buggery | burnin' a hole in my pocket

So rather than pimping or reviewing comics I've read in this post, I'm going to ask you lot -- these people plus anyone else who might be reading this -- to tell me what I ought to be reading.

Not a general call for you to pimp whatever favourite title of yours I'm not already reading (unless it's a happy coincidence) but several specific questions.

Question one (four parts):

So I tend to be a fan of Warren Ellis's work, for the most part. I used to think I'd love anything he wrote, until I was violently disabused of that notion by Stranger Kisses (I liked Strange Kiss, but I just couldn't follow into the places the sequel led). Then I decided I just reacted strongly to Ellis's work, and would thus either hate or love anything he wrote. This conception served me well until I picked up the Two-Step mini for myself over the winter-gift-giving holidays; it was a cute, mildly-crack-scented romp, which I could take or leave.

I'm currently reading one Ellis title, OCEAN (and I lied, I totally am going to pimp the hell out of Ocean -- it's a fantastic book full of fascinating sci-fi elements and the kind of multicultural cast that makes me happy to see and one mystery that permutates into several more and social commentary on the future of corporate culture and -- yeah. Read this title, seriously. There are only 3 or 4 issues out so far, so it should be easy to catch up) but there are several more that just started recently. My comicshop guy asked me if I wanted to put any of them on my pull list, and... I had to tell him I didn't know. The advance buzz on all of them has passed me by.

So. Tell me whether and/or why I should (or shouldn't) read:

ANGEL STOMP FUTURE

FRANK IRONWINE

QUIT CITY

SIMON SPECTER

Question two:

I recently took advantage of the current resurgence in interest -- in some quarters, at least -- in Frank Millerfucktard and his take on the DCU to turn in my beautifully-preserved mint-condition hardcover editions of DKR and DKSA for a nice fat store credit at my local comicshop. I could just fritter the credit away with my weekly pull-list purchases, but... well, I've been meaning to get read up on some HELLBLAZER for awhile now, and this seems like a good time to do that.

I'm interested specifically in getting part or all of Brian Azzarello's run, and most particularly in the S.W. Manor arc. (If I can get my hands on it, and have credit left over, yes, that'll include the John-in-prison arc too.) I already know I want to read these issues, so no pimping is needed -- though squee is welcome. (: What I need to know is the titles of the TPBs which collected the issues I want to read; issue numbers would also be helpful, but I already know the shop doesn't have all the individual issues in question, if indeed they have any, and they can order the trades for me if I can tell them which ones I want.

I haven't actually read any Hellblazer aside from the recent Vertigo Secret Files: Hellblazer -- which, oh hell, I'm gonna have to pimp to you all now, too. It's actually a good introduction to Constantine, or so it seems to me; there's a short story (yes, a short story with a generous number of illustrations, rather than a panel-format story) by original series writer Jamie Delano, a nine-page story by Azzarello, introductions to many of the pivotal characters who have followed John through the title over the years, and a timeline of major events in his life, among other goodies. It's all fun and fascinating, and left my interest piqued for more.

Anyway. Share your comics wisdom and purchasing advice with me, o fellow fen.

PS Sorry to everyone who's posted fic, art or meta that I haven't yet commented on over the past few days; I've been swamped with getting the story I posted Monday edited and doing assignment matching for

4colorheroines, among other time-consuming work, and the crap weather in my area of late has played havoc with my MS on top of all the busy-ness. I'll get round to as much of it as I can as soon as I can, but I don't want anyone to feel slighted. Lucky me, I have a bunch of great posts to read ahead of me...