Good crime/noir stories

[Batmil]

Hey all,

As I'm re-reading watchmen whilst waiting for my Big Damn Sin City to arrive I noticed that my interest in crime stories is growing. I'm now hoping to get some tips from you guys. I've heard some good stuff about Criminal and Sleeper by Brubaker, Daredevil by Miller and Velvet. I'm really into dark, grimy books. Which one of these will be a good pick? Or what else do you suggest?

Thanks in advance!!

[Billy Batson]

100 Bullets
Criminal
From Hell
Grendel
A History of Violence
Incognegro
Punisher Max by Ennis
Road to Perdition
Sandman Mystery Theatre
Scalped
Stray Bullets
Torpedo

[victorxd1999]

Ah, my specialty

Let's see...
Everything by Brubaker and Phillips is top tier noir. Look for Sleeper, Criminal, Fatale, Incognito, Scene of the Crime, The Fade Out and anything yet to release. Parker by Cooke is amazing. 100 Bullets and From Hell are classics. Stray Bullets is good. Human Target and Shade the Changing Man are great Milligan titles. I just started Jon Sable but it's very good so far.

Good noir-ish/crime superhero/big 2 titles are Daredevil by Miller/Smith/Bendis/Brubaker/Nocenti, Secret Warriors, Green arrow by Grell and Lemire, Batman (Year One, Dark Knight Returns, Arkham Asylum, Killing Joke etc.), and a lot more I'm probably forgetting

[Spirou]

Ah, my specialty

Let's see...
Everything by Brubaker and Phillips is top tier noir. Look for Sleeper, Criminal, Fatale, Incognito, Scene of the Crime, The Fade Out and anything yet to release.

Stop reading here :-) . Brubaker/Phillips will probably go down one day as the top congenial crime story Artist/Writer pairing of all time. Everything is just fantastic but start with Criminal or Sleeper.

[Big Bad Voodoo Lou]

Sleeper is my favorite of Brubaker and Phillips' crime-noir works, but you should start with the prequel miniseries Point Blank, even though Phillips did not draw that one. Criminal, Incognito, and Fatale are all great too, although I haven't read the last volume of Fatale yet. Brubaker also wrote Scene of the Crime, with pencils by his Daredevil/Gotham Central collaborator Michael Lark and inks by Phillips.

You should also read Brubaker's Catwoman run from the early 2000s, which was excellent. It is currently reprinted in three thick TPBs, but I only cared for the first 24 issues of his run, collected in volumes 1 and 2. It featured some gorgeous art by the likes of Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred, Brad Rader, and Cameron Stewart. The third TPB reprints #25-37, and it was an abrupt shift of tone that suffered from too many crossovers with the other Bat-books (not included in the TPB) and some very ugly Paul Gulacy art that didn't fit at all with what had come before. #24 is a perfect end-point for this run, trust me.

Brubaker and Greg Rucka co-wrote Gotham Central, a fantastic police procedural series with art by Michael Lark. You get to follow the day and night shifts of the Gotham PD as they solve crimes, often dealing with weird elements and supervillains, often resenting Batman's inteference in their work. The whole thing is collected in four newer TPBs.

Daredevil has been lucky to have at least four excellent writers across the decades: Frank Miller in the late '70s and early '80s (who returned for the best DD story ever, Born Again, in the mid-'80s, and an origin story, The Man Without Fear, in the early '90s), Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker in the 2000s, and Mark Waid in the 2010s. Waid's story is purposely brighter, more colorful, and more traditionally superheroic, but Miller, Bendis, and Brubaker really got deep and dark in the crime-noir gutters.

I am one of the few who doesn't love Miller's early work, but I can't say enough great things about Born Again, which reteamed him with his Batman: Year One artist David Mazzuchelli. Bendis' run (with Alex Maleev's art) is outstanding all the way through, and it leads directly into Brubaker's run (with Michael Lark's art), which had a great first story arc but never quite reached those heights again.

Sandman Mystery Theatre is also a great series from the early-to-mid '90s, a Vertigo series meant for mature readers, set in the late '30s and early '40s. I actually bound my complete run into three custom hardcover volumes. It is co-written by Matt Wagner and Steven Seagle, with Guy Davis on the majority of the art.

[Billy Batson]

Shade the Changing Man are great Milligan titles.

Shade isn't a crime/noir series.

[victorxd1999]

Sleeper is my favorite of Brubaker and Phillips' crime-noir works, but you should start with the prequel miniseries Point Blank, even though Phillips did not draw that one. Criminal, Incognito, and Fatale are all great too, although I haven't read the last volume of Fatale yet. Brubaker also wrote Scene of the Crime, with pencils by his Daredevil/Gotham Central collaborator Michael Lark and inks by Phillips.

You should also read Brubaker's Catwoman run from the early 2000s, which was excellent. It is currently reprinted in three thick TPBs, but I only cared for the first 24 issues of his run, collected in volumes 1 and 2. It featured some gorgeous art by the likes of Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred, Brad Rader, and Cameron Stewart. The third TPB reprints #25-37, and it was an abrupt shift of tone that suffered from too many crossovers with the other Bat-books (not included in the TPB) and some very ugly Paul Gulacy art that didn't fit at all with what had come before. #24 is a perfect end-point for this run, trust me.

Brubaker and Greg Rucka co-wrote Gotham Central, a fantastic police procedural series with art by Michael Lark. You get to follow the day and night shifts of the Gotham PD as they solve crimes, often dealing with weird elements and supervillains, often resenting Batman's inteference in their work. The whole thing is collected in four newer TPBs.

Daredevil has been lucky to have at least four excellent writers across the decades: Frank Miller in the late '70s and early '80s (who returned for the best DD story ever, Born Again, in the mid-'80s, and an origin story, The Man Without Fear, in the early '90s), Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker in the 2000s, and Mark Waid in the 2010s. Waid's story is purposely brighter, more colorful, and more traditionally superheroic, but Miller, Bendis, and Brubaker really got deep and dark in the crime-noir gutters.

I am one of the few who doesn't love Miller's early work, but I can't say enough great things about Born Again, which reteamed him with his Batman: Year One artist David Mazzuchelli. Bendis' run is outstanding all the way through, and it leads directly into Brubaker's run, which had a great first story arc but never quite reached those heights again.

Sandman Mystery Theatre is also a great series from the early-to-mid '90s, a Vertigo series meant for mature readers, set in the late '30s and early '40s. I actually bound my complete run into three custom hardcover volumes. It is co-written by Matt Wagner and Steven Seagle, with Guy Davis on the majority of the art.

See, I knew forgot some
Gotham Central, Catwoman and Sandman Mystery Theatre are all seconded by me. Captain America by Brubaker, Queen&Country and Stumptown by Rucka, Question by O'Neil are also a few I forgot. Maybe more will follow...

[Johnny Thunders!]

Stray Bullets is high on my list of Noir comics, Parker by Darwyn Cooke is great, and Sin City reintroduced the genre to comic readers. Arguably Powers is a superhero noir.

[FanboyStranger]

Lot of great choices, but I'd like to add Howard Chaykin's original Black Kiss. You're going to feel dirty for a long time after you've read it, but it is pitch black noir. It's always a tour-de-force of storytelling. (You can skip the sequel.)

If you don't mind your noir featuring animals, then check out Blacksad, Grandville, and District 12, all of which are excellent.

Speaking of Brubaker, hunt down a copy of The Fall. I still think it's the best book he's every done, and he's done some really, really great work.

[Hero]

In addition to the great suggestions already mentiones in this thread I would add...

Goldfish
Jinx
The Killer
Kane
Torpedo
Torso

[Balakin]

You should also read Brubaker's Catwoman run from the early 2000s, which was excellent. It is currently reprinted in three thick TPBs, but I only cared for the first 24 issues of his run, collected in volumes 1 and 2. It featured some gorgeous art by the likes of Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred, Brad Rader, and Cameron Stewart. The third TPB reprints #25-37, and it was an abrupt shift of tone that suffered from too many crossovers with the other Bat-books (not included in the TPB) and some very ugly Paul Gulacy art that didn't fit at all with what had come before. #24 is a perfect end-point for this run, trust me.

I really loved the Pfeifer-Lopez Catwoman series too. That was my introduction to Catwoman (and yes, you would never think that you should read freakin' Catwoman, but YOU SHOULD!) so maybe it doesn't hold up well but I have fond memories of it.
Also I would add to these great recommendation Arcudi's The Creep.

[FanboyStranger]

Oh, and if you're looking for something with a bit more action, check out John Wagner and Arthur Ranson's Button Man collections from 2000AD. Just an excellent series all around.

[canadianaidan64]

You've probably already read it but Batman: the Long Halloween is a good crime story with amazing noir art.

[harpier]

At the risk of overwhelming you with recommendations and, of course, knowing that this is the collected editions forum, I would still add a few current series to the stellar recommendations offered by others: Brubaker and Phillips' newest installment The Fade Out, only a few issues in; Jason Aaron's killer Southern Bastards, also only a handful of issues in; and Matt Fraction and Howard Chaykin's 50's television noir Satellite Sam.

[Turn the Page]

Anything involving Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Sean Murphy, Darwyn Cook, and Greg Rucka is worth checking out. Most of their good stuff has been already been pointed out, but especially Southern Bastards, Criminal, and Richard Stark's Parker.