Just a quick listing of the recommendations I received of comics with a sense of place, with some links for those interested:
- SPX 2003 Anthology, by various creators
- Finder, by Carla Speed McNeel, Lightspeed Press
- Tiempos Finales, by Sam Hiti, LaLuz Comics
- Lone Wolf and Cub, by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Dark Horse
- Whiteout, by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, Oni Press
- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, by Hayao Miyazaki, Viz
- Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo, Dark Horse
- War’s End: Profiles from Bosnia 1995-96, by Joe Sacco, Drawn and Quarterly
- Palomar, by Gilbert Hernandez, Fantagraphics
- Baraka and Black Magic in Morocco, by Rick Smith, Alternative Comics
- The Rabbi’s Cat, by Joann Sfar, Pantheon
- The Desert Peach, by Donna Barr, A Fine Line Press
- Hicksville, by Dylan Horrocks, Black Eye Books
Thanks for everyone who took the time to make some suggestions. Feel free to keep adding titles, if you’re so inclined. By the time SPX rolls around, I should have a nice shopping list. With any luck, these folks (who provided some of the shopping highlights at the Pittsburgh Con) will be present.
(Edited to note that I’ll be adding recommendations as they come in, just so I can have the list in one place.)