Government shutdown getting you down? While we wait to for our elected officials to do their job and act like adults, hundreds of thousands of individuals are sitting at home. Here’s our suggestions of ten comics, series, or graphic novels to pick up and read through while you await your return to working for the American people.

If you have suggestions, sound off in the comments with them and why you suggest them!

• The Authority –  After witnessing the demise of most of her StormWatch teammates, Jenny Sparks wants to create a new super hero team dedicated to protecting Earth against threats of a global scale. Joined by former StormWatch members Jack Hawksmoor and Shen Li-Min, Jenny recruits four new members, the Doctor, the Engineer, Apollo, and the Midnighter forming the ultra-powerful Authority. The praised series features many of the top creators over the years. A mix of heroes and politics, this is a modern classic.

• DMZ – It’s the second American Civil War that follows a journalist as he’s dropped in the middle of New York City, now a DMZ that separates the two warring sides. Initially starting as commentary about the Bush presidency the series quickly pivoted to comment on the hope and change that was promised with the election of Obama.
  

• Ex Machina – Set in our modern-day real world, Ex Machina tells the story of civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who becomes America’s first living, breathing superhero after a strange accident gives him amazing powers. Eventually tiring of risking his life merely to help maintain the status quo, Mitchell retires from masked crime-fighting and runs for Mayor of New York City, winning by a landslide! But Mayor Hundred has to worry about more than just budget problems and an antagonistic governor.
  

• The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation– A nation divided. Maybe it’s best to go back and read through and remind ourselves about real division and some of the toughest times in this nation’s history. While everyone is at it, maybe brushing up on the constitution with The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptationtoo.

• The Homeland Directive– As head of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Dr. Laura Regan is one of the world’s foremost authorities on viral and bacteriological study. Having dedicated her career to halting the spread of infectious disease, she has always considered herself one of the good guys. But when her research partner is murdered and Laura is blamed for the crime, she finds herself at the heart of a vast and deadly conspiracy. Aided by three rogue federal agents who believe the government is behind the frame-up, Laura must evade law enforcement, mercenaries, and a team of cyber-detectives who know more about her life than she does – all while trying to expose a sinister plot that will impact the lives of every American. Set in the Orwellian present, The Homeland Directive is a modern-day political/medical thriller.

• The Nightly News– As an act of violence spirals out of control to encompass the entirety of the news media, a cult has emerged from the errors and retractions that have ruined careers, marriages and even lives. Under direction from his cult master, The Hand leads an army of followers committed to revolution, willing to die for their cause.

• Occupy Comics #1-3 – Occupy Comics brings together more than 50 comics pros to discuss and document the themes, goals, and ideals of the Occupy movement while also raising funds to support it. With a roster spanning from legends like Alan Moore and David Lloyd (V For Vendetta) to rising stars like Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead) to icons like Art Spiegelman (Maus), Occupy Comics is a once-in-a-lifetime coalition of intelligent creatives using sequential art to record history as it’s being made.

• Scarlet– Scarlet is the story of a woman pushed to the edge by all that is wrong with the world…A woman who will not back down…A woman who discovers within herself the power to start a modern American revolution!!

• Transmetropolitan– After years of selfimposed exile from a civilization rife with degradation and indecency, cynical journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to return to a job he hates and a city he loathes. Working as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word, Spider attacks the injustices of his surreal 23rd century surroundings.

• V for Vendetta– A powerful story about loss of freedom and individuality, V For Vendetta takes place in a totalitarian England following a devastating war that changed the face of the planet. In a world without political freedom, personal freedom and precious little faith in anything comes a mysterious man in a white porcelain mask who fights political oppressors through terrorism and seemingly absurd acts. It’s a gripping tale of the blurred lines between ideological good and evil.