The Two Vertigos

This year, DC Comics finally brought back the Vertigo imprint which was honestly what kept me hooked to comics in the 90s. I was growing up, at university, head full of new ideas, and Vertigo's more literate writing (more than its "mature readers" delve into the horror genre) spoke to me in a way that kept the brazier of my fandom alive for the better part of a decade. It was like being a kid and discovering superhero comics for the first time. My mind was being blown all over again, and I bought every Vertigo series, no matter the subject or quality. Yes, there were duds, but there was far more there that was great (and still is) than the opposite.

So when the announcement was made, I was unsurprisingly excited. And then the actual books were announced and, well... none of them actually interested me. Nothing against the creative teams, or even the content, but it felt like riffling through a batch of creator-owned #1s from Image, Dark Horse or Mad Cave to see if a series was for me. And just like those other companies, only a percentage, or none at all, might charm me. It didn't help that I didn't recognize many of the writers (nor had an affinity with those I did), while back in the day, I could always count on Morrison, Milligan, Ennis and other members of the British Invasion to spark my interest with their creator-owned projects. Is that all that's missing?

No, because the other component of the original Vertigo is that it wasn't JUST creator-owned series. Part of the DCU had been sectioned-off to that editorship and could evolve in weird and/or horrific ways. Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Sandman (both of them), Shade the Changing-Man... Those brought you in with their recognizable names, and from there, you'd end up reading Preacher, Y the Last Man, Fables, DMZ, and a host of original mini-series by Vertigo's impressive stable. And while DC tried to give us similar titles relatively recently under the Young Animal imprint (what a weird name), they are nowhere to be seen in the new Vertigo. But here's the weird thing...

Even as they push out things like Bleeding Hearts and The Peril of the Brutal Dark, and move DC Horror books (like The Nice House by the Sea) to the new imprint, DC is also introducing new series in their standard line that COULD have been part of this new Vertigo. The Demon, Doom Patrol, Deadman (by the creative team of horror comics darling Ice Cream Man, no less), and a Jonah Hex book that's a lot like Joe Lansdale's supernatural take on the character in the original Vertigo... You might even want to put the new Legion book in that lot!

I suppose it's just different editorships. Or not wanting to pollute DC-owned properties with curse words, nudity or disturbing violence (but then, explain Black Label). Not that this new Vertigo HAD to abide by any of the old rules. The above-mentioned titles aren't just supernatural or weirdo DC heroes, the stories being told actually have a "mature readers" (which is not to say R-rated) vibe - heady concepts, creepy characters, literate dialogue and sophisticated art. But if these books (which I'm all enjoying, by the way) WERE Vertigo, it might make the non-continuity books more enticing. "Oh, well, I really enjoyed Deadman and Jonah Hex, maybe this End of Life thing is cool, too. Perhaps it's just my old brand loyalty talking, I dunno.

That said, when I look ahead at Vertigo announcements coming in the new year, I do feel a brighter spark of interest. Tom Taylor's Necretaceous, Mariko Tamaki's The Crying Doll, Simon Spurrier's A Walking Shadow... names I've trusted in the past, each with a premise I find intriguing. We'll just have to wait and see...