What would be your top 20 NON-Superhero comics

[mrbrklyn]

Being Swedish, I'm not sure I agree with the assertion that superhero comics dominate the industry. It might be true in the USA, but certainly not in Europe. So here goes, in alphabetical order:

• 91:an Karlsson
• Adèle Blanc-Sec
• Allan Kämpe
• Arne Anka
• Asterix
• Bamse (kids comic, hugely popular in the Nordic countries)
• Buddy Longway
• Ensamma mamman ("The Single Mom")
• Girl Genius
• Kapten Stofil (superhero comics, but for very weird values of superheroes)
• Lone Wolf and Cub
• Lucky Luke
• Luther Arkwright, and especially the followup Heart of Empire
• Modesty Blaise
• Les Passagers du vent (no English edition)
• The Phantom (okay, a proto-superhero)
• Ratte
• Tintin
• Valérian and Laureline
• Ville

Are these all in sweedish? Manmah Nah

[The Whovian]

Fables
The Sword
East of West
Lazarus
Conan by BWS
Hellboy
BPRD
Abe Sapien
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel

That's all I can think of right off the top of my head.

[kjn]

Are these all in sweedish? Manmah Nah

All are (or were) available in Swedish. Seven were originally in French (by French, Belgian, or Swiss creators), eight in Swedish, four in English (two British), and one in Japanese. Thinking back, I could possibly have put in one or two Norwegian (Pondus and Nemi) instead of the last few Swedish ones. Or maybe one in Spanish (Mafalda).

Oh, and I should have put in Berglin instead of one of the more marginal Swedish issues, but that's just exchanging a Swedish comic for another Swedish (sorta) comic.

[From The Shadows]

I've been meaning to read more non superhero comics but the only ones I've read are Groo and Strangers in Paradise which I've enjoyed greatly.

[K7P5V]

1. V for Vendetta
2. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
3. Transformers
4. Bone (Jeff Smith)
5. Tomb of Dracula
6. Sachs & Violens
7. Cinder & Ashe
8. The Books of Magic
9. Jonah Hex
10. Usagi Yojimbo
11. Concrete (Paul Chadwick)
12. Body Bags (Jason Pearson)
13. Gunsmith Cats
14. You're Under Arrest
15. Dominion (Masamune Shirow)
16. Hilly Rose (B.C. Boyer)
17. Xenozoic Tales
18. The Last American
19. Bastard Samurai
20. Samurai Executioner

[Mister Mets]

I'm counting to exclude anything in a superhero universe, even if it fits another genre (Sandman, Moore's Swamp Thing.) And some other superhero influenced work (Ex Machina, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) isn't counted.

In no particular order...

Peanuts
Calvin & Hobbes
Lone Wolf & Cub
Carl Barks Duck Stories
Love & Rockets
Ennis/ Dillon Preacher
Fables
Maus
Cartoon History of the Universe
Blankets
Bone
Global Frequency
The Adventures of Barry Ween Boy Genius (one of the funniest comic book series ever)
From Hell
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Stuck Rubber Baby
Fell
Mad Magazine 1-23
A Contract With God
Understanding Comics

[ed2962]

Let's see, in no real order...

Love and Rockets
Hate
Ghost World
Weirdo era R. Crumb
American Flagg ( first 12 issues)
Promethea
Swamp Thing ( Alan Moore)
Fablous Furry Freak Brothers
Criminal by Ed Brubaker
Fun Home by Alison Bechel
Daytripper
Optic Nerve
Paying For It by Chester Brown ( I might change my mind on this one)
Gideon Falls
Sin City
Southern Bastards
Ex-Machina ( Brian Vaughn)
Maus

I know there's something I'm not thinking of right now...Oh, I know!

The Fade Out by Brubaker
Satellite Sam by Chaykin and Fraction

[mrbrklyn]

1. V for Vendetta
2. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
3. Transformers
4. Bone (Jeff Smith)
5. Tomb of Dracula
6. Sachs & Violens
7. Cinder & Ashe
8. Jonah Hex
9. The Books of Magic
10. Usagi Yojimbo
11. Concrete (Paul Chadwick)
12. Body Bags (Jason Pearson)
13. Gunsmith Cats
14. You're Under Arrest
15. Dominion (Masamune Shirow)
16. Hilly Rose (B.C. Boyer)
17. Xenozoic Tales
18. The Last American
19. Bastard Samurai
20. Samurai Executioner

Bone was excellent

[mrbrklyn]

I'm counting to exclude anything in a superhero universe, even if it fits another genre (Sandman, Moore's Swamp Thing.) And some other superhero influenced work (Ex Machina, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) isn't counted.

In no particular order...

Peanuts
Calvin & Hobbes
Lone Wolf & Cub
Carl Barks Duck Stories
Love & Rockets
Ennis/ Dillon Preacher
Fables
Maus
Cartoon History of the Universe
Blankets
Bone
Global Frequency
The Adventures of Barry Ween Boy Genius (one of the funniest comic book series ever)
From Hell
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Stuck Rubber Baby
Fell
Mad Magazine 1-23
A Contract With God
Understanding Comics

[mrbrklyn]

Let's see, in no real order...

Love and Rockets
Hate
Ghost World
Weirdo era R. Crumb
American Flagg ( first 12 issues)
Promethea
Swamp Thing ( Alan Moore)
Fablous Furry Freak Brothers
Criminal by Ed Brubaker
Fun Home by Alison Bechel
Daytripper
Optic Nerve
Paying For It by Chester Brown ( I might change my mind on this one)
Gideon Falls
Sin City
Southern Bastards
Ex-Machina ( Brian Vaughn)
Maus

I know there's something I'm not thinking of right now...Oh, I know!

The Fade Out by Brubaker
Satellite Sam by Chaykin and Fraction

Criminal is a recent classic !

[mrbrklyn]

Let's see, in no real order...

Love and Rockets
Hate
Ghost World
Weirdo era R. Crumb
American Flagg ( first 12 issues)
Promethea
Swamp Thing ( Alan Moore)
Fablous Furry Freak Brothers
Criminal by Ed Brubaker
Fun Home by Alison Bechel
Daytripper
Optic Nerve
Paying For It by Chester Brown ( I might change my mind on this one)
Gideon Falls
Sin City
Southern Bastards
Ex-Machina ( Brian Vaughn)
Maus

I know there's something I'm not thinking of right now...Oh, I know!

The Fade Out by Brubaker
Satellite Sam by Chaykin and Fraction

https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/gideon-falls-1

I've heard lots of great things about Gideon Falls but it seems so dark!

[MRP]

I'm going to exclude some stuff that touches on or featured super-heroes/villains even though they weren't quite super-hero books like Sandman, Hellboy, Hellblazer, the Spirit and that ilk...

In no particular order, just as I think of them...

1. Bone by Jeff Smith
2. The Incal by Jodorowsky & Moebius
3. Lone Sloane by Druillet
4. Fax from Sarajevo by Joe Kubert
5. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
6. Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond
7. Conan by Busiek/Nord
8. Finder by Carla Speed McNeil
9. Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore
10. Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower
11. The Adventures of Luther Arkwright by Bryan Talbot
12. Books of Ballads and Sagas by Charles Vess and Friends
13. Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai
14. Berlin by Jason Lutes
15. Contract with God Trilogy by Will Eisner
16. Parker adaptations by Darwyn Cooke
17. Metamorphosis Odyssey/The Price/Dreadstar by Jim Starlin
18. Jon Sable, Freelance by Mike Grell
19. Half Past Danger by Stephen Moore
20. Trillium by Jeff Lemire

some more recent series that are still ongoing could take their place on the list like Saga, Descender, Injection, Lazarus, Gideon Falls, Southern Bastards, etc. and some I haven't yet had a chance to revisit to see if they hold up past my initial read of them to see if they can crack the top 20 like Fade Out, Fatale, The Sculptor, etc.

There's so many more I wanted to include, A Distant Soil, Elfquest, Love and Rockets, RASL, Safe Area Gorazde, Castle Waiting, Rex Mundi, Maus, Criminal, Concrete, Invisibles, etc. but there just isn't room for them all in a list of 20.

I read far more non-super-hero comics than I do capes and tights stuff these days, and have been that way since the late 90s when I started seeking out what else was out there. I still enjoy some super-hero stuff now and then, and I still have a nostalgic connection to the Bronze Age books I read as a kid in the 70s, but they no longer make up a big part of my comic book consumption.

Ask me tomorrow and my list of 20 would differ than the one I came up with off the cuff now, as I know I am forgetting a bunch of favorites.



-M

[Arfguy]

I don't have 20

The Walking Dead
Sin City
100 Bullets
Pryde of Baghdad
We3
The Eternals (Marvel MAX)
Saga (but I've only read up to book 4)
Orbiter
Conan the Barbarian (Busiek and Nord)
I Am Legion

I like science-fiction, fantasy, action, etc. The kind of stuff that doesn't happen in real life. This list would be a lot easier if I could include Planetary and Immortal Iron Fist

[marvelmaniac6169]

so you were a marvel fan before Marvel?

I discovered and fell in love with Marvel after seeing an F.F. 25 at a friends house (early 1965, I was 9), the cover drew me in (More like WOW!!!) and I was then hooked, Marvel was now #1.
I had friends that also read/collected comics and that is how I was introduced to other Marvel titles (Loved the Westerns, Collectors Items Classics and All Crossover Books) and then started buying my own with my 25 cent a week allowance.
I still remember buying ASM 21, Daredevil 7/8, F.F. 33/35 and X-Men #8, for whatever reason those issues stand out in my mind.
Before that it was all "funny" books. (Archie, Harvey, etc.) and I still enjoy reading them today.
Back in the early 70's there was a local used book store that had table's full of remainder/coverless copies of comics (3 for 25 cents or 15 for $1.00).
I would go about once a month or so and I would load up on Archie, Harvey, Sad Sack, Beetle Bailey and just go home and read comics for hours.
That is also where I found my remainder copy of Avengers 7 which I still have.

[mrbrklyn]

I don't have 20

The Walking Dead
Sin City
100 Bullets
Pryde of Baghdad
We3
The Eternals (Marvel MAX)
Saga (but I've only read up to book 4)
Orbiter
Conan the Barbarian (Busiek and Nord)
I Am Legion

I like science-fiction, fantasy, action, etc. The kind of stuff that doesn't happen in real life. This list would be a lot easier if I could include Planetary and Immortal Iron Fist

You need to talk to MRP for suggestions!!! He is the king.

Sci-Fi - two suggestions

Blackmark
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1535963.Blackmark

The Stars: My Destination
The Stars My Destination - The Complete Graphic Story Adaptation
by Alfred Bester (writer),
Howard Chaykin (artist

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...ory_Adaptation