As others said, Preacher is an epic tail, though it can become overly gross at points. Another suggestion is pick up Judge Dredd: America. Its a far darker take on the Judge Dredd world seen through the lives of a couple of ordinary citizens and what it takes to push them into extremism.
Sleeper is a great series, though it is about people with powers... there not heroes though... not by a long shot.
Nemesis is also amazing, it's short but well worth the read. Imagine if the Joker was Batman.
100 Bullets, also absolutely amazing.
And then finally, Wanted, the Mark Millar one... not that terrible movie that stole the beginning and the character names. Also short but awesome. It's a group of super villains who run the planet because they just kill all the super heroes, and they even go to other dimensions just so to kill the super heroes there for chuckles.
Well from France, there's most of the Wakfu comics, but there's no OFFICIAL English translation and it's not going to be all that interesting unless you watch the show. Both the show and comics get translations over at Brotherhood of Tofu.
As for Japan:
Berserk
A bleak fairy tale about the quest of the Sisphyus-like figure Guts and his quest for vengeance against his former comrade at arms, the wannabe Nietzsche Ubermensch Griffith, which creates piles of corpses stacked unimaginably high. Amazingly detailed artwork and excellent writing by creator Kentaro Miura battles against his crazily inconsistent release schedule. It does have an official localization (by Dark Horse I believe), and scans are released by Evil Genius if I recall.
Vinland Saga
Loosely based on the actual Vinland Sagas, telling the tale of the young Icelandic warrior Thorfinn as he seeks to avenge his father's death while serving in the Danish army during their invasion of England. No official translation yet, but scans are handled by the veteran translator Hox, who gives it one of the most amazing fan translations I've ever read. A fantastic historical fiction.
Otoyomegatari ("A Bride's Story" roughly)
Quite possibly the most gorgeous artwork in any manga (though somewhat offset by the fact that while everything else is amazing, the character's actual faces are of a standard anime mold), it's the story of a group of people living along the silk road in the 1800s (I think that's the date anyway), particularly the young woman Amira, her in-laws, and a traveling British researcher who often meets with them before departing for his own story arc. Official translation is slow for this one, but so are the scans, whether this is the manga's actual release schedule or lack of scan group interest I'm not sure. The official release comes in these classy hardback releases, which is cool for a manga (japanese comic). Can't remember who scans it, but you can find it at most any online reader just as with Vinland Saga.
Cesare
Fictionalized version of the story of Cesare Borgia. Yes, the guy The Prince is about. Machiavelli even appears in the story. No official translation as far as I know, scans shouldn't be too hard to find on various online manga reading sites.
...And loads more I don't have time to list right now.
Black Lagoon
Basically a John Woo Gun Kata movie in manga form, right down to Chow Yun Fatt in sunglasses and a trenchcoat showing up in it, it takes place mainly in the fictional Thailand city of Roanapur, following the career of Japanese businessman Okajima "Rock" Rokkuro, and his new job as a pirate/delivery boy in the Black Lagoon mercenary organization. Mobsters, neo-Nazis, drug cartels, FARC, Islamic extremist, the CIA, a bunch of gun smugglers called the Church of Violence, The People's Republic of China, and all sorts of crazy things drop in and out of this manga, it's crazy but fun. Probably the least impressive artwise of these suggestions though.
It's by Rei Hiroe, has an official translation and reliable scans, but it's been on hiatus for awhile.
ElfQuest is one of the best comics ever made. It's truly art.
The first couple issues are a little cheesy, but it gradually gets more and more amazing. (Plus, hot elf chicks [http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5400000/Nightfall-elfquest-5416448-313-402.jpg].)
If you read it, I suggest only looking at the original quest (which is 20 issues long). You can branch out more if you really, really like it, but none of the later ones are anywhere near as good.
Basically, it's about elves. On a quest. They want to find out who they are, where they came from, why humans hate them so much, and if there are any others. But these elves are pretty badass; they ride wolves, for one thing. The world is quite well-made, but the characters (heroes and villains alike) are the best part by far, along with the stunning artwork.
Looking For Group - It's a fantasy series that I think started by spoofing WoW but took on a life of it's own. It's pretty damn funny and the art is great.
Questionable Content [http://www.questionablecontent.net] - Someone already suggested it, so I'm just seconding their suggestion.
Something Positive [http://www.somethingpositive.net] - Long Running web comic (since 2001). I'll just spoiler the "About" from the site:
Something*Positive is the story of a few friends - namely Davan, Aubrey, PeeJee, and Jason - and their daily lifes, struggles, and the occasional mass catgirl cataclysm. The story began in Boston in 2001. Since then, it's expanded to Texas, California, and a few other nightmares along the way.
These are people you know, although you may not admit it. It's just a comic about trying to live you life and bringing a few friends with you so you don't kill anyone. At least, not anyone you might get in trouble for.
Girls With Slingshots [http//www.girlswithslingshots.com] - Drinking, sex jokes, relationships, and a talking, drinking, Irish Cactus. Yeah.
Traditional comic stuff:
Buffy Season 8 - This is mostly if you liked the TV show. It's written by Joss Whedon and it picks up where the show left off. So, it would be considered cannon. It's really damn good as they get to do stuff they would be cost prohibitive for a TV show.
The Boys - About a group of people keep the world's superheroes in line, by any means necessary. It does a great job of spoofing the traditional superhero and shows the seedy underbelly that the public doesn't get to see, from teenage supergroups going wild in a brothel, to a Batman styled character with uncontrollable urges to bang everything from his butler, former sidekick, and random inanimate objects. It's just a completely twisted comic and a must read.
Ultimate Marvel Universe - Okay, so you said the reason you were looking for non-super hero books was the continuity and the cost. Well, this universe is for you. It has a small core of titles (X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and The Ultimates) and was developed as a way to bring major Marvel characters into the modern era. It only started in 2000 and it's really easy to pick up. It's my favorite line. Brian Michael Bendis is an amazing writer.
Thirding for truth - Transmet, Preacher and Watchmen would be 3 of the finest, most intelligent comic runs ever... Also, Y: The Last Man is pretty good too.
Try 'Bone', Its very entertaining and Very original, like a combination of LotR and Donald Duck. I know, that sounds weird. But give it a shot. Its a huge omnibus, that wll keep you occupied a few days
Y: The Last Man was great, made better by the fact that it finished properly after 10 volumes, rather than milking it.
The Walking Dead, lots of zombie goodness (they recently made an equally awesome tv series out of it too).
DMZ, only just started out on these but it's good so far.
Try 'Bone', Its very entertaining and Very original, like a combination of LotR and Donald Duck. I know, that sounds weird. But give it a shot. Its a huge omnibus, that wll keep you occupied a few days
if you enjoy darker tones I recomend squee, JTHM, or Bear all of them are very funny and sarcastic with lots of squishy goodness. If we are allowed to include manga that doesnt look or feel like manga what so ever I have to say berserk insanly great character development and fantastic story but its very realistic and takes place in the midevil ages so its very graphic.
I keep staring at the big collection edition for $40 at my comic book store every FNM and I never end up buying it but everytime I am so tempted is it that good to drop a 40?
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