Give me your comic book tips, tricks, and resources

I'm really surprised that my favorite comics haven't been mentioned yet. They're not superhero comics, but they're the reason I respect and read comics--which I never did as a kid. I've included wikipedia links, although those're clearly full of spoilers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmetropolitan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_The_Homicidal_Maniac Anyway, comics can be an expensive obsession, especially if the comics you want to start reading are either finished or out of print. Comic books are the only literary form that I'll pirate. I won't steal a book, but if getting caught up with Spider-Man is going to cost me half a million dollars (which is a ballpark estimate I heard recently for a complete Amazing Spider-Man), I feel not the slightest remorse in downloading the whole series. And trust me, you can. You can read, in digital format, all of those impossible-to-find issues of most popular superhero comics.

Oh my goodness. I saw this question earlier, spent a little while coming up with a short list, and come back to find mrsshotglass having replicated my list, down to Mouse Guard, but with links, and resources! Listen to her, apparently.

There are a lot of good recommendations here for comics and comics blogs, as well as a lot of people who are just sort of dumping their favorites lists (some of which may not necessarily be suitable for the beginning comics reader). Josh, I noticed from your profile that you're from Nashville. I didn't get to visit many comics stores during my visits there, but I did go tohttp://www.thegreatescapeonline.com/ and it has a more than adequate selection of comics. Whenever you visit other cities (not only large cities but college towns are often good places to find a decent comics store), check out the LCS (local comics shop) using http://comicshoplocator.com/that mrsshotglass posted. Also remember that http://www.library.nashville.org/ is also a good place to read comics (for free!) and see what writers, artists, genres etc. grab you. They certainly have http://nplencore.library.nashville.org/iii/encore/search/C%7CSgraphic+novels%7COrightresult%7CU1;jsessionid=2E9C6708A4C8AEB2295B3729D36709EE?lang=eng&suite=def. What a world of wonders awaits you!

I read "girlie" comics, but I only started reading them in the last year or two, so I have a bit of catching up to do. Others have suggested mine, but I'm going to go ahead and write them out anyway as enthusiastic seconds. Those that I love: http://www.hellboy.com/ http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=1736 http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=1606 (http://processrecess.com/ http://jamesjean.com/'s cover art is also not to be missed; it's bloody fantastic) http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/07/comics_midnight.html (link has a few good examples) http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Comics/The+Absolute+Sandman%2C+Vol.+1/ http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Comics/Books+of+Magic/ (really, anything Neil Gaiman's been involved in) http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=1636 http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=13677 (also fantastic cover art) I think it's telling how much I like Vertigo. Anyway, comics can be an expensive obsession, especially if the comics you want to start reading are either finished or out of print. Also, there are a lot of great short-run comics and adaptations of existing works, like anything made about Discworld or the adaptation of Neverwhere. Have fun!

One area of comics you're missing is the True Crime/Crime/Horror genre that took precedence between the Golden and Silver Ages. In fact, we would not have even had a Silver Age of superheroes were it not for horror comics collapsing near the peak of their popularity. For more, read http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312428235/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ after you're done reading Men of Tomorrow. Also, if you're interested in the Golden Age, back when nobody had any idea what they were doing, check out http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560979712/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. And if you like that, run, do not walk, to get the two http://www.fletcherhanks.com/HOME.html anthologies. For more modern info, check out http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785116060/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ for the background behind modern Marvel and http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452295327/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ for some of the weird truths of comic book history.

Thanks for all the great recommendations, everyone. I should mention that I have already read Y The Last Man, Batman Year One, and The Long Halloween since those seem to be "required reading." I tried to get into Bone but it just lost me (though the art was excellent). mrsshotglass, your post was exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for out of this AskMe. I really appreciate all the resources you linked.

Dear Netzapper, You can get a lot of http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=bl_sr_software?_encoding=UTF8&store-name=software&search-type=ss&index=software&field-brandtextbin=GIT%20Corp for a decent price. Reprints are also readily available in the DC Showcase line and the Marvel Masterworks lines. There's a big movement towards comics as educational material and they've become more readily available through libraries. I have a friend who's job it is to help librarians develop their comic book sections. If you borrow from libraries, they'll see that their money was not wasted on the genre and they'll be inclined to add to their collections. You might even find a fellow comic reader who would be happy to lend books to you. These resources will not cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. Please don't steal from our industry, we're suffering so much already. (And for those of you that say, "Oh but the movies bring in so much money," they bring in money for the studio, some to licensors, less to the publisher, even less to the creators, and very little to the folks who run your local comic book store.)

In the non-superhero vein, one of my favorite series is Greg Rucka's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_%26_Country. It's a British spy series featuring a kick-ass heroine, exotic locales and an attention to detail that makes a fantastic series.

Check out http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/ It's a good place to be introduced to new comics. They beanplate in the comments as much as mefites do, fair warning.