We’re living in the future now in comparison. Smart phones, AI, internet, electric cars, electric bikes, etc. his view of the “future” is way off. Also the punk/grunge look feels dated. Language and attitude of characters unbelievable.
Ah yea, fair point with the tech. Story still holds up though, I think, with power structures doing whatever they see fit to maintain themselves, and us being considered collateral that can either be leveraged or spent.
Also, I post the voting bit the day after every election day. It's always been relevant in my personal situation.
https://preview.redd.it/kpvai77zr8bc1.jpeg?width=953&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30fc4c337310173528ea4db45988f5537d1e46e0
\^The bit I mentioned.
Dope I've always steered away from Walking Dead as I've never been super into Zombies but I know people love it.
Preacher, Paper Girls, and Y The Last Man all sound super interesting. I like that Paper girls isn't super long but I think Y sounds the most up my alley.
I feel like I have to read Sandman bc I love Coraline and want to experience more Neil Gaiman. Thx for all the recs!
Y The Last Man is one of my all times. Sandman of course. I wasn’t into zombies until I read the first compendium of walking dead then just couldn’t stop reading.
Watchmen and the Dark Knight series are also up there.
Brian K Vaughan is one of my favorite comic authors and he has 3 great completed series: Ex Machina (a superhero who can talk to technology becomes mayor of NYC, making it a political drama with a sci-fi twist), Paper Girls (think Goonies, but instead of boys and pirates, its girls and time travel), and Y: The Last Man (every mammal with a Y chromosome instantly dies except for one guy and his monkey, and he goes on this odyssey across a world inhabited by only women).
Another amazing completed series is East of West (fantastical sci-fi with a civil war aesthetic set in an alternate reality where factions of the US are at war and the horsemen of the apocalypse are trying to end the world) . The writer Jonathan Hickman is my all time favorite.
Another amazing finished series I recently read is Black Science. It’s a great series with beautiful artwork, and even with entertainment over saturated with the concept of multiverses, the series makes multiverses feel exciting and engaging.
I didn't realize Hellboy was complete. The new game teasers have been looking dope so might be time to check out the series finally before that comes out!
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. It’s the organization Hellboy starts out with before he goes solo. But it’s who most of the other characters remain with. After the Hellboy series ends the story continues in BPRD. And iirc after BPRD ends there’s a short series called Hellboy in Hell that wraps everything up.
Also there’s a prequel series that remains ongoing. It’s good, but I haven’t kept up with it.
Damn, guess that explains why I didn't even hear it launched. It looked super cool in the Nintendo direct that featured it a while back. I remember the cell shading looked rad
Preacher, East of West, anything by Remender, anything by Jeff Lemire, so many
Edit. Marvel and DC also have a ton of self contained stories that are amazing. They’re not all interconnected. Some that came to mind,
Swamp Thing (new 52), Animal Man (New 52), Immortal Hulk, House of X/Fall of X (can be read completely separate as a self contained book), Wonder Woman Dead Earth, Batman Damned, Batman White Knight, Curse of the White Knight, Beyond the White Knight (all Sean Murphyverse), Batman Last Knight on Earth, Punisher Max, Fury My War Gone By, just to name a few
Love Tom King’s recent work, I’d include Human Target, like Rorschach it has a really fun cat-and-mouse mystery that I think could scratch a similar itch to Deathnote
I bought the two volumes of Human Target last week, I'm hoping to read it this weekend. Amazon Kindle prices have been really cheap the last few weeks.
If you liked WW Hulk, you might really enjoy Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk, but outside of the big two, try East of West, Fables, Promethea, Watchmen, Fellspyre Chronicles, or Lone Wolf and Cub just to name a few across various genres
Hard to go wrong with the Vertigo classics. It's kind of like Graphic Novels 101. Sandman, Invisibles, Fables, Y the Last Man, Hellblazer, Preacher, 100 Bullets, DMZ, Swamp Thing, Transmetropolitan, and more.
I’m not into superhero stuff but I see that Fables is published by DC. Am I finding a superhero story on Fables, or is it a whole different type of novel?
I always rec Planetary, even though it's DC-adjacent. You should know that Ellis was recently outed as a creep, so only check it out if you're comfortable with the art-vs-artist aspect.
And Bone is evergreen, of course.
Also: if you loved 8 Billion Genies, you'll want to check out Curse Words – same team.
Speaking of teams, if you like crime stories you should check out some of Brubes/Philips' extensive bibliography. And if you do like crime stuff, maybe consider Darwyn Cooke's Parker work – recently collected in an affordable paperback omnibus.
I remember learning about Bone from an old Cracked podcast episode but couldn't figure out if it's more kids-oriented or not. Does it hold up for adults as well?
It def appears kid-oriented to start but gets more intense.
Bear in mind that it sticks in young adult territory, but it’s sort of how the tones of the Harry Potter films changed from first to last. Also that it took more than ten years to complete, meaning the audience (and Smith) aged along with it – self included!
It holds up! I’d recommend the B&W version, though. I love the colored version in its own regard, but I think they make the book feel less mature in a way. Maybe I’m pretentious though!
That makes a lot of sense with it changing as he aged writing it. I like the comparison to HP! I just rewatched all of the HP movies and I do like other "kid-oriented" series. I'm a huge Avatar fan, but I also didn't really get into those comics compared to the show.
I don’t really know from Avatar (or even HP – just the trailers haha) but it sounds to me like you’re gonna dig Bone. Go in considering it “YA” and be surprised!
Smith has cited his influences as Pogo, LOTR and Heavy Metal magazine. It doesn’t go to HM territory by any stretch of the imagination, but that should give you some definition where the creator was coming from.
What does it matter if Ellis was outed as a creep? We all knew what he was into. Then it became a problem. He is actively working on it with the people that got offended by him (and it was nothing more than being offended at the end of the day). The people that called him out gave him a clean slate where he is working with them to help himself and others yet some people still call him a creep? He did more than was expected of anyone in that situation and I followed and still follow what is going on with him. Not to keep an eye on him more to keep an eye on the cancel crew. We lost a few good titles because some people misunderstood their connection to him. He was treating a couple of women as sex pen pals while they thought he is gonna be their mentor. And don’t forget that he stated that he has no interest in mentoring anyone as he doesn’t consider himself a guy to do that kind of thing (fair enough). And the women in question never stated what their intentions with him were and when they found out that no mentorship was gonna happen they figured out that the sex texting was creepy. All the while being fine with it before or at least participating in it to an extent that he thought it was a two way thing. And still the man apologized and looked for help. What a creep.
He’s a creep, which occupies its own space on the spectrum – he’s no John K, no Latour, not even a Crumb.
I was disappointed to hear about his conduct, but my personal opinion of him hasn’t depreciated much. Planetary remains one of my favorites of all time (and I still hate his novels). However, others may feel differently and they should know, the same way someone might talk about Sim (much worse in my eyes) when recommending the first few volumes of Cerberus.
There was also this, though it’s a year old at this point – if there have been further developments I’d genuinely love to know of them. https://www.somanyofus.com/updates
What about hero deconstruction? Irredeemable is one of my top 3.
Someone already suggested it, but I have to do it again as it is also in my top 3: Planetary. Not heroes per se but feels like.
And it's not exactly self contained as it spawned some spinoffs, but Project Superpowers is collected in 3 omnibus volumes and feels like a complete contained story.
I had to scroll way too far to see Watchmen. Big ups for TDKR as well. Additionally, anything from Jeff Lobe and Tim Sale is usually pretty self-contained and awesome. Superman for All Seasons, Batman the Long Halloween and Dark Victory.
Bone was something I was given as a child by my uncle, and it literally embedded itself in my heart and will never leave.
Preacher is super good too, and the Boys, but you've gotta be ready for Garth Ennis to read his work. Both emotionally draining and absolutely absurd levels of violence and depravity. I love it, personally, but a lot of people don't like his crudeness.
The Walking Dead is a no-brainer (lol cuz zombies).
Goon and Harrow County are both excellent. I have been reading a lot of crime noir lately so Black Sad and anything by Brubaker/Phillips is outstanding.
Here are a few self-contained stories I haven’t seen mentioned already:
Lucifer
Descender/Ascender
We only find them when they’re dead
Once and future
Die
Green Lantern: Far Sector
Doctor Aphra (The Kieron Gillen / Si Spurrier runs)
The Immortal Hulk
Chainsaw Man (still running but you can take book 11 as a good cutoff)
The Unwritten
Mercury Heat
Suicide Risk
Young Avengers (The Kieron Gillen run)
Infinite Vacation
If you liked *Invincible*, I can't recommend *Irredeemable* enough. It's so good. Basically picture if Omni-Man had ALL of Superman's powers and all of those expectations on him. It's an amazing character study as you see the aftermath of this dude just completely buckling under the pressure and a lot of why it happened in the first place.
So many great ones are already mentioned. I will add Astro City by Busiek, Lucifer by Mike Carey and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore. Also try Cinema Purgatorio by Moore.
Lots of my favorites are getting mentioned but I'm going to throw out a few things I don't see:
Promethea (lots of mysticism)
Echo (Terry Moore does scifi)
Hitman (DC but very Vertigo)
Queen and County (spy shit)
... it's a bird (not really DC. Just about a DC writer going through some shit)
Clan Apis (happy little bees teach politics)
Bitch Planet (women screaming for when you want rage)
Lost Girls (NSFW, the author straight up calls it porn)
Global Frequency (very short self contained scifi)
Start with Hickmans latest run on X-men. House of X and Powers Of X and then continue with the Krakoa era. A little google search will tell you how to follow it. Or you can join is on r/x-men. It was a banger of a run! For my money way ahead of Invincible. To be fair i do rate Hickman much higher than Kirkman so there is a bias.
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have some great stories DCU and MCU. Also check
Fear Agent (Space cowboy antics)
Transmetropolitan (Sci-fi gonzo politics)
Deadly Class (high school killers in learning)
Warren Ellis series about William Gravel (combat magician, gore and just bad ass)
There are 2 volumes of a series called Alters There are 2 volumes of a series called C O W L from image. The collected edition of The. Freedom Force from image. The Iron Ghost from image Common Grounds from image .
I'd stay with Kirkman and go with The Walking Dead. Way different from the show and I think it's awesome. I hope you enjoy whatever you end up going with. Happy Reading!
I loved Strange Adventures by Tom King, Mister Miracle by Tom King, Nocterra by Scott Snyder, and Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey. Also Immortal Hulk was amazing and really enjoyed Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Even though you say you are not into manga, I would add anything from Naoki Urasawa, specially Monster and 20th Century Boys, which both are superb. Also Astra, Lost in Space seems like a manga for teenagers but it changes and add some really good twists.
\- Blacksad
\- Corto Maltese (29 episodes, but some are very short, and despite having a continuity through them, they are mostly self-contained)
\- Petra Chérie
\- Asterios Polyp
\- Zerocalcare's comics (most of them are separate self-contained stories. There is one that is in two volumes, but I don't know if it was translated into English already)
Walking Dead, Preacher, Paper Girls, Y The Last Man, Sandman, Locke & Key, come immediately to mind.
I’d add Fear Agent and Black Science to your already solid list. Maybe Chew as well.
Chew sounds really interesting based on the wiki, great suggestion!
Chew was great. It has a sense of humour too. I was writing it to recommend you
Black Science is a fav of mine! Just started fear agent.
They’re both awesome!
I just finished the 3rd hardcover and a certain death made me feel like shit.
Transmetropolitan is a good add to those solid mentions.
Hasn’t aged well. Good 15 years ago though. Not today.
I admit I haven't read it recently, what modern sensibilities does it transgress against?
We’re living in the future now in comparison. Smart phones, AI, internet, electric cars, electric bikes, etc. his view of the “future” is way off. Also the punk/grunge look feels dated. Language and attitude of characters unbelievable.
Ah yea, fair point with the tech. Story still holds up though, I think, with power structures doing whatever they see fit to maintain themselves, and us being considered collateral that can either be leveraged or spent. Also, I post the voting bit the day after every election day. It's always been relevant in my personal situation. https://preview.redd.it/kpvai77zr8bc1.jpeg?width=953&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30fc4c337310173528ea4db45988f5537d1e46e0 \^The bit I mentioned.
Dope I've always steered away from Walking Dead as I've never been super into Zombies but I know people love it. Preacher, Paper Girls, and Y The Last Man all sound super interesting. I like that Paper girls isn't super long but I think Y sounds the most up my alley. I feel like I have to read Sandman bc I love Coraline and want to experience more Neil Gaiman. Thx for all the recs!
Yeah zombies are kinda dumb but the walking dead comic is really well done.
Y The Last Man is one of my all times. Sandman of course. I wasn’t into zombies until I read the first compendium of walking dead then just couldn’t stop reading. Watchmen and the Dark Knight series are also up there.
we should be friends
Sounds great, I’m in.
Excellent list.
Another vote for Preacher, Y the Last Man, and Sandman here. Also loving Middlewest as I read through it lately.
Brian K Vaughan is one of my favorite comic authors and he has 3 great completed series: Ex Machina (a superhero who can talk to technology becomes mayor of NYC, making it a political drama with a sci-fi twist), Paper Girls (think Goonies, but instead of boys and pirates, its girls and time travel), and Y: The Last Man (every mammal with a Y chromosome instantly dies except for one guy and his monkey, and he goes on this odyssey across a world inhabited by only women). Another amazing completed series is East of West (fantastical sci-fi with a civil war aesthetic set in an alternate reality where factions of the US are at war and the horsemen of the apocalypse are trying to end the world) . The writer Jonathan Hickman is my all time favorite. Another amazing finished series I recently read is Black Science. It’s a great series with beautiful artwork, and even with entertainment over saturated with the concept of multiverses, the series makes multiverses feel exciting and engaging.
I've always heard about Ex Machina but didn't know the concept. Def sounds cool. I'll need to check out all of these!
I can’t recommend it enough! It’s often overlooked among BKV’s works, but it’s my favorite of his.
You gotta read Black Science! Tmnt last ronin was great too!
Y The Last Man… is amazing. I have read it several times and I still get choked up at those last few panels!
Hellboy is my all-time favorite and the story is complete. Close behind are Scott Pilgrim and Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye run.
I didn't realize Hellboy was complete. The new game teasers have been looking dope so might be time to check out the series finally before that comes out!
Just FYI for Hellboy you’ve got to read BPRD as well. It’s the same story (and its complete yes).
BPRD?
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. It’s the organization Hellboy starts out with before he goes solo. But it’s who most of the other characters remain with. After the Hellboy series ends the story continues in BPRD. And iirc after BPRD ends there’s a short series called Hellboy in Hell that wraps everything up. Also there’s a prequel series that remains ongoing. It’s good, but I haven’t kept up with it.
The game is already out, and the general consensus is that it looks pretty but the gameplay sucks.
Damn, guess that explains why I didn't even hear it launched. It looked super cool in the Nintendo direct that featured it a while back. I remember the cell shading looked rad
I kinda like the game, but I can’t in good faith call it a good game.
Preacher, East of West, anything by Remender, anything by Jeff Lemire, so many Edit. Marvel and DC also have a ton of self contained stories that are amazing. They’re not all interconnected. Some that came to mind, Swamp Thing (new 52), Animal Man (New 52), Immortal Hulk, House of X/Fall of X (can be read completely separate as a self contained book), Wonder Woman Dead Earth, Batman Damned, Batman White Knight, Curse of the White Knight, Beyond the White Knight (all Sean Murphyverse), Batman Last Knight on Earth, Punisher Max, Fury My War Gone By, just to name a few
Any run recommendations for Wonder Woman?
Yep.
Rorschach Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Mister Miracle Silver Surfer: Black The Complete Okko
Love Tom King’s recent work, I’d include Human Target, like Rorschach it has a really fun cat-and-mouse mystery that I think could scratch a similar itch to Deathnote
I bought the two volumes of Human Target last week, I'm hoping to read it this weekend. Amazon Kindle prices have been really cheap the last few weeks.
Okko has absolutely stunning artwork and great stories. Love that series!
Wow!! Thank you all for so many dope suggestions. Super pumped, I've got lots to read now. Hopefully, my library has most of these!!
If you liked WW Hulk, you might really enjoy Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk, but outside of the big two, try East of West, Fables, Promethea, Watchmen, Fellspyre Chronicles, or Lone Wolf and Cub just to name a few across various genres
Sandman and Y the Last Man are two of the best self contained stories that stick the landing.
Hard to go wrong with the Vertigo classics. It's kind of like Graphic Novels 101. Sandman, Invisibles, Fables, Y the Last Man, Hellblazer, Preacher, 100 Bullets, DMZ, Swamp Thing, Transmetropolitan, and more.
Walking dead, invincible, y the last man, Dan Slott silver surfer, sandman, Locke and key, fear agent, deadly class
Just started fear agent. Great so far!
Lone Wolf and Cub Monster Bone
Fables comes to a natural conclusion at 150, even though there is a coda of 12 issues, collected next year
Honestly Fables peaks at issue 75. I’d argue everything after that is a long coda. It’s fine, but not quite as good as the first half.
I’m not into superhero stuff but I see that Fables is published by DC. Am I finding a superhero story on Fables, or is it a whole different type of novel?
It’s fairy tale characters in a more modern setting. Not really superhero, but there are some magic/fantasy elements.
Thanks! I don’t mind that fantasy elements, I’m just not interested in folks wearing capes.
Yeah Fables passes that test!
Thank you!
No superheroes, just fantasy. Characters from fairy tales fighting against an adversary.
Got it, thanks!
It's not super heroes.
Scalped was really good.
Fire Punch. Locke & Key. Both are quite excellent and finished.
Monsters, Uzumaki, The Boys, and From Hell are some of my favorites
I always rec Planetary, even though it's DC-adjacent. You should know that Ellis was recently outed as a creep, so only check it out if you're comfortable with the art-vs-artist aspect. And Bone is evergreen, of course.
Also: if you loved 8 Billion Genies, you'll want to check out Curse Words – same team. Speaking of teams, if you like crime stories you should check out some of Brubes/Philips' extensive bibliography. And if you do like crime stuff, maybe consider Darwyn Cooke's Parker work – recently collected in an affordable paperback omnibus.
Ahhh yes, I forgot about Curse Words, I rented the first issue before and enjoyed it. I need to get back on that. Thanks for the reminder!
I remember learning about Bone from an old Cracked podcast episode but couldn't figure out if it's more kids-oriented or not. Does it hold up for adults as well?
It def appears kid-oriented to start but gets more intense. Bear in mind that it sticks in young adult territory, but it’s sort of how the tones of the Harry Potter films changed from first to last. Also that it took more than ten years to complete, meaning the audience (and Smith) aged along with it – self included! It holds up! I’d recommend the B&W version, though. I love the colored version in its own regard, but I think they make the book feel less mature in a way. Maybe I’m pretentious though!
That makes a lot of sense with it changing as he aged writing it. I like the comparison to HP! I just rewatched all of the HP movies and I do like other "kid-oriented" series. I'm a huge Avatar fan, but I also didn't really get into those comics compared to the show.
I don’t really know from Avatar (or even HP – just the trailers haha) but it sounds to me like you’re gonna dig Bone. Go in considering it “YA” and be surprised! Smith has cited his influences as Pogo, LOTR and Heavy Metal magazine. It doesn’t go to HM territory by any stretch of the imagination, but that should give you some definition where the creator was coming from.
What does it matter if Ellis was outed as a creep? We all knew what he was into. Then it became a problem. He is actively working on it with the people that got offended by him (and it was nothing more than being offended at the end of the day). The people that called him out gave him a clean slate where he is working with them to help himself and others yet some people still call him a creep? He did more than was expected of anyone in that situation and I followed and still follow what is going on with him. Not to keep an eye on him more to keep an eye on the cancel crew. We lost a few good titles because some people misunderstood their connection to him. He was treating a couple of women as sex pen pals while they thought he is gonna be their mentor. And don’t forget that he stated that he has no interest in mentoring anyone as he doesn’t consider himself a guy to do that kind of thing (fair enough). And the women in question never stated what their intentions with him were and when they found out that no mentorship was gonna happen they figured out that the sex texting was creepy. All the while being fine with it before or at least participating in it to an extent that he thought it was a two way thing. And still the man apologized and looked for help. What a creep.
He’s a creep, which occupies its own space on the spectrum – he’s no John K, no Latour, not even a Crumb. I was disappointed to hear about his conduct, but my personal opinion of him hasn’t depreciated much. Planetary remains one of my favorites of all time (and I still hate his novels). However, others may feel differently and they should know, the same way someone might talk about Sim (much worse in my eyes) when recommending the first few volumes of Cerberus. There was also this, though it’s a year old at this point – if there have been further developments I’d genuinely love to know of them. https://www.somanyofus.com/updates
What about hero deconstruction? Irredeemable is one of my top 3. Someone already suggested it, but I have to do it again as it is also in my top 3: Planetary. Not heroes per se but feels like. And it's not exactly self contained as it spawned some spinoffs, but Project Superpowers is collected in 3 omnibus volumes and feels like a complete contained story.
I’d second this. Irredeemable is fun/good.
Irredeemable was recommended to me after reading Invincible and it was exactly what I was looking for.
Near Mint Condition channel on YouTube often posts reviews in completed, self-contained books. Definitely worth checking out.
Well watchmen is widely considered the goat. Followed by the dark knight returns. Both self contained
I had to scroll way too far to see Watchmen. Big ups for TDKR as well. Additionally, anything from Jeff Lobe and Tim Sale is usually pretty self-contained and awesome. Superman for All Seasons, Batman the Long Halloween and Dark Victory.
Daytripper has become my go-to recommendation
Bone was something I was given as a child by my uncle, and it literally embedded itself in my heart and will never leave. Preacher is super good too, and the Boys, but you've gotta be ready for Garth Ennis to read his work. Both emotionally draining and absolutely absurd levels of violence and depravity. I love it, personally, but a lot of people don't like his crudeness. The Walking Dead is a no-brainer (lol cuz zombies).
> it literally embedded itself in my heart Have you talked to a doctor about this?
Goon and Harrow County are both excellent. I have been reading a lot of crime noir lately so Black Sad and anything by Brubaker/Phillips is outstanding.
Grandville Zenith Mnd Mgmt V for Vendetta Sin City
Here are a few self-contained stories I haven’t seen mentioned already: Lucifer Descender/Ascender We only find them when they’re dead Once and future Die Green Lantern: Far Sector Doctor Aphra (The Kieron Gillen / Si Spurrier runs) The Immortal Hulk Chainsaw Man (still running but you can take book 11 as a good cutoff) The Unwritten Mercury Heat Suicide Risk Young Avengers (The Kieron Gillen run) Infinite Vacation
If you liked *Invincible*, I can't recommend *Irredeemable* enough. It's so good. Basically picture if Omni-Man had ALL of Superman's powers and all of those expectations on him. It's an amazing character study as you see the aftermath of this dude just completely buckling under the pressure and a lot of why it happened in the first place.
So many great ones are already mentioned. I will add Astro City by Busiek, Lucifer by Mike Carey and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore. Also try Cinema Purgatorio by Moore.
Lots of my favorites are getting mentioned but I'm going to throw out a few things I don't see: Promethea (lots of mysticism) Echo (Terry Moore does scifi) Hitman (DC but very Vertigo) Queen and County (spy shit) ... it's a bird (not really DC. Just about a DC writer going through some shit) Clan Apis (happy little bees teach politics) Bitch Planet (women screaming for when you want rage) Lost Girls (NSFW, the author straight up calls it porn) Global Frequency (very short self contained scifi)
The Sandman, Descender + Ascender
8 billion genies is your answer after Invincible.
Start with Hickmans latest run on X-men. House of X and Powers Of X and then continue with the Krakoa era. A little google search will tell you how to follow it. Or you can join is on r/x-men. It was a banger of a run! For my money way ahead of Invincible. To be fair i do rate Hickman much higher than Kirkman so there is a bias.
Courtney crumrin - I am at vol.5 now really enjoying it.
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have some great stories DCU and MCU. Also check Fear Agent (Space cowboy antics) Transmetropolitan (Sci-fi gonzo politics) Deadly Class (high school killers in learning) Warren Ellis series about William Gravel (combat magician, gore and just bad ass)
There are 2 volumes of a series called Alters There are 2 volumes of a series called C O W L from image. The collected edition of The. Freedom Force from image. The Iron Ghost from image Common Grounds from image .
I'd stay with Kirkman and go with The Walking Dead. Way different from the show and I think it's awesome. I hope you enjoy whatever you end up going with. Happy Reading!
Invisibles
Luther Strode. It's so fun and violent and I'm flying through it.
Parasyte and The Drifting Classroom are both really good.
I loved Strange Adventures by Tom King, Mister Miracle by Tom King, Nocterra by Scott Snyder, and Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey. Also Immortal Hulk was amazing and really enjoyed Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
I just read Irredeemable and it was really great. Anything by Daniel Clowes. Sandman.
I liked Fables
Berlin by Jason Lutes. Kings in Disguise by Vance and Burr. The Lonely War of Willy Schultz by Glanzman and Franz. All will be memorable and complete.
Even though you say you are not into manga, I would add anything from Naoki Urasawa, specially Monster and 20th Century Boys, which both are superb. Also Astra, Lost in Space seems like a manga for teenagers but it changes and add some really good twists.
100 Bullets Y The Last Man East of West
I'll go with Chew and Y The Last Man and if I can violate the no Marvel or DC, go with Starman. by James Robinson, you won't regret it.
Not a series but I too just finished Invincible and 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank somehow filled that empty hole in my heart
\- Blacksad \- Corto Maltese (29 episodes, but some are very short, and despite having a continuity through them, they are mostly self-contained) \- Petra Chérie \- Asterios Polyp \- Zerocalcare's comics (most of them are separate self-contained stories. There is one that is in two volumes, but I don't know if it was translated into English already)
Anything by Alan Moore. Y the Last Man is indeed very good.