Recommend your favorite TPBs

[John Cooper]

Just to throw out some titles I haven't seen mentioned yet:

She Hulk: Single Green Female - a lighthearted look at the life of a superheroine/lawyer.
Tom Strong - Another Alan Moore book, this one about a science hero. I've only got the first book, but I think there may be more.
Any of the Alan Moore Swamp Thing compilations. A great reworking of the shambling swamp monster archetype.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Several of these have already been mentioned, but I'll list them anyway:

Sandman
Preacher
Astro City
Batman: Year One
Batman: Killing Joke
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: Haunted Knight
Top 10 (1 & 2)
Bone
Swamp Thing
Green Lantern/Green Arrow (1 & 2)
Kingdom Come
Crisis on Infinite Earths

And I'll be the lone voice against the Ultimates. Didn't like it AT ALL. I guess I'm just an old Avengers fanboy, and I REALLY dislike what they did to them in the Ultimate universe.

 

[CrusaderX]

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear - the best DD story ever, IMO, and possibly my favorite comic story, period

Daredevil: Born Again - the 2nd best DD story ever

Daredevil: The Elektra Saga - more Miller DD goodness

X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga - the ultimate X-Men story. Much more ultimate than anything in Ultimate X-Men, BTW

X-Men: The Asgardian Wars - just a fun story with some killer Art Adams art

Justice League/Avengers

Batman Year One

Watchmen

Danger Girl

 

[merztrumpet]

Grant Morrison's The Invisibles

 

[LightPhoenix]

I'll second Rising Stars, it's a great set.

 

[mmadsen]

Tom Strong - Another Alan Moore book, this one about a science hero. I've only got the first book, but I think there may be more.

I loved the first Tom Strong TPB -- and I really didn't enjoy the next two, when it moved from Doc Savage homage to wacky '50s and '60s space superheroes.

 

[sniffles]

Castle Waiting - it's a small press production and was intended to be ongoing, but I think author/artist Linda Medley had to give it up due to budgetary problems. A gentle twist on fairy tales, with very Rackham-esque artwork (the illustrator, not the miniatures company).

The following are still ongoing, but I like to draw people's attention to them because I think they're deserving of more notice: The graphic novel of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Andy Seto. Because it's probably the only way we'll ever get part of Wang Dulu's Iron Crane Pentalogy in English. Ditto for any graphic novel of Jin Yong's novels - Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre, The Legendary Couple. Jin Yong is as popular in Asia as Stephen King or John Grisham are here. But no one seems to be interested in translating his works into English. Half the Jet Li movies you may have seen were based on Jin Yong's work. You ain't seen dark until you've read a wuxia novel.

 

[Enforcer]

Hellboy is really good, I'd recommend that.

I'm also a Batman fan, and have enjoyed Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, Hush (two books for the story and I did have to look online to see who the hell Huntress was), and thought Part One of Knightfall was pretty decent too (haven't gotten the remaining parts). The Dark Knight Strikes Back was wretched, it made NO sense at all.

I've also got some Hellblazer trades, but even though I can't remember much about them (read them a while ago) I do remember liking them.

 

[Welverin]

What else is worth reading and relatively easy to find? I'm open to anything of quality.

You want quality? I'll give you quality!

Bone, best comic ever. You can get it all in one big honkin' volume, though I'd suggest the new color versions that are coming out (one and two, only problem with these is it will be a while before they are all out). There are also two spin offs, Rose and Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, the Adventures of Big Johnson Bone.

Powers, It's by Bendis who also writes USM. There's a new hardcover of the first year on the way next month. You can find a list of trades here.

Supreme Power is another series I really like, by J Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank (Who made Midnight Nation, look below).

I'll second:
Midnight Nation (better than Rising Stars)and Batman The Long Halloween.

Ultimate Nightmare is something I'll have to consider after I pick up The Ultimates.

While you're considering that, consider Ultimate Marvel Team-up, it's an anthology series by Bendis, so the quality may vary, but it's Bendis. It's also available in one volume.

And I've heard nothing but good things about Preacher. Is the whole series in TPB form?

Yep, it end years ago, need to get the rest of it myself.

 

[Klaus]

JLA: New World Order: collects the first arc of the Grant Morrison JLA, reuniting the Big Seven (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern/Kyle Rayner, Flash/Wally West and Martian Manhunter). Awesome characterizations, and dozens of iconic moments.

JLA: Earth-2. The JLA battle their evil counterparts from the Anti-Matter Universe, the Crime Syndicate of Amerika (Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Power Ring and *insert name of the evil Flash, since I can't remember it*). By Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

Nightwing TPBs: mostly the ones collecting Chuck Dixon/Scott McDaniel issues, beginning with A Knight In Blüdhaven).