Drawing:
My preference here is for mechanical pencils, because the lines are always the same width, and you never need to sharpen it.
For erasing, I recommend art gum erasers (the smooth kind). They're less likely to tear the paper and leave smudges.
If you want to get fancy, sketch out your pic on thin paper (i.e. tracing paper), then trace it onto the "real" paper using a lightbox. I just got a lightbox, and I love it. Few things are as frustrating as having your perfect drawing that you worked for hours on ruined by a stubborn smudge that won't erase.

Ink:
The best advice I can give here is, MAKE SURE YOUR INK IS WATERPROOF. If you like mechanical, uniform lines, you can use a pen. This can be an ordinary ballpoint pen (with waterproof ink!), or a nib pen. If you'd rather have a more organic line, a brush is best. Brushes are kind of tricky to get the hang of, but the results can be really beautiful.
If you use a nib pen or a brush, I'd recommend using india ink. Acryllic ink isn't completely waterproof and doesn't always get along with markers.

Color:
There are many ways to color your pieces, but I can only comment on the ones I know about.

Watercolors:
My favorite. I HIGHLY recommend you get watercolor paints in tubes, rather than the trays. Yes, the trays are cheaper, but they're cheaper for reason. With the trays, the colors are easily contaminated, mixing them is difficult to impossible, and the colors can dry out and crack. With tubes, the pigments are stronger (meaning you don't have to use as much), and the colors can't contaminate each other. If you remember to leave the tops on the tubes, they'll last just about forever.

Markers:
I know everyone, from professional manga-kas to my fellow fanartists, swears by Copic. Well, Copic Shmopic. I swear by Prismacolor. They're easier to find (in the US, anyway), and cost about half of what Copics cost.

Paper:
The right paper can make or break a drawing, but getting the right one can be tricky.

Watercolors do best on heavy, absorbent, textured paper. Most art stores carry paper specially made for watercolor, usually several different weights. The heavier the paper is, the less likely it is to wrinkle when wet. For lightweight paper, you might need pre-wet it and attach it to a drawing board with paper tape to keep it from wrinkling.
The more absorbent the paper is, the better it will accept the color, and the more smooth and even the color will look. Computer paper, for example, doesn't accept watercolors very well.

Markers do best on smooth, non-absorbent paper. You can sometimes find paper made specially for markers, but not every store carries it. If you can't find that, the next best thing I've found is Bristol board. Heavy watercolor paper is not recommended, as it soaks up a lot of ink. Light paper, like sketch or drawing paper, isn't a good idea either. If the paper is too light, the ink will bleed.