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Have not read comics in a while, like Planet: Hulk, need more.

I'll get back to you on specific suggestions, but one thing I will say is that unless you have some good comic shops in a location that's covenient for you, or the local bookstores have a better graphic novel selection than any of the ones near me, I'd suggest you find a means of download at least the first part of any selection I give you that you're thinking of picking up.  I'm not advocating piracy, but comics and TPB's can be pricey, and I could throw out literally dozens of suggestions, and since in many cases you might not be able to find a copy anywhere nearby to flip through, you'll be better off if you have a way to check and see if something is to your liking first before you commit to buying it.

The first 12 issues of Justice League of America and the first 9 of Justice Society of America are both stellar. Actually, JLA is still good through the first 14 (with the last two being a showdown with the Legion of Doom complete with big head in swamp HQ). The Brubaker Captain America has been good for the first 25 issues, you know, right up until they killed Steve Rogers.

I think Cap is still good, but then I like the Winter Soldier.

I just can't get over the needless death of Captain America. The addition of Faustus is a nice touch, but it just really gets on my tits the way the whole thing has been handled.

Ok, so since you liked Planet Hulk, I'll go with the assumption that you want something that is more or less self-contained (Planet Hulk leads into WWH of course, but it's a satisfying read as it's own story).

Stuff that I've already recommended here:

Runaways (http://www.amazon.com/Runaways-Vol-1-Brian-Vaughan/dp/0785118764/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-8980455-6086239?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193254523&sr=8-3)
Nextwave
Top Ten (http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=2291.0)
Jonah Hex (http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=7139.0)
GLA (http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=2840.0)
Pride of Baghdad (http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Baghdad-Brian-K-Vaughan/dp/1401203140/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8980455-6086239?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193254888&sr=8-1)
We3 (http://www.amazon.com/We3-Grant-Morrison/dp/1401204953/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8980455-6086239?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193254939&sr=1-1)
Fell (http://amazon.com/gp/product/1582406936/ref=s9_asin_title_3/103-8980455-6086239?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0RZWBQZ1M3DQFE174JF1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=311499301&pf_rd_i=507846)

For something more ongoing, I've recommended JSA in the past as probably consistently the best superhero team book out there.  I've typically been a Marvel reader much more than DC, but the book does a good job of explaining to the reader everything they need to know as it goes along.  For best results, start with the first book of the previous volume (http://www.amazon.com/Justice-Be-Done-JSA-Society/dp/1563896206/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-8980455-6086239?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193255112&sr=8-2) and work your way up to the current series.


More to come later.

Meh, it's hard for me to be bothered by the death of a character, since he'll be back at some point.  The whole point in doing a story like this isn't so much about the death of Cap himself, but it's affect on his supporting cast, and the rest of the MU, and in that respect I think Brubaker is telling a compelling story.

Indies, man! Indies!

The problems for me with recommending Indie stuff are:

a) Chances are, you're going to have to order it online, because the chances that ones' local comic book shop will have a particular Indie book in are slim.  Also, it's likely you'll have to order direct from the publisher, which means you aren't going to be able to save on shipping by ordering a bunch of different indies at once from Amazon or something.

b) That also means that you aren't going to be able to flip through a little bit before you buy and find out whether you like it or not.  Also they're harder to find for download online, so not a lot of luck checking them out that way either.

c) It's hard to recommend a particular Indie book since they tend to be a lot different in tone than mainstream topics, so it's harder to tell if a particular person will like it.  When someone says they like Planet Hulk, there's a number of things I'm confident in recommending to them.  The Frank Book, by Jim Woodring, isn't one of them.

That's why I just say "Indies." Part of the fun for me is going out there and finding something awesome that no one else has heard of before.

And yeah, most comic shops are pretty weak. I still have yet to find a good one here in Miami. In Upstate New York though, I always had three or four shops to choose from, and they all carried about a hundred different indie titles, which made digging around fun.

That must have been nice.  All I have in a reasonable distance here are two hole-in-the-wall comic shops (part of the same chain and in opposite directions from me).  Anything new I want to try I pretty much have to order sight unseen from DCBS (where I get most of my comics shipped from ), as they carry books from a number of small presses.  I try to leave room for a least a couple of new books in what is a very loose budget for buying comics, although to make up for their small print runs, they often cost more than mainstream books as well.

Man. That makes me sad. Finding a good shop tends to be no easy task. I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that I now live in a city ten times the size of Albany, NY and yet all the shops I've been to here are weak.