Comic Book/Graphic Novel Suggestions: What Are Your Favorites?

I’m notoriously picky when it comes to comics. When I was a kid, I was a huge Marvel junkie. I had all kinds of comic books, the collectible cards, action figures, and a very strict Saturday morning X-men cartoon viewing schedule (by that, I mean that if I missed an episode, someone would feel my wrath; unfortunately, that person usually was my mother). Then, when I hit my late teens, I got into Japanese manga (and am still very much into it, although in phases, rather than as a constant). But, despite all this, I feel very much disconnected from the comic/graphic novel community and I’d like to get into it again, partly for sheer enjoyment of the visual medium and partly because I am considering adding comics/graphic novels to my academic repertoire.

So, here’s what I’m looking for (after the fold):

Comic books or graphic novels from anywhere (online, print, Tibet, wherever) that have a high quality of artistic style, that are in some way fantastic in nature (science fiction, fantasy, weird, or slightly horror-oriented) and have complex, unique, or fascinating story lines. They do not have to be in color.

I’m not particularly interested in standard American superhero comic style (i.e. X-men, Spiderman, and so on). That’s not because I don’t like X-men and so on, but I’m more interested in projects that pay as much attention to the visual medium as to the story line. I want my eyeballs to explode and my brain to melt…at the same time.

So, what would you suggest I look into? What are your favorites?