If you're into comics, these are THE titles you should be reading! In fact, I make a point to buy these titles for other people who I believe should be turned on to them. Comics should be passed on when one discovers a title that rises above the others in both art &, most importantly, writing.
These are listed in no particular order:
1. THE BOYS (Wildstorm / Dynamite Entertainment): If you're a fan of Garth Ennis (I worship the ground he walks on) & loved his series PREACHER, then you need to get this comic right NOW! I mean it. Stop reading this blog & go out now & buy the trade paperback that collects the first story arc of this mind ripping comic. Ennis makes R-rated fun of men & women in capes--superheroes that need to be taken down a notch. When superheroes get a "god-like" complex & forget why they do good, who do you call to put their asses in line?--The Boys. Watch as Wee Hughie, Butcher, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman & The Female of the Species (yes, that's her name) take on these "do-gooders" & bitch slap them into submission. Not for the faint of heart, especially if your fans of DC Comics superheroes because Ennis mocks the hell out of them & it's no wonder DC got ticked off at him over this comic. A total MUST!!!
2. BLACK SUMMER (Avatar Press): In the same vein as THE BOYS (but from the superhero perspective), Warren Ellis pens this very cool comic in which a group of superheroes react when one of their own decides the President of the United States is a murderer of thousands of innocent lives when he lies to the public to gain support for an unjust war & KILLS him! & his entire cabinet too! In this comic, Ellis asks the question: What does one do when superheroes go too far in seeking justice? I've turned a lot of people on to this comic because it slams this current President & his policies. It asks so many questions people are talking about today & it raises the hair on the back of your neck because you simpathize with the group of superpowered humans &, in a weird way, you take their side in the matter. Top notch stuff from a very crafty comic writer, Warren Ellis & worth every penny.
3. THE CHRONICALS OF WORMWOOD (Avatar Press): Yet another wacked out story from Garth Ennis that is full of morbid, anti-religious debauchery at every turn. What does the Anti-Christ & his best friend, Jesus Christ have in common? They both told their fathers to "fuck off!" Lucifer wants his son to start the apocalypse but his son has other plans. He doesn't want to do it. He just wants to hang out with his talking rabbit, produce NC-17 television shows for HBO/Showtime & have a couple cold ones with his best friend, Jesus. But the Pope & Lucifer aren't happy with this set-up & decide to find a way to make the Anti-Christ "see the light". I loved every panel of this warped comic & if you're against organized religion, like I am, you'll love it too.
4. THE WALKING DEAD (Image): The last nail in the coffin of the zombie genre. This is THE zombie comic to read because the zombies are not the center of the story--it's the survivors. They, more than the undead, are far more scarier due to the breakdown of society--there isn't one anymore! & when the main group of survivors decide to take refuge in what they think is an abandoned maximum security prison, all hell breaks loose! & not with the undead. A must read because it is so human. If you've read Joseph Conrad's A HEART OF DARKNESS, then you'll get this comic in every way. There's no need for any more zombie comics (a trend that's gotten way out of hand) because Robert Kirkman has the hammer that's pounding on the nail in that coffin. Read it!! (author's note: & let's get one thing straight!: ZOMBIES DON'T RUN! THEY SHAMBLE & STAGGER!! Why? Because they're decaying! I hate the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake because they made zombies run! Romero himself said having them run is pointless. & that's from the master!)
5. 100 BULLETS (Vertigo Comics): What would you do if a mysterious man in a trenchcoat handed you a briefcase with a pistol in it; telling you you can do anything with it--maybe right a wrong that's happened to you--without any reprocussions from the law! Would you do it? This is one very intense comic & not just that, it's also very well written & drawn. This title has been ongoing for years, collected in tradepaperback form up to volume 11 & has won a lot of Eisner Awards. Find out why.
6. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (Marvel): Bendis..... Wow! I mean, WOW! His dialogue is... WOW! His retelling of the Spider-Man saga--making it more up to date--is..... WOW! (Excuse me while I pick my jaw off the ground). It is collected in tradepaperback form--it's how I discovered it & now I buy every single issue today because it's... WAY COOL!! I've always been a Spidey fan & this title just reminded me why I am one.
7. THE METABARONS (Humanoid Press): European comics at its best! My idol, Alejandro Jordorowsky (filmmaker, Tarot master & comic writer), tells the story of a family who are the greatest warriors in the entire universe! It is their saga from the beginning & how they came to be. One member of their family is capable of defeating legions--I mean LEGIONS--of opposing soldiers without breaking a sweat! If you are a fan of the sci-fi novel, DUNE, you will see a lot of influence of that book on this graphic novel, but don't let that be the only reason why you read it. It'll take your imagination to so many places, you'll become dizzy.
8. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS (Avatar Press): Yet another title by a very busy comic book writer, Warren Ellis. Come see what the good Doktor has in store for his hometown he has returned to after being gone for many, many years. Is he the same person certain people once knew or is he more insidious in his nature? Grab this title & find out because the whole story hasn't even been told because as of this writing, it is only on issue 3. Nurse Igor is waiting for you.
9. WE3 (Veritgo Comics): This is a 3-issue mini-series by the wacked out UK comic book writer, Grant Morrison--a legend! It is now collected in trade form & made it's debut at the '06 Comic Con. I bought it for my wife & she fell in love with it. The story of a dog, a cat & a rabbit who look for freedom from their masters. It's bloody, beautiful & hits you where it hurts. & it has a great ending too. Frank Quietly drew this one & I believe it is some of his best work. Thank you, Alex, for turning me on to this one. Since then, I've passed it on to others who were just as moved as I was. Morrison is one of the best in the business.
10. JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES (Rebellion): So far these books are up to volume 9 & with more on the way. The best UK comic ever to cross the pond! I discovered Dredd back in '81 when the now defunct Eagle Comics reprinted the Judge from the pages of the famous british comic magazine, 2000 AD. Now, 2000 AD is collecting all of Dredd's tales into book form from his very beginnings. It is the perfect satire on the US that could only be told by those who are on the outside looking in. Dredd couldn't exist in the UK so he had to be placed in the US--in Megacity One--where he utters his most famous phrase: "I AM THE LAW!" The stories are full of action, suspense & morbid comedy--so what are you waiting for? Find these books! Dredd is where a lot of famous UK comic book writers got their start--Ennis & Grant Morrison cut their teeth on Dredd's badge before they came to the States to raise even more havok in the world of comics--known as the new "British Invasion". But the person who first created & wrote Dredd is John Wagner who still writes the futuristic lawman's tales to this day in the pages of 2000 AD & JUDGE DREDD'S MEGAZINE--all hosted by the intergalactic alien editor, Tharg the Mighty. These titles are what you should pick up as well. & forget that awful movie Stallone made because he got it all wrong--completely! & understandably pissed off our UK allies in the process. No. Dredd should be read--not filmed.