The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

For a long time, this series was my favourite comic. I do not say that lightly. I stumbled across the series with no hype reaching me, and as a result it blew me away. It is a saga following the life of one of the seven "Endless". The Endless are physical anthropomorphous personifications of aspects that are apparent in all life;Death,Desire,Destruction, Delirium(formerly Delight),Destiny, Despair and our protagonist Dream.

Dream, or Morpheus, is a tall pale individual who bears more that a passing resemblance to the Robert Smith of The Cure.He is detached and distant,due to being so old, yet is still capable of  naivety and immaturity. He resides within the realm which all people frequent when they dream, and his main duty is to continue to allow people to dream. Despite his distant demeanour, he surrounds himself with a plethora of personalities that make for some downright surreal interactions between characters.

One of the most interesting aspects of this universe is the fact that every religion is correct and that all the major deities exist. This includes all concepts of the afterlife depending on what the individual believed. This is explored through the complex relations and politics that exist between these individuals and pantheons (and on a side note, the Norse Gods are an interspiritual incident waiting to happen).  The endless are not subservient to the deities, and they address each other with a mutual respect.

The start of our story finds Dream having been held captive for several decades by an occult obsessed cult leader. He  eventually makes his escape, not before visiting his revenge on the parties responsible, then returns to find that his absence has allowed his home realm to fall into stagnation. The story then follows all the events that occur from this initial trigger, and allows you a whistle-stop tour of the entirety of creation. 

This series is considered by some to be one of the crowning jewels in the DC comics crown, alongside such titans as Watchmen and The Dark Night Returns.It is well earned and the entire series will change the way you look at stories in general.  Cameos from lesser-known DC characters occur, with notable appearances by John Constantine, Dr Destiny, and even Batman and Superman shortly at the end.

The series itself ran for 75 issues, but that figure does not address the numerous spin-off titles and characters that originated from this. This series was the first to define Lucifer as a doppelganger for David Bowie, an image that stuck with him through his own series later. it ran from 1989 to 1996 and helped to lead the way as one of the flagship titles for the Vertigo label alongside Swamp Thing, Black Orchid and Shade:The Changing Man.

This simplest and best thing I can say about this story is that it made me remember why I enjoy stories.

Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis

           Transmetropolitan was always going to be one of the first comics I would review. Not because it is my favourite, because that accolade is already held in equal measure by The Sandman and Preacher, nor is it the most violent as I can obtain my dosage of the old gratuitous via the likes of Lobo and Hitman. Transmetropolitan is a brutally dark political/journalistic comedy that concerns the return of Spider Jerusalem, a jaded, cynical, hunter s. thompson-esque writer, who is dragged back to the city he hates. It is set in a cyberpunk future where society and technology has advanced purely in relation to human desire, resulting in a hedonistic attitude and the general apathy of most of the population. 

            Jerusalem initially returns under duress due to contractual obligation, but after studying what has happened to the city in his absence, he soon finds himself  drawn to the oncoming election for the US presidency. But this is just the bare bones. At it's core this comic becomes one man's view of a world that has gone crazy and has not realised, and his only sane response is to return the gesture lest he get left behind. Ideas, such as the kinds of social cliques that could establish in a world where genetic manipulation is available from a vending machine, are explored and taken to their logical extremes.

             Warren Ellis has crafted an incredible dark, yet still hopeful, view of the future, and tied it to the present via the medium of the journalistic word. At the same time, there is comedy gold in abundance and the climax of the series is gripping as his war against the President of the United States escalates. I wouldn't dare hint at the end, suffice to say read it if you have the opportunity.

               The series was printed via the DC vertigo label and ran for 60 issues, monthly. Time passed at the same rate within the story as it did in real life and the entire saga covers five years of Spider's life. For a different idea of what constitutes a graphic novel, lay your hands on this and I assure you you will not be disappointed.