Any suggestions?

[DLD369]

Hello everyone!

I hope this is the right place to post this...
So, I've never really looked outside of Marvel and DC comics before, but I'd really like to now. I'm dropping a couple marvel comics and want to pick up others but I really don't know what's out there. So, basically what I'm asking is do any of you have any suggestions what I should look into?
It seems like the comics from Dynamite are good. I've seen The Lone Ranger[Though I don't know if it's any good, help??], and I like that idea of the whole gunslinger kind of deal like The Dark Tower. I don't know if there are any other kind out like that or anything. Maybe something dark? I don't really know..but any help would be appreciated!

[slevin]

my recommendation:

The Walking Dead : awesome story, art and characterization. Plus Zombie's, everyone loves zombie's.

Invincible: Same as the top but also keeps to the hero theme of things. Marvel and DC heroes do some times become tiresome.

Incognito: Dont know if your a Brubaker fan or not but this book is aweome. Has a dark theme to it plus there only on issue #3 so it still early to jump on.

The Boys: Warren Ellis. nuff said

Criminal Macrabe: A private eye who investigate supernatural crimes, Vampire, Werewolves, Zombie etc.

Helblazer: Alcoholic , chain smoking con man.

100 Bullets: It just ended with issue #100 but this is one of my favorite series every. Brian Azzerello is awesome.

I hope this helps you somewhat .

[sHayden]

Yes, definitely look at The Walking Dead.
I really like HACK/SLASH. Entry Wound is out this week, and if I'm correct, it's a good place for a new reader to jump on.
And I know you said you're not looking for Marvel or DC but in DC's vertigo line I just started reading Scalped and The Exterminators. Both very good.

[Matt-M-McElroy]

Some of my recommendations:

Mouse Guard and Artesia from Archaia Comics

Disconnected from Octane Comics

Razor Kid from Kikai Studios

City of Dust and Hercules from Radical Comics

There are plenty of indie reviews/interviews on Project Fanboy (http://www.projectfanboy.com/index.php?pageid=reviews) and Cosmic Book News (http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/doi). Jason Thorson's reviews on DriveThruComics.com (http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/product_reviews.php?products_id=60538&customers_id=245472) are worth checking out too.

-Matt

[trsman2785]

I would second most of Sleven's recommendations and add a few too.

Incognito - awesome and dark. only a few issues in.

Warren Ellis - he is an awesome writer. boys, which was mentioned is pretty good. started off strong but has lost momentum for me. my non marvel/dc choices of warren ellis stuff would be:
No hero
Wolfskin
Black Summer
Desolation Jones
Freak Angels - can also be read for free online at freakangels.com

The Sword - good book by the Luna Brothers

[another_version]

Read basically all of Warren Ellis's stuff, he's mainly writing for Avatar comics nowadays.

[DLD369]

Thanks guys! I'm gonna look into these now.
Slevin, I'm a HUGE Brubaker fan, so I'll defiantly check out Incognito.
I'll also check out the Ellis stuff you guys mentioned as well, I kind of like his Astonishing X-Men but it's so delayed :/

If anyone else has any recommendations feel free to keep adding some things!

[Jamal]

Thanks guys! I'm gonna look into these now.
Slevin, I'm a HUGE Brubaker fan, so I'll defiantly check out Incognito.
I'll also check out the Ellis stuff you guys mentioned as well, I kind of like his Astonishing X-Men but it's so delayed :/

If anyone else has any recommendations feel free to keep adding some things!

The new "League of Extradordinay Gentlemen-1910" just came out today, good jumping on point.

[jdwrocks]

Warren Ellis does not write "The Boys" Garth Ennis does.

But speaking of Ellis & Ennis, checkout the comics line from Avatar press. Ellis has more than a couple series going on there, like Doktor Sleepless, and Ennis has an awesome 12 part series called "Crossed" that is crazy pushing the boundries shit that Ennis writes well.

[Brother Zag]

I've been interviewing a few indy creators for Cosmic Book News' "Declaration of Independents" - there are a bunch of reviews and Q&A: http://cosmicbooknews.com

Thanks to Matt for mentioning them earlier!

[Matt Maxwell]

If you're after a western, particularly a dark one, may I humbly suggest my OGN, Strangeways: Murder Moon. You can read the first chapter right here. (http://www.highway-62.com/Strangeways/2008/01/strangeways_murder_moon_previe.html) The second book, The Thirsty, is running as a webcomic at Robot 6 right here on CBR. You can read that right here, (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/strangeways/) just into the third chapter now.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

i also suggest incognito and would like to add killer of demons, haven't read #3 yet but loved 1 & 2.

[slevin]

Warren Ellis does not write "The Boys" Garth Ennis does.

But speaking of Ellis & Ennis, checkout the comics line from Avatar press. Ellis has more than a couple series going on there, like Doktor Sleepless, and Ennis has an awesome 12 part series called "Crossed" that is crazy pushing the boundries shit that Ennis writes well.

I always confuse the to names. I was thinking about Fell when I thought about Warren Ellis. Garth Ennis is an awesome wirtter to

[md62]

Irredeemable
Lone Ranger
Zorro
Death Defying Devil
Savage Dragon
Masquerade
Dynamo 5
Witchblade
Madame Mirage (6 issues by Paul Dini done about a year ago)
Hunter Killer (12 issue series done about 2 years ago - written by Mark Waid)

[Brother Zag]

I suppose I should recommend my own comic!

You can read Panthea Obscura (http://www.drunkduck.com/panthea_obscura) for free. Maybe you saw that in my sig...

[yoda510]

I would recommend checking out the bigger of the indies, they seem to stay around a little longer and they have some great creators, licenses, and artists. Also they normally get a few more reviews out so you can see if it is something you might like. So I would say Dark Horse, Image, DDP, Dynamite, BOOM, IDW, Studios, and Top Cow are all pretty solid places to look for some indy type titles.

I would also recommend a little guy Red 5 Comics. Check out Neozoic, Abyss and Atomic Robo. Atomic Robo is really funny. Also Proof from Image is really, really entertaining. Dark Horse has all the Star Wars license, Hellboy, and a lot of stuff by Rick Remendor. DDP has Battlestar, Dynamite has Lone Ranger and Zorro(I really like LR, Zorro was good but a little to slow for me), Boom has some Mark Waid work, Potter's Field and Irrediamable. Lots of good options really.

[WW Doctor]

I would second yoda510's suggestion to stick to the larger indies if you're new to the indie scene.

As for recommendations:

Grimm Fairy Tales by Zenescope - you mentioned that you were looking for something dark, this series is quite excellent, mixing classic fairly tales with horror. The spin-off book, Return to Wonderland, I think is even better than the main title. Buy the trades, though, as some of the early issues are a bit rare and expensive.

Walking Dead, Invincible and Astounding Wolf-Man - Basically, I highly recommend anything that Robert Kirkman is writing. While I prefer Invincible over Walking Dead, both are excellent. Wolf-Man is also quite good, and while it isn't quite as good as the other books, the recently finished Brit series was quite enjoyable. Trades are definitely the way to go on these books, as the early issues are quite expensive.

Terry Moore's Echo - Terry Moore's follow-up to Strangers in Paradise has been an excellent read. The main character, Julie, ends up covered in some sort of metallic like material that she can't remove, and is on the run from the company who made the material and now wants it back. It's a black and white book, but don't let that turn you off as this is great stuff!

Sin City and 300 - Though these are older series, both are quite excellent and well worth picking up in trade. Of the two, I'm partial to Sin City. Definitely some of Frank Miller's finest work.

Savage Dragon - Erik Larsen's done almost 150 issues of his Image title (he's actually done 151 so far, if you count the three issue miniseries that started it all), and it's still one of the most fun reads out there. Some comic shops might still have some leftover copies of issue #148, which was a Free Comic Book day issue this year.

Noble Causes - Jay Faerber's Image title, which just finished its run at issue 40, was quite a lot of fun. The idea was to mix superheroes with soap opera style plotting. Faerber's other title, Dynamo 5, is also quite good. Like Kirkman, if Faerber's working on a title then I'm buying.

Andy Runton's Owly trades from Top Shelf. Many will probably dismiss this title as simply for kids. ,It's basically the story of a young Owl (named Owly) and his friend Wormy and their adventures. The interesting thing about the series is that it's all told in pictures, no word balloons are used. Truth be told, I wasn't sure about it at first, but the book's gentle charms simply won me over. If you find Owly to your taste, also try Christian Slade's Korgi also from Top Shelf. The story of a young girl and her pet dog Korgi is also told only in pictures and is also very appealing. As with Savage Dragon, a Free Comic Book Day issue that included both an Owly and a Korgi story was given away last week, some stores might still have copies so you could give both titles a try for free.

Finally, I can't more highly recommend Jeff Smith's Bone. Suffice to say, it well deserved all the accolades it received over the years. Fortunately, you can either pick up the black and white trades from Cartoon Books or the colored trades from Scholastic. I prefer the original black and white, but to each his own.

[Brother Zag]

To second what someone else said, Kirkman's "Invincible" can be a good "first indie"

I also like Casey and Scioli's "Godland", but recommend starting with the trades as opposed to jumping in now.

I also love "Ex Machina" by Vaughan and Harris, but that's only quasi-indie (and quasi-on time, too)