U.S. Comic book genres aside than superheroes ?

[Zauriel]

The U.S. Comic book industry used to publish several genres such as westerns, romance, war, crime, horror, fantasy, supernatural and sci-fi (that is not a licensed property like Star Wars or Star Trek).

Now the publishers are publishing mainly super hero comics and comics based on licensed properties such as GI Joe, Transformers, Aliens, Predator and Star Wars. Some indies including Archie Comics do currently publish non-superhero comics like teen humor. An indie tried to resuscitate some children's comics such as Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich but they flopped.

The Walking Dead is one of the best non-superhero comic books I have read.

I recall IDW is still licensing and publishing some Disney characters like Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck and Chip N Dale's Rescue Rangers.

Why can't they make any successful non-superhero comic books today?

Recently I read some manga. I have discovered so many genres including Cooking genre in particular. I have read manga Chūka Ichiban! (Chinese cooking), Bambino (Italian food) and Yakitate!! Japan (bread baking).

I have discovered there is a lot of sports manga like Prince of Tennis and Slam Dunk (a basketball manga). They also have manga about baseball, boxing, soccer and volleyball, etc

There are more Japanese romance manga than there are American superhero comics. Fantasy is a more common theme than romance in the Japanese manga. A sub-genre of the fantasy genre in manga is called Isekai. There are so many isekai manga you can find on the net.

I have found some magical girl manga like Corrector Yui, Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura far more interesting than Sabrina the Teenage Witch comics.

I have read another manga genre called survival games. Titles such as Darwin's Game, Real Account and Btooom

There are several manga about zombies, including the title Gakkou Gurashi.

There is even a manga about charcoal burning. The manga title is Sumiyaki Monogatari, which means Tales of a Charcoal Burner in Japanese.

You can even publish a manga about knitting and make it sell a bit in Japan.

[Javasaurus]

Have you taken a look at Lumberjanes and Giant Days from Boom! Studios? Neither one falls into the super-hero genre; yet enjoyed decent success. I believe that Lumberjanes is still ongoing.

[seismic-2]

Image in particular publishes a lot of supernatural, horror, fantasy, science fiction, and crime titles, but other publishers such as Boom! and Dark Horse also offer books in those genres. For instance, Saga and Monstress are very popular series but are not super-hero books.

[Zauriel]

I just took a look at Lumberjanes and Saga that both of you recommended. They were quite interesting.

I also just read the Rough Riders comic book created by Adam Glass and Pat Olliffe, published in 2016 by AfterShock. It is an underrated gem that deserves more critical acclaim than the Dark Knight Returns.

[Javasaurus]

If you enjoyed Rough Riders, I would suggest taking a look at Manifest Destiny that's published by Image. It appears to be a loose historical-based fiction title. It's also on my bucket list of titles that I want to try when the budget allows.

Aftershock also published Monstro Mechanica; a historical fiction mini-series centered on Leonardo da Vinci. I enjoyed it; but sadly there has only been one volume published so far.

[KOSLOX]

I'm a big fan of Fantagraphics' My Favorite Thing Is Monsters and Hip-Hop Family Tree.

Slice of life style books in general have been a growing favorite of mine as I've gotten older and more bored with superheroes.

[seismic-2]

I'm a big fan of Fantagraphics' My Favorite Thing Is Monsters and Hip-Hop Family Tree.

Slice of life style books in general have been a growing favorite of mine as I've gotten older and more bored with superheroes.

I agree with Javasaurus at #2 for his recommendation of Giant Days as one of the best slice-of-like comics. It followed three young women (who met as rather mis-matched roommates) as they progressed through their years at a fictional university in northern England. Alas, they have now graduated and the series has ended, but perhaps we shall meet them again in a sequel as they separately encounter life in the work force. I certainly hope so!

[Zauriel]

By the way I am currently reading some Manga namely, Gourmet Glutton and Shoku King

Gourmet Glutton manga makes food eating look interesting.

Shoku King manga has a culinary theme. It shows some cool tasty-looking dishes.

If you enjoyed Rough Riders, I would suggest taking a look at Manifest Destiny that's published by Image. It appears to be a loose historical-based fiction title. It's also on my bucket list of titles that I want to try when the budget allows.

Aftershock also published Monstro Mechanica; a historical fiction mini-series centered on Leonardo da Vinci. I enjoyed it; but sadly there has only been one volume published so far.

Thank you for your recommendations. I will give the book Manifest Destiny a try.

I agree with Javasaurus at #2 for his recommendation of Giant Days as one of the best slice-of-like comics. It followed three young women (who met as rather mis-matched roommates) as they progressed through their years at a fictional university in northern England. Alas, they have now graduated and the series has ended, but perhaps we shall meet them again in a sequel as they separately encounter life in the work force. I certainly hope so!

Then I will check and read Giant Days. It sounds interesting.

[Zauriel]

I am currently reading Fence, an indie comic book published by BOOM. Fence is an excellent comic in terms of storytelling and art. In the course of this story narrative, the characters are well-developed and the character conflicts are well-established. The art is so manga-esque and cute.