Whether it's a new Golden Age, the Platinum Age, or some as-of-yet undefined time period, the fact remains: It is a fantastic time to be a comic book fan. From the Marvel and DC mainstays, to the ever-expanding world of creator-owned comics, there's something special happening anywhere fans care to look.
But even though graphic novels have never been better, diving in can seem daunting and difficult. For one, you're confronted with thousands of titles often organized in strange and counter-intuitive ways. As comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick recently told me, "No bookstore you’ve been to in your entire life shelves books by publishers, but a comic book shop does. Not 'here’s the Westerns, here’s the superhero books, here’s the spy books.' If this is a new thing for you, you’re utterly and completely lost." But while getting into comics—or getting back into them—may seem hard at first, your tenacity will be rewarded.
To get you started, here are 10 recent comics you should be reading right now. In a landscape where there were literally hundreds of great graphic novels were released in the past 12 months alone, this is only a tiny drop in a massive lake—so leave your other suggestions in the comments below.
Nathan Reese is a News Editor at Complex. If you want to talk comics, you can find him on Twitter.