Everyone here loves a good superhero story, I’m sure. But the comics medium is just that, a medium. It can hold a vast array of different kinds of stories.
-What kinds of non-superhero stories do you like to read in comics? Why?
-What specific non-superhero comics are you reading? Why?
-Is there a type of story that you believe can’t work in comics? Why?
-What’s your favorite thing about reading non-superhero stories in comics? Why?
Random thoughts:
I’ve been reading Aspen’s Fathom and Soulfire off and on through Comixology Unlimited.
Why? Because I love strong women in any kind of entertainment but since we’re talking comics, the women in Aspen’s various titles are wonderfully entertaining, simply put. I’ve never failed to find an Aspen title anything less than a great deal of fun. Lady Mechanika looks like an interesting read too.
Image’s The Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman was immensely appealing to me when it came out around 2006 or so. I have experience in the journalism fold and thought a comic that was somewhat about that was intruguing. I don’t remember a thing about this series as I haven’t owned it in years, but it was great at the time.
Army of Darkness comics are usually a winner for me (minus crossovers or things like Freddy vs Jason vs Ash) because I love the movie. Ash translates to comic book form quite well.
I’ve always wanted to read Milk and Cheese. It looks like a deliriously delightful screwball romp from the little I have flipped through of it.
I tend to read a little of everything, it can get kinda crazy. 
Lately I’ve been reading a lot of Hellboy in lead up to the upcoming movie.
I enjoyed Y the Last Man.
Alien 3 this was what alien 3 was supposed to look like on a movie screen
Die it’s kind of dungeon & dragons
Captain Ginger it’s cats in space
I like fantasy and sci-fi comics .Those are a few I am reading right now
Helboy was mentioned earlier and I’ll echo that (even though I personally consider him a superhero). I’ve been going through all the BPRD stuff in the last year or so and it’s all pretty phenomenal. Definitely recommend.
The horror genre is one of my biggest passions, so there are plenty of great horror series that I would rank among my favorites: Locke & Key, Beasts of Burden, Wytches, Alabaster, Hack/Slash, and Vampirella is always fun.
I also dig the modern Archie comics: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Jughead: The Hunger, anything focused on Betty & Veronica, and the main Archie series.
Truthfully, now that i think about it I probably like non-superhero comics more than traditional capes.
I’m really surprised that the Archie franchise has the popularity it does. I always thought he was a doofus when I was a kid.
I like Archie but I’ve never read a comic of his from start to finish.
I’m curious to check out some Hellboy stuff because of the new movie.
@Vroom I get what you’re saying with traditional Archie. That stuff has a certain flavor. But the reboot is very different. The current series are far more contemporary than what you remember. Archie still comes off a a doofus at times, but it’s a more endearing doofus. It’s more teen comedy/drama. And the Archie Horror line definitely is not kid’s stuff.
I remember when that Archie reboot happened. I think I saw something about it in Diamond Previews too.
What constitutes the Archie Horror line?
Some of the Archie Horror stuff just never finished, making all of them miniseries basically. But pretty much everything I’ve read was surprisingly good. Each series has it’s own continuity. The line is:
Afterlife with Archie (Riverdale being overrun with zombies)
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (dark take on Sabrina the Teenage Witch)
Jughead: The Hunger (Juggy and others become werewolves)
Vampironica (Veronica as a vampire)
Blossom 666 (Cheryl and Jason Blossom as the anti-christs)
Right now I’m following East of West (a terrific western sci fi set during the apocalypse), and a whole bunch of Star Wars comics, because Star Wars.
I was re-reading Nexus, and reading the Massive, and Buffy Season 8, but I’m having trouble with my Dark Horse app. I binge Doctor Who occasionally, and have started the newer Marvel Star Wars.
I was a big fan of both CHEW and American Vampire. Both were comics I normally wouldn’t have picked up, but all the good things said about them by people I trusted made me want to check them out. I was pleasantly surprised both times. CHEW was hilarious, often going places I never thought a comic could go (Poyo…that’s all I say) and American Vampire was just well written. It was my first Scott Snyder series.
I mainly follow creators.
I really enjoy Ed Brubaker so I went from his Captain America run to Velvet, Criminal, Sleeper, etc. He really does spy stories, crime/noir, and street level heroes perfectly. The stakes seem higher when it involves human characters that can be hurt or even die.
Love Mike Grell. Started with the Legion and followed him to the Warlord. His twist of sword and science appealed to me more than sword and sorcery. A regular guy in a fantastic world with touches of Edgar Rice Burroughs. That lead me to Jon Sable, another real person who got beat up and had real scars. His origin reminded me of Robert Rouk and his tails of Africa. Starslayer is the reverse of the Warlord, a Celtic warrior transported to the future, a savage in a high tech world. His Green Arrow run took away the trick arrows and made him much more human. No super villains just cool street level adventure. Almost Jon Sable with a bow.
Howard Chaykin covers so many genres. His art and writing makes just about anything interesting from American Flagg (sci-fi) to Hey Kids Comics (thinly veiled history). A unique style and a unique voice. Beautiful painted projects like The Stars are my Destination and Empire.
Jonathan Hickman is another great creator. Sci-fi like Pax Romana, the Manhattan Projects, and East of West are all excellent. His early work showed his graphic design chops that added another layer to his work.
They all create action adventure tales with interesting characters with a touch of sci-fi missed in. A good story is more important that capes and cowls.
Chew was good! I got into it because a friend of mine at the time was really into it and she sold me on the premise alone. I read the first trade and a smattering of single issues.
Has anyone read Saga?
Understanding Comics by Scott McLeod is the graphic book that opened my mind to non-hero comics. I read it at least twice a year. I attended a lecture he gave at our local art school. Anyone interested in art, animation, comics, superheroes, manga, anime, etc. should read it. Very deep concepts about how we read sequential art stories all done in a fun comic book style!!! He provides a lot of examples and I ended up buying a lot of them and appreciating non-super hero stories.
So many to mention but all of Jeff smith’s work, Echo, Atomic Robo. Have to recommend stephen mcCranie’s, Mal and Chad, because he was my cartooning teacher, and the school setting he uses is my junior high school. It’s about a genius kid who, with a special formula, makes his dog talk. He and his dog get into hilarious adventures. His books are Reminiscent of Phineas and Ferb, Sunny with a Chance of Meatballs, Calvin and Hobbs, and Johnny Test, I always enjoy stories that feature animals.
BTW, by super heroes, does that include fantasy (hellboy), sci fi (star trek, star wars)? vs. reading stories of normal people. Because I consider Hellboy a super hero.
@dklecan I’m okay with some wiggle room in the interpretation of non-superhero, though, personally, I would agree that Hellboy is a superhero. Maybe, one good demarcation would be capes and cowls or not. Everyone so far has done exactly what I had hoped, shared some titles outside the ‘mainstream’ of comics that they liked. I hope many more do.
@superby1 I absolutely adored CHEW. The writing and art were top shelf as well as the perfect pairing.
@Vroom I have read a lot of Saga, and it is amazing. I love BKV. Ever since Y: The Last Man, he has been a staple of my media consumption.
