Okay, to consider yourself a stand-up and all-right fan of comic books what do you consider "Required Reading".

I will start off slow.

Return of the Darknight

and

Watchmen

If you haven't read these you're a hack and a simpleton.

Other opinions?

Kingdom Come

Agreed. I'm partial to the Astro City comics myself, particularly the Confession arc.

Thor: Disassembled, Red Son, Transformers: War and Peace are some of my favorite reads.

Midnight Nation by: JMS

'Cerebus', by Dave Sim. Yes, all of it.

'Powers', by the Bendis.

'Sandman', by Neil Gaiman.

'Preacher', by Garth Ennis.

'300', by Frank Miller.

Supreme Power by JMS

Oh for fucks sake.

Required reading, people. Not great, enjoyable or good comics.

What do you considered the pinnacles of the artform? No series is a pinnacle (Sorry Machina, but it can't). There can be stories within a series but please, no series can keep it going at the level I'm talking about.

If someone was going to read...three, three individual comics, tradebacks or graphic novels, would you feel obliged to shove into their hands?

1) Watchmen
2) Return of the Darknight
3) The Confession Astro Citytrade paperback and specifically "The Nearness of You"

Satisfied?

Goddamn, dude, way to bust my fuckin' balls. I'm passionate about my sequential fuckin' art, okay?

Fine. Have it your way. Dick.

'300', Frank Miller
'Johnny the Homicidal Maniac', Jhonen Vasquez
'Cerebus', the 'Church & State' arc, Dave Sim

I'm not as widely-read as some of you, so far as comics are concerned, but here's my list. I'm a firm believer that comics are (ideally) as much literature as Hemingway or Huxley, as much art as Picasso or Parrish, and the graphic novel format in particular makes the best use of both; most of my admittedly small collection isn't made up of individual issues.

Sandman- Preludes and Nocturnes, Brief Lives.
Fables- March of the Wooden Soldiers, 1001 Nights of Snowfall.
Batman- Knightfall.

going by those rules I'll stand by

Thor: Disassembled
Identity Crisis
Civil War


though if you want complete series Civil War doesn't count, I put Green Lantern: The Rebirth in it's place

"Grendel: Devil By The Deed" by Matt Wagner

"Mage" by Matt Wagner

"Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" by Jhonen Vasquez

I have found Red Son, Kightfall and The Dark Knight Returns to be very good, while not really the same kind of material I am a fan of the Sin City works as well.

The entire Sandman collection
Preacher
Grendel: Devil's Legacy
Enigma
The original Books of Magic miniseries
V for Vendetta
Watchmen
Kingdom Come
The Dark Knight Returns
Daredevil: Born Again
the entire Transmetropolitan collection
Promethea
Shade the Changing Man (up until the Season in Hell storyline, I didn't care for what followed that)
Stormwatch/The Authority (before they decided that more over the top was better)/Planetary
The Mystery Play
Breathtaker
Akira
Hellblazer (up to the Rake at the Gates of Hell storyline)
Starman (the version with Jack and the female Mist)
Arkham Asylym

of late, I've really enjoyed ULTIMATE X-MEN.

I'd recommend Supreme Power - Nighthawk. Its a more realistic telling of the Batman motif, isn't about the moron they used in the original Squadron Supreme stuff (Squadron I and II), and tells the story of the relationship between an obsessed man (ala Batman) and a true psychopath (ala Joker).

Its short with only 6 issues and keeps up the level of quality throughout the 6 issues.

I also enjoy Ultimate Fantastic Four. Not every issue is a gem but its usually more interesting than the original Marvel Universe stuff.

Oh, and I'm looking forwarding to (hoping) Ironman/Tony Stark gets the crap kicked out of him so hard his name becomes synonymous with Benedict Arnold. I'm not a huge Civil War fan but I think his beat down is merited.

Hmmm...

I suggest WildC.A.T.s when Alan Moore did the run, his Mr. Majestic story 'The Big Chill' and WildC.A.T.s: Nemesis.

Authority while Warren Ellis was doing it. Oh, and StormWatch from 37 to 50.

Oddly enough, I also enjoyed Zealot/Voodoo: Skin Trade, though the artwork got a little iffy at the end.

Empire from DC.

Mr. Majestic Vol. 1 and 2 if you like over-the-top Superman-style stuff, plus the four-parter done in the DC universe.

In addition to the two originally listed by Hugin, I would add the trade paperpack Batman: The Long Halloween.

Shame on you all for forgetting:

Planetary
Rising Stars
"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tommorrow?" and "For the Man Who Has Everything" - classic Superman
Supeman: Red Son
Stormwach, particularly the "Change or Die" arch.


Also, if you have any interest in a darker view of superpowers and espionage, Ed Brubaker's Sleeper is a must.

Well, I can't add anything here except

Slaine - (Pat Mills and Simon Bisley) Particularly the Horned God story arc. Reading this as a youngster made me the fine upstanding fellow I am today.

J. Michael Straczynski is a jackass and if 'Rising Stars' was an ice cream flavor, it would be prailines and dick. I was never so diappointed by the denouement of a comic.

No Seph, tell us how you really feel. <lol>

Seph: Personally, I tend to agree with you on the last three issues or so going firmly down hill, but the rest of the piece is of such resoundingly fertile quality in terms of ideas and execution that I think as a whole it retains its merit.

Despite the fact that I wanted to murder the man after the last panel.

He has a habit of weak endings. If only JMS could work on that one problem, he'd be a master.

Devi from Virgin Comics.