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I’m pretty sure that I don’t have to tell most of you anything about Vertigo Comics. For those who aren’t in the know, Vertigo Comics is essentially an imprint of DC Comics that focuses on more mature themes. There tend to be less ‘superhero books’ and tend to focus more on fantasy, adventure and crime stories. The projects tend to be more ‘creator owned’ than their superhero counterparts, and a number of talented individuals have gotten their starts and made names for themselves with their Vertigo books. If you were to direct yourself over to the Comic Recommendation Mega-Thread, nearly every single one of those lists of recommended books includes at least one Vertigo title. These books are consistently fantastic, always groundbreaking, and instant fan favorites. They are also books that turn people into fans of comics. It would be save to say that VERTIGO and the books that they publish, are among the most influential books in comics today. Have you read PREACHER? Vertigo. Have you read Y The Last Man? Vertigo. Have you read Sandman? Vertigo. Have you read 100 Bullets? Vertigo. Have you read Transmetropolitan? Vertigo. If you’ve not read any of these books, what is wrong with you? Most Vertigo books tend to be limited series with planned endings, though this is not always the case. Recently, Vertigo has also started releasing some smaller; digest sized crime graphic novels, which have been getting a lot of attention (and are quite excellent!) A Brief Introduction to some Current Vertigo Titles: (Please note that I’ve not read all these books; so if you have a better summary, feel free to provide it. Also, sorry if I missed your favorite title.) American Vampire This series just started this month. Scott Snyder’s attempt to recreate the vampire mythos with an American feel to it. The book has been getting a lot of attention because Stephen King will be writing a back-up story for the first few issues. It has the potential to be a very interesting horror comic, but time shall tell. Day Tripper (thanks Amemit) An obituary writer in his later years looks back on his life and is killed by a stranger in a bar. In his twenties, he falls off his boat and drowns. His father dies, and he has a heart attack. An examination of a single man's life through his possible deaths. With an unconventional story structure and no easy explanations as to what's going on, it's an exercise in putting the pieces together to understand the whole. DMZ In an alternative America, the city of New York has become a battleground as two factions duke it out. The city itself has been shut off from the rest of the world and declared a demilitarized zone. Matty Roth just happens to be the only journalist in the city, covering the stories of the lives of the people in there. Recently celebrated it’s 50th issue. Fables/Jack of Fables A fun and imaginative pair of books about the fables, the people and characters from some of the greatest stories and tales of all time, who have been exiled from their homeland and forced to live in our world. Stories tell us about how the fables cope with life in the real world, how they struggle to fight against ‘the adversary’ the nefarious person who kicked them from their homeland. Perhaps not the book for everybody, but a wonderful book to get introduced to comics. Greek Street A series that started this year. There hasn’t been much talk about it in the forums. But my understanding is that Greek Street is a book that takes classic tales of Greek mythology and moves them to the mean streets. Joe The Barbarian Grant Morrison’s new mini-series that has a lot of Goons drooling. One day after school, Joe starts out on the biggest adventure of his life. His toys and pets have changed into living and breathing entities and heroes, and they’re all counting on Joe to save them. The question is, is the adventure real, or is it all some strange side effect of Joe’s diabetic condition? Northlanders All I know is that this book is about Vikings. Sweet Tooth (thanks again Amemit) (The world has been decimated by a mysterious plague that has also turned a generation of children into animal-human hybrids. One of these hybrids is found by a survivor, who takes the chocolate loving "Sweet Tooth" under his wing. But is his new companion a friend, or a foe? The Unwritten This series is been going strong for a year! The story is this. Young slacker Tom Taylor has been making a living for years off of his father’s books, the adventures of Tommy Taylor, Boy Wizard. After a series of strange events, it becomes more and more evident that Tom Taylor actually is the boy from his father’s books. The question is, how is that possible, and what was Tommy Taylor brought to the real world to do? And what does all this have to do with the rich literary of the western world? I realize it’s not much of a thread intro… but I’m sure everybody has plenty to say about these books with our without my introduction. Roydrowsy fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Mar 19, 2010 |
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Mar 19, 2010 15:51
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IF anybody has anything they want to add, just let me know. In the meantime, writing this I was curious about a few things. #1) has anybody been reading Greek Street, and if so, how is it? It looks like it could be an interesting book, but at the same time, turing Greek Mythology into Sin City might not be all that interesting at all. I was just curious to see what people had to say. #2) What did everybody think about American Vampire? For the most part, i think it's a bit too early to tell how this series will be long term, but it got to a pretty interesting start. I'm actually kind of pleased to say that King's half of the book wasn't all that great, so hopefully people will stick with it once King is done
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Mar 19, 2010 15:54
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El Gallinero Gros posted:Scalped. It's so fuckin' good. write something up about it, and i'll add it in.
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Mar 19, 2010 16:10
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on Unwritten Before Unwritten started, the creators talked quite a bit about the whole Harry Potter thing, and that while a lot of people would make that connection it isn't exclusively Harry Potter, as the whole 'boy wizard' concept has been around for awhile (they specifically referenced the Books of Magic). But, that whole fan aspect is marvelous. The pages of blog postings and news stories of people debating "is he/isn't he?". Those two issues about the little girls who are totally devoted to the wizard world of Tom Taylor were easily two of the best books in the series so far. But I agree, The Unwritten is one of those books that you always find yourself looking forward to. You can tell that so much thought and energy has gone into putting together the underlying mythos of this story it's crazy. They give you major clues (like the Kipling issue) but we still don't know quite what it means. It really is a wonderful comic for book/literature nerds. As far as the OP goes, I just threw something together to start a Vertigo thread. I've not read a lot of these books, and really the OP isn't all that important, it's just the springboard.
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Mar 19, 2010 16:59
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Was Taters posted:I had the same problem, only I checked out after the first issue. see, that was what I was afraid of. Perhaps I'll thumb through a trade and see what I think.
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Mar 19, 2010 19:05
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Whorehey posted:Oh I wasn't harassing you into adding anything to the OP, I'm just glad someone started a Vertigo thread. I've been waiting to talk about it a little bit and haven't had the outlet I need. I didn't mean anything condescending if it came off that way. No problem! I didn't really think much about it or take offense, but I wanted to address it before everybody started shouting out their favorites and then getting bummed when I didn't add them. After I sorta volunteered to start the thread I kind of wish I hadn't just because I didn't want a lack-luster op to start things off, but I figured I'd do the best I could and the rest would take care of itself. Anyhow, a few months ago I was in the Half Priced Books in town and managed to get the first 8 volumes in trade (excluding #6). I only picked it up because it was so cheap, but you totally need to keep reading. The first 10 issues only start to scratch the surface of what the book and these stories is about. If my budget was a little more robust, i'd just run and pick up the rest of the trades right away. That being said, I think the book is a lot of fun. Very imaginative and playful. new and interesting things keep popping up each issue, and I really do love the art work, especially the covers. From what i've seen, a lot of people's biggest complaint is that the book reads like it was written for trade publication, especially lately. But I'd say, at least pick up a trade at a time and work your way though it, but right around #3 or #4 you'll find yourself hooked.
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Mar 19, 2010 19:19
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I was a little worried about how this month's The Unwritten would turn out, as the cover looked like it might try to dip into Fable's territory, but I worried for no reason. Amazing issue! I also can't wait for Allred's zombie book!
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Apr 15, 2010 00:41
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I picked up I Zombie up today too. I didn't really know what to expect, I just liked Allred's art in the preview so I figured i'd give it ago. I think it made for a really strong first issue, and more than anything the book looks like it will be a really fun read.
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May 6, 2010 06:57
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so, i've read the first 6 volumes of 100 Bullets, and I'm really not getting into it. I like the art and i can appreciate it for what it is, but it just doesn't really click for me. is there something i'm missing, and i just not to the good part or what?
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May 20, 2010 06:12
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wildmamboqueen posted:I'm gonna recommend Scalped as well. It was one of the last Vertigo books I hadn't read, and I compare it favorably to 100 Bullets. It's amazing that you really have to read these from the first issue to really appreciate the story arcs. If you pick them up in the middle, you lose so much. i just found the first trade of this in a used bookstore. LOVED IT!f I'm gonna be picking up the rest of these trades pretty soon.
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Jul 5, 2010 16:07
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Benny the Snake posted:And hey, DMZ ended at 72. I wonder why nobody really talks about it. Is it the politics? I would, but I haven't read the whole series. I really actually like DMZ. I'd been reading in trades and have covered all but the last two. I'll agree it started to get strange towards the end. Matty gets way to involved and stuff gets really screwed up as a result, but I'm curious to see how it wraps up. It's mostly budget reasons that have held me back... but I'm anxious to see how Matty fixes the mess he's made for himself.
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May 11, 2012 03:11
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