Vertigo Comics: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Content added Content deleted
VisualWikitext
m (Mass update links)
(changing to past tense)
 
(6 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{creator}}
[[File:Vertigo_Comics_logo_591.jpg|frame]]
[[File:Vertigo_Comics_logo_591.jpg|frame]]


As the [[Dark Age]] moved on, [[DC Comics]] noticed they were publishing several series that weren't just ''dark'', they were ''mature'' -- with complex, thinky, often philosophical stories and deep, complicated characters, by names like [[Alan Moore]], [[Grant Morrison]], and [[Neil Gaiman]]. Thus, to separate these from the "normal" [[The DCU|DCU]] fare, they created the Vertigo Comics imprint.
As the [[Dark Age]] moved on, [[DC Comics]] noticed they were publishing several series that weren't just ''dark'', they were ''mature'' -- with complex, thinky, often philosophical stories and deep, complicated characters, by names like [[Alan Moore]], [[Grant Morrison]], and [[Neil Gaiman]]. Thus, to separate these from the "normal" [[The DCU|DCU]] fare, they created the Vertigo Comics imprint.


Many of these were remakes of old DCU properties, given new life through clever writing. ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]'', ''[[Animal Man (Comic Book)|Animal Man]]'', ''[[Doom Patrol (Comic Book)|Doom Patrol]]'', and ''[[Swamp Thing (Comic Book)|Swamp Thing]]'' are probably the exemplars here. It seemed the rule was "The more obscure, the better"; series like ''Brother Power: The Geek'', a two-issue [[Totally Radical]] attempt from the '60s to appeal to the "hippie" market, were brought back as [[Darker and Edgier|dark, edgy romps]].
Many of these were remakes of old DCU properties, given new life through clever writing. ''[[The Sandman]]'', ''[[Animal Man]]'', ''[[Doom Patrol]]'', and ''[[Swamp Thing]]'' are probably the exemplars here. It seemed the rule was "The more obscure, the better"; series like ''Brother Power: The Geek'', a two-issue [[Totally Radical]] attempt from the '60s to appeal to the "hippie" market, were brought back as [[Darker and Edgier|dark, edgy romps]].


This had the knock-on effect of pretty much excising certain characters from the main DCU, for fear that a [[John Constantine]] and [[Batman (Comic Book)|Batman]] crossover [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|would encourage little kids to pick up]] ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]''. This means that certain comics, though still technically part of the DCU, are [[Exiled From Continuity|unable to do "proper" crossovers]] or acknowledge that connection directly. This is relaxed occasionally for one-panel cameos (Constantine in ''[[Hitman]]''), characters whose comics have ended (Daniel from ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]'' appeared in ''JLA'', while [[Animal Man (Comic Book)|Animal Man]] and the [[Comicook/Doom Patrol|Doom Patrol]] have come back to [[The DCU]] full-time) and characters who have always straddled the divide between the two ([[The Phantom Stranger]], Zatanna, et al). DC's 2011 partial [[Continuity Reboot]] brought several characters like Constantine and Swamp Thing back into the main DC continuity fold. The Vertigo-only ''Hellblazer'' will still continue to be published separately.
This had the knock-on effect of pretty much excising certain characters from the main DCU, for fear that a [[John Constantine]] and [[Batman]] crossover [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|would encourage little kids to pick up]] ''[[Hellblazer]]''. This means that certain comics, though still technically part of the DCU, are [[Exiled From Continuity|unable to do "proper" crossovers]] or acknowledge that connection directly. This is relaxed occasionally for one-panel cameos (Constantine in ''[[Hitman]]''), characters whose comics have ended (Daniel from ''[[The Sandman]]'' appeared in ''JLA'', while [[Animal Man]] and the [[Comicook/Doom Patrol|Doom Patrol]] have come back to [[The DCU]] full-time) and characters who have always straddled the divide between the two ([[The Phantom Stranger]], Zatanna, et al). DC's 2011 partial [[Continuity Reboot]] brought several characters like Constantine and Swamp Thing back into the main DC continuity fold. The Vertigo-only ''Hellblazer'' will still continue to be published separately.

DC shut down the Vertigo imprint in January 2020. Their mature titles moved to the [[DC Black Label]] imprint, which started publishing in 2018 - except for ''[[The Sandman]]'', which got its own imprint, "[[The Sandman Universe]]".


These days, the number of DCU-connected titles is fairly low, and Vertigo's output is mostly creator-owned original works. These are often horror, fantasy, or a combination of the two.
----
----
Some of the best-known series published by Vertigo include:
Some of the best-known series published by Vertigo include:


* ''[[One Hundred Bullets (Comic Book)|One Hundred Bullets]]''
* ''[[100 Bullets|One Hundred Bullets]]''
* ''[[American Splendor (Comic Book)|American Splendor]]'' (2006-2008)
* ''[[American Splendor]]'' (2006-2008)
* ''[[American Vampire (Comic Book)|American Vampire]]''
* ''[[American Vampire]]''
* ''[[Animal Man (Comic Book)|Animal Man]]''
* ''[[Animal Man]]''
* ''[[Books of Magic]]''
* ''[[Books of Magic]]''
* ''[[DMZ (Comic Book)|DMZ]]''
* ''[[DMZ]]''
* ''[[Doom Patrol (Comic Book)|Doom Patrol]]''
* ''[[Doom Patrol]]''
* ''[[Fables (Comic Book)|Fables]]''
* ''[[Fables]]''
* ''[[The Filth]]''
* ''[[The Filth]]''
* ''[[Flex Mentallo (Comic Book)|Flex Mentallo]]''
* ''[[Flex Mentallo]]''
* ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]''
* ''[[Hellblazer]]''
* ''[[House of Mystery (Comic Book)|House of Mystery]]''
* ''[[House of Mystery]]''
* ''[[The Invisibles (Comic Book)|The Invisibles]]''
* ''[[The Invisibles]]''
* ''[[I Zombie (Comic Book)|I Zombie]]''
* ''[[IZOMBIE|I Zombie]]''
* ''[[The Losers]]''
* ''[[The Losers]]''
* ''[[Lucifer (Comic Book)|Lucifer]]''
* ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]''
* ''[[Madame Xanadu]]''
* ''[[Madame Xanadu]]''
* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]''
* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]''
* ''[[Pride of Baghdad]]''
* ''[[Pride of Baghdad]]''
* ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]''
* ''[[The Sandman]]''
* ''[[Scalped (Comic Book)|Scalped]]''
* ''[[Scalped]]''
* ''[[Seaguy]]''
* ''[[Seaguy]]''
* ''[[Shade the Changing Man]]''
* ''[[Shade the Changing Man]]''
* ''[[Swamp Thing (Comic Book)|Swamp Thing]]''
* ''[[Swamp Thing]]''
* ''[[Transmetropolitan (Comic Book)|Transmetropolitan]]''
* ''[[Transmetropolitan]]''
* ''[[Unknown Soldier]]''
* ''[[Unknown Soldier]]''
* ''[[The Unwritten]]''
* ''[[The Unwritten]]''
* ''[[V for Vendetta]]''
* ''[[V for Vendetta]]''
* ''[[WE 3]]''
* ''[[WE 3]]''
* ''[[Y the Last Man (Comic Book)|Y the Last Man]]''
* ''[[Y: The Last Man|Y the Last Man]]''
----
----


Some Vertigo series are technically part of [[The DCU]], due to using DCU characters, and [[Word of God]] says the [[The Verse|shared universe]] titles like ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]'' and ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]'' ARE part of the mainstream [[The DCU|DCU]]. However, not all of them are always [[Canon]] for the DCU characters, and some of them effectively take place in a world of their own. These include:
Some Vertigo series were technically part of [[The DCU]], due to using DCU characters, and [[Word of God]] says the [[The Verse|shared universe]] titles like ''[[Hellblazer]]'' and ''[[The Sandman]]'' ''are'' part of the mainstream [[The DCU|DCU]]. However, not all of them are always [[Canon]] for the DCU characters, and some of them effectively take place in a world of their own. These include:


* ''[[Animal Man (Comic Book)|Animal Man]]''
* ''[[Animal Man]]''
* ''[[Angel and The Ape]]''
* ''[[Angel and the Ape]]''
* ''[[Black Orchid (Comic Book)|Black Orchid]]''
* ''[[Black Orchid]]''
* ''[[Books of Magic]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Books of Magic]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Doom Patrol]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Doom Patrol]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Hellblazer]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Swamp Thing (Comic Book)|Swamp Thing]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Swamp Thing]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Congo Bill]]''
* ''[[Congo Bill]]''
* ''[[El Diablo]]''
* ''[[El Diablo]]''
Line 61: Line 62:
* ''[[Madame Xanadu]]''
* ''[[Madame Xanadu]]''
* ''[[Scarab]]''
* ''[[Scarab]]''
* ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[The Sandman]]'' and spin-offs
* ''[[Sandman Mystery Theatre]]''
* ''[[Sandman Mystery Theatre]]''
* ''[[Sgt Rock (Comic Book)|Sgt Rock]]: Between Hell and a Hard Place''
* ''[[Sgt. Rock]]: Between Hell and a Hard Place''
* ''[[Skin Graft]]: The Adventures Of A Tattooed Man''
* ''[[Skin Graft]]: The Adventures Of A Tattooed Man''
* ''[[The Trenchcoat Brigade]]''
* ''[[The Trenchcoat Brigade]]''
Line 70: Line 71:
* ''[[Zatanna]]: Everyday Magic''
* ''[[Zatanna]]: Everyday Magic''


Many other Vertigo series feature re-imagined DCU characters and concepts in a context outside the DC Universe itself. These include:
Many other Vertigo series featured re-imagined DCU characters and concepts in a context outside the DC Universe itself. These include:
* ''[[Beware The Creeper]]''
* ''[[Beware The Creeper]]''
* ''[[Deadman (Comic Book)|Deadman]]''
* ''[[Deadman (Comic Book)|Deadman]]''
Line 80: Line 81:
* ''[[The Witching Hour]]''
* ''[[The Witching Hour]]''


Vertigo comics which are not associated with the DC Universe at all include:
Vertigo comics which were not associated with the DC Universe at all include:
* ''[[One Hundred Bullets (Comic Book)|One Hundred Bullets]]''
* ''[[100 Bullets]]''
* ''[[American Splendor (Comic Book)|American Splendor]]''
* ''[[American Splendor]]''
* ''[[American Vampire]]''
* ''[[American Vampire]]''
* ''[[American Virgin]]''
* ''[[American Virgin]]''
* ''[[DMZ (Comic Book)|DMZ]]''
* ''[[DMZ]]''
* ''[[Fables]]''
* ''[[Fables]]''
* ''[[The Filth]]''
* ''[[The Filth]]''
* ''[[The Invisibles (Comic Book)|The Invisibles]]''
* ''[[The Invisibles]]''
* ''[[Comicbook/Loveless|Loveless]]''
* ''[[Comicbook/Loveless|Loveless]]''
* ''[[Northlanders (Comic Book)|Northlanders]]''
* ''[[Northlanders]]''
* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]''
* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]''
* ''[[Pride of Baghdad]]''
* ''[[Pride of Baghdad]]''
* ''[[Scalped (Comic Book)|Scalped]]''
* ''[[Scalped]]''
* ''[[Seaguy]]''
* ''[[Seaguy]]''
* ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'' (not published originally under the Vertigo name, but later collected editions are)
* ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'' (not published originally under the Vertigo name, but later collected editions are)
Line 99: Line 100:
* ''[[V for Vendetta]]''
* ''[[V for Vendetta]]''
* ''[[WE 3]]''
* ''[[WE 3]]''
* ''[[Y the Last Man (Comic Book)|Y the Last Man]]''
* ''[[Y: The Last Man|Y the Last Man]]''


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
Line 105: Line 106:
[[Category:index]]
[[Category:index]]
[[Category:Vertigo Comics]]
[[Category:Vertigo Comics]]
[[Category:Trope]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]

Latest revision as of 17:56, 22 May 2020

/wiki/Vertigo Comicscreator

As the Dark Age moved on, DC Comics noticed they were publishing several series that weren't just dark, they were mature -- with complex, thinky, often philosophical stories and deep, complicated characters, by names like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Neil Gaiman. Thus, to separate these from the "normal" DCU fare, they created the Vertigo Comics imprint.

Many of these were remakes of old DCU properties, given new life through clever writing. The Sandman, Animal Man, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing are probably the exemplars here. It seemed the rule was "The more obscure, the better"; series like Brother Power: The Geek, a two-issue Totally Radical attempt from the '60s to appeal to the "hippie" market, were brought back as dark, edgy romps.

This had the knock-on effect of pretty much excising certain characters from the main DCU, for fear that a John Constantine and Batman crossover would encourage little kids to pick up Hellblazer. This means that certain comics, though still technically part of the DCU, are unable to do "proper" crossovers or acknowledge that connection directly. This is relaxed occasionally for one-panel cameos (Constantine in Hitman), characters whose comics have ended (Daniel from The Sandman appeared in JLA, while Animal Man and the Doom Patrol have come back to The DCU full-time) and characters who have always straddled the divide between the two (The Phantom Stranger, Zatanna, et al). DC's 2011 partial Continuity Reboot brought several characters like Constantine and Swamp Thing back into the main DC continuity fold. The Vertigo-only Hellblazer will still continue to be published separately.

DC shut down the Vertigo imprint in January 2020. Their mature titles moved to the DC Black Label imprint, which started publishing in 2018 - except for The Sandman, which got its own imprint, "The Sandman Universe".

Some of the best-known series published by Vertigo include:

Some Vertigo series were technically part of The DCU, due to using DCU characters, and Word of God says the shared universe titles like Hellblazer and The Sandman are part of the mainstream DCU. However, not all of them are always Canon for the DCU characters, and some of them effectively take place in a world of their own. These include:

Many other Vertigo series featured re-imagined DCU characters and concepts in a context outside the DC Universe itself. These include:

Vertigo comics which were not associated with the DC Universe at all include:

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Vertigo_Comics?oldid=1781230"