9. Scalped
If you feel like reading something without superpowers or heroes but with plenty of ass-kicking and depth then Scalped is essential reading. Written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by R.M. Guera, Scalped is a 60 issue comic first published in 2007. It follows Native American Dashiell Bad Horse who returns to his home, a South Dakota Reservation, after 15 years away. Dash Bad Horse starts working for the local Sheriff, Red Crow, where he cements his reputation as a ruthless enforcer as he goes about smashing meth labs (and their occupants) into pieces. However, unbeknownst to anyone else on the rez Bad Horse is actually an undercover FBI agent under orders to investigate the murder of two FBI agents decades earlier. This thrilling series has great characters and even some well-handled social commentary about the rez and delivers a tightly plotted tale that draws inspiration from detective fiction of the past but with the action ramped up to 11. It also has a sense of humor... one character is called Officer Falls Down.