Hello, my name is Walt and I recommend these books!
It's not easy to find a common thread... but I guess I'm pretty influenced by the comics of the nineties (and 80s, since they were translated with a 5-6 year lag into German). Like any typical nerd-boy, I loved Liefeld, Lee, Silvestri, and Portacio because they were X-TREMELY KOOL, but I can't re-read that stuff anymore, sorry! I
I'm especially fond of Karen Berger's DC stint and still believe that nothing really good has come out since Vertigo (aka I am old!), but recently there are some really cool things at Image (Ice Cream Man).
I generally follow writers, and I like them with substance (Mark Russell, Chip Zdarsky, Jonathan Hickman...) but I also don't mind to look at pretty drawings and shiny variant covers.
And every now and then I need a straightforward superhero comic from Jeremy Adams or some weird Manga a la Junji Ito. Or a Valiant relaunch.
Yes, I think Maus, Watchmen and From Hell are just as good as anyone's saying.
My all-time favorite cartoonist remains Chester Brown, with Daniel Clowes as a close second. My favorite Mangaka is Shuzo Oshimi.
