I see a lot of posts where people ask want to get into more indie and alternative comics. Here's my attempt at giving some helpful advice and places you can check out to discover great comics.
State of the Medium:
Before I get into the actual guide, I’d like to talk briefly about the state of the medium and its different “sub-mediums” of sorts:
The Superhero Scene. Mainly controlled by Marvel and DC (with some Image and Dark Horse stuff). They mainly publish long runs or limited series within specific continuities and do so one issue (more or less) per month.
The Creator Owned Mainstream. Made up of mostly Image, Dark Horse and the late Vertigo imprint (and some IDW), these make up the rest of the comics mainstream, publishing non-superhero stories (generally Fantasy and Science Fiction) but rarely push the medium forward (they aren’t experimental).
The Indie Scene. This is, by far the most diverse and complex sub-category within comics, as it encompasses everything from Little Nemo or Krazy strips from the early twentieth century to the underground movement of the 60s and 70s. It’s also (in my opinion) the most innovative, creative and interesting of the bunch.
What I’m not considering Indie Comix:
Stuff like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing or Watchmen, K. Vaughn’s Saga or Y: The Last Man, Mignola’s Hellboy, etc. Basically, anything published by Marvel and DC and most of Image and Dark Horse’s comics.
On terminology:
I also want to note that I shall not use the term “graphic novel”, as I don’t like the connotations it brings. I feel like having to refer to “literary” comics as “graphic novels” is intrinsically disrespectful of the medium and the masterpieces that have been created by multiple artists throughout its history.
Recommendations:
Everything depends on your personal tastes, of course, but I think the best way to get into indie comics nowadays is to read stuff that was published in the last three-or-so decades. Not only did the “graphic-novel-boom” take part during this period, but the industry also saw a shift, with non-superhero comics becoming the better-sellers.
Thus, I recommend checking out the following creators:
Autobio w. slice of life:
John Porcellino.
Eddie Campbell.
Ivan Brunetti.
Julie Doucet.
Kevin Huizenga.
Allison Bechdel.
Joe Matt.
Alex Graham.
Non-fiction and social-commentary:
Art Spiegelman.
Joe Sacco.
Marjane Satrapis
Igort.
Chester Brown.
Rutu Modan.
David B.
Jason Lutes
Jim Ottaviani.
Paco Roca.
Guy Delisle.
Box Brown.
Contemporary:
Adrian Tomine.
Seth.
Experimental:
Chris Ware
Olivier Schrauwen.
David Mazzuchelli.
Emil Ferris.
Michael DeForge.
Nick Drnaso.
Dash Shaw.
Sonny Liew.
Scott McCloud.
Weird shit:
Daniel Clowes.
Jim Woodring.
Charles Burns.
Gary Panter.
Brecht Evens.
Jesse Jacobs.
Simon Hanselman.
Casanova Frankenstein.
Nathan Cowdry.
Other Recommendations:
Peter Bagge.
The Hernández Brothers.
Jacques Tardi.
Craig Thompson.
Linda Barry.
Tillie Walden.
Massimo Mattioli.
Christopher Forgues.
Bryan Lee O’Malley.
Lilli Carré.
Noah Van Sciver.
Jason.
Richard Sala.
Sam Harkham.
Anders Nilsen.
Bastien Vivès.
Cyril Pedrosa.
Jeff Lemire.
I’d also like to mention several notable one-off comics:
The Nao of Brown by Glynn Dillon.
Becoming Unbecoming by Una.
Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá.
Older recs:
Robert Crumb.
Andrea Pazienza.
Franquin.
Héctor Germán Oesterheld.
Hugo Pratt.
Taiyô Matsumoto.
The Tsuge brothers.
Maurice Tillieux.
Yves Chaland.
Fournier.
Disney comics and comic strips
George Herriman.
Winsor McCay.
Watterson.
Ernie Bushmiller.
Floyd Gottfredson.
Charles Schulz.
Quino.
Carl Barks.
Don Rosa.
John Stanley.
Before I move on to some publisher recommendations, I’d like to not that there’s a considerable lack of YA comics and authors missing. This is mainly due to my not having read much within this subgenre, which I’ll hopefully get to correct some day. Notable creators that come to mind are Raina Telgemeier, Gene Luen Yang, Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, Tillie Walden (the only one whose work I’ve read), Jen Wang, Giant Days, Anya’s Ghost, etc.
Publisher recommendations:
In English:
Fantagraphics
Drawn and Quarterly
Pantheon
New York Review Comics
Top Shelf Productions
Self Made Hero
First Second
In Spanish:
Fulgencio Pimentel
La Cúpula
Astiberri
Italian:
Coconino Press
I feel like after checking these out, you’ll have a great knowledge base to launch from and discover hidden gems and personal favorites. Moving forward, I recommend following your favorite creators and publishers on Instagram (if they have an account), as this can help you discover a lot of great people. There are also tons of great people and places you can turn to for new recommendations. Here are some that have had a big impact on me and my reading:
For the Love of Comics (youtube channel)
Noah Van Sciver (youtube channel)
GoodOkBad (website)
earl grey (youtube channel)
Bubbles (zine)
Finally, there are a couple of people whose recommendations and reviews within the r/graphicnovels subreddit is worth mentioning, most notably:
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