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Heyo fellow posters.

I'm compiling a list of "essential" comics. High quality stuff.

It is however, somewhat difficult to keep track of every comic I've read, so please help me out here and add what you would like to have in your essential comics collection. Preferably stuff beyond the obvious collections such as all of the Iron Man comics, Thor, Superman, etc.

Here's the list alphabetically;

100 bullets
American Vampire
Andy Diggle's Rat Catcher
Animal Man
Annihilation (with tie ins + conquest)
Fables
Flex Mentallo
Ghost Rider (new runs)
Harbinger
Hellblazer
Locke and Key
Lovecraft Tales (++)
Loveless
Northlanders
Scalped
Sandman
Sweet Tooth
The Invisibles
The Losers
The Sword
The Unwritten
TMNT (even the terrible stuff)
Uncanny X-Force
Y - The Last Man

Punisher Max

Lucifer

Originally posted by Endless Mike
Lucifer
This and Sandman are both safely tucked away

Secret Wars
Infinity Gauntlet

All Star Superman.

Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The Dark Knight Returns.

Watchmen.

Preacher.

Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison.

Silver Surfer:Requiem.

Authority.

Planetary.

Not including stuff people have already suggested-

Swamp Thing (Moore/Veitch runs)
Year One and The Long Halloween and Azzarello's Joker OGN
Ultimate Spider-man
V for Vendetta

Hellboy
B.P.R.D.

basically anything from Mike Mignola.

Ed Brubaker's Captain America run
Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)
Justice Society of America
Books of Doom
Immortal Iron Fist
Daredevil (way too many great runs to list, tbh)

Preacher
The Boys
The Maze Agency
Gen13
Hickman's "Forever" run on Fantastic Four/Future Foundation.
Edit: Also, Tank Girl.

Some of my favorites...

Marvel Zombies(original)
The Walking Dead
Secret Wars I
Planetary
Punisher MAX
Godland
Lucifer
Iron Fist(Fraction/Brubaker)
Batman: Year One
Grendel: Devil By The Deed
All-Star Superman
Annihilation
Sinestro Corps War

Superman: The Journey
Flash: Rogue War
Batman: Hush
Astonishing X-Men
Essential X-Factor volumes 1-2
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
Annihilation
Sinestro Corps War
Our Worlds At War
Aquaman: Time and Tide
Aquaman: The Trench
Justice League: The Tornado's Path
JLA: Earth 2
JLA: World War 3
Spider-Man: Marvel Knights

I'm sure more will come to mind.

Good luck forming a list on such a public forum. You'll be collecting comics for decades. Anyway, here's my two cents...

I'm listing only "seminal" stuff that I know about and enjoyed. Anything that's too character-specific, I either list separately or leave out.

Watchmen
V for Vendetta
Secret Wars
Infinity Gauntlet
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Infinity Crisis
Final Crisis (though it was kinda crap)
Transmetropolitan
Planetary
Sandman (Gaiman)
Kingdom Come
Earth X / Universe X / Paradise X
Alan Moore's Swamp Thing

Batman Titles - Year One, Long Halloween, Killing Joke, The Dark Knight, Dark Knight Returns
Spider-Man - Maximum Carnage
JSA - between original crisis and Flashpoint - a personal plug...it ran for years and really didn't ever lag in quality, which is insanely rare for so long a stretch.

Originally posted by Digi
Kingdom Come

I was beginning to wonder if this was going to get a mention

Yeah, dunno how I forgot KC.

I'd also add The Ultimates to my list.

KC was pretty good, but if I was stuck on a desert island, it wouldn't be one of my absolute must haves.

Originally posted by -Pr-
KC was pretty good, but if I was stuck on a desert island, it wouldn't be one of my absolute must haves.

Right, I'd rather pick a radio or a boat.

Originally posted by Endless Mike
Right, I'd rather pick a radio or a boat.

Originally posted by Galan007
Some of my favorites...

Marvel Zombies(original)
The Walking Dead
Secret Wars I
Planetary
Punisher MAX
Godland
Lucifer
Iron Fist(Fraction/Brubaker)
Batman: Year One
Grendel: Devil By The Deed
All-Star Superman
Annihilation
Sinestro Corps War

No Space Punisher?

For shame...

Pfft, Space Punisher transcends the boundaries of "essential." Grouping it with the likes of All-Star Superman or Lucifer would be an insult to it.

Originally posted by Endless Mike
Right, I'd rather pick a radio or a boat.

not a woman?

comfort and emergency rations.

Originally posted by Galan007
Pfft, Space Punisher transcends the boundaries of "essential." Grouping it with the likes of All-Star Superman or Lucifer would be an insult to it. Originally posted by -Pr-

My List:

All-Star Superman
Batman: The Long Halloween
Kingdom Come
Sinestro Corps War
Sandman
The Ultimates
Infinity Gauntlet

Originally posted by TheGodKiller
Preacher
The Boys
The Maze Agency
Gen13
Hickman's "Forever" run on Fantastic Four/Future Foundation.
Edit: Also, Tank Girl.
I'd also like to add "Superman:Red Son" and "Irredeemable" to this list.

I'm actually trying to catalog everything I own. With collected editions, it's easy. With individual comics, it's maddening. But it's making me realize I have some gaps in what I'd like to own.

There's a collection that's been getting released at the newsagents here

Marvel graphic novel collection, 60 volumes all up.

I'd add Archer & Armstrong, pretty good stuff.