Must read comics.

[Gavin_Leahy_Block]

With the unhappy reaction towards, Empire's The 30 comics you should be reading, I taught that this forum could come up with a much better, more compressive list. So pick your top 15, in order if possible and after a few weeks I'll sort out a final list.

Here's mine:
1. Judge Dredd:  America
2. Watchmen
3. Halo Jones
4. All Star Superman
5. From Hell
6. Fables
7. Batman: The Long Halloween
8. Nikolai Dante
9. Batman: Year One
10. Maus
11. Superman: Red Son
12. Judge Dredd: The Pit
13. Powers
14. Ghost World
15. The Walking Dead

[Greg M.]

Good idea for a thread, Gavin. I am deliberately going to leave out any 2000AD stuff – obviously I love it, but if I started putting it in, half the list would be dominated by it. Aside from that caveat, my 15 are just fifteen things I have massively enjoyed, and as such, I have ignored 'worthiness' - I know that Watchmen, for instance, has a clear place on a must-read list in terms of how influential and so forth it has been, but even though I enjoy it, I enjoy the things on my list even more. If that's not what you're after though, feel free to disregard mine.

1: Lone Sloane
2: X-Force / X-Statix (Milligan / Allred)
3: We3
4: Charley's War
5: All-Star Superman
6: Fantastic Four (Lee / Kirby)
7: American Splendor
8: The Goon
9: Amazing Spider-Man (Lee / Romita Snr era)
10: Doom Patrol (Grant Morrison era)
11: Uncanny X-Men (Australia era)
12: Dan Dare
13: The Amazing Screw-On Head
14: Marshal Law
15: Incredible Hulk (Peter David era)

I can't really say these are in order... don't think it's possible.

[Zarjazzer]

I'm happy for twoofy stuff in mine.

1.Judge Dredd Satans Island.
2.Judge Dredd Mandroid
3.Iron Empires
4.Star wars Bounty on Bar kooda
5.Dan Dare (2000ad)
6.Batman year one
7.Hellboy The Wild Hunt
8.Deaths Head 2 (Liam sharp/Gary Frank etc)
9.Usagi Yojimbo
10.Rogue Trooper "The Marauders"
11.Appleseed
12.Batman -The Killing Joke
13.Bloodquest (WH40k)
14.Daemonifuge (WH40k)
15.The Wolfmen (Accent UK)

[I, Cosh]

Good fun. A mixture of stuff I enjoy tremendously and things I appreciate which aren't given enough of a leg up.

01. The Midnight Surfer
02. Kill Your Boyfriend.
03. Enigma.
04. From Hell. Phonogram: Pull Shapes (v.2, #1)
05. Firekind.
06. Nikolai Dante (all of it.)
07. The Invisibles (vol 1, 1-24)
08. Judge Dredd: Total War.
09. Shade, the Changing Man (vol 2, 1-50)
10. Asterix in Britain.
11. Nemesis the Warlock Case Files 1.
12. The Adventures of Luther Arkwright.
13. Daredevil: Born Again.
14. Akira
15. Stray Toasters.

Hmm. In retrospect, I see I've deliberately omitted things that were on the Empire and similar lists. And that's an unwieldy mix of individual stories, specific collections, whole serieses and all sorts. Ah well.

[HdE]

Great thread!

I dunno if iI can come up with 15, but from my very own bookshelf, I can heartily recommend:

Akira -
Hands down my favourite comic book since forevah! I like how parts of it are actually very subtle, and how it works on so many different levels. For peeps who are put off by the tag of 'manag', I'd add that it actually reads very well in the Studio Proteus translation, and the storytelling style is heavily influenced by Western comics and movies.


Y: The Last Man
It's not quite as clever as it thinks it is, but it's a thought provoking, entertaining read, and a well told story. I think some of the characters run a little too close to being cliches for my liking, but they're interesting and involving enough. The ending infuriates me, though.

Chew
Bit of a risk including this, as it's still ongoing, and the last volume of it didn't hit the heady heights of the first. But it's inventive, hilarious and really original stuff. Comes as a breath of fresh air.

Groom Lake
One of a small number of books I've read that made me giggle and laugh out loud all the way through. Google it!

So, anyway, there's a few of my choices, along with a few reasons why I like 'em.

[BPP]

Ten in no particular order - leaving out 2000AD although its best stands firm in the company of those selected...

Peeters and Schuiten - Fever in Ubricland - an architect finds a cuboid embeded in his desk is expanding expodentially through all that stands in its path. Eventually it becomes a cuboid maze that connects the city and citizens in new ways but will it destroy it?

Tardi - The Roach Killer - any Tardi is great (Adele Blanc-Sec is 2000AD's greatest never was heroine) but this spot-colour take of a New York roach killer caught up with the mob is a personal fave. Brilliant and distinctive.

Dave Sim and Gerard - High Society - Cerebus when it was funny and complex, witty and engaging. So good you bought another 200 issues of diminishing returns and WTFs.

Brekeley Breathead - Bloom County library vol 3 - The first two volumes suffer from 'an artist in search of his characters'.. by vol 3 Bloom County was the finest newspaper strip of the 80s. Bill the Cat should be in a double bill with Dirty Frank.

Pat Mills & ledroit - Requiem Vampire Knight - everything Mills ever did in 2000AD turned up to 11 and matched by an artist of stunning ability. More ideas per page than you or I had all year.

David Mazzucchelli - Rubber Blanket - almost an embarrassment of riches as a solo creator shows off his ability to work across genres, moods and narrative types. Depressing to read in The Comic's Journal 300 how modest he is, he should be standing on a platform lording it over us.

Brendan McCarthy - Fever: Dr Strange & Spiderman - if Superhero comics were like this.. i'd read em.

Jim Woodring - Frank - beguiling, strange, open to interpretation, beautiful.

Hugo Pratt - Corto Maltese. Europe's finest long-running series (alongside Blueberry) and a shame there isn't more translated. Stylish, witty, intelligent, evocative and not unlike The Red Seas.

Darwyn Cook & Richard Stark - Parker - like a shot of junkie adrenalin juice straight to your noir veins. And popular too. Hurrrah!

[I, Cosh]

That McCarthy Spiderman was the best comic I've read this year. I remember reading something maybe a year ago about plans for a complete new English Corto Maltese, but nothing since.

[Gavin_Leahy_Block]

Thanks for showing an interest everyone, with a several more votes I should have no problem sorting out a list. I'm just fuming I omitted Charley's War from my choices. 

[Colin YNWA]

I remember reading something maybe a year ago about plans for a complete new English Corto Maltese, but nothing since.

I'd bloody love to see this happen. This and the Blueberry stuff is impossible to get hold of in English... of course meaning I should dramatically improve my French but that's even more unlikely to happen.

[Em-bot]

Ok, after my gaffe of posting this on the Empire thread I'll have a go at a top ten. To go up to 15 for me would be pushing it as I'm not that well read outside of 2000AD world, but I think I'll omit it because otherwise it would all be 2000AD. These aren't in order, unless the order I thought of them counts for something.


Preacher
Y the last man
Sin City
From Hell
We3
V for Vendetta
Buffy (yeah, I know I'll probably get a ribbing for this, but I like it so there  )
Charley's war
Walking Dead
Watchmen

[Kerrin]

Great idea Gav. Leaving out the tooth stuff...

1.  100 Bullets.
2.  Hellboy.
3.  The Goon.
4.  War of the Worlds/Scarlet Traces/The Great Game.
5.  The Umbrella Academy.
6.  The Boys.
7.  The Walking Dead.
8.  Chew.
9.  Transmetropolitan.
10. Criminal.
11. Watchmen.
12. The Dark Knight Returns.
13. B.P.R.D.
14. The Losers.
15. Orbital.

There's plenty of stuff on other people's lists that I'll be checking out too.

[SmallBlueThing]

It's hard to do this without it just being 'here are ten comics i like'.
So with that in mind, here are ten comics i like:
The Walking Dead
Requiem Vampire Knight
Charley's War
From Hell
Mezolith
Scalped
Northlanders
Grandville
Romita Snr/Lee Spidey
Millar/Hitch Ultimates

That's outside of 2000AD, obviously.

SBT

[zombemybabynow]

The boys, usagi yojimbo, grandville, the walking dead, savage dragon, asterix

[Jared Katooie]

Ok, after my gaffe of posting this on the Empire thread I'll have a go at a top ten.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, the thread could easily turn into a discussion about omlettes, or what toenails are made of and nobody will bat an eye. 

[AlexF]

For people who like voting and making lists of this kind, why not go to CBR to share some 2000AD love? http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/category/top-100-comic-book-writers-and-artists/

Here's my attempt at suggesting 15 comics you MUST read or else or whatever the title is.

Asterix (my pick is the Roman Agent)
Maus (I don't care if it's worthy, it's wicked)
Madman by Mike Allred
Grickle by Graham Annable
Girls by the Luna Brothers (actually I'd only say MUST READ for fans of both 2000AD and 80s action/horror movies. But who isn't?)
Bone by Jeff Smith (maybe just the first two volumes)
Batman Archives Vol 1 (you can see why Batman has endured so long from the very earliest stories!) Superman archives are pretty cool too.
Anything by Jason. 'Hey, wait...' is a pretty neat one.
Barry Ween by Judd Winick
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Can't resist some 2000 AD hits:
Nemesis the Warlock Vol 1
RoboHunter in Brit Cit (My fave is the Filby Case, but they're all crackers)
Killing Time
Button Man
Strontium Dog. Basically all of it. I suppose 'the Killing' if I had to recommend just one tale)

You know, I love reading superhero comics and own way too many of them but aside from early Batman, I can't think of any that I'd describe as essential reading to a general comics fan.