I don't read comics often but there are so many absolute gems in japanese comic medium. It seems that comic artists have so much freedom in expressing their ideas and while western comics are all about supernatural, manga often covers a lot of niche subjects like mundane tasks like cooking or historic dramas.
Some of my favorite works are by these two artists:
- Naoki Urasawa - brilliant mystery thriller author. His characters never fail to come to life and stories always keep you at the edge of the seat. My favorites are Monster, 20th Century Boys and Pluto.
- Junji Ito - horror manga super star. His art and ideas are often so peculiar and weird that I'm constantly in awe how he manages to make it work. My favorite story is about a town cursed with spirals that drives everyone crazy — it's very lovecraftian!