[Trash]

Since I'm sure I'm not the only bespectacled geek on this forum with a love for comics I thought I'd try and get you to recommend some you really like. Here are some of my truly favourites.

The Killer by Matz and jacamon: A brutal, bloody, and stylish noir story of a professional assassin lost in a world without a moral compass. One of the if not the most hardcore noir comics I know.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Moore: Alan Moore is well known as one of the best comic writers around. V for Vendetta, Watchmen and From Hell are all masterpieces. Still, I somehow love this turned upside down Victorian age which is filled to the brim with the characters from its fiction.

100 Bullets by Azzarello: I like crime and noir comics and this 100 part series delivers in spades. Not all are classics or even great but the overall quality in both art and story remains excellent.

Maus by Spiegelman: Some historical events simply beggar any attempt at description--the Holocaust is one of these. Therefore, as it recedes and the people able to bear witness die, it becomes more and more essential that novel, vigorous methods are used to describe the indescribable. Examined in these terms, Art Spiegelman's Maus is a tremendous achievement, from a historical perspective as well as an artistic one.

Blankets by Thompson: One of the best coming of age comics I ever had the pleasure to read. Painfull, funny and deeply sensitive.

Nikopol Trilogy by Bilal: The Egyptian gods have returned and rule over mankind in this often bizarre comic. Intricate plot twists and stunning color artwork mark this work as both an extraordinary comics literary achievement and a crackling good story.

Hard Boiled by Miller: Miller has created a slew of great comics such as the sin city series and the wonderfully over the top 300. For me however this extravagant story of tax man-terminator is exoplosively good fun. Uncomplicated, extreme and downright silly.

Kill your Boyfriend by Morrison: A story about first love, uninhibited teenage anarchic violence and breaking as many taboos as possible. Morrison is for me an acquired taste and while I often feel that he goes for the easy thrill but in this one he has no holds barred and still makes a great story.

Hellboy by Mignola: Occult nazi's, Lovecraftian horrors and Hitlers brain implanted in a cyber Gorilla. Hellboy is rip-roaring good and often amazingly clever fun.
 
Palestine by Sacco: An interesting take on the ME conflict and the plight of the Palistinian people. Plus a deeply recognisable portrayal of Israel and the Palistinian Territories for anyone who has ever been there. If you're at all interested in the conflict don't miss out on this.

Sandman by Neil Gaiman: One of the greatest comic series ever written. Follow the steps of the King of Dreams through Gaiman's deep and wonderfull imagination.

Chosen by Millar: What if Jesus returned to earth? Amazing premisis, even better execution. Read this one.

Now, what can you recommend?

[Hector]

The Killing Joke - Even if you're not a fan of superhero comics, this one is well worth a read.

Watchmen - A classic that looks at just how costumed superheroes might have changed the course of history - and not necessarily for the better.

V for Vendetta - If you liked the film, you'll probably like this.  If you thought the film had a good idea but focused too much on the action, you'll also probably like this.

[erbgor]

Maus by Spiegelman: Some historical events simply beggar any attempt at description--the Holocaust is one of these. Therefore, as it recedes and the people able to bear witness die, it becomes more and more essential that novel, vigorous methods are used to describe the indescribable. Examined in these terms, Art Spiegelman's Maus is a tremendous achievement, from a historical perspective as well as an artistic one.

Maus cannot be recommended highly enough. I've given it to four people, none of whom are comic readers, and they all loved it. It's amazing in its understated story telling.

Might list a few comics I like a bit later.

[Tuomas]

Bone by Jeff Smith is great. Not only does it have amazingly smooth art, it also has humorous dialogue and memorable characters.

Disney comics by Don Rosa. The funniest and the most detailed adventure comics out there. For those living in the USA the only collections available might be The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck and its companion volume.

Blueberry by Charlier and Giraud, a good western series with a continuous plotline. If you hated the movie, don't worry, because the albums are much better. While lieutenant Mike S. Blueberry starts as an officer in the US army, he becomes an outlaw, a prisoner, an enemy of the state, the chief of a tribe of indians and a card player at saloons. The series offers you everything you could possibly hope for in a western comic, and then more.

The Rabbi's Cat by Joan Sfar. A somewhat deeper comic that deals with religious and philosophical issues in a humorous way. Brilliant. Don't be afraid of the art style, you'll get used to it.

Artesia. Marvelous epic military fantasy, a kind of combination of Malazan Book of the Fallen and Conan. The world and the storyline are complex, and while it's often hard to tell the characters apart, the artistic side is otherwise excellent.

[Tuomas]

Oh, and Asterix. ORGIES, WE WANT ORGIES!

[Rulion]

The Walking Dead - Cop gets shot. Wakes up in the hospital. Zombie outbreak!

I'm completely hooked on the series. I keep wondering when they're going to make a mini-series out of it. The comic focuses a lot on the human conflict and struggle for survival, more than on the zombies themselves. If you like the genre, definitely go and read it -- I've never liked comics, but this plays out more like a book.

[caster]

Milo Manara.

[sporky]

Nice one, starting a comix thread.


Most of what I've read by Jason, I've loved:
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Are-You-Doing-This/dp/1560976551/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261061809&sr=1-5

Tony Millionaire's Maakies and Tony Millionaire:
http://www.amazon.com/Billy-Hazelnuts-Tony-Millionaire/dp/1560977019/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261062324&sr=1-6

This one's a little old, but Dan Clowes:
http://www.amazon.com/Like-Velvet-Glove-Cast-Iron/dp/1560971169/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261061977&sr=1-1

and
http://www.amazon.com/David-Boring-Daniel-Clowes/dp/0375714529/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261061977&sr=1-2

Chris Ware has soul-crushingly bleak depressing comics, but the art is unparalleled and the plots are good:
 http://www.amazon.com/Jimmy-Corrigan-Smartest-Kid-Earth/dp/0375714545/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261062104&sr=1-1

I will second the votes for Joe Sacco and Hard Boiled by Frank Miller. Also, the adapted cartoon on Adult Swim (?) for Millionaire's Drinky Crow is awesome too.

[Palmer Eldritch]

Besides most of the stuff people already mentioned, Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers is pretty funny. For those who don't know, it's a classic stoner/hippie comic featuring a trio of potheads and a cat. There's a collection available which has all of them. It's not brilliant, but it really shines every now and then. Particularly the older comics.

I mentioned this in an older thread but I'm also a big fan of Robert Crumb. If you're interested, I'd recommend the stuff from "the middle" of his career, late '70s-'80s if I'm not mistaken. I have some of the volumes from the collected works, and they get really interesting around vol. 10. Suppose it's not for everyone though.

Blueberry by Charlier and Giraud, a good western series with a continuous plotline. If you hated the movie, don't worry, because the albums are much better. While lieutenant Mike S. Blueberry starts as an officer in the US army, he becomes an outlaw, a prisoner, an enemy of the state, the chief of a tribe of indians and a card player at saloons. The series offers you everything you could possibly hope for in a western comic, and then more.

Hah, I remember reading this as a kid, and being astonished by the artwork, but really bored in general. I didn't know the story was continuous, and I haven't read it from the beginning, so maybe that's why I found it boring and slightly confusing. I still remember some panels so it definitely left an impression.

Are there any good comics with art by Barry Windsor Smith? His artwork for the old Weapon X comic was cool, but I can't seem to recall anything great besides that. I remember an old Conan comic where he was involved, but the artwork was rather primitive compared to his later offerings.

[Spyros]

Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and lately Antares, each series taking place in a recently colonized planet. For those who like not too in-your-face science-fiction (with the exception of flying cars, and rather fast interstellar travel to conveniently hospitable planets, it felt like hard sci-fi). A link, since a google search turns up lots of irrelevant pages: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aldebaran-Vol-1-Catastrophe-Leo/dp/1905460570/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Thorgal, about an orphan taken in by vikings, who ends up having to leave and explore a world where our old myths can be pretty real (there are elements of sci-fi too). The latest in the series seem to be about Thorgal's son, but I haven't read those. The art style and the stories convey quite a mood IMHO, different from the silly fantasy elements we see in today's games. I don't think all the albums have been translated, but if you're learning french then you should give it a try. (Careful, the wikipedia page is full of huge spoilers.)

[Scott]

Daniel Boring, by Daniel Clowes.  This is the guy who wrote Ghost World, which became the film starring Scarlett Johanson and Thora Birch.  Personally liked the film better in that case.  He writes really unusual, surreal stuff.  Hard to categorize him, except to say he places believable and very unheroic characters in situations surreal to the reader, but not to the characters themselves.

Black Hole is another good one, which until this minute I thought was also by Clowes, but isn't.

[Tuomas]

Thorgal, about an orphan taken in by vikings, who ends up having to leave and explore a world where our old myths can be pretty real (there are elements of sci-fi too). The latest in the series seem to be about Thorgal's son, but I haven't read those. The art style and the stories convey quite a mood IMHO, different from the silly fantasy elements we see in today's games. I don't think all the albums have been translated, but if you're learning french then you should give it a try. (Careful, the wikipedia page is full of huge spoilers.)

Thorgal has some of the best comic book art ever. It's a shame that it's published in Finland only as an occasional sidestory in the Phantom magazine. The saga deserves much better.

[Flop]

A couple of my favourites have been mentioned already, but I have a few to add to the list:

Morbus Gravis by Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. I guess some people will be put off by the fact that it's semi-pornographic, but it actually has a very good story, and the artwork is great, imo.

I'm also a fan of Dark Horse's Conan series. After starting to read it, I picked up a collection of some of the old Conan comics, and while they're decent, the new series is much better, in my opinion.

Lastly, I'd like to recommend the comic book adaptations of George R. R. Martins Dunk and Egg short stories, titled Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword. They both have great artwork and excellent stories.


Also:

The Walking Dead - Cop gets shot. Wakes up in the hospital. Zombie outbreak!

I'm completely hooked on the series. I keep wondering when they're going to make a mini-series out of it.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22824

[Euchrid]

Never really read any comics, but am thinking about picking up the recently released Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. It's just the original text released in comic form. Not too sure about the art though. Anyone have it, what do you think?

First issue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Um0l6iw7sY

[dr.newbenstein]

Fables - All the old stories like Jack and the Beanstalk are now living in hiding in New York and they are not at all what you would expect. Very interesting takes on characters we all know.

The Dark Knight Returns - The best Batman comic ever. Even if you don't like Batman.

Preacher - This is where Cassidy in Fallout 2 gets his name. About a preacher possessed by an unholy half-demon/half-angel searching for God. Literally looking for his physical manifestation. I'm probably not doing it justice.

Transmetropolitan - Hunter S. Thompson type in a bizarre future. Mostly defies easy explanation.

Call of Cthulhu Comics - There were a ton of these. The best were the ones which contained several short stories. There was also one which had a long running story about a guy who received a dagger from his Uncle who killed himself that was awesome.

Star Wars Legacies and KOTOR - If you like Star Wars....