I like to read the New York Times Arts Beat blog to find out about best selling great titles I should be reading. Here's a quick run down of some mentioned in the past couple of months.

Bill Willingham's Fables
Robert Kirkman's Invincible
Ema Toyama's Missions of Love
Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis
Peter David's adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower
Yuuki Kodama's Blood Lad
Tadashi Agi's The Drops of God
Osamu Tezuka's Message to Adolph

There's generally a 2-3 year lag between when a title gets published in Japan and when it gets published in the U.S. Not all titles get translated, which also makes collecting manga a challenge. There are a number of Japanese manga awards out there and here are some titles owned by the library that have won these awards.

Thermae Romae by Mari Yamazaki won the Cartoon Grand Prize (a/k/a Manga Taisho) in 2010 for this story about a Roman architect who moves forward and back in time in his pursuit of the perfect bathhouse design.

One Piece: Romance Dawn for the New World by Eiichiro Oda won a Best Japan Cartoonist Award this May,

Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi won a Shogakukan Manga Award for the shojo division in 2008.

Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga won a Shogakukan Manga Award for the shonen division in 2010.

The comics anthology Tales from the Crypt no longer exists but there's still a lot of great horror comics available. Here are just a few I recommend:

George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream adapted by Daniel Abraham: vampires on a Mississippi steamboat just prior to the Civil War

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman: humanity struggles to survive a zombie apocalypse

American Vampire by Scott Snyder & Stephen King: vampires from the old country struggle with a new breed of American vampire during the Golden Age of Hollywood

Lock & Key by Joe Hill: something monstrous and evil is trapped in a mysterious house, and the family who lives there struggles to survive

As a curious reader you may explore comics but are you a curiouser reader who wants to go beyond the comics stories themselves into how they are constructed and what their appeal may be? If you are a curiouser reader, check out these books:

Any of Scott McCloud's comics theory books, including Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics and Making Comics.

Any of Stephen Weiner's books on comics history and development, including The 101 Best Graphic Novels, The Will Eisner Companion and more.

Named for the character in the classic comic strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, this award recognizes great independent comics and their creators. Winners will be announced in early September. The 2012 Nominees are as follows:

Outstanding Graphic Novel
Big Questions by Anders Nilsen
Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland by Harvey Pekar and Joseph Remnant
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
Troop 142 by Mike Dawson (not in library collection)
A Zoo In Winter by Jiro Taniguchi

Also check out the nominees in Outstanding Artist, Outstanding Story, Outstanding Series, Promising New Talent and more.

San Diego ComiCon wrapped last weekend and the Eisner Award Winners have been announced.

Best Continuing Series: Daredevil by Mark Waid, Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera

Best Limited Series: Criminal: The Last of the Innocent by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12-17): Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Best Reality-Based Work: Green River Killer by Jeff Jensen

Best Graphic Album - New: Jim Henson's Tale of Sand by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl with Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team going to Ramon K. Perez for this book as well

Best U.S. Edition of International Material: The Manara Library by Milo Manara and Hugo Pratt

Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia: Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki

Best Writer: Mark Waid for Irredeemable, Incorruptible and Daredevil

Best Writer/Artist: Craig Thompson for Habibi

Did you know the summer blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises (hitting theaters on July 20) riffs off of one man's work? Frank Miller re-imagined a Batman even darker than the vigilante crime fighter who came before, one burdened with black thoughts and dark deeds. Check out his Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, and Batman: Year One to meet the Batman who inspired David Fincher's film!

Many comics fans have seen the film The Avengers. Did you know you could read Avengers comics at the library? You can also follow the solo adventures of the Incredible Hulk, the Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and more.

According to one list I found, the top 5 best selling manga titles are One Piece, Dragon Ball (the original series is out of print but there is a U.S. retelling), Kochikame (not available in the U.S.), Slam Dunk and Naruto.

Even though he can't swim, Monkey D. Luffy vows to become King of the Pirates once he sets out on his row boat to find the legendary treasure One Piece.

Obtaining a Dragon Ball (there are seven total) becomes the quest of young Goku once he leaves his home in the forest.

You can't find Kochikame here in the U.S., but the comic mishaps of middle-aged cop Kankichi Ryotsu have been entertaining Japanese audiences since 1976.

Slam Dunk tells the story of awkward bruiser Hanamachi Sakuragi, rejected by over 50 girls until the fearless Haruko brings basketball into his life.

Read Naruto to follow the adventures of the orphan Uzumaki Naruto as he tries to graduate from ninja school despite the terrifiying force that hides within him.

Want to know which comics Europeans love the most? Check out the British Eagle Awards.

Favourite New Comicbook - Daytripper by Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba
Favourite American Comicbook: Colour - Batman & Robin by Grant Morrison
Favourite Manga - Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Favourite European Comicbook - Blacksad by Juan Diaz Canales
Favourite Continued Story - The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

Unfortunately the Favourite British Comicbook: Colour (2000AD by various) and Favourite British Comicbook: Black & White (Commando by various) aren't readily available here. Check out the list for even more suggestions!