1. Red Son. What if Superman landed in Soviet Russia as a baby and was raised as a Communist? Red Son sets out to answer this question, and the result is a beautifully complex example of what comic books can be and why they deserve a lot more consideration and attention than they get. It would've been really easy to write this as an absolute dystopia, to revert to Cold War thought and portray Communism as pure evil. Thankfully, the authors choose not to. Rather, their alternate reality is carefully constructed and explores the consequences of a true Cold War superpower surprisingly thoughtfully. I heard rave reviews and was admittedly skeptical. Now I just wish there was more, which is impressive given that as a general rule I don't like Superman at all, for a number of reasons. This, however, portrays him in a way that makes much more sense.
2. Runaways. One of the newer Marvel franchises, it has (as per usual) cool superheroes and an interesting premise: In LA there is a group of 12 supervillains called The Pride, comprised of six couples. Each has a child that is unaware of their parents' secret identities; then, one night, the children witness their parents sacrificing an innocent girl in their basement, in-character. Horrified, the six run away, discovering in the process their own superpowers. From there, they decide to avenge the wrongs of their mothers and fathers. Their efforts are hampered, however, by a traitor in their midst, whose identity isn't revealed until the second volume. The Marvel Civil War crossover comic between the Runaways and the Young Avengers is awesome, too.
3. Marvel Civil War. Holy Jesus, there are a lot of these, but all that I've read are awesome. You don't have to really know a lot about comic books to get most of it, either, which is good for noobs like myself who rely on the recommendations of more experienced people for good comics.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 8. Joss Whedon = God. That is all.
5. Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Really more of a graphic novel series, but awesome graphics and beautiful, complex, deep, dark storylines full of mythology and drama. Love, love, love.
6. Freshmen. Recommended to me by my main source for all things comic book-y and awesome, this particular one was co-created by Seth Green. If Joss Whedon wasn't already God, Seth Green would be. This is hilarious, if only because the characters have some of the most creative powers ever: One can put people under the influence with his burps, as long as he is under some influence himself; another has squirrel-like agility and can glide through the air; a third can literally talk to plants -- and hear them talking. It's brilliant.
Cross-posted at WTF Is A Hoosier?
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