Since it would appear we have some nerds..

Oh, my deep and dark secret is revealed. (No, not the lust for cheese popcorn.)

My choices are linked to the writer. I'll buy damn near anything written by Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker or Greg Rucka.

The creme de la creme of what I'm collecting these days?

• Planetary: The best thing out there. What if all the weird, cool pop culture stuff you grew up with were real? Warren Ellis is an uneven scripter, but he is never less than stellar on this book; and John Cassidy's art is unbelievably good.
• 100 Bullets: Crime Noir deluxe. Little arcs that play with a large (and somewhat complicated) storyline. Takes some time to get into it, but worth it. Best read in TPB form.
• Ex Machina: A guy with superpowers ends up as mayor of New York City. And guess what? It's still a crappy job.
• Gotham Central: Marginally a Batman title, but from the Ed McBain viewpoint (though much better than McBain, IMO.)
• The Goon, Flaming Carrot, Plastic Man (by Kyle Baker): Hi-larious. There are still funny Funny Books out there -- you just have to look.
• Powers, Ultimate Spider-Man, Daredevil: The Holy Bendis Trilogy. He used to write (and draw) crime graphic novels; he then moved to superheroes, but brought a lot of the noir with him. Now arguably the most popular writer in comics today -- and for the most part, it's deserved. Also works with great artists. (Also recommend his Alias and The Pulse books.)

Almost all of these are available in trade paperback form; in my part of the country, you can get most of these from the library, too.

 

Look at the bright side; one way or another, when you get to retirement, you're going to have some very good fiction to re-read.

 

A lot of the appeal (I think) is the Bill Sienkiewicz artwork. He was in his full-blown Neal Adams phase (and hadn't started to draw in his "here's your brain on acid" style.)

I liked it a lot at the time; like a lot of stuff from the 70s and the 80s, it hasn't held up for me over time. (I sold mine years ago.)

If there's one thing I've never had an illusion about re: comics, it's this: I've never planned on, expected, or claimed to make a profit on it. I buy comics strictly for their entertainment value.

(I spent 10 years reviewing comics; can you tell? )

 

Hmmm... some good artists -- I really like Michael Lark, and Michael Oeming is doing some great work. Also, the documentary on Will Eisner looks interesting.

Personally, though, I'd avoid Dave Sim. Probably the craziest man in comics -- and not in a good way.