The Official Vertigo Thread

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, I've been waiting for it pretty much since it was announced. Seems like it's been quite awhile now.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I, Zombie sounds interesting. As bored as I am of zombie stuff in general, it's always nice to see a new take on the subgenre. Sort of a zombie/vampire combo in this case, which could be cool. Plus, you know, Allred.

In other news, I saw Joe the Barbarian #2 at my shop this week, so I asked my shop owner to put it in my file and re-order a copy of #1, which I missed. Hopefully it comes in next week, but who knows?

 

[Themanofbat]

Joe the Barbarian is only 8 issues... so I'll probably get it in trade...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I hate waiting for trades, both literally and in principle.

 

[CantThinkOfAName]

Yeah, I picked up the first issue, but Morrison is further appreciated in collected form

 

[Lucien]

I finished reading all of Lucifer recently and loved every bit of it. Great ending for the character.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Interview with Dan DiDio and Jim Lee

Jonah Weiland: First of all, congratulations! I'm sure you've got a million things to do quickly today, so let's jump right into it. The first question posed to CBR right after the announcement went out was for Dan and Jim via Twitter Simply put: what does it mean to be a co-publisher?

Dan Didio: Well, with Co-Publishers for us, I'm going to reiterate some of the points that Diane made to the staff and to everybody. When she was putting this team together, she was looking at the complimentary skill sets that both Jim and I possessed for each other in working together. From my standpoint, I couldn't be happier to be working with Jim and with how we approach our business and how we approach the creative. I really think it helps broaden the appeal and the direction not just of what I know we do well in the DCU or Jim does WildStorm but really across all the imprints of DC Comics. We'll be touching upon Vertigo and MAD as well.

Be afraid, chums.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, not too fond of the sound of that myself.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Could be nothing, of course. But I like a bit of fear-mongering in the morning.

 

[Gilpesh]

Interview with Dan DiDio and Jim Lee

Be afraid, chums.

NOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[CharmCityComics]

Morrison's Doom Patrol is an awesome headtrip,Brian Wood's Northlander is really good, and Jason Aaron's Scalped is one of the most well rounded books out right now and is one of my favorite reads. I read the trades, the story unfolds a lot better that way.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Morrison's Doom Patrol is an awesome headtrip,Brian Wood's Northlander is really good, and Jason Aaron's Scalped is one of the most well rounded books out right now and is one of my favorite reads. I read the trades, the story unfolds a lot better that way.

I read the first five arcs of Scalped in graphic novel format, but this latest arc, "The Gnawing", I've read in single issues, and it's been brilliant. I worried the book wouldn't be good reading one issue at a time, but in this case it certainly did - the suspense was at points nigh-unbearable.

 

[CharmCityComics]

Cool, Ireally liked "Gravel in Your Guts" cuz it was giving us back story to some of the players. Can't wait for vol#6. Jason Aaron has a long and bright future, in my reading habits anyway!

 

[Keyser Soze]

I have an article up on Comic Book Resources! It's about Scalped, challenging some accusations of racism and negative stereotyping of Native Americans that have been raised against it. Check it out!

http://goodcomics.comicbookresource...-scalped-and-the-stereotype-that-wasnt-there/

 

[Tron Bonne]

I don't read Scalped, so I don't really know anything about the subject, but congratulations, none-the-less

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25285

Interview with Wagner about Madame Xanadu. The next arc will be six-part and focused on the five regular senses and an extra sense that Madame Xanadu possesses. They will each have a different female guest artist, so no Hadley (which makes me sad ), and said that it would have a very 'Twilight Zone' vibe (which makes me happy).

Oh, and J'onn shows up again next issue, maybe we'll even see a peek at his Martian form

 

[Cosmic]

I regret dropping Madame Xanadu. I've picked it back up again, and I'm looking forward to seeing all the different artists getting a shot at it. Plus, it sounds like the kind of thing that could possibly attract more female readers, if it gets enough attention, so that's always good.

I'm still buying:

Unknown Soldier - It's been a great series. If I had to drop all 20+ titles I'm buying right now except for one, then this is the one I'd hold onto. Unfortunately, it's not very popular. Maybe he should've given him a cape or something (kidding).

Joe The Barbarian - I like it so far, but I have some issues with the pacing of the storyline. The artwork just sucks me in, though. Hanging on for the moment.

DMZ - I'll have to catch up on reading this when I've finished relocating and have all of my comics and stuff. Past readings were intense and thought-provoking, so I'm eager to get back into it.

Unwritten - Just picked this up, and haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I will most definitely have to catch up on some back issues as soon as I get out to Cali.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I regret dropping Northlanders, but it's on like part 5 of an 8-part arc right now, so I gotta wait until they start a new one to pick it back up.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Finally a freakin' Vertigo thread!

I have not seen any Sweeth Tooth talk around here. Anybody here reading Sweet Tooth? Awesome stuff right there. It's so dark and depressing. So, if you're looking for a dark story go with that one!

Fables is, as usual, always pretty solid.

Joe the Barbarian: The first issue really sucked me in. The second issue had me thinking, "Oh, man I should have gotten this in trade". After reading # 3 it got me right back into it and, damn, what a story I think this is gonna turn out to be. The art is absolutely amazing too. I just stare at the pages admiring it before I even start reading.

Unwritten: I just got into this series after listening to Comic Geek Speak's Book of the Month club. Once they described the premise of the book I jumped on the first trade. I'm almost caught up to the current issue # 11 now. It's a solid story. The first few issues in the trade had me almost ready to put it dow and regretting the purchase but in about issue # 4 the story really got going. This series is great!

Scalped: Damn this is a great book. Unfortunately I am really behind on this, like two trades behind, but I hope to get caught up in the coming months.

That's all the current Vertigo series that I read. I've been meaning to give House of Mystery a try because I've been hearing really good things about it.

 

[NDX]

I follow Unknown Soldier and Madame Xanadu religiously. Some of the best stories I've read from DC.

I read all of DMZ, and I don't know if I like the current direction. Going to give it to the next arc to see what happens. But at least the art has been good. Read all of 100 Bullets but the last 2 arcs were just pure disappointment. Such a great buildup. Shame. Read the first few years of Hellblazer and it was enjoyable but at times felt too longwinded. Will have get back into that soon.

I will read the Unwritten soon enough. Same with Fables and JoF. And eventually Sandman. But first I need to finish all the Milestone comics (am I glad those are being collected).

I have the first 2 deluxe volumes of Y: The Last Man, and will be getting both volumes of Preacher sometime in the future.

So yeah, I enjoy a good handful of titles and plan on getting into some more.

 

[Watchman]

What is metal?

I'm guessing it has something to do with Northlanders.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Some I, Zombie stuff. Little bit of a preview, with some pages, and talks with Roberson. Sounds like they have an insane world to unleash with this one

The world has gotten used to the battles between good and evil warlocks in Harry Potter, and is adjusting to the idea of good and evil vampires in True Blood and Twilight. But is there room for a good zombie among them?
There is in I, Zombie, the quirky new Vertigo comic where the world is filled with bizarre paranormal creatures like werewolves, mummies and zombies. Written by Chris Roberson with art by Mike Allred, the comic focuses on a young zombie named Gwen who ends up using her brain-munching tendencies to help others.
"Gwen quickly learned that, unless she ate a human brain once a month, she would lose her own memories and personality and quickly become a shambling zombie straight out of a George Romero film," Roberson explained of the comic, which begins in May. "But she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, so instead of attacking the living, she gets a job as a gravedigger at an eco-friendly cemetery (because embalming fluid tastes icky), and once a month she sneaks in and digs up the freshest body for a quick bite."


Although eating a human brain helps Gwen keep her own memories and personality intact, she also slowly "digests" the brain she just ate – filling her head with the memories and personality of its former owner. "She finds herself compelled to finish any unfinished business that the dead person left behind," Roberson said. "If they were murdered, she has to solve the murder. If they never told their dad that they loved him, she has to track down their grieving parent and make amends. When the week is up, she has a few weeks of relative normalcy, but getting there can be a serious pain."
But the world of I, Zombie also has a host of other fun monster-types who serve as Gwen's supporting cast, including her best friend Ellie, a teenage ghost who died in the '60s, and their loyal buddy Spot, a "were-terrier" – something that's just a little different from a werewolf.
"Werewolves are people who find themselves overcome by the appetites and lusts of a wild animal," Roberson said. "When the moon is full, Spot finds himself overcome by the appetites and lusts of a well-behaved house pet. He gets all furry, has an extra bowl of food at dinner, and goes to sleep on the couch."


The comic also has two men competing for Gwen's affection: A sexy mummy named Amon who has offered to help her, and a no-holds-barred, martial arts-wielding monster hunter who doesn't suspect she's a zombie. And like any good comic, there are villains too – like the attractive female staff at BloodSports, a paintball outfit outside town. Because the women are secretly vampires, players who wander off alone might come back with a red spot on their collar – but that's just paint, of course. "Mike and I are trying to create as broad and as rich as a world as we can, and a huge part of that is populating the world of I, Zombie with our own take on every kind of monster we can think of," Roberson said. "The ones we meet in the first arc are just the tip of the iceberg. But we didn’t want to just shove monsters in there without rhyme or reason, and so I worked out a rationale that explains how all of the different types work and fit together. By the end of the first arc, readers will have been given the basic ground rules that underlie Gwen’s world, a basic mechanism that explains how normal people can become vampires, or werewolves, or zombies, or what have you."
The action starts off quickly when I, Zombie #1 is released on May 5th, as the issue opens with Gwen already being a zombie for a few months.


"When she eats the brain of a murder victim and sets out to solve the mystery, she quickly discovers that the man’s death has more to do with her own condition than she ever could have suspected," Roberson said. "Matters are only complicated when a pair of monster-hunters arrive in town, and when she bumps into one of them and they immediately hit it off, Gwen’s life become very complicated, very quickly." After the first story arc, Roberson and Allred will give readers a one-shot focusing on Spot, entitled "I, Were-terrier," the story of how an IT worker who loves video games and superhero comics was transformed into a half-man, half-terrier.
"Then in the second arc we’ll learn a bit more about Nemia and the other vampires at BloodSports, and we’ll also be introduced to a new member of the cast, our resident mad scientist," Roberson said. "In future arcs we’ll meet a Teen Frankenstein, a ghostly pulp avenger, a fish-man, cultists, secret agents, Soviet Zombie Super Soldiers, and so on. Oh, and a talking chimpanzee, naturally."
Roberson is hoping that, among all the zombie stories being published nowadays, I, Zombie has a different enough premise to make it stand out.


"I think one of the main differences is that our story takes place not in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, but in a modern world in which supernatural creatures – zombies, vampires, ghosts, and werewolves – live in the shadows, their existence hidden from the general public," the writer said. "And I think readers will quickly find that this is a considerably more light-hearted story than the typical zombie fare. There are heavy moments and the occasional scare, of course, but even zombies need to cheer up every now and then. "And it probably goes without saying, but I’ll say anyway," Roberson added, "that this is the only zombie book I know of that is drawn by the lovely and talented Mike Allred!"
Roberson said he's a long-time fan of Allred's art and was enthusiastic when editor Shelly Bond said she thought someone like Allred would be good on the comic.
"She said, 'What about somebody like Mike Allred?' And I assumed she meant someone that drew like Mike Allred – some starving college kid who was as big of fan of Mike’s stuff as I am," Roberson laughed. "So naturally I said 'Sure!' Then later that day she called back and told me that Mike loved the idea and was onboard to draw it. I still haven’t quite recovered from that call.


"What makes Mike so perfect for this story, I think, is his ability to modulate tone," the writer said. "He can do the lighthearted stuff, the romantic stuff, but he can also go all out with the creepiness and the tension. And the work that he’s doing on I, Zombie, along with his wife and colorist Laura Allred, is seriously some of the best work he’s ever done. I think he’s leveled up, somehow." Roberson, a long-time comics fan, wrote several novels and short stories before breaking into comics last year with the Vertigo mini-series, Cinderlla: From Fabletown with Love. While he said there's a possibility of another Fables-related project in his future, there's nothing to announce yet. "I’ve had an absolute blast working in the world of Fables, and would do it again in a heartbeat," he said.
As for I, Zombie, Roberson is trying not to think too much about what audience will end up reading the comic, but is instead just writing what he enjoys himself.
"I think it will appeal to two groups of people: Those who like zombie books, and those who don't like zombie books," he said. "There’s a lot going on in I, Zombie, and if a reader isn’t crazy about the kick-ass kung-fu scene, there’s a tender romantic moment in just a few more pages. Or if they get bored with the scene with two girls talking about their favorite kind of food, hang on a minute because one of them is about to eat a brain."
Besides, Roberson pointed out, the first issue is only a dollar. "Honestly, you’re losing money if you don't buy it."

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/chris-roberson-I-zombie-100413.html

 

[TheCorpulent1]

My library got a copy of The Unwritten's first trade, so I checked it out and read it. Pretty good. I'm gonna give the series a try.

 

[Tron Bonne]

The series only gets better from there. That issue with Kipling is still my favorite, but the overall story improves past that, I think.

 

[Watchman]

The series only gets better from there. That issue with Kipling is still my favorite, but the overall story improves past that, I think.

That issue better win the Eisner. Although, I don't how much merit the Eisners have anymore after seeing the best writer category.

 

[Tron Bonne]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25799

Panel from C2E2. Not much, just a few OGN projects, but it's there for anyone interested