Hey you guys, are there any Comicbook crack amongst our ranks? I do like my Batman Comics especailly the new 52 Scott series, however I would like to exoand my horizon. So are there any comics or graphic novels to recommend. I have read almost every significant Batman Novel so I am good on that. I have heard good things about these Vertigo Comics. So do you have any recommendations for me. P.S.Now I am reading Watchmen.

Kingdom Come, Sandman, Maus, astro city, Daredevil man without fear..

* lights the d21lewis signal* 

Halo.

I´d rather not waste my time with reading videogame lore.

English speaking comic fans will never get the chance to experience the greatness of FrancoBelgian comics.

Some recent favorite European comics:
Aldebaran/Betelgeuze/Antares series
Lanfeust de Troy series and successors
Donjon series
and there are tons more but afaik they will never be available in English

Among the best US comic series of the last - say - 20 years imo (besides Calvin & Hobbes which is one of the best comics ever created):
Bones (Jeff Smith)
Saga (Vaughan/Staples)
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Chaykin/Mignola)
Mouse Guard (Petersen)
Fables (Willingham)

Japan:
A distant neighborhood (Taniguchi)
Pluto (Urasawa)

Well that sounds intrguing, are they available in german at least?

Oh, I thought you are from an English speaking country. Being from Germany or Austria changes everything: many of the best non-English comics from around the world are available in German, especially the FrancoBelgian ones.

Aldebaran/Betelgeuze/Antares are available in German from Epsilon Verlag. http://tinyurl.com/pypavj3 Aldebaran (the 1st cycle) and Betelgeuze (the 2nd) are available as - highly recommendable, comparably cheap - "Gesamtausgabe" (Intégrale, as they are called in France, Intégrales are the big thing these days in Europe), Antares comes in 5 issues (the German publisher recently wrote in his forum that he most probably won't publish the 3rd cycle as Intégrale - financially too risky for him, it's a one man company). These three cycles are one of the most interesting "realistic" scifi comic series I ever read. A spectacularly conceived world of animals and plants on different, earth-like planets. The creator Léo is from Brazil, btw, but he works and publishes his comics in France and his style is clearly influenced by classic FrancoBelgian comics.

"Lanfeust de Troy" is a French hit series from one of Europe's most successful modern comic writers, Christophe "Scotch" Arleston. A dumb hero, a hilarious sidekick (Hebus, the troll), sexy and clever girls, a ton of funny ideas and dialogues. Great fantasy series. Due to the huge success there's several spin-off series, but the only important ones are the three main cycles which are available in German as "Lanfeust von Troy" (1st circle), "Lanfeust der Sterne" (2nd), "Lanfeust Odyssee" from Carlsen Comics. http://www.carlsen.de/urheber/christophe-arleston/18276#Info

Donjon is a brilliant, unique fantasy series, but hard to describe. It's from two of the best current French comic artists (Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar). Available in German from Reprodukt. http://www.reprodukt.com/kuenstler/donjon/