-J.

O’Neil and Adams were interested in tackling the big social issues of the day: pollution, cults, drugs, racism. Green Lantern plays the conservative, law-and-order role and Green Arrow is his hotheaded, you-gotta-break-some-rules-to-get-things-done foil in a road trip across the country.

It’s unlike anything being written now. The dialogue is filled with dated 70s slang, the coloring is a wonderful mix of dark purples and bright neon, and it’s so earnest that you almost feel embarassed for it. But I’d argue that this run of GL/GA did more to drag comics out of the “Hey Kids! Comics!” age than any other. Without it you wouldn’t have (for better or worse) Iron Man as an alcoholic, Hank Pym as a wife beater, Heroes Against Hunger, the Watchmen, or the Superhuman Registration Act.

But more than that, they’re just good comics and Neal Adams’ art is gorgeous. He completely influenced a generation of artists.

Largo Winch is a Belgian comic book series by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme, published by Dupuis.

In the first two volumes of the series (“L’héritier” and “Le Groupe W”) Largo, a young and handsome orphan, is propelled to the head of a business empire, Group W, after his adoptive father Nerio is murdered, and goes through a lot of troubles to preserve his inheritance and avenge Nerio.

The following albums are more or less based on the same basic plot: someone is trying to harm Largo’s company or to take control of it from him, and he has to fight that someone to ensure the survival of his holdings.

All the stories of the series are published in two volumes, the first one being the one putting Largo in an impossible situation, and the second one letting him get out of it.

English versions available in trade form on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Largo-Winch-Lh%C3%A9ritier-Philippe-Francq/dp/2800117915/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245981146&sr=1-5

why you should read it: It’s a completely unique take on what kind of story can be told in the comic medium. A business executive in the boardroom, making deals and trying to run a company? Not your average comic. It sounds boring, until the seasoning of espionage and intrigue are thrown in, with a dash of conspiracy. Perhaps some comparison could be made to Bruce Wayne and James Bond but the tone and tenor of the serious is entirely different, and unique.

–[ title: The Invisibles]————————————————
writer: Grant Morrison
wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisibles

The Invisibles is a mature readers series that was published by Vertigo from 1994 to 2000.

The description is probably impossible for me to put into words. Read the wikipedia entry and stop if you feel a spoiler coming on.

Why you should read it: The author is insane and this happens to be some of his best work. The story is free-form and somewhat confusing when you begin reading it but something keeps you going and wanting to see what happens next. By the time you’re near the end everything in the story makes sense — but perhaps by that time the material you’ve read has made YOU insane too.

More about the author’s high strangeness:

* When the title’s sales slumped in the first year, Morrison suggested a “wankathon” in the hope of bringing about a magical increase in sales by a mass of fans simultaneously masturbating at the same time.

* Morrison has said that much of the story was told to him by aliens when he was abducted during a trip to Katmandu.

Those are my two recommendations! :)

Each issue is a compact story and a great value at $2 a pop. Though, I’m often bored with 9-grid page layout it just feels right in this case.

I especially enjoyed #5 and #9. Unfortunately, the last issue (#9) in this “ongoing” series came out about a year and a half ago, so I’m not expecting to see anymore.