[gambit]

Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina both written by Brian K. Vaughan. These series are amazing. Y: The Last Man follows Yorick Brown and his pet helper monkey, Ampersand (y'know, this symbol "&"), after, inexplicably, everything on the planet Earth with a Y chromosome is killed. Yorick is literally the last man on Earth, and trust me, that's a fucked up world. Ex Machina follows the new mayor of New York, who used to be the world's first superhero (names escape me at the moment). It's a very political comic as the mayor tries to deal with his job (gay marriage, offensive art) and his past life (the source of his powers, old enemies/colleagues), and it's set more or less in the real world. Great stuff.

Strangers In Paradise by Terry Moore. I suggest the pocket books since you get more bang for your buck. Anyway, this is a romance comic following the on-again/off-again relationship of Katchoo and Francine, and they'd probably be a couple by now if Katchoo's past and Francine's family/religion/upbringing didn't get in the way. It's extremely funny, dramatic, and heart-breaking all at the same time. A must read.

Tom Strong by Alan Moore. Classic pulp sci-fi hero stuff, and Alan Moore does a great job with this series. It follows Tom Strong, a super-strong super genius and hero of Millenium City, and his adventures and battles that ensue. It's just a lot of fun to read this series, and Chris Sprouse is an amazing artist. Love it.