Some of the newer Kickstarter graphic novel projects has really piqued my interest. I've never been into graphic novels and comics, but now will be a good time to start. Does anyone have any good recommendations?

Books I'm already eyeing:

- The Walking Dead
- High Moon

Mark Millar's series are usually a good place to start (He relies on a lot of shock value though so that may or may not be your cup of tea). But one great thing about his series is they are usually stand alone or if he does stories about established characters he writes them in a way that wont alienate you because of years of the characters development and they are really easy to pick up and enjoy(As an example give "Old Man Logan" and "Superman Red Son" a shot).

Also maybe give "The Darkness" a shot... You can get a massive 40 + issue collection for under $80 AUD and you should really read Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" (an amazing series and really easy to find at op shops in its paperback collections but its akin to a novel in amount of writing almost ^.^ )

Watchmen is a REALLY good one to read.

Also check out Judge Dredd Complete Case Files series. Its a complete chronicle of all the Judge Dredd stories starting from the very beginning. There is around 15 volumes so far so plenty reading.

Ace Trucking
Rogue Trooper
Strontium Dog

All 2000AD stuff so Sci Fi but absolutely fantastic stories.

I would also check out some of the Batman graphic novels. Look out for the Dark Knight series as those are the gothic ones where Batman is literally a night stalker / hidden danger to the criminals, its more adult orientated. Look out for Contagion (one of my personal favourites) and the Judgement on Gotham series (3 books in total, cant remember their names, search for Batman Judge Dredd crossover) where Dredd ends up in Gotham going up against Batman.

and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(Vertigo)]Sandman are recommended. Also [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_(comics)]Bone [/url]

Check out riceboy.com for some excellent surreal fantasy webcomics. Rice Boy and Order of Tales are both some of my favorite comics period and Vattu is shaping up to be pretty awesome too.
Check out Fables, that's a pretty good series.
If you want some superheroes read All-star Superman, Superman Red Son and the Killing Joke. I'm not crazy about Watchmen, but it's kind of required reading.
Bone and Sandman are also very good.
If you're interested in comics about comics, check out Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud.
And finally, if you want some manga check out Monster by Naoki Urasawa or pretty much anything by Osamu Tezuka.

EDIT: Thought of a couple more:
The Scott Pilgrim series is really excellent. If you liked the movie you'd probably like the books, although the books are better imo.
Take a look at Tales of The Beanworld if you want some more surreal but excellent stuff.
If you're willing to go even father back, look into some classic comic strips. Krazy Kat and Little Nemo in particular are stunning and still great to read despite their age.

The Darkness.

Watchmen, without a doubt.

The Walking Dead is an excellent choice; you should buy those books immediately. I also highly recommend Kurt Busiek's Astro City, Warren Ellis's Planetary, and Brian K. Vaughn's Y the Last Man.

Just about anything that's done by Frank Miller is a good bet; Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is one of the seminal "graphic novel" works out there. Alan Moore is also a solid bet: Watchmen is another perennial classic, but League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an entertaining read too. Alan Moore's From Hell, his incredible treatment of the mythos of Jack The Ripper, is an absolute must-read, and transcends the genre almost entirely, venturing into the realm of high literature, and academic historical study.

Coming back down to earth, Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb's Batman works are also a solid bet for a good interesting read; Batman: The Long Halloween and its follow-up, Dark Victory was one of the basic inspirations for Christopher Nolan's version of Batman (both in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight).

Another of my personal favorites is Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli's DMZ, which transposes Baghdad and the Iraq War with New York City and America, with a future civil war turning NYC into a new Baghdad.

Sixteen miles to merricks. I've bought the Softcover book, but there is a full preview on the artists site:
http://somefield.com/merricks_online/index.html

Everything from Moebius (RIP) and stuff like Ojingogo, Elektra: Assassin and Loisels Peter Pan are my favorite graphic novels.

1) Listen to ME.

2) Get:

The Dark Knight Returns
Watchmen
V for Vendetta
Maus
Batman Year One
Long Halloween
Rising Stars
Preacher
Hellblazer Hard Times
Kingdom Come
Green Lantern Rebirth
Hulk Return of the Monster

Your welcome.

Transmetropolitan, the adventures of Magical Truthsaying Bastard Spidey. :)

Mage: The Hero Discovered
and
Mage: The Hero Defined
are 2 of my favourites but I can't disagree with a Transmetropolitan recommendation either!

I have enjoyed the Hedge Knight and Hedge Knight II, based on the novellas by
George RR Martin. There was a 3rd novella called The Mystery Knight, but I am
Not sure it is in comics yet

Left 4 Dead
Sam&Max
Artemis fowl
Blankets
League of extraordinary gentlemen
Berserk

And some others, already mentioned.