Recommendations wanted!

[AlCapwn]

I am very new to comic books and am slightly overwhelmed.
I am looking for recommendation on where to start and which current runs I might enjoy. (By no means limited to the characters listed here)
So far I have read:
DC:
Watchmen
Batman Year One
Batman The Dark Knight Returns
V for Vendetta
The current Batman & Robin run

Marvel:

Spiderman Blue run by Jeph Loeb
a few issues of Amazing Spiderman
all of Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman

Other:

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

I really enjoyed Year One, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Spiderman Blue and Maus. I also so far really like the Batman & Robin run.
I have also seen most of the comic book films.
I am particularly interested in good Nightwing comics and back issues to help me better understand the story in the new batman comics. Also, I would like to know which of the many X-Men comics you think are the best.

(If this is in the wrong forum please tell me)

[JakeJarmel]

Scalped
Northlanders
DMZ
Fables
Preacher

The Surrogates (movie comes out later this month with Bruce Willis). This is also quite possibly my favorite comic book so far.

The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone (just released, but it's the prequel to the surrogates)

Gotham Central

Proof

Jonah Hex

I just started to read Punisher Max and it is awesome (by Garth Ennis)

Incognito

I also just started to read Green Lantern and it's awesome

A history of violence

Bone

Criminal


These are some of my favorites

[lazarus213]

I just got back into comics again in like the past year, so I've done a lot of the exact research that you're doing now. The books I'll recommend are the ones that are highly recommended by these forums, and the ones that I really love myself. Hope this helps!


The Walking Dead - Kirkman
Invincible - Kirkman

Criminal - Brubaker (as recommended earlier)
Incognito - Brubaker (as recommended earlier)
Sleeper - Brubaker
---> Brubaker's noir stuff is just awesome

Y: The Last Man - Vaughan

Chew

Daredevil - starting with Bendis Run, then followed by Brubaker (personally I liked Bendis run more)



Others that are highly recommended, I tried and enjoyed, but I don't find as essential: (Jake mentioned a bunch of them, sorry to repeat, but at least you know for sure that they're highly recommended by A LOT)

Preacher - people LOVE this
Fables
100 Bullets
Ex Machina
Scalped
Top 10
Proof
Northlanders
Transmetropolitan

Punisher Max - I'll continue reading this, its promising but hasn't captured me as much just yet

Batman: Streets of Gotham - looking good so far, definitely worth picking up since you've read a bunch of other Batman stuff and are currently reading Batman & Robin


And lastly, another series worth a look but not really as popular as the others

The Boys - Ennis (supposed to "Out Preacher" Preacher) - I find it entertaining


Edit: you might notice that this is my first post - reason being that for the past year I've just been going in hear trying to absorb all the recommendations and reading them myself. I thought it was time to give back too :)

[nepenthes]

I am very new to comic books and am slightly overwhelmed.
I am looking for recommendation on where to start and which current runs I might enjoy. (By no means limited to the characters listed here)
So far I have read:
DC:
Watchmen
Batman Year One
Batman The Dark Knight Returns
V for Vendetta
The current Batman & Robin runMarvel:
Spiderman Blue run by Jeph Loeb
a few issues of Amazing Spiderman
all of Friendly Neighbourhood SpidermanOther:
The Complete Maus by Art SpiegelmanI really enjoyed Year One, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Spiderman Blue and Maus. I also so far really like the Batman & Robin run.
I have also seen most of the comic book films.
I am particularly interested in good Nightwing comics and back issues to help me better understand the story in the new batman comics. Also, I would like to know which of the many X-Men comics you think are the best.

(If this is in the wrong forum please tell me)

Based on the characters, creators and titles you've mentioned i think you'll enjoy the following books a great deal. they're all classics in they're own right

New X Men (Ultimate Collections vol.1-3) is a groundbreaking run by Grant Morrison (Batman & Robin) that rejuvenated the X-books like he's doinf now for Batman. For alot of people it's the only X-Men worth reading. A fair amount amount of the run was illustrated by Frank Quitely (also on Batman & Robin) including the opening arcs. What Grant did is take classic stories in X-Men history and put a fresh spin on them, it doesn't feel derivative and you get a great feel for alot of themes and events in X-men history. Also highly influential on the movies.

All Star Superman vol.1-2 is also Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Pretty much as I described above once again. glowing critical reception and like morrisons x-Men it's the definitive Superman book for alot of people.

Batman Long Halloween and Batman Hush are written by Jeph Loeb writer of Spider Man Blue. They were hugely popluar and responsible for bringing many new readers into (or back into) Batman. Again Long Halloween was much of the inspiration of the Nolan movies, a noirish crime tale in the vein of Godfather set in Batmans early days, it's generally considered the "Year Two' of Batman lore and is similar to Year One in tone and content. Art by Tim Sale (Spiderman Blue). Hush is set in more recent history ("modern era" of Batman) and features a huge cast of villains, recaps on major events in Batman lore and bombastic, luscious art by Jim Lee

The Killing Joke is another classic Batman book, by none other than Alan Moore with clever, detailed art by the equally talented Brian Bolland. There was a crop of Batman books in the late 80's that first bought really dark and edgier elements into the stories. This is one of them (along with Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum). It's also famous for introducing what is widely accepted as the Jokers origin (or most likely origin) and is probably the quintessential Batman vs Joker book.

If you want to understand the lead-up to the Batman & Robin series you don't need any of Nightwing at all. Batman & Robin is actually the fourth volume of the current 'Batman' run by Grant Morrison which began in 2006. The first three parts are the trades Batman & Son (introduction of Damian), The Black Glove and Batman RIP which wind up the career of Bruce Wayne as Batman. Again Morrison takes a holistic approach to Batmans entire history and packages the main themes and 'eras' with a new spin that is completely respectful yet refreshing and clever. All together it's one of the best Batman story's ever and my personal favourite after Dark Knight Returns. Be warned though it's very different in tone to Batman & Robin, it's darker, far more dense, haphazard jumping to different stories very quickly, and at times cryptic - for this reason alot of casual comic readers didn't really get it. If you liked V for Vendetta and Watchmen though you should have no problem. Personally the difference in tone between RIP and Batman & Robin only makes me appreciate them more individually, as well as the twin approach of the run as a whole. He's really capturing the full spectrum of what Batman can be.

There's one more book from Alan Moore worth mentioning. Swamp Thing was a big back in the day for incorporating a literary sensibility and gripping horror into mainstream comics so succesfully (this was before Watchmen). It transformed a failing title and a 3rd tier character and singlehandedly invented the 'mature reader' Vertigo line of DC comics. The story is a mix of metaphysical adventures and journey across the southern US, the art itself is also in a world of it's own.

There's another major book from the Vertigo line widely considered one of the best works in comics of all time, also with alot of mainstream recognition similair to Watchmen and Maus. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman is hard to describe, it's an epic that deals with the nature of storytelling, myth and humanity basically, both in a metaphysical sense as well as peoples everyday lives, throughout various eras and places in history and now in modern times. It's definitly one of the most researched, worldly and literary comics you'll ever read. Start with the second and fouth volume at the same time (The Dolls House and The Season of Mists) and read whichever one holds you (the trades are mostly self contained) before continuing on. Sounds confusing I know but it works.

For something totally different there's Punisher Max for which I'd suggest you start with 'The Slavers' and then 'Up is Down and Black is White' in trade. This is by the same guy who did Preacher, which you'll hear about, but I think this one is arguably better and definitely more accessable. Get to Preacher later on. If you already have an idea of what the Punisher is like, whether through movies or comics, then forget it. Very intense, readable, frequently harrowing, lots of fun.


Alot of the stuff that's been mentioned by other posters is great I'd agree, but these imo these books ^ are pretty much the building blocks of a life long comic fan. There's plently of time for other stuff later on. I also started on Dark Knight and Watchmen and these are pretty much the books I got into early on after that, and I hardly would be alone in this. DC has also put together a list called After Watchmen (http://www.dccomics.com/sites/watchmen/?action=after_watchmen_super_heroes) which I agree is pretty good guide for new readers. have fun :cool:

[Avenger08]

Okay, in regards to X-Men, i have read both Astonishing and Uncanny and i must say that they are both Astounding.

But if you'd like one id say Uncanny X-Men is a definite. The art right now is spectacular and the writing is amazing.

Based on some of the GN youve read, id say you should read The Kingdom Come.


Oh, and without a doubt read Justice Society of America. Great book and amazingly written.

[MikeCr]

Tim Callahan, a prominent columnist and reviewer on this site, has already suggested that Unwritten, a new series from DC's Vertigo imprint, might be the best new comic series of 2009. Having just read issue #5 I'm inclined to agree and, seeing as how you're already reading Batman and Robin, is probably the other series I'd recommend it being easy enough and worthwhile to get caught up on.

Other than that nepenthes has covered most of the areas you'd probably want to try investigating though I suspect he's undersold All-Star Superman a tad! It is easily one of the great triumphs the medium has produced this decade and should be read by everyone with a functioning soul.

And just so you know his comments about what to read if you want a fuller experience with Batman and Robin are bang on. I've never read a Nightwing story in my life and am not only loving Batman and Robin but, having read all of Morrison's Batman run, am also quite confident that I haven't missed a thing that could add to it in any significant way.

[Brother Justin Crowe]

- Astonishing X-Men
- Promethea
- Y: The Last Man
- Ex Machina
- Bone
- Essex Count Trilogy
- Transmetropolitan
- The Nobody
- The Unwritten
- Powers
- From Hell
- The Walking Dead
- All-Star Superman
- The Sandman
- Fables / Jack of Fables
- Uncle Sam
- Life and Times of Savior 28
- Doktor Sleepless
- RASL
- Shazam! and the Monster Society of Evil
- Black Summer