the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, and God Loves, Man Kills. You can find those in the Essential X-Men collections (Blanking on the volume numbers though). I'm not sure if any of it was ever collected, but the Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans is well worth a read.

As far as more modern stuff, you can't go wrong with Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, which mixes nostalgia and freshness perfectly. I'd also recommend Grant Morrison's New X-Men, but it can be hit or miss, but when it hits. it hits. Superman: Secret Identity is probably my favorite Elseworlds ever. Lastly, pretty much anything by Loeb/Sale worth a look (Batman: Long Halloween, Superman: For All Seasons, and Spider-Man: Blue)