Jumping off the bandwagon and current comic reading list

I'm quitting, or at the very least, taking a break from WOW.

Let's see how long I can go!

It's always been an on again-off again thing with me and WOW. There will be weeks if not about a month where I'm just burned out of grinding, raiding, and PVP'ing and just decide to take a break. Maybe WOW's just a habit for me and then again maybe it's one of the few games that I can play on my two-year-old laptop that I'm typing on today. Let me tell you: if I had a nicer rig, I'd be playing Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption, and the upcoming LA Noire. Eh well, there's always League of Legends, TF2, and Puzzle Quest 2 to keep my gaming needs satisfied. On top of that, this'll be a great opportunity to refine my creative writing skills.

Speaking of which, my aspirations are aimed towards writing for comics. To that end, I'm starting to collect comics to get a feel of the audience and the style I'll be writing into. I've spent $30 so far (no impulse control whatsoever...), and here's the titles I've bought or collecting so far and my thoughts towards them:

• Batman: The title's decent, although it's a little to fantastic for my tastes. The recent story line (#707-704) involves an ancient, powerful Chinese relic. Not that I don't like a little fantasy now and then (why I play WOW), but I like my Batman hardboiled and noir...
  
  
• Detective Comics:...which is why this is my favorite title. This is Batman at his film noir best: investigating crimes, exposing the dark underbelly of Gotham, kicking ass and taking names. See my previous review of "The Black Mirror" storyline. Kudos to writer Scott Snyder, who's said in recent interviews that his goal is to depict Gotham as a dark mirror where the viewer's worst fears will be reflected back to them. To that end, It's interesting what horror elements Snyder will integrate along with the noir elements.
  
  
• American Vampire: Snyder's other series he's writing. My first issue and so far I like it: a short history of one vampire family from the nation's birth to the present. Currently our protagonist Lucius Sweet is stepping by a Wild West show in '19 and going in to enact vengeance. For what it's worth, the characters are engaging, the story flows, and the art matches Snyder's writing. Worth collecting.
  
  
• Vampirella: Buffy meets Blade in a Castlevania plot. Lots of asskicking, lots of blood, surprisingly low amount of T$A. Don't let the cover fool you: Vampirella's rocking a more sensible jeans, boots, and trench coat look. It works and the comic's good...but when I can get DC and Vertigo titles for a buck less, I'll pass. I will look into Dynamite's other mini series, Lone Ranger: the Death of Zorro.
  
  
• DMZ: An exceptionally engaging statement on the past and current administration's war policies, contractor lobbying and profiteering, and how there are only two sides in a war: combatants and non-combatants. Read it for the great action and the great big "Fuck You" to the Military Industrial Complex.
  
  
• Zatanna: I wish I would've known about this character earlier. She's a master magician who not only possesses real magical powers but is also an active member of the JLA. She also has an irrational fear of puppets? And is written by Paul Dini, writer for my favorite animated series Batman: the Animated Series? Sold!
  
  
• Power Girl: Color me imprised! I expected gratuitous T&A at the expense of story thanks to Power Girl's...talents, yeah, talents. I instead got a really deep and engaging look into how a superhero juggles both an alter ego and secret identity. Plus she's fighting dinosaurs. Awesome.
  
  
  
• Green Lantern: I'm a bit worried that the Lanterns might be overexposed in recent weeks thanks to the upcoming film. GL is everywhere. He's headlining C2E2, there's a couple of DC animated features out, there's a new "War of the Green Lanterns" storyline...I afraid DC might be bleeding him dry. In any case, I can say I'm interested in buying future issues after this one. The great thing about the internet is that any time I'm stuck on a continuity issue (who's that, why's he/she important, etc), a quick Google/Wikipedia/TV Tropes search will clear that up, and especially with a title like this that I'm not all too familiar with. I can list off a respectable amount of Batman characters, but I can only name a few Green Lantern ones.

Yeah, I know there's no Marvel titles up there, but one I'm not much of a Marvel fan and when DC is doing a more affordable promotion (Drawing the line at $2.99!), I'll pass. Most of Marvel's titles are about four bucks when I can spend ten and buy three DC/Vertigo comics.

I'd appreciate any recommendations as a first-time comics reader/collector. I'm focusing more on Noir/Cyberpunk/Mystery titles, but I'm also on the lookout for any titles that have a lighthearted meta spin on them like Power Girl.