Recommendations?

[Zach J.]

I want to start collecting more trades so I thought I'd ask some of you out there in the forums for recommendations. My favorite character is Batman and I've read and enjoyed Batman: Year One, Batman: The Long Halloween and the Dark Knight Returns. I've also read Watchmen, Sandman, The Ultimates Vol. 1 and 2, Daredevil: Born Again and the first two volumes of Hellboy. Can anyone suggest things that read similar to any of those stories? Thanks in advance.

Edit: I also really liked the first volume of Greek Street and Northlanders.

[Aziz Abbasi]

It seems to me you enjoy real grim books the most
You read "Death in the family"? It should fit your desires in a book. Only thing I oppose in that book is switching the languages of two nations:

• Lebanese speaking Persian/Farsi as their main language
• Iranians main language is Arabic? those are people who loathe anyone speaking the language in their country

[El Sombrero]

I want to start collecting more trades so I thought I'd ask some of you out there in the forums for recommendations. My favorite character is Batman and I've read and enjoyed Batman: Year One, Batman: The Long Halloween and the Dark Knight Returns. I've also read Watchmen, Sandman, The Ultimates Vol. 1 and 2, Daredevil: Born Again and the first two volumes of Hellboy. Can anyone suggest things that read similar to any of those stories? Thanks in advance.

I like your taste a lot, with the exception of the Ultimates I have read and loved all those books.

All of Frank Miller's Daredevil is great, literally all of it. "The Man Without Fear" is a superb origin story. His Elektra stories are a bit more out-there and dreamlike, but they are so cool. If you liked DKR you will probably like them.

Also if you liked Watchmen and those Batman stories, you need to get The Killing Joke.

[Zach J.]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. It looks like I should pick up "A Death in the Family," "The Man Without Fear," and "The Killing Joke."

[CromagnonMan]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. It looks like I should pick up "A Death in the Family," "The Man Without Fear," and "The Killing Joke."

I suppose they could be considered "staples" of any modern age comics collection. Though the only one out of those i personally rate very highly is the Daredevil Man without fear, but everyone has their own tastes

[DK-Y2Y]

I would suggest V for Vendetta over The Killing Joke and Death in the Family. Another good reason is that Alan Moore written it.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is also another excellent Batman story.

[Aziz Abbasi]

Suggest them along with the stories suggested, that would be better
Also read "The Beast", it's a good story from Batman 417-420

[El Sombrero]

I would suggest V for Vendetta over The Killing Joke and Death in the Family. Another good reason is that Alan Moore written it.

Alan Moore wrote The Killing Joke...

[Aziz Abbasi]

Alan Moore wrote The Killing Joke...

He knows, that's a main reason he loves TKJ

[jesse_custer]

The Dark Knight Strikes Again. It's more comical than Returns, but it's Miller at his best.

[nepenthes]

Punisher Max - start with The Slavers (my favourite) or Up is Down if you just want a taste, then go back to the beginning.

Scalped - from the very beginning, it takes off in vol.3.

Northlanders vol.1, continue on if you like it, the trades are each self contained arcs

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing from the beginning

Killing Joke absolutely.

Unknown Soldier vol 1-2

These are all FIVE STAR for you, can't go wrong

oh and just personally skip Death in the Family (cheesy as hell), and get Hush (cheesy in a good way and lots of Batman lore within) and Under the Hood vol.2 instead (you don't need Under the Hood 1, it's actually a different story arc).

[trsman2785]

I love comic books and here are my favorites that you have not already read. I do not think most of the previous recommendations are the best books out there. THESE are really worth your time.

Tier 1 (in no specific order):

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Great story about famous fictional literary characters teaming up to save the day. Nothing like the movie.

Miracleman - Interesting, fantastic and dark take on the superhero story. Never really finished and most likely never will but still a must read if you ever get the chance. Rare.

Lone Wolf and Cub - Amazing samurai story. Epic. A must read. More than just action. If you stick with it, you will be hooked.

Tier 2 (in no specific order):

Preacher - Had a hard time not putting this in my tier one. Strange, funny, cool, wonderful work. Penis heads, ass faces, gods, angels, John Wayne, Vampires and more.

Planetary - Superb science fiction superhero action.

All Star Superman - My favorite superman story.

Powers - About superhero detectives (detectives that deal with super powered homicides).

Y: The Last Man - Great story about the last man on earth after every other man suddenly dies all at the same time. Really really good book.

Berserk - Insanely epic, gory, brutal, fantastic, manga. I think around 30 volumes and still ongoing.

Vagabond - More Samurai goodness. Great story. Great art. Still
ongoing.

Hajime No Ippo - More super epic ongoing manga. About a boy who learns to box. Supremely awesome.

Tier 3 (in no specific order):

Animal Man - Weird but very good DC superhero work. Not your normal stuff

New X-Men (Grant Morrison) - I think the best X-Men story ever. Can be read without going through earlier X issues.

Gantz - A really weird ongoing manga. Definitely worth checking out, because it's actually really fun stuff and violent.

Invincible - A superhero book done really well.

Ultimate Spider-man (pre 100th issue) - Still ongoing but in my opinion only excellent before somewhere around the 90th issue or so. I continue to enjoy it but not as much. Early stuff is too good to not check out.

Akira - A classic manga. Very very good. Only in my 3rd tier but I am sure plenty of people would put it in their 1st. Futuristic, psychic, crazygoodness. Much better than the anime.

X-Statix/X-Force - I love this. Weird, mutant superheroes, and lots of death.

Runaways - Read only what was written by BK Vaughn. Really great story set in the west coast marvel universe.

Claymore - Similar to Berserk. Also real goood.

Death Note - Wow. Suspenseful and exciting mind thriller. Completed series but I say stop after the conclusion between L and Kira, if you can.

Honorable Mention (no specific order):

Domu - Same guy who did Akira. Great psychic battle story.

Crossing Midnight - More wonderful storytelling but the ending is lacking.

The work of the Luna brothers - Such as Girls or Ultra.

Freak Angels - Volume one and more is free to read online or you can buy it. Writer Warren Ellis is a great writer.

The Walking Dead - Zombies!

Swamp Thing - The Alan Moore stuff.

Seven Soldiers - Great linked series that should be read in order but if not, just check out Frankenstein!

Kingdom Come - Great DC superhero action. If you dig this, check out Justice.

HSDK, Bleach, Naruto, One Peace, Bakuman - More wonderful manga that should be looked up. Do not be fooled by shitty anime counterparts.

[LL4E]

Punisher Max - start with The Slavers (my favourite) or Up is Down if you just want a taste, then go back to the beginning.

Is Punisher Max really that good? I've read recommendations for it. As a kid I liked the Punisher character, but I've since realized how static he really is.

[Zach J.]

Thanks for all the recommendations guys! What ongoing series would you recommend? The only ones I'm certain of are Batman and Detective Comics.

[nepenthes]

Scalped is still ongoing if you can get caught up in the trades. Also look at Secret Six (grab the Depths tpb to get a handle on the characters). Another great series thats perhaps a little similar to Sandman is The Unwritten which has two trades and ongoing.

Is Punisher Max really that good? I've read recommendations for it. As a kid I liked the Punisher character, but I've since realized how static he really is.

Absolutely, and I was never a Punisher fan AT ALL. Throw anything you think about Punisher out the window, it goes much deeper than vigilantism and mindless violence (although that's sometimes fun too ). Some of these issues are among the most memorable and moving I've ever read in comics. As I said start with Slavers and the Up is Down, even though they're midway through the run like most of Ennis runs it's compartmentalised enough for you to jump in at certain stages

I love comic books and here are my favorites that you have not already read. I do not think most of the previous recommendations are the best books out there. THESE are really worth your time.

There's a difference between listing YOUR favourite series' (every one one of them, just to be sure) and providing a selection based on a persons *previous reading and preferences*, which were given by the OP.