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Watchmen was a revolutionary comic in 1986… and while hundreds of dark, down-to-Earth comics followed in its wake, nothing has matched it. You'll read it a dozen times and notice new things every time. Then you'll download the annotations off the Internet and learn still more! Watchmen, by Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons traces the lives of a number of mystery men (obviously based on the Charlton characters Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, The Question et al) and how their development alters the latter half of the 20th Century. Creepy, suspenseful, astonishing and amazingly intricate for a book originally published on a monthly basis, Watchmen is quite simply a must-read.

Dark Knight Returns by writer/artist Frank Miller.

Watchmen may have revolutionized comics, but this one book (originally a 4 issue miniseries) changed Batman. Given that this was merely a "what if" story about a 50-something retired Batman, you wouldn't expect that.

However, in tone and storytelling, so much of "Dark Knight" has been integrated into current Batman stories. Plus, DC would never have thought to kill off Robin if not for "Dark Knight Returns." And if you forget about the Soviet Union crumbling and overlook the Ronald Reagan jabs, it's still a great story today.

The Golden Age: A Different Look at a Different Era took DC by storm and made James Robinson a hot name. He then proceeded to carve a name for himself with "Starman" in 1994. So far, five books have been issued collecting this series featuring Jack Knight, his father Ted Knight (the original Starman), all the other men to bear the name and an enjoyable supporting cast.

Sins of the Father follows the tumultuous attack of Ted's old enemy The Mist and the events which lead Jack to take up the name Starman. A Wicked Inclination is the sequel in which the new Mist launches an attack of her own. Night and Day details the meeting of Jack Knight and Wes Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman. Infernal Devices retells the "death" of Solomon Grundy and a series of bombings by Dr. Pip. Times Past collects the various one-shots that relate stories of the Golden Age Starman and other events in Opal City.

Nightwing: Ties That Bind collects the four issue miniseries by Denny O'Neil.

But it's the Chuck Dixon/Scott McDaniel ongoing series which has garnered so much attention of late. Nightwing finally strikes out on his own…no Batman, no Titans…and ends up relocating to Blüdhaven. For those who think that it's just the same setup as Batman -- a nasty town that needs him -- you're mistaken. There's no Commissioner Gordon offering help. Indeed, the entire police force is so corrupt that Nightwing can't even turn the criminals over to them and expect justice to be done.

With Dixon writing at his non-stop action movie best and McDaniel's fish-eye lens visuals, my only complaint is that I finish these books too fast! I cannot put them down until I get to the end. And for those of you who like character development, Dixon has a story to satisfy you. The entire issue (reprinted in "Love and Bullets") is about Nightwing and Robin discussing their love lives and their crime-fighting roles. Of course, they're doing gymnastics blindfolded atop a speeding train while they do it, that's all.

Nightwing: A Knight in Bludhaven
Nightwing: Rough Justice
Nightwing: Love and Bullets

Chuck Dixon fans will also want to grab Robin: Flying Solo and Birds of Prey.

And now a guilty pleasure: Mystery in Space: Pulp Fiction Library

I want everyone to buy this and give ten copies to their friends…because I want DC to do more books like this! This book is a wonderful mix of Silver Age sci-fi anthology tales, Bronze Age sci-fi tales and Silver Age sci-fi characters. Adam Strange, Captain Comet, the Atomic Knights, Star Hawkins, Space Cabby, Space Ranger…each gets a story in this collection.

Even the packaging is slightly different from the standard Trade Paperback. The artwork is definitely old school, and the cover is not glossy.

Here's hoping that the "Pulp Fiction Library" grows and grows. Again, if you like sci-fi, you must buy this book. If you don't, I'll turn the switch on my ray gun to "mind control ray" and make you order it!

The Kents - John Ostrander's sweeping epic of Jonathan Kent's abolitionist ancestors who moved to Kansas to make it a free state. From the "bleeding Kansas" years before the Civil War on up to the turn of the century, we follow the turbulent journeys of two sons. Ostrander relaunches the comic book western, eschewing the gun-toting barroom brawls and showdowns at noon in favor of the rolling epic full of tough decisions and hasty actions.

Top 10: America's Best Comics - The first collection of "Top 10", Alan Moore's mix of superhero teams and cop shows. The unique world Alan has created is full of brilliant jokes, corny jokes and "Easter eggs" for the long-time comic book fan, but a newcomer to comics could still enjoy it for the plotlines and humor. In a world where (whoah, that sounds like the opening to every movie trailer ever) superheroes are as common as every Tom, Dick and Harry, Top 10 officers bring in the perps of unique crimes, deal with the sharks that show up to spring them (no, honest, the lawyers really ARE sharks) and must cope with their own problem-prone personal lives. Even something as simple as mice in the walls isn't as simple in the world of Top 10!

But what if you don't just want to read other people's work? Maybe you'd like to do them yourself? For you I recommend Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art and Reinventing Comics by Scott McCloud.