12 comic book series you can binge-read this week

Who needs Netflix when you have a good graphic novel?

There are plenty of long reads in the literary world — but comic book lovers often find ourselves in the awkward position of running out of our favorite series rather quickly.

SEE ALSO: 25 comic books for nerdy newbies to read first

Luckily, there are also a lot of long-running and (mostly) complete series that will take you at least a couple of days to binge your way through.

1. The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman's award winning series has more than 75 issues and has sparked several spin-offs — and in 2015, a prequel, Sandman Overture. The history of the Lord of Dreams and his Endless brethren is a staple for any fantasy fan

2. Fables by Bill Willingham

Fables wasn't just an entertaining series filled with rich storytelling — suggesting, long before the TV show Once Upon a Time, that all characters from myths and fairy tales are real and hiding out in our world. 

It was also so long-running that it become a sort of inside joke amongst graphic novel nerds. The comic began in 2002 and ended with issue 150 in 2015, with a couple of spin-offs to boot.

3. Preacher by Garth Ennis

The long-running comic tells the tale of a Texas-town priest who has been possessed by supernatural forces. A war between heaven and hell is waged over 66 issues of dramatic action.

4. Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan

Told over 60 issues, Y: The Last Man is the story of the post-apocalyptic world that results after every male of every species simultaneously dies from a mystery plague — all except one human male, Yorrick, and his pet monkey.

5. The Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona

Even if you're new to comic books, you can find a great, rich series to read and absorb. The Runaways, which has 62 issues total over three trade series, focuses on teen superheroes who find out their parents are supervillains in the Avengers universe. 

Not only is the teen story an entertaining long read, it's also a great springboard for new fans to enter the Marvel univers

6. The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

Here's the main exception to the rule that the series needs to have finished. But in this case, the lack of an ending is worth it — because it will at least take you further on than the TV version.

SEE ALSO: 'The Walking Dead' comics will stress you out way more than the show

With 153 issues and counting, the original source material for the AMC show is even more gruesome and thrilling than the AMC show — and will certainly leave you more satisfied that the Season 6 finale.

7. Love & Rockets by Jaime Hernandez and Gilbert Hernandez

 

The Hernandez brothers wrote dozens of stories in the magical realist Love & Rocketsseries since the 1980s. While Jaime focused on exotic locations and colorful casts, his brother Gilbert often set his stories in the fictional Mexican town of Palomar. 

Their collections of stories ended up filling 28 100-page graphic novels, which were re-released as longer collections between 2007 and 2015.

8. Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo

Broken into six volumes of more than 300 pages each, the famous post-apocalyptic manga follows Tetsuo and Kaneda. The two teens must fight for survival as a dystopian government agency hunts down Tetsuo for his newfound, and possibly catastrophic, supernatural powers

9. Berlin by Jason Lutes

The long-running compendium by Jason Lutes isn't quite finished — its third volume is currently in the works. But the story is certainly long and satisfying, detailing the hopes, dreams and drama of journalist Kurt Severing and art student Marthe Muller during the Weimar Republic in pre-World War II Germany

10. Bone by Jeff Smith

This humorous cartoon fantasy epic follows the three Bone brothers after being kicked out of Boneville — and end up in a land that looks more like Middle Earth than Loony Tunes. The long-running tale of wars and dragons lasted for 55 issues, and is published in separate chapters as well as a single hefty collection.

11. Flight by Kazu Kibuishi

This anthology series is a collaboration between several artists and story writers, who created a stunning compendium of short stories over eight volumes. 

Each volume ranges between 200 and 400 pages, and all of the stories and illustrations have a surreal and dream-like quality. 

12. Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis

This, probably the best Spider-Man series for beginners, expanded on Peter Parker's origin story over 160 issues. The series features all the favorite villains and heroes from the Spider-man series such as Green Goblin and Gwen Stacy. Even future Spider-Man Miles Morales makes an appearance.