As much as I love GL, yes, it is confusing and you have to really be committed to the story Johns is telling. You miss an issue, and you're screwed. That said, Emerald Warriors is a bit of a departure from the core GL books. Guy Gardner is the lead, and it features Kilowog, Arisia and other rotating cast members away from the regular goings on of GL and GLC. You get brief recaps and mentions of whats going on, but unless it's a specific cross over ('War of the Green Lanterns' starts this month) you just get solid action and great story telling. Pete Tomasi is one of the writers I'll follow anywhere, and he writes Guy Gardner better than anyone else ever has.

If you're looking for a good solid Gotham book, go with either Detective Comics or Batman: Streets of Gotham. Batgirl is also a lot of fun, but is a departure from the grim n' gritty of typical Gotham fare - think Spider-Man were he in Gotham City.

Totally spaced on mentioning Thunderbolts - wonderful suggestion!

My universe of choice is DC - I think their stories have been consistently great over the last about 3 years, whereas my interest in Marvel waned greatly with Bendis writing EVERYTHING I used to read and love - aside from Powers, I typically don't dig his work (that said - his work on New Avengers with the latest relaunch has been nothing short of magic). My favorite DC books are Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, Flash, Red Robin and Batgirl. With Marvel, I'm reading Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, Cassanova and New Avengers. GI Joe: Cobra from IDW has been fantastic, as have the Star Wars, BPRD, Hellboy and Guild books from Dark Horse. However - if I can make 1 suggestion for people to pick up, it's Incorruptible from Boom! Studios - just a brilliant book, with great art and writing.