http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/the-best-graphic-novels
you may wnat to skip past the bit were we debate what is copmic we are (myself included) got a bit hot and bothered but there's tonnes of passionately argued titles.

Also i would say that going to comic shop a browsing is the key as I think comic books have to be bought with the eyes.
I recently got the new dan dare reworking online (after a review in word!) and frankly the drawing is bobbbins so it pays to browse.

but the 'Preacher' series floats my boat. Dark, violent with holy vengance, sex, vampires and John Wayne alike killers.

...what a question. You do realise that it's kind of saying I've heard of this rock music, where do I start?

Ok, if you like dark, then you have to get Batman The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (also try his Daredevil run, and the various Sin City comics), The Watchmen and anything pretty much by Alan Moore.

Then you could try out the Sandman series. Swamp Thing, Hellblazer and Preacher are all worth a dip, being dark horror with great storylines.

And most of this is at least ten-twenty years old. I couldn't begin to tell you of anything more recent.

I'd say those though would all be enough to get you going.

and it's a long road, but here's a few I've read and enjoyed.

I started with 'V for Vendetta' by Alan Moore (who also wrote Watchmen), after watching the film. Moore hates the film, saying it missed the point of the story. I disagree.
'Maus' - an amazing comic about the Holocaust. If you read no other, read this.
At the moment, I'm halfway through 'Poison River', part of the 'Love and Rockets' series by the Hernadez brothers. I'm enjoying it hugely.
And finally, 'Watchmen'. I read it a fortnight ago, and I'll be reading it again over the weekend. Absolutely brilliant.

I tried a collection of 'Battle Royale' comics from Japan, but gave up. Incredible artwork, but the violence got too much.

And to save money, try your local library. Mine has great selection.

http://www.popmatters.com/

Is a great web magazine, covering music, films, tv, books, games and yes comics. There is a great archive of features and reviews. The front page today has a review of a comic called Starman, links to the archive are at the bottom of that feature.

I always choose my comic reading matter by the writers. You won't go far wrong with Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison and Brian Michael Bendis. There's this bloke called Stan Lee who isn't bad as well ;)

Comics aren't just about superheroes (cliche no 1), but there's some good stuff in the genre.

I think those last two Batman films were heavily based on Batman: Year One - hard to believe it was written by the same guy that wrote (the overblown and overrated, IMHO) Dark Knight Returns. Better art too.

There are a fair few crime comics about, I hear good things about 100 Bullets, Torso, A History of Violence etc. (but I haven't read any of them!)

Plenty of "dark" superheroes out there, and most of them bad. But check out Powers, which mixes the Cop Procedural genre with blokes that can fly and shoot razorblades out of their eyeballs.

Similarly, Alan Moore's Top Ten is about cops in a city where everyone's a superhero. It's a right hoot!

for 'Captain Britain and MI:13' the first voume of which has just come out in trade and is about £6, and the mini-series 'Wisdom'? Both are by Paul Cornell who wrote a few episodes of the new Doctor Who.

A Skrull who looks and acts like John Lennon, violent fairies, Merlin, invasions of Avalon, 'Captain Midlands' and two very witty tales. Absolutely fantastic.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The research starts here.

..Try Miller and Sienkiewicz's Electra:Assassin - it's self-contained, so you don't need to have read reams of back issues to know what's what, and the art is mindboggling.

Also, if you want a fantastic parody of the 60's Marvel type books, pick up "1963" by Moore, Bissette, Veitch et all

I don't read many comic books/illustrated novels, but I agree with the points above - Watchmen is fantastic, and Maus is a riveting and very moving book.

Jack Staff by Paul Grist - British creator, US publisher (Image) - it's fab, gorgeous art, snappy dialogue and damned funny to boot- features Steptoe and Son as vampire hunters, Dad's Army as incidental characters etc. and although it's one over-arcing tale it's presented in shorter stories just like British comics used to be.