I've finally found a Jonathan Hickman book that I actually like!
East of West is awesome. Just finished the first hardcover. It was slow going at first; I thought it was just another big idea and pretentious presentation book from Hickman, but then the Ranger was introduced and I all clicked.
Does anyone know if the Walking Dead Omnibuses are actually the size of the DC Absolute editions?
Are there stories that are space based that aren't Star Wars? Maybe something like Firefly?
I've only read what's been collected in OHC, so I have yet to read Time Runs Out and Secret Wars. Unless there is a huge uptick, I can't see it coming even close to a masterstroke.
I think the worst part of Hickman's Avengers is that it says "Avengers" on it. It might have worked better as a creator owned series, since he seemed to do everything he could to not actually write the Avengers.
Nexus by Mike Baron and Steve Rude. It's collected in five or six paperback digest sized omnibus from Dark Horse
There is also Saga which is coming out currently, which definitely has a lot of space opera elements. It is the critical darling right now and most would recommend it.
If you are an X-Men fan, I am a big fan of Ed Brubaker's Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire. Fun stuff but requires quite a bit of context from other books.
Also from Marvel, the cosmic series of books, predominantly by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, which include Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest, a Guardians of the Galaxy solo series, War of Kings, and Thanos Imperative, among others.
Rick Remender's Fear Agent. It is available in two incredibly well-built Library Editions from Dark Horse. It is so good.
Jim Starlin's Dreadstar. I'm not sure how available it is, but few told science fiction comics in the 20th century like Jim Starlin.