There are so many great ones to choose from… I actually envy you! On to my (rather long) list of recommendations:
Y: The Last Man: A virus wipes out every man on the planet except for escape artist Yorick Brown and his helper monkey, Ampersand. Even though he can literally choose any woman he wants on the planet, he sets out to find his fiance in Australia (a tough trek because most of the world’s travel infrastructure is no longer functioning).
The Dark Knight Returns: In a future dystopia where being a superhero is outlawed, an elderly Batman decides to put his batsuit on again. His fight with Superman, the only government-sponsered superhero left, is not to be missed!
Preacher: God has disappeared from Heaven and something terrible happens: an angel mates with a demon. Their pairing produces an offspring that is neither good nor evil, and hence, God-like. This new spirit inhabits the body of Jesse Custer, a Texas preacher, and he discovers that he can now speak with the Voice of God, forcing people to obey whatever he tells them to do.
Transmetropolitan: A tale set in a distracting, crowded, corrupt future. Journalist Spider Jerusalem, after being away for years, returns to The City to do something no one does in this dystopian future: tell the truth. This book is filled with great sci-fi ideas and raunchy jokes on every page.
All-Star Superman: A set of “classic” (read: out-of-continuity) Superman tales. Superman saves a solar exploratory shuttle and ends up absorbing a lethal amount of solar energy. With little time left to live, Superman seeks to profess his love to Lois Lane, arm wrestles with Samson and Hercules, gets stuck on Bizarro’s planet and several other adventures. One of the best Superman stories in many years, written and illustrated by one of the greatest writer/artist teams ever, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The British government puts together a “Justice League” of sorts, composed of several literary characters: Mina Murray from Dracula, Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Invisible Man from the book of the same name, Mr. Hyde from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, etc. They must find out who stole a rare anti-gravity element essential to England’s lunar expedition… Written by Alan Moore. ‘Nuff said.
Miracleman: A story based on a darker version of Captain Marvel. It explores the issues of identity and responsibility through characters that are redeemed or destroyed by the power they wield. Alan Moore’s first “deconstructionist” superhero tale, before Watchmen and V for Vendetta (and in my opinion, his best). The second half of the story, after MIracleman had established a utopia on Earth, is some of Neil Gaiman’s earliest work.
V for Vendetta: Imagine putting Batman into George Orwell’s 1984. V is a well-trained fighter, tactician and demolitions expert who happens to be a little nuts (though in his defense, the government made him crazy). He uses terrorism as a form of protest against a totalitarian, fascist British government. This is yet another of Alan Moore’s works that I consider superior to Watchmen. What other work, even outside of comics, asks the question: “When is terrorism justified?”
The Authority: A group of heroes decide to definitively “save the world” by executing criminals and dismantling corrupt governments. When the world is threatened, they remove the threat with brutal efficiency. However, not everyone is happy with the actions of The Authority…
Planetary: Sort of a conspiracy theory-superhero book that follows a group of super-powered individuals who investigate the evil analogues of Marvel’s Fantastic Four and the many ways in which they have exploited the world and withheld secrets that could have made the world into a utopia. Even though it’s been years since the last issue was released, the final issue hasn’t been released yet. Should be any month now…
Maus: Tells the story of a man interviewing his father about the latter’s experiences in the Holocaust. Art Spiegalman drew all Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, Americans as dogs, etc. (I particular liked the frogs-as-Frenchmen). This might be the most highly regarded graphic novels of all time, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.
Kingdom Come: A story set in the future of the DC world, where the public prefers superheroes that will kill evil-doers, a nuke has been dropped on Kansas and Superman has retreated from the superhero world. Features photo-realistic, painted art by Alex Ross.
The Walking Dead: Like a George A. Romero zombie film that never ends, this comic follows a group of people trying to survive in a world where other humans usually turn out to be more dangerous than the zombies. There must be at least 8 volumes of this out by now. Written by the man himself, Robert Kirkman.
Invincible: Another series from Robert Kirkman, about a young man who is the son of the world’s greatest superhero and inherits his power. Unfortunately, the young man discovers that the race of aliens his father belongs to isn’t as altruistic as he had thought: they aim to conquer Earth!
Pax Romana: Vatican scientists stumble upon a way to send things back in time. The Vatican decides to cement its power as a global institution and prevent the rise of Islam by sending back a squad of hundreds of hand-picked men to introduce modern technology and ideology much earlier in history. A dense and interesting read.
Locke & Key: After the murder of their patriarch, a family moves into his childhood home. The kids quickly discover that there are magical keys and doors in the ancient house that can transform their gender, transport them anywhere in the world, change them into ghosts and even allow them to reach inside their own heads and pull out memories! But there is an evil force trapped in the house that will do anything to gain the power of the mysterious Omega Key…
Girls: By the Luna Brothers. A mysterious naked woman appears in a small town. After having sex, she lays an egg, out of which hatch several clones of herself! These mindless girls have only two things on their mind: having sex with any man they encounter and eating any woman who gets in their way!
The Sword: Another Luna Brothers creation about a paraplegic girl who discovers that her father was an ancient warrior with a sword that heals and enhances the strength and speed of anyone who holds it. After her family is brutally murdered by beings with elemental powers seeking the sword, the girl decides to get revenge.
Pride of Baghdad: Follows a family of lions who suddenly find themselves free of a Baghdad zoo after Americans attack the city in 2003.
Phonogram: Music as magic. Many references to obscure BritPop. Introduced me to Kenickie, The Stone Roses and The Manic Street Preachers, so it’s gotta be wroth something.
WE3: Follows genetically engineered animal superweapons trying to escape from the government.
There are probably tons more, but I’m pooped. I was inspired by a super-long post I saw by @daloon earlier today, but I don’t think this one can touch the length he reached.
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