Comic questions.

[BWPS]

I blame Civil War. I really really liked it. But, I'm going to start reading the comic books again. More Marvel this time instead of exclusively DC. A few questions:
What book does [spoiler]Captain America[/spoiler] get killed in? Is there a TPB of the story? I thought it happened in the end of Civil War.
What is the best X-Men book?
Do you have any recomendations of super-hero comics that are particularly readable other than New Avengers?

[Agent]

I blame Civil War. I really really liked it. But, I'm going to start reading the comic books again. More Marvel this time instead of exclusively DC. A few questions:
What book does [spoiler]Captain America[/spoiler] get killed in? Is there a TPB of the story? I thought it happened in the end of Civil War.

It was Captain America #25.  It's pretty much a self contained epilogue to Civil War so I don't think it's in any trades.  In fact, the Civil War: Captain America trade stops at issue #24. 

What is the best X-Men book?

X-Factor is my personal fave. 

Do you have any recomendations of super-hero comics that are particularly readable other than New Avengers?

Captain America, Iron Man, The Immortal Iron Fist, Nova

[GhostMachine]

If you're looking for comics to read besides Marvel titles, then check out:

Batman, Justice Society of America, and Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman is at a good starting point, because Gail Simone just took over writing (two issues written by her out so far), so the quality has gone up a ton.

[Tortuga]

What is the best X-Men book?

Astonishing X-men is brilliant.  I wholeheartedly recommened picking up any of the trades that are out now (there's at least 3).

I've also heard that X-Men: First Class is very good, but I'm not going to check it out until trades start coming out.

On an un-X-related note, I also enjoy Runaways.  Of course, Wheddon writes both (although his Astonishing run is soon ending), and I really enjoy his characterization and dialogue in both books.

[zuludelta]

Do you have any recomendations of super-hero comics that are particularly readable other than New Avengers?

Since you're looking to branch out of DC, here are a few recommendations (although my recommending them hinges on the current creative teams that are working on them). Many of these are collected in trades that you can probably find in any well-stocked public library, so you don't even have to spend any money to try them out:

- Invincible (Image Comics): it's like an updated version of classic Spider-Man: young teen hero juggles his social life with his superheroics, and we get to watch all the fights that result. This is the type of stuff Marvel was probably aiming for when they started Ultimate Spider-Man, and Kirkman's Invincible pretty much out-Spider-mans that book.

- Punisher (Marvel Comics/MAX imprint): although it really depends on your definition of "superhero"... I don't particularly consider it a "superhero" book as much as a modern, ultra-violent, pulp/noir comic that happens to feature a guy who wears something that might qualify as a costume. If you do pick it up, I recommend reading the trades, starting with Welcome Back Frank, the Marvel Knights maxi-series that saw the Punisher's return under the guidance of writer Garth Ennis, after which you can probably skip the bulk of the Marvel Knights Punisher series (the weak link in the Garth Ennis Punisher bibliography) and then pick up the MAX imprint Punisher trades.

- Ultimate Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics/Ultimate Marvel imprint): I only really recommend the more recent Mike Carey-written stuff (starting with the excellent God War story arc). It's good superheroing in the classic "FF as explorers" vein.

- The Immortal Iron Fist (Marvel Comics): Similar to the Punisher MAX book, this isn't so much a typical superhero tale, but more of a throwback to the classic pulp fiction of the early 20th century, this being more of a classic action-adventure tale starring a protagonist whose martial arts skills count as a "superpower." Great art by David Aja, and excellent dialogue by Brubaker and Fraction.

- Hellboy (Dark Horse Comics): I know there aren't any current Hellboy comics being published, but do yourself a favour and seek out the collected trades of his various mini-series. The character may be classified as supernatural/horror by most people, but the stories are rooted in superheroic action-adventure. Mike Mignola is a vastly underrated writer, and his art is always a glory to behold.

[Talavar]

Astonishing X-men is probably the best X-book, but they've actually all been pretty good for a little while now (excluding Exiles & New Excalibur - they stink out loud).

I'll second the recommendations for Nova (one of Marvel's best books), Immortal Iron Fist and especially Invincible, because Invincible = awesome.  Read it. 

The new Blue Beetle series at DC is pretty good, and so is Ultimate Spider-man (easily the best Spider-man book for years, but particularly right now).

Hellboy/BPRD are among my favourites; the most recent Hellboy story, Darkness Calls, just wrapped up a month ago, and a new storyline starts soon-ish, same deal with the BPRD.

I also enjoy Astro City, a somewhat different take on a world of superheros.

[Tortuga]

I second "Astro City", although there was one tpb that bored me.  Family Album, I think.  It's still good, just not as good as some of the other collections.

"Marvels" has somewhat the same concept as some Astro City stories (told from the perspective of non-superhero bystanders) and is a neat reintroduction to classic Marvel characters.

I've been buying/reading "The Last Man".  It's not a superhero book, but it's a great story.  I recommend Books 1-3 without hesitation.  I'm currently reading Book 4 and haven't been as impressed.  "Fables" is another good non-superhero book.  A new take on legendary characters.  Lotsa fun.

[Talavar]

Oh, if we're just talking comics, then Y The Last Man & Fables - both without hesitation.  Oh, and I forgot earlier to mention what's possibly my favourite superhero book: Ex Machina.

[Zippo]

I've been reading Astonishing and New X-men, the former is amazing. The Initiative has been good and sort of ties into different events but also has some interesting sub-plots of its own. Annihilation: Conquest is also looking pretty good and a worthy successor to the first Annihilation.

[Pyroclasm]

I've been reading Astonishing and New X-men, the former is amazing.

I thought it was "Astonishing"? ;)

[BWPS]

Hey, thanks everyone. I really appreciate the help!

[UnfluffyBunny]

young avengers is due to start up again soon.
if you're looking for recent story arcs to pick  up, marvel's "annihilation" was amazing, "annihilation: conquest" is still running