Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. Big surprise, huh? From gross-out humour, through political shenanigans, to personal tragedies, Ellis' Hunter S. Thompson-style character takes us on a wild ride through a futuristic New York, now known colloquially as The City. It's just a seriously great read, from start to finish.

Hitman, by Garth Ennis and John McCrea. Technically, the main character has powers, and there are the occasionaly superhero appearances (Batman, Catwoman, Etrigan, Green Lantern, Lobo and Superman all show up at some point in the series), but they're not common and the series really isn't about that (besides, Sandman has superheroes in it too, so nyer =P). What it is about though, is friendship and loyalty, bred in the face of violence, and the harsh realities of living such a lifestyle. Oh, and clubbing baby seals.

The Punisher, v3 to v5 #60, by Garth Ennis and various artists. Again, cameos from some more traditional of Marvels superheroes (Spider-Man, Daredevil and Wolverine, to be precise), but mostly Ennis' long run writing Frank Castle has been focused on dealing with more real-world based crime, especially v5, published on the Marvel Max line. The Punisher will never be written better than this, I swear it.

I actually enjoyed Lucifer, by Mike Carey, the spin-off from Sandman, a lot more than the base series, though that certainly had its own highpoints too. Definitely worth recommending I think.

Though what I'm a huge fan of, is the whole layperson's view of the superhero world subgenre, stuff like Marvels, Gotham Central, etc. Superheroes are often too idealised (Superman), or too self-involved (Spider-Man), but it's the human element that often ties these series together. What would Superman be without Lois Lane? What would Spider-Man be without <s>Mary-Jane</s> Aunt May? It's always the "normal" characters that are the far more interesting I find, and the ones that find themselves inside worlds with such bizarre superheroes can have some very interesting tales to tell.