Any thick paper is good for markers, especially bristol board. I don't use any particular brand of markers, mostly sharpies and bic markers.. Some prismacolors and copics. They all have the same result.
For coloring with them, use a lighter shade of what you need for the base and the main color for most of the shading and gradually go darker. You don't need a lot of markers to bled evenly (if you're blending colors of course), just use the lighter shade to blend them together. If I don't have a particular color to shade with, I just use grayscale markers, then go over it with the base color.

"Sharpies and bic markers"
My mind is blown that you can create what you do, with those materials.

I really only use those tools for graffiti...they don't blend ><

Mad props dude.

Prismas or Copics.

Prismas are easy to get, since most stores carry them. They are xylene base. Which givens them that smell, and why some will make ink lines smear.

Opps...Hit tab then enter....

Copics are alcohol base, have a bit more of a buy in, and not many stores carry them. However, they are refillable.
and interchangeable tips, and all that jazz.
http://www.copicmarkers.com/

Cheapest place to get them, they have the custom order 12 sets, and all the sets are free shipping.

awesome, thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty set on either Copics or Prismas. I might get a few of each and test them out. Those Copics are just... pricey. But hey! My birthday is coming up, so why the hell not splurge a little?

I kinda like the blurry lines look.

When I went for markers, I kinda went all out and got a big thing of copics. They were expensive...expensive enough that I payed a third of the price in order to get them as a present from two people, but DAMN was it worth it. They have the smoothest blending of any of the fancy markers, and unlike the prismacolors, they have one end that's brush tip, which makes the process amazingly painterly. It's like watercolors without any of the fuss!
I've definitely done allot of crazy things with sharpies, bic, and prismas, and a good artist can definitely make up for anything they lack, but now that I've gone to copic, I wouldn't want anything else for drawing on paper. If you're completely new to the markers, you might want to get a small set of prismas to practice first, but if you've been playing around with them awhile, I would definitely suggest investing in some copics.

Gotta back up the bristol board for marker work too. It's smooth and thick and absorbs lots of layers of marker ink without doing anything crazy.

Thanks! I think I'll take your suggestion and get a few prismas first and play with those (primary colors whee!). But from everything I hear about Copics, I'm gonna have to get my hands on some eventually.