Looking for Comic Suggestion

[Relonious]

So I ran out of comics to read, and the vast amount of material is really daunting, that I don´t know where to start. So I turn to other fellow readers for suggestions.

Currently I´m a bit tired of never-ending stories of Marvel and DC, diluting a story among several loosely intertwined comic lines, and constant retelling of the same stories. Am I getting old?

But I also have enjoyed more independent materials such as Locke and Key, Blacksad, Pathfinder, Rat Queens, Hellboy, Lucifer.

If you have a recommendation of what I may have missed out, I would gladly take a look on it.
Have a happy weekend.

[Eldan]

I've you've enjoyed Lucifer, have you read Sandman? Lucifer was a spin-off from that, and I think the original is a lot better. (It is DC, though.)

[Fyraltari]

So it would be helpful for you to precize what genres you are most interested in. In any case here's a personnal reading-list (it's all Franco-Belgian, sorry about that):

Sillage (Wake):
genre: Space-opera
continuity: on-going, mostly stand alone but with a lot of continuity and arcs spanning several tomes.
https://s1.qwant.com/thumbr/0x380/b/f/2b928dd4e16a433d1639c4bfa43d3961ef2db3b961001316fc 19628584b9e4/96636_c.jpg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bedetheque.com%2Fm edia%2FCouvertures%2F96636_c.jpg&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1

It's about a huge fleet of ships (as in thousands of ships, some continent-sized some just big enough for one person, with who-knows-how-many different alien species on-board) crossing the universe to install teleportation portals and make contact with new species. One day they find a baby of a species that's unique in that it's the only sentient species whose mind can't be read by telepaths, "humans". The child, a girl called Nävis, is recruited by the fleet's intelligence/black-ops department (as an adult) and goes on mission gradually discovering a lot of secrets and plots and trying searching for mankind.

Blake & Mortimer
genre: thriller (sci-fi, spy and criminal)
continuity: ongoing, stand-alones (some two or three parters) with some continuity.
https://s2.qwant.com/thumbr/0x0/e/e/26f264442e239183122e33b71ac9c359587bb7a9510f792b3c 2b5dc3bccbdd/220px-Blake_and_m.jpg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.o rg%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2Fthumb%2Ff%2Ff4%2FBlake_and_m .jpg%2F220px-Blake_and_m.jpg&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1

Professor Mortimer and Captain Blake (of the MI5) are two dinstiguished English gentlemen of the 40-60s who keep getting mixed up facing nefarious criminal plots generally involving their recurring ennemy, Colonel Olrik. Sometimes it's stealing a precious necklace, sometimes it's time travel, sometimes it's an underground war between Atlantis and some sort of Mayan Empire, you never know. It's a bit of a love letter to the 60's spy/sci-fi fiction with all the usual trappings. The sixth album (whose cover I used) is considered to be a monument of Franco-Belgian comic books and the cover has been homaged a lot.

La Quête de l'Oiseau du Temps (Quest for the Time Bird)
genre: heroic/dark fantasy
continuity: finished (one story in 4 books, there's a prequel series but I think it's finished too)
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/la_qute_de_loiseau_du_temps.jpg

A group of "heroes" lead by an aging knight has only a few days to gather the necessary objects for a sorceress to conduct a ritual to stop an evil god from coming back. Look it's really not about the plot. The focus is mostly on personal growth and the overall feel of the quest. Things don't exaclty work out as they hoped and it ends on a very melancholic note. I don't really know how to do justice to the series, but it's very good.

XIII
genre: spy/conspiracy thriller
continuity: technically on-going even though the stroy was finished with no loose ends by volume 19, one story.
https://s1.qwant.com/thumbr/0x380/9/3/5237269c9c38a84b9c57b0b3ca686c0846b521da0a71699c41 f732648a30e9/Couv_764.jpg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bedetheque.com%2F media%2FCouvertures%2FCouv_764.jpg&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1

A man washes up on the shores of what the comic eventually admits is 60s USA. He is completely amnesiac, the only clues to his identity being the tatoo of the roman numeral XIII on his upper torso and a key he had. Oh and the hired killers going after him. And the federal police accusing him of the murder of not-JFK. Really action oriented.

Canardo
genre: pitch-black noir
continuity: on-going, standalones with some continuity.
https://s1.qwant.com/thumbr/0x380/9/5/3c106104cc02900997e9aaadcdfdfdfbce60e7f1109a772863 19c25be57d12/canardo-bd-volume-20-simple-27337.jpg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.sanctuary.fr%2Fbds%2 Fbig%2Fcanardo-bd-volume-20-simple-27337.jpg&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1

Canardo is a private eye who regularly gets into seriously dark cases. expect the usual trappings of the noir genre. The serie is quite cynical with everyone (our hero included) being various shades of terrible.

Le chat du rabbin The Rabbi's cat
genre: magical realism
continuity: ongoing, standalones with continuity

https://s1.qwant.com/thumbr/0x0/2/c/acf87c07905d59993203cb35f52550cde15cd2b9e9d52ca2f9 3b337cc436e0/220px-Le-chat-du-rabbin1.gif?u=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2 Fwikipedia%2Fbr%2Fthumb%2F4%2F4b%2FLe-chat-du-rabbin1.gif%2F220px-Le-chat-du-rabbin1.gif&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1

Algeria, early XXth century, Rabbi Sfar's cat eats Rabbi Sfar's parrot and so gains the ability to speak. It's mostly about various odd people bumping into each other and the rabbi having to deal with everybody's existential problems (and his own) while the cat stands by and makes pessimistic/cynical commentary to hide that he truly cares. It's got a really oneiric feel as everybody seems to live on a slightly different planet than everybody else.

Thorgal
genre: somewhat-historic, fantasy, sci-fi
continuity: ongoing, originally stand-alons with some continuity but recently a story in several tomes spread over several series.

https://s1.qwant.com/thumbr/0x380/a/d/7c71b221cfd5a8c2a8266b276bf7bfd80c67c896643733a0a2 cdc4e71e45dd/Tome09.jpg?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.askell.com%2FBD%2FTh orgal%2FAlbums%2FTome09.jpg&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1
Thorgal Aegirsson is a baby found by Vikings in a futuristic raft. he grew up to be the best warrior evar but really peaceful and non-violent at heart and wed the king (Gandalf the mad, no relation)'s daughter which causes some problems. Thorgal spends basically the entire serie looking for a place to raise his family where the universe will leave them alone but keeps getting tangled in plots involving Norse gods, wizards, monsters, aztecs on blimps and spacemen. Also his children have psychic powers.

Lanfeust
genre: comedy, fantasy, space opera
continuity: one fantasy story in several volumes followed by one sci-fi story ins several volumes followed by another fantasy story in several volumes (which I think is still on-going)

https://s2.qwant.com/thumbr/0x380/4/4/163b0fe831c9575797361f5430bc22e38966cae2e8685526e8 2651cda44f69/Lanfeust-1-cover.jpg?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yermoediciones.com%2F wp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F11%2FLanfeust-1-cover.jpg&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1

On the world of Troy, everyone is born with a special, unique, random magical power (flight, future-seeing, making people thirsty, farting through the ears, breathing fire). Lanfeust is a blacksmith with the power of melting metal by looking at it. But he discovers that whenever he touches a particular sword he gets all powers in existance at once. And that's also true of a sadistic pirate with the power of teleportation. Problems ensue. The tone is very light-hearted with a lot of black comedy.


Donjon (Dungeon)
genre: fantasy, comedy
continuity: three series at various points in time (beginning, peak and fall of the titular dungeon) of mostly stand-alonish stories in continuity with one another. Plus a lot of stand-alones showing random adventures of the heroes between volume 1 and two or focusing on the big adventure of a given secondary character.

https://s1.qwant.com/thumbr/0x380/0/7/890575e7b349151ac3da9bfabcafef64e9d81401096c97a77c 2ea93e34d989/DonjonZenith1.jpg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bedetheque.c om%2Fmedia%2FCouvertures%2FDonjonZenith1.jpg&q=0&b=1&p=0&a=1

The "main" series follow the adventures of two employess of a RPG-style dongeon, marvin the dragon and Herbert the duck. They spend surprisingly little time inside said dungeon. The early serie shows how the Dungeon Keeper went from a wide-eyed youth who wanted to become a hero to the grumpy owner of the dungeon. The later series, shows that Herbert has become the dark overlord of the world (he's kind possed, it's complicated) with the Dugeon rechristened "The Black Frotress" and Marvin, now very old, training a new adventurer, Red Marvin. The tone is genreally quite light-hearted with the hmor gleefully dark.

[GloatingSwine]

Saga - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples, Image Comics (See also Y The Last Man, Pride of Baghdad)

Chew - John Layman & Rob Guillory, Image Comics

Grandville - Bryan Talbot, Dark Horse (See also: The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, Heart of Empire)

Top 10 - Alan Moore, Gene Ha & Zander Cannon, America's Best Comics. (See also: Promethea, Tom Strong. Seriously, the stuff under the America's Best Comics label is basically Moore's best stuff.)

The Goon - Eric Powell, Dark Horse.

The Wicked and The Divine - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie & Matthew Wilson.

[Relonious]

Wow! Thanks guys! I'll look into tour suggestions ASAP.

Genre wise, i'm not picky as long it is a good story.

I did read Sandman, but I must confess that I enjoyed Lucifer more.

[GloatingSwine]

If you want to step outside of comics, then Mike Carey the author of Lucifer has some pretty damn strong books. The Girl with All the Gifts is the most famous one (got a movie adaptation), but City of Silk and Steel is also very good.

[Manga Shoggoth]

If you are OK with webcomics then I suggest Girl Genius (https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104) - available on the website for free, but if you want PDF or dead tree format there are published volumes and a few print novels.

Genre: Fantasy/Steampunk (specifically referred to as Gaslamp Fantasy)

The story is essentially "Mad Scientists rule the world. Badly." The world is ruled by mad geniuses with the Spark - essentially mad science to the n'th degree. Chief among them is Baron Wulfenbach, who rules Europa with an iron fist. Agatha Clay is a clumsy, failing lab assistant at Transilvania Polygnostic University who lives with her doting aunt and uncle. During a visit to the University by the Baron she suddenly discovers that she has the spark, and that her guardians weren't exactly who they say they are...

Note: The story starts off in black and white and/or muted colours - this changes fairly quickly, but can be offputting if you are used to stories in full colour.

Also, from my youth, I recommend the Asterix stories, based on a French comic by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.

Genre: Historical fantasy/Humour (although the term "Historical" is used rather loosely)

In the year 50 BC. Julius Caesar has conquered Gaul. Well, all but one tiny village, whose druid brews a magic potion that grants the drinker vast strength. The stories mostly revolve around Asterix (the village's premiere warrior, and user of the above potion) and his large-boned friend friend Obelix, a menhir delivery man who fell into the potion as a baby and as a result has permanent super-strength (and a life ban on drinking any more of the potion). The stories concern either the Roman attempts to defeat or subvert the village, or Asterix and Obelix going off to other countries for adventures there.

It has been translated into over 100 languages. If you are an english reader I advise reading the Anthea Bell/Derek Hockridge translations, but apparantly most if not all of the translations are fairly good - TVTropes notes: "The series has some of the best translations of any comic-book ever; they're smart enough to keep the basic story while making new puns in the appropriate language."

[Wraith]

I will second Saga, it's a very beautifully drawn and heart-stopping tale of love and family. Gloating Swing also suggested Y:The Last Man by the same author, that's pretty great too.

I can also strongly recommend Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis. It's sci-fi/politics rather than the fantasy you've listed so far, but it's a closed arc rather than an endlessly entwined Marvel/DC kind of story, with a definitive end. It's a masterpiece of satire and political criticism through the lens of a gloriously jaded journalist.

The Boys is written by the other Ennis, Garth. It might be more familiar to you - it's superheroes again, but this time a 'real life' version which depicts them warts and all, and the story follows a CIA hit-squad that's trying to expose the worst vices of the most famous heroes. You might recognise it from the Amazon Prime show - it's full of super-adult themes like sex, drugs and incredible amounts of violence, but it's also very, very, darkly funny.

[TeChameleon]

I'll second Girl Genius, it's a lot of fun... but doesn't entirely shy away from the darker implications of the fact that very nearly every character in the series with any amount of power is quite worryingly insane. Mad science does, indeed, rule the world. Badly.

Seconding Asterix as well- mostly because of the funny. Not a ton of plot to worry about, just rambunctious action and so... many... puns..!

Lesse, other series.

Astro City: Beautifully polished indy superhero comics with a lot of heart, and deceptively subtle. It's a comic series about people, first and foremost, whether they wear tights or not. Think... kind of slice-of-life stories, just in a superhero 'verse. The majority of the stories are individual vignettes (although some characters recur), so even though the series is ongoing, it's not overwhelming to get into.

Bone, by Jeff Smith: A trio of goofy cartoon cousins wander into an enchanted valley. The tone is light, even silly to start with, the cousins settling in amongst a remote rural village with quirky denizens and simple, day-to-day problems, but there are rumblings of something greater. The kindly old woman and her granddaughter who took them in might be more than they seem, armies move and test ancient treaties, and a greater evil stirs behind it all.

... kind of like what you'd get if you dropped one of the old Uncle Scrooge adventure stories into an epic fantasy.

Usagi Yojimbo: Long, long running anthro comic set in a meticulously researched shogunate-era Japan where myths and legends lurk in the corners, against a backdrop of simmering political tensions where might made right, and now others want a piece of the pie. The lead character, Miyamoto Usagi, is a rabbit samurai (with his ears tied in the traditional topknot :smalltongue:) lost his master in battle some years ago, and now travels on a pilgrimage to perfect his martial and spiritual skills. Along the way, he meets friends and foes, new and old, and provides a fascinating window into the culture and history of that era of Japan. Largely episodic, with subplots in each separate episode tying in to a larger meta-narrative as each character moves through their own life, so it's not vital that you start from the beginning (although it is fun to meet each character as they're introduced for the first time).

Seriously, it's elegantly drawn (mostly black and white), fantastically paced and well plotted, with incredible characterization- there was an entire issue ostensibly dedicated to the tea ceremony... which was actually quite informative about said ceremony... but there was an entirely separate story told completely through subtext, facial expressions, and body language, about the two participating characters struggling with the conflict between romantic feelings, friendship, and the demands of duty during this quiet moment.

... there's also epic sword duels, bat-ninja, secret plots to overthrown the shogun with mystic artifacts or primitive gunpowder weapons, demon spearmen, kite-flying festivals, smaller plots by merchants to try and establish a monopoly on the seaweed trade, young samurai on a government-sanctioned revenge quest, unknown children, and a surprising number of bounty hunters (including a parody of Lone Wolf and Cub), so it's not exactly edutainment or soap opera stuff, but it is highly educational and the characters are strongly realized.

A longtime favourite of mine. And yes, the lead character has appeared on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- the writer is friends with the creators of the Turtles.

Groo the Wanderer: Actually the series that introduced me to Usagi Yojimbo, as the creator of Usagi is the letterer for Groo. Groo is... kind of what you'd get if you took Conan the Barbarian, made him a bit more good-hearted, amped his sword-skills up to 11, then gave him a pre-frontal lobotomy. The deadliest swordsman on the planet, he has luck that makes him a borderline-supernatural disaster magnet and a brain that probably qualifies him as a non-sentient life-form, Groo stumbles from one adventure to another wreaking deranged havoc and allowing the occasional bit of wry commentary on human nature from the creators.

Hilarious, snarky, and with fantastic art that is loose, cartoony... and impossibly detailed, giving a strong impression of vibrant life happening even when the panel isn't focused on an area. Another long-time favourite, and the one piece of original comic art I own is from this series.

If you'd like to try some of the DC or Marvel stuff...

Blue Beetle Volume 7, Number 1-34 (#35 and 36 exist, but sort of suck- 'kill a character for pointless drama'-type suck). Blue Beetle, a minor, relatively generic DC character is reinvented as the mantle is passed... to a teenaged kid. Normally, a recipe for disaster, awful writing, and book failure, but this time, somehow, some way, it worked. Art is so-so, but the characterization is some of the finest in (relatively- 2006-2009) modern comics. The storytelling and plotting are top-notch, and watching the characters grow and change through the series is rewarding in its own right, and watching the baddie's eventual downfall is immensely satisfying (it's a superhero comic, the bad guy losing is about as much of a spoiler as 'car explodes' in a Transformers movie).

Walt Simonson's Thor run (1983-1987, available as a single friggin' huge Omnibus edition if you want, and well worth the cash, in my semi-humble opinion) is considered by some to be one of the finest superhero stories ever, and I'm honestly not about to disagree with them. If you watched Thor: Ragnarok, they stole some of the plot points from that series, and quite frankly, did them worse. Superhero epic meets Myth, and it's amazing.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Groo the Wanderer: Actually the series that introduced me to Usagi Yojimbo, as the creator of Usagi is the letterer for Groo. Groo is... kind of what you'd get if you took Conan the Barbarian, made him a bit more good-hearted, amped his sword-skills up to 11, then gave him a pre-frontal lobotomy. The deadliest swordsman on the planet, he has luck that makes him a borderline-supernatural disaster magnet and a brain that probably qualifies him as a non-sentient life-form, Groo stumbles from one adventure to another wreaking deranged havoc and allowing the occasional bit of wry commentary on human nature from the creators.

Hilarious, snarky, and with fantastic art that is loose, cartoony... and impossibly detailed, giving a strong impression of vibrant life happening even when the panel isn't focused on an area. Another long-time favourite, and the one piece of original comic art I own is from this series.

And I'll second Groo - I didn't list it as I haven't followed it much (while I do follow GG, and did read Asterix avidly until the death of the Authors), but it is a hilarious take on the "dumb Barbarian", with a whole load of extra things put in the background. I have very fond memories of the one about Artists, the one about buying homes and Issue 100 (see below).

It also knows when to change things up a little...
...Making Groo learn to read in Issue 100 - so suddenly Groo is still a dumb barbarian, but not quite as dumb as he used to be, so you now have people who think he is dumber than he actually is. I don't know how long the "slightly less dumb" Groo hung around, but Issue 100 itself was hilarious.

[tomandtish]

The Boys is written by the other Ennis, Garth. It might be more familiar to you - it's superheroes again, but this time a 'real life' version which depicts them warts and all, and the story follows a CIA hit-squad that's trying to expose the worst vices of the most famous heroes. You might recognise it from the Amazon Prime show - it's full of super-adult themes like sex, drugs and incredible amounts of violence, but it's also very, very, darkly funny.

Wraith is underselling the content. Also has sexual assault, murder, and extremely bloody violence. makes Walking Dead (the comic) look tame.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but there aren't really many heroes here.

[TeChameleon]

And I'll second Groo - I didn't list it as I haven't followed it much (while I do follow GG, and did read Asterix avidly until the death of the Authors), but it is a hilarious take on the "dumb Barbarian", with a whole load of extra things put in the background. I have very fond memories of the one about Artists, the one about buying homes and Issue 100 (see below).

It also knows when to change things up a little...
...Making Groo learn to read in Issue 100 - so suddenly Groo is still a dumb barbarian, but not quite as dumb as he used to be, so you now have people who think he is dumber than he actually is. I don't know how long the "slightly less dumb" Groo hung around, but Issue 100 itself was hilarious.

That's one of the things about Groo- seems like everyone that reads it has a favourite (mine would probably be the Wager of the gods).
And literate Groo sticks around for the duration of the series, at least up until the point that I've got.