Help looking for new comic to read!

[oldschoolslacker]

Hello all!

I recently picked up the habit of reading comics again after a 17 year hiatus (!). I've recently read "The Walking Dead" and "Punisher Max". I seem to prefer darker comics that don't have super heroes. Not sure how to describe it, I'm ok with zombies, and most scifi....but not laser blasts from eyes or lighting from yer arse.

I'm looking for recommendations on what comics to pick up next.

[FanboyStranger]

Hello all!

I recently picked up the habit of reading comics again after a 17 year hiatus (!). I've recently read "The Walking Dead" and "Punisher Max". I seem to prefer darker comics that don't have super heroes. Not sure how to describe it, I'm ok with zombies, and most scifi....but not laser blasts from eyes or lighting from yer arse.

I'm looking for recommendations on what comics to pick up next.

Preacher seems like it would be to your tastes.

[ImpulseUCF]

If you like The Walking Dead, you may also enjoy Invincible. It's by the same author, and while it is a superhero book, it is the best superhero book on the market, IMO. It uses all of the good elements and injects them with a fresh energy. Great characters, it's a continuous and ongoing story where every subplot is paid off, it's VIOLENT when it needs to be (as a real superhero battle would be). The first trade or two starts a LITTTTTLE slow but then it freakin EXPLODES and it's nonstop goodness after. Give it a try. WAlking Dead was my favorite book for years and I think Invincible has started to edge it out ever so slightly.

Punisher MAX - good call! This was one of my consistently favorite books for years. In addition to just the recent Jason Aaron run, you should chck out the Garth Ennis run prior. Definitive Punisher, and some of his best work.

I second the recommendation for Preacher. You may also dig The Boys, also by Ennis. Concept is superheroes would inherently be corrupt if they existed, so someone beeds to bash their skulls in and keep them in line. Who? The Boys. Very violent, lots of dark humor. Pretty twisted.

Locke and Key is good, too. These kids' father is murdered, and they find their way back to his mansion which is full of secret keys that open magical doors. Crazy stuff ensues.

Fables - all the fairy-tale creatures and lands are real. A massive war breaks out in their homeworlds because an evil emperor is taking them all over. Many of the fable creatures are war refugees in the regular mundane world.

[Jeff Brady]

Transmetropolitan

Terminal City

Y The Last Man

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Concrete, by Paul Chadwick
DMZ, by Brian Wood & Riccardo Burchielli (and a little help from their friends)

Two very different, yet fantastic examples of worldbuilding in comics.

[Goggindowner]

Might give the first few collections of Dark Horse's Conan series a taste.

Also some of my personal recomendations include:

Fear Agent

Bite Club

Hellboy

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Oh, and how could I have forgotten Garth Ennis & John McCrea's Hitman?! It and Punisher MAX are without a doubt, my favorites of all of Ennis's body of writing. Here's an interview from a few years back, where he looks back at the book:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1kE76BqBOY

EDIT: Oh, and even though you specified 'no superjocks' in your query, don't worry. Despite being in the DCU, it-- and the Demon run that birthed it-- is patently not a superhero book. More a hard-boiled, crime/action book with a ton of weirdness tossed in. DC's superheroes guest-star really only occasionally; and even then, the treatment of them is a bit more off the beaten track. They're not so much the Gods of Ennis's childhood or somesuch, as they are just colorful figures for the book's scenery (usually sent up or lampooned).

5 trade paperbacks so far (A Rage In Arkham, 10,000 Bullets, Local Heroes, Ace Of Killers, Tommy's Heroes), with a 6th on the way this week (For Tomorrow).

[ImpulseUCF]

LOL, so, basically, look for stuff written by Garth Ennis and Robert Kirkman or published under the Vertigo imprint and you should be set.

[oldschoolslacker]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and the descriptions accompanying them. With all those I should have enough reading to keep me busy for good while. I picked up the first 10 of Preacher at HPB and I'm on #7 and am pretty sure I'm hooked.

So here's the list in no particular order:
Preacher
Invincible
The Boys
Locke and Key
Fables
Transmetropolitan
Terminal City
Y The Last Man
Concrete
DMZ
Dark Horse's Conan (not the TBS one!)
Fear Agent
Bite Club
Hellboy
Hitman

I'll ping back in 5 years when I'm finished with all of those!

Thanks again everyone!

[ImpulseUCF]

5 years? Nah, not with that list. You won't be able to put them down. If you're like me, you'll read most in one sitting, LOL. Enjoy!

[oldschoolslacker]

So I've managed to finish Preach and DMZ. Both were incredible. I guess 5 years was a bit liberal!

[ImpulseUCF]

Very cool! What are you moving onto next?

[Rasputin9977]

Check out Valiant's new relaunch!