Vertigo Comics: Difference between revisions

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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 (Comic Book)|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 (Comic Book)|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.


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.
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.
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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 (Comic Book)|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 (Comic Book)|The Invisibles]]''
* ''[[I Zombie (Comic Book)|I Zombie]]''
* ''[[IZOMBIE|I Zombie]]''
* ''[[The Losers]]''
* ''[[The Losers]]''
* ''[[Lucifer (Comic Book)|Lucifer]]''
* ''[[Lucifer (Comic Book)|Lucifer]]''
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* ''[[Pride of Baghdad]]''
* ''[[Pride of Baghdad]]''
* ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]''
* ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|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 are 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 (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:


* ''[[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]]''
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Vertigo comics which are not associated with the DC Universe at all include:
Vertigo comics which are not associated with the DC Universe at all include:
* ''[[One Hundred Bullets (Comic Book)|One Hundred Bullets]]''
* ''[[100 Bullets|One Hundred 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 (Comic Book)|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)
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* ''[[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}}

Revision as of 02:34, 8 April 2014

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.

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

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

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