My first pick is the awesome crime noir comic Criminal by Ed Brubaker and published by Icon (the creator owned label used by Marvel Comics). The first story arc spanned five issues and has been collected into a tradepaperback entitled coward. The sixth issue is on the racks now and starts a new story. Each story, features a different character and, although the characters interact, each story is independent so it's easy to jump into. This is a good comic for people who have no interest in superheroes or who are into the crime stories.
My second pick for this post is a new book called Madame Mirage published by Top Cow. It's a femme fatale story set in the future but with a 1930s romantic style to it. It's written by Paul Dini, whom was a producer and writer for Warner Brothers animated projects for years and whom writes for the awesome TV show Lost. Only one issue has come out so far but the series looks like it's going to be very entertaining. There is a promotional video on YouTube about it and I'd give that a look to see if this is something that would interest you.
My last pick for this post is a trade-paperback, Catwoman: When in Rome published by DC Comics. This is produced by writer Jeff Loeb (who writes for Heroes) and artist Tim Sale, whom when they get together produce some of the best comics EVER produced. Tim Sale has become one of my favorite artists, his sense of design and style is so cool. While this is a Catwoman book set in the DC universe, these creators really create stylish books about mystery and mood. They produced the incredible Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, which I also highly recommend.
