So I want to get into comic books.

[Gomez]

I've never really been a comic book fan. Never created one, never bought one, never even read one. This has made me kind of the odd one out among my friends who are all major comic book afficionados. Anyway, it occurred to me recently that maybe I never really gave the medium a chance so I went down to my local library and into the comic book section, although comic book annexe would probably be more accurate. It. Was. Huge!. I was amazed that so many comic books had even been written, let alone that they'd all found their way into my library. Clearly out of my depth, I retreated and have come here for some advice. Can anybody recommend some good authors to get a neophyte like me started? For the record, I don't know much about superheroes, but I really liked the Batman movies. Not sure how helpful that'll be. Ideally, I'm looking for more adult oriented comics with intelligent writing and eyecatching graphic art. Any suggestions warmly welcomed. Cheers!

[Amb]

I have to say an unusual choice would be to read Asterix. They aren't really the superhero genre you might be after, but they are quite well done. They are best if you read them in order, and given that they were primarily written in the 60s and 70s some of the humour has dated or might be missed. They are often put, by libraries who don't know better, in children's sections. But they aren't written for kids at all.

Asterix was written in French, and translated later into English. The translations are exceptionally brilliant, given that they had to redo puns totally. One of the interesting things though, is that Asterix never took off in America. I guess it helps to have a british or french sense of humour.

Edit: The series was written by Rene Goscinny, and drawn by Albert Uderzo. After Goscinny died, Uderzo took over writing the stories. He started off reasonably well, but the last few books were terrible. I'd advise stopping around Asterix and Son, as that is the last decent one.

[Jedo the Jedi]

Fables is a really good series. It's a different take on Fairy Tales with an adult setting.

I personally am a fan of things which Brian Michael Bendis writes, and that's mainly the Ultimate Marvel Comics (Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic 4, etc.). I think you have to be a certain type of person to enjoy him because he's apparently hit-or-miss with my other comic friends. Still, I think his strength is witty writing.

There are also the comics by Allen Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlement, etc.), and the most notable of his, in my opinion, is Batman: The Killing Joke.

I have never been much into DC Comics, but there are indeed some exceptional ones (namely the Batman above). I would wait for somebody else's DC recommendations because I think it's important to come in at the right place as DC and Marvel both have extensive story arcs that you don't want to jump in the middle of.

That might get you started.
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Paragon Tally: 19 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Thok]

Some quick questions:

Super Heroes, or no super heroes?

If Super Heroes, what are you favorite super hero movies?

Batman, Spiderman, or Superman?

Space opera, government agencies, or policing the streets?

[Courk]

I love superhero movies, but I can't really get into superhero comics.

My brother just got the first Walking Dead Compendium. He loves it. I love the show, but, again, wasn't really feeling it with the comics.

My personal favorite comic is Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. It takes place in feudal Japan. The characters are anthropomorphic (Usagi's a rabbit), but you don't even notice once you're in the story. It's not like he hops around or anything. I'd say start at the beginning. Book 4, Dragon Bellow Conspiracy, was really good.

[Lepton*]

A bit of a "me too". I find superheros tiresome, and cannot really get into dark stories like Sin City. A very GL-style comic is Logicomix. Like Watchmen, it is beautifully drawn and coloured. I also enjoyed Maus, am looking forward to Persepolis, and found it highly educational to read Understanding Comics -- it's rare for a genre to have such a clear exposition of technique and meaning.

[Thok]

It leans a bit towards superheroic, but here's a link to a few Free Comic Book day samples of Atomic Robo.

[The Ragin' South Asian]

I think a good starting point would be Neil Gaiman's Sandman. It's self contained so there's not any backstory you're expected to know about. It cycles through a few artists in its run but is consistently well and interestingly illustrated. If you've read any of Gaiman's books, you'll have an idea of if you'll like the writing or not.

[Dread Pirate Westley]

My advice would be to bribe Stan Lee.

[Jedo the Jedi]

[Courk*]

He wrote that Tardis episode of Doctor Who, right?

[Gomez]

I effin-geoffin' love Neil Gaiman! American Gods is one of my favourite books. I'll definitely be checking Sandman out.

Edit: Also, yes, he did do the Tardis episode of Dr. Who.

[Jedo the Jedi]

[Dread Pirate Westley]