When I started reading comics, there were titles like Mage, Grendel, Hellblazer, and the Brood storyline in X-Men.

Shortly afterwards came Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns.

I was there for the beginnings of The Crow, Sandman, The Invisibles, and Sin City.

Life was good, and comic publishers were releasing cool, imaginative stuff.

Now my draw is down to two titles, Lucifer and Books of Magic. They are both tired, shadows of what they once were. I'm getting ready to drop them. I stopped reading 100 Bullets last summer. We3 was a pointless rehash of old ideas.

It's been more than twenty years, and I'm tired of it. Either the media has gotten boring, or I'm missing the good stuff. I miss the days when a bizarro story like Stray Toasters can be published by a major company.

Are there any good titles left?

If you are still interested in superheroes, try out the JSA from DC comics. A new trade just came out a couple of weeks ago. All of the trades are still easy to find and well worth it IMHO!! The JLA monthly is good right now as well! From Marvel I like The Ultimates. A good one from Darkhorse right now is Conan!

Take care all!!

Based on what you mentioned I would try a few titles that are out right now:

1. Sleeper - pick up the trades first to figure out what is going on (there are three volumes available) and start grabbing it monthly if you like it. This is one of the grittiest, best, anti-hero comics on the market right now

If you like Sleeper I recommend following it up with Trigger (issue 4 will be hitting the stands shortly)

2. Detective Comics - I can't tell enough people to pick up this arc. It begins with issue #801 and is the best batman since Dark Knight Returns. The arc and writer will be sticking around for 12 issues.

If you like Detective Comics I recommend following it up with The Walking Dead another gritty comic -the second trade just came out.

3. Y The Last Man - This is, IMO, Bryan k. Vaughn's best work. If you are a fan of Steven King's the Stand or Mary Shelley's the last man then this comic is an interesting take on both of those general ideas.

If you like Y the Last Man I recommend following it up with Ex Machina, a new series from Bryan k. Vaughn.

4. and finally Legion of Super Heroes because Mark Waid can do no wrong in my book. Mark Waid is the writer who brought us Kingdom Come, the Best Fantastic Four since Fantastic Four began and had a celebrated run on Flash.

If you like Legion I recommend any of the aforementioned Mark Waid titles although his run on FF is ending this month. The current JLA storyline however is a worthy title as well (writen by Kurt Busiek).

If you can't find good stuff out there, you're not looking hard enough. There are a LOT of great comics out today.

I quit reading comics (except occasionally) the day the last issue of Sandman came out. After that, what is the point? IMHO, they'll never be a comic so consistently good again. Perfect use of the medium.

I haven't 'collected' comics in about 12 years, but every now and then I like to go through my collection.
But I have actually been checking out a lot of graphic novels from the library--can't beat free . Part of the reason I've been out is that I haven't been to a cool comic score that gave me a good vibe; plus a lot of the titles I liked ended or changed, and while I'm sure there's stuff out there I liked, the current prices were too high for 'blind buys' to try to get into a series.

I have focused on the JLA/JSA/Superman/Batman books, since I've always liked the JLA and Batman. Man, they've changed in the past decade. Guy Gardner's still a jerk though. Maybe I should start another thread so I can get some answers to fill in the past 15 years of comic history I've missed

Also on my desk waiting to be read is the first five collections of Y The Last Man.
I was never a huge fan of Marvel comics, so I haven't really focused on them.

One series I like that is reasonably new, I think, is Fables, a real-life take on classic fairy tales.

The library has a couple collections of Sleeper, so I'll try them as well.

If you want to try some really different stuff, Top Shelf is having a huge sale. I don't know how long it lasts, but here's the link: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog...4fd887fad737b8

I agree. There are plenty of reasons to quit reading comics, including lack of time and price. Lack of quality, IMO, is a terrible reason. There are so many great books out there that it's hard to believe you couldn't find something you like.

Um...if you want to read great & complete series, check out Preacher or Transmetropolitan. Both are top notch and around 60 issues apiece (available in TPBs as well). Both are also from Vertigo and are not for the young

I can see your problem, you really enjoy quality works that are written with the blood of the writer. Hm.

Right now i'm enjoying only about 3 or 4 comics a month, and even then they're pushing it. Most of what I see on the shelves is recycled garbage:

Fantastic Four & F4
All those shitty re-assembled Avengers books
All Ultimate Titles
All X-men titles ESPECIALLY ASTONISHING
All Superman titles
All Batman titles. Gotham Central is an exception.
All Spider-man titles.
All mainline DCU superhero titles (i.e. anyone who's in JLA or JSA etc etc)
All DCU team books (JLA, JSA, Teen Titans, Outsiders, etc)
...anything written by Geoff Johns, Jeph Loeb, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Sean McKeever, Brian K. Vaughan, Steven T. Seagle, JMS, the list goes on of overrated hacks. You'll usually find them inhabiting the Wizard top ten.

I guess I can give you the re-assurance that if you ever come back to reading mainstream comics again that everything will be in the same place that you left it.

I read the paper version of Comics International each month and am intrigued by some of the reviews. But my gut reaction is to wait for a collected version of a title rather than to buy it monthly. Of course there is no guarantee that any particular title will survive to be collected together and reprinted that way.

Part of the problem is that I'm bored with superhero books. They are mostly written for a college-age audience. So while X-Men and Batman were great when I was 20, they've lost their appeal over the years. I've been reading here for a long time how great the current JLA books are, but I don't feel a lot of desire to check them out.

I don't know. Maybe I just need to give comics a rest for a while. I still have to visit my local comic shop to pick up my reprints of Krazy Kat and Peanuts.

Sleeper, Trigger, and Y The Last Man are not superhero books and are part of the reason I listed Sleeper and Trigger first in my recommended list. Pick up the Sleeper Vol. 1 Trade and see what you think about it unless you have already talked yourself out of comics and just decided to start a thread to start a thread.

I'm a fan of Invincible and Y.

Wow. Painting with a broad brush there eh? There are a lot of stale books out there but some of the stuff you listed as "garbage" I happen to think is pretty good. Granted different ops and all that jazz. I won't try to counter everything you've said but I would like to let the OP know that the current runs on Teen Titans and Fantastic Four are (as well as Birds of Prey)...well fantastic. Sure it's superhero fare, but its really really good superhero fair. I do know that the tights and capes aren't for everybody. These books are more about fun than deep/grim/gritty like the books the OP mentioned as enjoying but they're worth your time. I'd also like to echoe others sentiments and say Invincible and Y the Last Man are really good.

Of the books you said you (the op) liked though I think Y The Last Man and Ex Machina might be what the doctor ordered. Also Walking Dead for just a really fun fast moving book.

There definately is quality stuff out there.

Get away from Marvel. They have headed down the toilet for awhile. Otherwise, there are some good ones out there.

Oh, and if you never got into them, pick up some of the Valiant books like Bloodshot, Magnus, etc. They can be had butt cheap, and the stories are good. The art is pretty substandard, but they are worth the 4 for $1 easily.

Fables is the best book out there today. Also, the guy who bashed basically all the non-vertigo stuff is wayyy of the mark. Have you even read any of it? It's like you just picking anything Wizard publishes about and instantly pushing it aside. I'm not sure that the mainstream comic buyer exists anymore, and the stuff you listed is for the most part selling big, so someone out there must be buying and enjoying it.

Artesia
Rex Mundi
Sleeper
Promethea
Grimjack Killer Instinct
Kabuki
Supreme Power
Planetary
Concrete Human Dilemma
DEMO
DC's Humanoids line
Walking Dead

Upcoming:

Strange Girl
Sea of Red

Silly rabbit. I walked through a comic book store yesterday and in 5 minutes saw a dozen titles worth reading. If you can't skim the shelves and find books that you'd enjoy, then YES. It's time for you to quit.

Seconded. This is really good, and each issue leaves me wanting more.

Ellis' Global Frequency was good, but I'm not sure if it's over or not.

There's a comic called The Invincibles or something like that about a father who is a superhero and has a wife and son, and it centers on his son and how he adjusts to getting powers of his own and learning more about his father.

I've heard good things about Queen and Country... it's a book about spies. James Bond-y without the corn is how it's been described.

Yes, Astro City

I heard that you carry wooden stakes in your pocket, just in case you meet a vampire. Is that true?

Looks like a lot of votes for Y, the Last Man. I'll give that a try. For some reason, I thought I disliked it, but have no memory of any reason why.

Invincibles also sounds kind of cool, and I remember a lot of people recommending Transmetropolitan when it was in being made.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Whoo! Let us know what you think about it. If you like it, great we can then give a better list of recommendations, if you don't then let us know why and we should be able to find something else. Make sure to pick up the first trade (vol. 1) as opposed to the current issues: the title is Y The Last Man: Unmanned and has a $12.95 list price.