Recommendations of mature and intelligent comics?

[andresjsalazar]

I just read Habibi by Craig Thompson. It's sad but I liked it.

Andres

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Pariah, Missouri – a comic book series
Deadwood meets Bufy – supernatural team book in the Civil War era
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andresjsalazar/pariah-missouri-the-graphic-novel

[dupont2005]

Maybe 'Strangers in Paradise' would cover all you're after?

Love that comic. I've only read the first three trades though. Just bought like eight more on Cyber Monday, waiting for them to come in.

I'd also add Love And Rockets. And one I always recommend called Fade From Blue

[Trallis]

Some have already mentioned Manhattan Projects and Building stories.. so I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Almost anything by Jonathan Hickman is very well written and clearly for mature audiences.. and it's not "mature" because it's full of nudity and swearing. That kind of maturity is not what a real mature person is looking for. Hickman writes stuff that only a mature reader would understand, or have interest in. Nightly News and Pax Romana are both fantastic Hickman graphic novels that deserve to be placed among the best literature of our time. Hickman also writes super hero stuff but if you read some of his other stuff, like nightly news, manhattan projects, or pax romana, you'll find what you're looking for. It's beautifully written, and a lot of his writing involves real historical events. Reading Manhattan projects often has me checking wikipedia to see which events are real and which are fiction. Pax Romana asks the question what would the world be like if a modern religious group had an opportunity to change the past knowing what we know now.

If you want something that's hitting shelves right now, Manhattan projects and Saga are fantastic. Saga is a little fantasy and a little sci fi.. but it's mostly about a couple in love who are burdened with raising a newborn baby in the midst of an intergalactic war in which they are from opposing sides. It's a really great story. If no one has recommended walking dead... that's mature, but it's got a lot of violence and i see that's not what you're looking for.

You might also consider "I Kill Giants". I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, but I got it for a good friend and he said it made him laugh and cry. It's about a little girl who is basically a loner and lives in her own fantasy world, and she's a giant killer.

My final recommendation, which I love more than anything else that's been mentioned here, including by me, is Peter Panzerfaust. Peter Panzerfaust is the comic that got my little brother who disliked comics for the same reasons as you, to read comics. It's a re imagining of the Peter Pan myth taking place in France during World War II. Peter Panzerfaust is a young mysterious American who finds himself in France during the German invasion, and he helps a group of orphans(equivalent of the lost boys) by rallying their spirits and uniting them in a quest to escape their war torn homes. The story is told by the orphans to a man interviewing them in modern times about their experiences during the war. Peter's supernatural abilities from the original fairy tale are replaced by mild exaggerations of things that Peter is capable of.. and he seems to be a source of amazingly good luck for the group. All of the original characters are there, but all of the magic and impossible is replaced by luck, bravery, and the excitement of young men eager to tell the story of their amazing experiences.. and what it was like to be not a child, but not old enough to be a soldier in the War. The story of non-military action in France during World War II is one that I never heard, but this story has gotten me really interested in it.

[the goddamn batman]

Cages by Dave McKean. Or really any of his comics work, but that's the opus.

[riot_shark]

-The Maxx
-Steve Gerber's Run Of Howard The Duck (Marvel Max mini-series included)
-Judge Dredd
-Miracle Man
-Pretty much any of Alan Moore's America's Best Comics line
-Green Lantern/Green Arrow

[Greg Anderson]

Cages by Dave McKean. Or really any of his comics work, but that's the opus.

I LOVED Cages!!!

[Rooksx]

Criminal is an excellent series of gritty crime stories. If you're looking for something a little more unusual but that's still not a superhero story, try Locke & Keye or Unwritten. I'm currently reading Sleeper - it's got superpowered people but it's all much darker and grimmer than Marvel/DC stuff.

[brooky1969]

If you do digital comics then Monkeybrain has some potential titles, plus they are only $.99 per issue. Image and Vertigo comics should probably cover most interests as they both have numerous mature titles to choose from.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

From Hell
Concrete
Garth Ennis's stint on Punisher MAX (don't be entirely fooled here: no superheroes, and a crime/war book that's something of a look at the US post-Vietnam and post-9/11)

[Parch]

I was actually surprised how much I fell in love with Strangers In Paradise. That's a fine choice.

There's plenty of good suggestions here, especially some of the Dark Horse stuff. Can't argue against some of those great Image choices either. It really is a golden age for comics intended for an adult audience.