Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

started by editor

Karen Berger Karen Berger (; born February 26, 1958) is an People of the United States, American comic book editor. She is best known for her role in helping create DC Comics' Vertigo Comics, Vertigo imprint in 1993 and serving as the line (comics), line's E ...

in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that did not fit the restrictions of DC's main line, thus allowing more creative freedom. Its titles consisted of company-owned comics set in the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

, such as '' The Sandman'' and ''

Hellblazer ''John Constantine, Hellblazer'' is an American contemporary horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introduced. Its central character is ...

'', and

creator-owned In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of ...

works, such as ''

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

'', '' Y: The Last Man'' and ''

Fables Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...

''. The Vertigo branding was retired in 2020, and most of its library transitioned to DC Black Label. Vertigo grew out of DC's mature readers' line of the 1980s, which began after DC stopped submitting '' The Saga of the Swamp Thing'' for approval by the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

. Following the success of two adult-oriented 1986

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

, '' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' and ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...

'', DC's output of mature readers titles, edited by

, grew. By 1992, DC's mature readers' line was editorially separate from its main line and Berger was given permission to start her own imprint. Vertigo was launched in January 1993, with a mix of existing DC ongoing series and new series. The first original Vertigo series was '' Death: The High Cost of Living'', a ''Sandman'' spin-off featuring the character

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. Although its initial publications were primarily in the horror and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

genres, over time Vertigo published works dealing with crime, social commentary, speculative fiction, biography, and other genres. Vertigo also adopted works previously published by DC under other imprints, such as ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing serial in the British anthol ...

'' and ''

Transmetropolitan ''Transmetropolitan'' is a cyberpunk transhumanist comic book series written by Warren Ellis and co-created and designed by Darick Robertson; it was published by the American company DC Comics in 1997–2002. The series was originally part of t ...

''. The imprint pioneered in North America the publishing model in which monthly series sold through comic book shops are periodically collected into editions which are kept in print for bookstore sale. As DC's most popular and enduring imprint, several Vertigo series won the comics industry's Eisner Award, including for "best continuing series", and were adapted to film and television. The imprint began to decline in the 2010s, as certain properties like ''Hellblazer'' and ''Swamp Thing'' were re-integrated into DC's main comic books, while Berger departed in 2013. Berger's departure was followed by a series of editorial restructures, culminating in the imprint's relaunch as DC Vertigo in 2018. However, the relaunch suffered a multitude of setbacks, including numerous cancellations. After months of speculation, in June 2019 DC announced that Vertigo would be discontinued as part of a plan to publish all the company's comics under a single banner, with DC Black Label taking its place as DC's mature readers' imprint.

History

Development

Vertigo originated in 1993 under the stewardship of

, a former literature and art-history student, who had joined

in 1979 as an assistant editor. In the mid-1980s, Berger was editor of such DC titles as ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' and '' Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld'', and began recruiting writers from the UK, including Neil Gaiman,

Jamie Delano Jamie Delano (; born 1954) is an English comic book writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers which started to feature in American comics in the 1980s. He is best known as the first writer of the comic book s ...

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', '' Revo ...

, and

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

."MEDIA; At House of Comics, a Writer's Champion"
(p. 2), by Dana Jennings, ''The New York Times'', September 15, 2003 She "found their sensibility and point of view to be refreshingly different, edgier and smarter" than those of most American comics writers. Berger edited several new or revived series with these writers and

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

(a British writer hired by editor Len Wein), including superhero/

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

series such as '' Animal Man'', ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...

'' vol. 2, and ''

Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo titles. Both versions of Shade are distinct fr ...

'' vol. 2,

series '' The Sandman'' vol. 2, and horror titles ''

'' and '' The Saga of the Swamp Thing.'' She also edited limited series such as ''

Kid Eternity Kid Eternity is a fictional character, a comic book superhero that premiered in ''Hit Comics'' #25 written by Otto Binder, drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, and published by American company Quality Comics in December 1942. All of Quality's intellectual p ...

'', '' Black Orchid'' (Gaiman's first work for DC) and ''

The Books of Magic ''The Books of Magic'' is the title of a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has ...

'' limited series. These six ongoing titles, all of which carried a "Suggested for Mature Readers" label on their covers, shared a sophistication-driven sensibility the comics fan media dubbed "the Bergerverse". In a 1992 editorial meeting with Levitz, publisher

Jenette Kahn Jenette Kahn (; born May 16, 1947) is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to president. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of editor ...

, and

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edit ...

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early ...

, Berger was given the mandate to place these titles under an imprint that, as Berger described, would "do something different in comics and help the medium 'grow up'". Several DC titles bearing the age advisory, such as '' Green Arrow'', ''

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

'', and '' The Question'' (the last two cancelled before the launch of Vertigo), did not make the transition to the new imprint. Meanwhile, Disney Comics and former DC editor Art Young had been developing an imprint to be called Touchmark Comics, analogous to Disney's mature-audiences Touchstone Pictures studio. This project was abandoned following the so-called "Disney Implosion" of

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. Young and those works were brought into the Vertigo fold, allowing Berger to expand the imprint's publishing plans with the limited series ''

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

'', '' Sebastian O'', ''

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

'', and ''Shadows Fall''."Interview with Karen Berger" in ''Advance Comics'' #49 ( Capital City Distribution, January 1993)

Initial year

Vertigo was launched in January 1993 with a mixture of existing ongoing series continued under the new imprint, new ongoing series, new limited series, and single-volume collections or graphic novels. Their publishing plan for the first year involved two new titles – whether ongoing/limited series or one-shots – each month. The existing series (cover date March 1993) were ''

'' (starting with #33), '' The Sandman'' (#47), ''

'' (#63), '' Animal Man'' (#57), ''

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...

'' (#129), and ''

'' (#64, with new writer

Rachel Pollack Rachel Grace Pollack (born August 17, 1945 as Richard Pollack) is an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot. She is involved in the women's spirituality movement. Career Tarot reading Pollack has wr ...

). The first comic book published under the "Vertigo" imprint was the first issue of '' Death: The High Cost of Living'', a three-issue series by Neil Gaiman and

Chris Bachalo Chris Bachalo (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian comic book illustrator known for his quirky, cartoon-like style. He became well known for stints on DC Comics' ''Shade, the Changing Man'' and Neil Gaiman's two Death series. Chris has also illus ...

. The second new title was the first issue of ''

'', an 8-issue limited series initially planned to launch Touchmark, written by Peter Milligan (also author of ''Shade, the Changing Man'') and drawn by

Duncan Fegredo Duncan Fegredo (; born 1964) is a British comic book artist. Career Born in Leicester, Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a sh ...

, the artist from Grant Morrison's earlier ''Kid Eternity'' limited series. The following month saw the debut of '' Sandman: Mystery Theatre'' by

Matt Wagner Matt Wagner (born October 9, 1961) is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series '' Mage'' and '' Grendel''. Career Matt Wagner's first published comic book work was '' Comico Primer'' #2 (1982), which w ...

and Steven T. Seagle, and illustrated primarily by Guy Davis, described as "playing the '30s with a '90s feel... haunting, film noir-ish...," and starring original

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

Wesley Dodds in a title whose "sensibilities echo crime genre fiction." Joining it was

J. M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

and Paul Johnson's 64-page one-shot ''Mercy.'' New series that began in the months that followed include ''

'' (ongoing) by

Ann Nocenti Ann "Annie" Nocenti (; born January 17, 1957) is an American journalist, filmmaker, teacher, comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work at Marvel in the late 1980s, particularly the four-year stint as the editor of ''Uncanny X- ...

and

Sean Phillips Sean Phillips (born 27 January 1965) is a British comic book artist, best known for his collaborations with Ed Brubaker on comics including '' Sleeper'', ''Incognito'', the '' Criminal'' series of comics, '' Fatale'', '' The Fade Out'', and ' ...

(continuing from the earlier Morrison-penned limited series), Grant Morrison and

Steve Yeowell Steve Yeowell () is a British comics artist, well known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography Having trained in 3D design (specialising in silversmithing and jewellery), Yeowell bega ...

's three-issue steampunk limited series '' Sebastian O'' (another ex-Touchmark project), ''Skin Graft'' by

Jerry Prosser Jerry Prosser is an American comic book writer and editor, best known for his work with Dark Horse Comics. Prosser was part of Dark Horse Comics from its early days, and was one of five creators, who as ''Team CGW'' created the Comics' Greatest ...

and

Warren Pleece Warren Pleece is a British comics artist. He is best known for his work at the DC Comics imprint Vertigo and the 2012–16 Irish novel series '' Zom-B''. Biography Warren, with his brother Gary Pleece, wrote and drew three issues of a self-pub ...

, ''The Last One'' by DeMatteis and

Dan Sweetman Daniel Albus Sweetman is the former co-host for Network Ten's national cartoon show ''Toasted TV''. His father, John, works as a principal pastor while his mother, Debbie, is a piano teacher. He also has two younger siblings, Alex and Zac. ...

, ''

Jonah Hex Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...

: Two-Gun Mojo'' by Tim Truman and

Sam Glanzman Samuel Joseph Glanzman (December 5, 1924 – July 12, 2017) was an American comics artist and memoirist. Glanzman is best known for his Charlton Comics series ''Hercules'', about the mythological Greek demigod; his autobiographical war stories abo ...

, '' Black Orchid'' (ongoing) by Dick Foreman and

Jill Thompson Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an American illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's '' The Sandman'' characters and her own ''Scary Godmother'' series, she has wor ...

(continuing from the earlier Gaiman/McKean limited series), ''The Extremist'' by

and

Ted McKeever Ted McKeever (born 1960 in New York City)McKeever entry
Grand Comics Database. Retrieved Dec. 30, 2021. is an ...

, ''Scarab'' by John Smith with Scot Eaton and Mike Barreiro, and ''The Children's Crusade'', a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

involving several of the imprint's ongoing series. ''

'' limited series was relaunched as an ongoing series written by

John Ney Rieber John Ney Rieber is an American comic book writer. Career John Ney Rieber's first professional work in comics was scripting over the finished pages of the graphic novel '' Tell Me, Dark'', conceived by his late friend and mentor Karl Edward Wag ...

, and illustrated by Peter Gross (later also writer), Gary Amaro, and

Peter Snejbjerg Peter Snejbjerg is a Danish comic book artist. He was educated at the Kolding Kunsthåndværkerskole from 1983 to 1987. Some of his major works include the DC Comics title Starman, and various Vertigo titles. He has also drawn several issues o ...

. Although the books did not have a consistent " house style" of art, the cover designs of early Vertigo series featured a uniform

trade dress Trade dress is the characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is an aspect of trademark law, which is a form of intelle ...

with a vertical bar along the left side, which included the imprint logo, pricing, date, and issue numbers. The design layout continued with very little variation until issues cover-dated July 2002 (including ''

'' #1) which introduced an across-the-top layout ahead of 2003's "Vertigo X" 10th anniversary celebration. The "distinctive design" was intended to be used on "all Vertigo books except the hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and graphic novels." Berger noted that DC was "very" committed to the line, having put a "lot of muscle behind" promoting it, including a promotional launch kit made available to " tailers who order dat least 25 copies of the February issue of ''Sandman'' 47" a "platinum edition" variant cover for ''Death: The High Cost of Living'' #1 and a 75-cent ''Vertigo Preview'' comic featuring a specially written seven-page ''

'' story by Gaiman and Kent Williams. In addition, a 16-page ''Vertigo Sampler'' was also produced and bundled with copies of Capital City Distribution's ''Advance Comics'' solicitation index. Vertigo publications generally did not take place in a shared universe. However, several of the early series which had begun as part of the main

had a "crossover" in 1993-1994: '' The Children's Crusade''. The event—"did not yield smashing results" or garner many positive reviews, in large part due to its "gimmicky" nature, which ran counter to Vertigo's quirky, non-mainstream appeal and customer-base.Anatomy of the Crossover #5: "DC/Vertigo's The Children's Crusade: Child Culture and Reflexivity, Suggested For Mature Readers" by Robert A. Emmons, Jr., November 1, 2005
Accessed May 29, 2008 The event was defended as "no marketing ploy" by one of the event's editors, Lou Stathis, who wrote of his dislike of the often "crass manipulation" of crossover events, defending ''The Children's Crusade'' as having come not from marketing, but the writers' minds, and therefore being "story-driven" rather than manipulative. The crossover did not become an annual event, however—indeed, "annuals" linked to Vertigo series rarely reappeared after this event. Works previously published by DC under other imprints, but which fit the general character of Vertigo, have been reprinted under this imprint. This has included ''

'', earlier issues of Vertigo's ongoing launch series, and books from discontinued imprints such as ''

'' (initially under DC's short-lived

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helic ...

imprint) and ''

A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, ...

'' (originally part of the

Paradox Press Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton the imprint was renamed. It is best known for graphic novels like ' ...

line). Two of the new ongoing series did not last long; ''Kid Eternity'' was cancelled after 16 issues, and ''Black Orchid'' continued for only 22. ''Sandman Mystery Theatre'' and most of the pre-existing series continued for several years, including ''Sandman'' which reached its planned conclusion with #75. ''Hellblazer'' was the last of the original ongoing series to be canceled, ceasing publication in February 2013 with #300.

Middle period

As the imprint's initial ongoing series came to their ends, new series were launched to replace them, with varying degrees of success. ''The Sandman'' was replaced following its completion by ''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

'' (1996–2001) and ''

The Sandman Presents After the DC comic book series '' The Sandman'' concluded with #75, numerous comics, novels and spin-offs made use of its characters, concepts and universe. ''The Sandman'' was written by Neil Gaiman. Ongoing series ''The Dreaming'' ''The Drea ...

'', which featured stories about the characters from Neil Gaiman's series, written by other creators. Other long-running series have been ''

The Invisibles ''The Invisibles'' is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. It was created and scripted by Scottish writer Grant Morrison, and drawn by various artists throughout its publication. The series loosely ...

'' by Grant Morrison and various artists (1994–2000); ''

'' by

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

and Steve Dillon (1995–2000); ''

'' by

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

and

Darick Robertson Darick W. Robertson is an American artist best known for his work as a comic book illustrator on series he co-created, notably ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002) and '' The Boys'' (2006–2012; 2020). Robertson has illustrated hundreds of comic ...

(1997–2002); ''

100 Bullets ''100 Bullets'' is an American comic book published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint. Written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso, the comic book ran for 100 issues and won the Eisner Award and Harvey Award. Style B ...

'' by

Brian Azzarello Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series ''100 Bullets'', published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. ...

and

Eduardo Risso Eduardo Risso (born 23 November 1959) is an Argentine comics artist. In the United States he is best known for his work with writer Brian Azzarello on the Vertigo title '' 100 Bullets'', while in Argentina and Europe he is noted for his collabor ...

(1999–2009); ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

'' by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Ryan Kelly (2000–2006); '' Y: The Last Man'' by Brian K. Vaughan and

Pia Guerra Pia Jasmin Guerra is an American-born Canadian comic book artist and editorial cartoonist, best known for her work as co-creator and lead penciller on the Vertigo title '' Y: The Last Man''. She has worked in the comics industry since the 1990s, a ...

(2002–2008); ''

DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

'' by Brian Wood and

Riccardo Burchielli Riccardo Burchielli (born 27 February 1975) is an Italian artist known for his work on the DC/Vertigo comic book series ''DMZ'', his first work in the United States. Early life Burchielli was born in Peccioli, near Pisa, Tuscany.

(2005–2012); and ''

'' by

Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series '' Elementals'' and '' Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. During his father's military career the f ...

, Mark Buckingham, and various other artists (2002–2015), which launched spin-offs including ''

Jack of Fables ''Jack of Fables'' is a spin-off comic book series of ''Fables'' written by Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges and published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. The story focuses on the adventures of Jack Horner, a supporting character in the main ...

'' by Willingham,

Lilah Sturges Lilah Sturges (; born Matthew Sturges, October 1970) is an American writer of comics and fantasy novels. She is best known for co-writing with Bill Willingham the Eisner-award-nominated ''Jack of Fables'', and other comics published by Vertigo Com ...

(credited as "Matthew Sturges"), and various artists (2006–2011), and ''Fairest'' by Willingham and various artists (2012–2015). The financial success of many Vertigo titles relied not on monthly issue sales, but on the subsequent "trade paperback" editions that reprinted the monthly comics in volumes, which were also sold in general-interest bookshops. Vertigo's success in popularizing this approach led to a wider take-up in the American comics industry of routinely reprinting monthly series in this format. Limited series (ideal for later collection) and original graphic novels made up the majority of the imprint's output, with trade paperback sales accounting for a substantial segment of the imprint's sales.

Vertigo Visions

An irregular series of self-contained short stories featuring characters from the DC Universe, reinterpreted or recontextualized. *''Vertigo Visions:

The Geek ''The Geek'' is a pornographic film released in 1971. It is about a group of adults hiking and camping, that are eventually ambushed by Bigfoot. Despite the small cast, only three actors that feature have been identified. Plot As shots of a ...

'' (June 1993) by

and

Mike Allred Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...

*''Vertigo Visions:

Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an ...

'' (October 1993) by Alisa Kwitney and Guy Davis *''Vertigo Visions:

Doctor Occult Doctor Occult (sometimes dubbed the Ghost Detective, one time referred to as Doctor Mystic) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (known commonly as the creator ...

'' (July 1994) by Dave Louapre and

*''Vertigo Visions: Prez'' (September 1995) by

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

and

Eric Shanower Eric James Shanower (born October 23, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his Oz novels and comics, and for the ongoing retelling of the Trojan War as '' Age of Bronze''. Early life Eric Shanower was born on October 23, 1963. Upon hi ...

*''Vertigo Visions:

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Eur ...

'' (July 1998) by

and

Tom Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips '' Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas ...

*''Vertigo Visions:

Doctor Thirteen Dr. Terrance Thirteen (sometimes Terrence), known simply as Doctor Thirteen, Dr. 13 and The Ghost-Breaker, is a fictional character in comic books set in the DC Universe. The character's first published appearance is in ''Star Spangled Comics'' # ...

'' (September 1998) by Matt Howarth and

Michael Avon Oeming Michael Avon Oeming is an American comic book creator, both as an artist and writer. Career Oeming is a fan of ancient mythology, having written or drawn several projects centering on the Norse gods. He frequently collaborates with long-time f ...

''Vertigo Visions: Artwork from the Cutting Edge of Comics'' was a 2000 collection of artwork from various Vertigo titles, with commentary by Alisa Kwitney.

Vertigo Voices

The Vertigo Voices featured creator-owned "distinctive one-shot stories." *''Face'' (Jan. 1995) by

and

, a horror story involving

plastic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

*'' Tainted'' (Feb. 1995) by

and Al Davison, a

Kafkaesque Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typi ...

tale involving repressed memories, blackmail, and murder *''

Kill Your Boyfriend ''Kill Your Boyfriend'' is the title of a comic book one-shot written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Philip Bond and D'Israeli for DC Comics Vertigo imprint in June 1995. Publication history Originally published as part of the Vertigo Voices ser ...

'' (June 1995) by

and

Philip Bond Philip J. Bond (born 11 July 1966, in Lancashire) is a British comic book artist, who first came to prominence in the late 1980s on ''Deadline'' magazine, and later through a number of collaborations with British writers for the DC Comics impr ...

(with D'Israeli), the protagonist takes on the persona projected by her new, murderous, bad-boy boyfriend *''The Eaters'' (?Nov. 1995) by Milligan and

Dean Ormston Dean Ormston is a British born comic book artist. His most notable work has been for the British comic '' 2000 AD'' and for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. Biography Ormston was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and earned a degree in ar ...

, a

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

dealing with a family of cannibals

Vertigo Vérité

The short-lived "Vérité" line, evoking the realism of

Cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or ...

, "was a 1996–98 attempt to promote new Vertigo projects devoid of the supernatural qualities that had gotten to define the publisher."''The Savage Critic'': "My Life is Choked with Comics #9 – Kill Your Boyfriend & Girl #1–3," September 14, 2007
. Accessed May 29, 2008 *''Seven Miles a Second'' (May 1996) by

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

and

James Romberger James Romberger (born 1958) is an American fine artist and cartoonist known for his depictions of New York City's Lower East Side. Romberger's pastel drawings of the ravaged landscape of the Lower East Side and its citizens are in many public ...

, published after Wojnarowicz' death from AIDS, about his experiences of living with the disease.Gay League: ''Seven Miles a Second'' by Joe Palmer
Accessed May 29, 2008 *''The System'' #1–3 (May–July 1996) by

Peter Kuper Peter Kuper (; born September 22, 1958) is an American alternative comics artist and illustrator, best known for his autobiographical, political, and social observations. Besides his contributions to the political anthology '' World War 3 Illust ...

, dealt wordlessly with "class warfare in the big city" *''Girl'' #1–3 (July–September 1996) by

and

, a hyper-realistic tale of a disaffected teenage girl prone to "all-consuming daydreams...needed to cope with life itself" caught up in a tale of murder and mundanity. *''The Unseen Hand'' #1–4 (September–December 1996) by

Terry LaBan Terry LaBan (born July 19, 1961) is an alternative comics, alternative/underground cartoonist and newspaper comic strip artist. He is known for his comic book series ''Cud'', and his syndicated strip ''Edge City'', created with his wife, Patty La ...

and

Ilya Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, or Ilija (russian: Илья́, Il'ja, , or russian: Илия́, Ilija, ; uk, Ілля́, Illia, ; be, Ілья́, Iĺja ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/Jah." ...

, a college student caught up in an

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

-like conspiracy, *''Hell Eternal'' (April 1998) by

and

V2K

The "

fifth-week event A fifth week event is a novelty comic book promotion. Comic publishers schedule releases in four-week cycles, releasing on a particular day of the week (e.g., every Wednesday). In the event that a month has more than four weeks (i.e., a fifth Wed ...

" brand ''V2K'' (Vertigo 2000), was a "much hyped concept" whose titles were designed to "usher...in the new millennium," and, as such, several of them were limited series rather than one-shots. *''Brave Old World'' #1–4 (February–May 2000) by

William Messner-Loebs William Francis Messner-Loebs (; born William Francis Loebs, Jr., February 19, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wif ...

, Guy Davis and Phil Hester *''The Four Horsemen'' #1–4 (February–May 2000) by Robert Rodi and

Esad Ribić Esad T. Ribić (born 10 November 1972) is a Croatian comic book artist and animator, known for his work on various titles for Marvel Comics, including '' Loki'', '' Silver Surfer: Requiem'', '' Sub-Mariner: The Depths'' and the 2015 ''Secret Wars ...

*''I Die at Midnight'' by

Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wor ...

*''Pulp Fantastic'' #1–3 (February–April 2000) by

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

and David Tischman and

Rick Burchett Rick Burchett (born March 9, 1952) is an American comic book artist known for his work on such characters as Batman and Superman. Career Burchett began his artistic career in St. Louis, Missouri, and did his early professional comics work at Fi ...

*''Totems'' by

Tom Peyer Tom Peyer (born February 23, 1954) is an American comic book creator and editor. He is known for his 1999 revisioning of Golden Age super-hero Hourman, as well as his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 1990s. An editor at DC Comics/Vertig ...

with Richard Case,

, and

Vertigo Pop!

The Vertigo Pop limited series were designed "to be about pop culture around the globe in some vaguely defined way.""The X-Axis" Review: ''Vertigo Pop: London #1, 10 November 2002''
. Accessed May 29, 2008 *''Vertigo Pop: Tokyo'' #1–4 (September–December 2002) by

Jonathan Vankin Jonathan Vankin is an American author, journalist and comic book writer/editor. Biography Vankin is best known for his books '' Conspiracies, Cover-Ups and Crimes'' and, with co-writer John Whalen, the '' Greatest Conspiracies'' series, beginning ...

and

Seth Fisher Seth Fisher (July 22, 1972 – January 30, 2006) was an American comic book artist. Biography Seth Fisher was born in Seattle in 1972, and lived in Coronado with his mother from age 5 to 10, until his mother remarried and the family moved to the ...

*''Vertigo Pop: London'' #1–4 (January–April 2003) by Peter Milligan and Philip Bond *''Vertigo Pop: Bangkok'' #1–4 (July–October 2003) by Vankin and

Giuseppe Camuncoli Giuseppe Camuncoli (born March 2, 1975) is an Italian comic book artist best known for his work on the Marvel Comics titles ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' The Superior Spider-Man'' and the DC Comics/Vertigo series ''Hellblazer'' as well as hi ...

Vertigo X

In 2003, the Vertigo imprint celebrated "Ten years on the edge" by branding their books cover-dated April 2003 to February 2004 (i.e. released between February and December 2003)—Vertigo's 10th anniversary—with the legend ''Vertigo X''. This special subtitle was debuted on the ''Vertigo X Anniversary Preview'' (April 2003), a 48-page special previewing Vertigo's upcoming projects and featuring a short ''Shade, the Changing Man'' story by the "Ecstatic" team of Peter Milligan and Mike Allred (a pun on their then-current

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

project together: ''

X-Statix X-Statix are a team of mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was specifically designed to be media superstars. The team, created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred, first appears in ''X-Force' ...

''). Projects highlighted included '' Death: At Death's Door'',

's first manga-ized version of the "

Season of Mists ''Season of Mists'' is a 1990-1991 American eight-part comic and the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics' '' The Sandman'' series. It collects issues #21–28. It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenbe ...

" storyline, retold from the point of view of the

's elder sister

and Gaiman's own return to the mythos with the hardcover '' Sandman: Endless Nights'' all-star collection of short stories spotlighting the seven members of the

Endless Endless or The Endless may refer to: Business * Endless (private equity), a British firm * Endless.com, an e-commerce website selling shoes and accessories * Endless Computers, an American operating system company Film * ''The Endless'' (film ...

(an eight-page ''Endless Nights Preview'' issue was also released before the hardcover). Also highlighted and previewed were two original graphic novels: ''Lovecraft'' (based on a screenplay by Hans Rodionoff and adapted by

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography ...

with art by

Enrique Breccia Enrique Breccia (born 1945) is an Argentine comic book artist and writer. Biography Enrique Breccia, the son of noted comic artist Alberto Breccia, drew his first work in 1968, when together with his father illustrated '' Vida del Che'' ("Life ...

) took the conceit that H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos creatures were real, to paint a highly fictionalized biographic portrait of the titular author, while

and David Tischman's ''Barnum!'' (with art by Niko Henrichon) similarly drifted in the realms of fictionalized biography, but did not stray into the horror/supernatural world. The tale of ''

Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He wa ...

: In Secret Service to the USA'' saw the celebrated showman saving the life of President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

and (with his circus charges, including original

Siamese twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence ...

Chang and Eng Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Siamese-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression " Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were widely exhibited as ...

) matching wits against the "evil"

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Brett Lewis Brett Lewis is an American comic book writer and editor, best known for his post- superheroic series '' The Winter Men'' with artist John Paul Leon, as well as the Eisner-nominated short story "Mars to Stay" with art by Cliff Chiang. Early lif ...

and

John Paul Leon John Paul Leon (April 26, 1972 – May 2, 2021) was an American comic book artist, known for his work on the Milestone Comics series ''Static'', and the Marvel Comics limited series ''Earth X''. Leon also provided artwork for a number of style g ...

's '' The Winter Men'', which ultimately saw its first issue released in September 2005 through

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wild ...

's "Signature Series" imprint. *Miniseries **''Beware the Creeper'' #1–5 (June–October) by Jason Hall and

Cliff Chiang Cliff Chiang is an American comic book artist. Formerly an assistant editor at DC Comics, he is now an illustrator, known for his work on ''Human Target'', '' Beware the Creeper'' and ''Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre'', '' Green Arrow/ Black Canar ...

**''Blood + Water'' #1–5 (May–September) by

Judd Winick Judd Winick (born February 12, 1970) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer and screenwriter, as well as a former reality television personality. He first gained fame for his stint on MTV's ''The Real World: San Francisco'' in 1994, before f ...

and Tomm Coker *Ongoing series **''

Human Target The Human Target is the name of two fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, while the second is private investigator and bodyguard Christopher Chance who assumes the identities of clients tar ...

''#1–5 (October–February 2004) by Peter Milligan and

Javier Pulido Javier Pulido is a Spanish comic book artist working primarily for the American market. His notable works include ''Human Target'', '' Robin: Year One'', '' She-Hulk'' and ''The Amazing Spider-Man''. Early life Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ...

(the series continued until issue #21 (June 2005)) **'' Losers'' #1–7 (August–February 2004) by Diggle and Jock (with

Shawn Martinbrough Shawn C. Martinbrough is an American citizen, American comic book artist. The long-time artist for Robert Kirkman's ''Thief of Thieves'', Martinbrough is known for his film noir-influenced drawing style.Younger, Briana. "Washington, DC: Shawn Marti ...

) (the series continued until issue #32 (March 2006)) *Graphic novels **''Barnum! In Secret Service to the USA'' (June/August) by

, David Tischman and Niko Henrichon **'' Death: At Death's Door'' (July/September) by

**''Sandman: Endless Nights'' (October/December) by Neil Gaiman with

P. Craig Russell Philip Craig Russell (born October 30, 1951) is an American comics artist, writer, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell was the first mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay. Biography ...

Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a Fumetti neri ...

, Miguelanxo Prado, Barron Storey and Dave McKean,

Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and '' Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 1980 ...

and

Frank Quitely Vincent Patrick Deighan (born 1968), better known by the pen name Frank Quitely, is a Scottish comic book artist. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with Grant Morrison on titles such as '' New X-Men'', ''We3'', ''All-Star Superma ...

The final Vertigo Pop! limited series, and the eighth-and-final issue of Garth Ennis' ''War Story'' series of one-shots were released in their entirety during the year and featured the logo: *''Vertigo Pop: Bangkok'' #1–4 (July–October 2003) by Vankin and

*''War Story: Archangel'' (April) by Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine Similarly, two other graphic novels were released during the year, but not specifically highlighted in the preview as anniversary titles: *''

Orbiter A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to spaceflight, fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth ...

'' (June/August) by

and

Colleen Doran Colleen Doran is an American writer-artist and cartoonist. She illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, including the autobiographical graphic novel of Marvel Comics editor and writer Stan Lee entitled ''Amazing Fant ...

*'' Sgt. Rock: Between Hell & A Hard Place'' (July/September) by

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also kno ...

The following ongoing series had issues released during Vertigo's anniversary year and those issues carried the "Vertigo X" branding: *''

'' #42–48 (April–February 2004) by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso *''

'' #10–20 (April–February 2004) by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham; with Lan Medina, Linda Medley and Bryan Talbot *''

'' #35–45 (April–February 2004) by Mike Carey, Peter Gross and Dean Ormston; with David Hahn and Ted Naifeh *'' Y: The Last Man'' #8–17 (April–February 2004) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra; with Paul Chadwick. The following series and limited series finished during the year, with the final issues featuring the "Vertigo X" logo: *''

American Century The American Century is a characterization of the period since the middle of the 20th century as being largely dominated by the United States in political, economic, and cultural terms. It is comparable to the description of the period 1815–19 ...

'' #23–27 (April–October) by Howard Chaykin, David Tischman and Lan Medina, Marc Laming; with Luke Ross and John Severin *'' Codename: Knockout'' #21–23 (April–June) by Robert Rodi and John Lucas *'' Fight for Tomorrow'' #6 (April) by Brian Wood and Denys Cowan *''The Filth'' #9–13 (April–October) by Grant Morrison and Chris Weston *''Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine'' #3–4 (April–May) by

Andy Diggle Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of the weekly anthology series '' 2000 AD''. He is best known for his work on ''Adam Strange'' and ''Green Arrow'' for DC Comics as well as his creator-owned series '' The Losers'' an ...

and Goran Sudzuka *''Hunter: The Age of Magic'' #20–25 (April–September) by Dylan Horrocks and Richard Case *''Sandman Presents: Bast'' #2–3 (April–May) by Caitlin R. Kiernan and Joe Bennett *''Vertigo Pop: London'' #4 (April) by Peter Milligan and Philip Bond

Paul Pope Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope' ...

's ''100%'' #5 was cover-dated July 2003, but was not branded a "Vertigo X" title.

Vertigo Crime

At the 2008 Comic-Con International Karen Berger outlined plans for a new "sub-imprint" called Vertigo Crime: "it's a line of graphic novels, in black and white, hardcover". It was launched in 2009 with two titles:

's ''Filthy Rich'' and

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a sch ...

's ''Dark Entries'', the latter featuring

John Constantine John Constantine () is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985), and was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John Tot ...

. Each volume features a cover illustration by

Lee Bermejo Lee Bermejo is an American comic book writer and artist whose published work includes interior illustrations and cover art. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Brian Azzarello including '' Lex Luthor: Man of Steel'', the '' Joker'' ...

. Vertigo Crime was ended as a sub-imprint in 2011. The following original graphic novels have been published under the Vertigo Crime imprint (in order of publication): *'' Filthy Rich'' by

and Victor Santos, 2009 *''

Dark Entries "Dark Entries" is a song by the English gothic rock band Bauhaus, released as a stand-alone single in January 1980 by Axis (an early name for 4AD) and later issued on 4AD and Beggars Banquet. It features the 1944 painting '' Sleeping Venus'' b ...

'' by

and Werther Dell'Edera, 2009 *''The Chill'' by Jason Starr and Mick Bertilorenzi, 2010 *'' The Bronx Kill'' by

and

, 2010 *''Area 10'' by Christos N. Gage and Chris Samnee, 2010 *''The Executor'' by

Jon Evans Jon Evans (born April 11, 1973) is a Canadian novelist, journalist, adventure traveler, and software engineer. Early life Born to an expatriate Rhodesian father and Canadian mother, Evans grew up in Waterloo, Ontario and graduated from the Uni ...

and Andrea Mutti, 2010 *''Fogtown'' by

Andersen Gabrych Andersen Gabrych is an American comic book writer and actor. Early life Gabrych grew up in Chico, California. He's been a fan of comics since childhood, having read an issue of ''Justice League of America'' at the age of 7. Gabrych was active i ...

and

Brad Rader Brad Rader, who has sometimes signed his art Raider, is a comic book creator, storyboard artist and animation director. He won his Emmy in 1999 for his work on '' Todd McFarlane's Spawn''. Rader's comic work include the original noir graphic novel ...

, 2010 *''A Sickness in the Family'' by

Denise Mina Denise Mina (born 21 August 1966) is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the ''Garnethill'' trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of ...

and Antonio Fuso, 2010 *''Rat Catcher'' by

and Victor Ibanez, 2011 *''Noche Roja'' by

Simon Oliver Simon Oliver is a British-American comic book writer, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Exterminators'' and '' FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics'', published under DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. Career Simon Oliver was born in the United ...

and

Jason Latour David Jason Latour (born 1977) is an American comic book artist and writer known for his work for Image, Dark Horse, Marvel and DC comics on titles such as ''Wolverine'', '' Winter Soldier'', '' Southern Bastards'' and ''Spider-Gwen''. Early ...

, 2011 *''99 Days'' by Matteo Casali and

Kristian Donaldson Kristian Donaldson sometimes simply credited as Kristian, is a comic book artist based in Dallas, Texas. Early life Donaldson attended the Savannah College of Art and Design. Career Donaldson has been working in comics since 2004. Notable works ...

, 2011 *''Cowboys'' by Gary Philips and Brian Hurtt, 2011 *''Return to Perdition'' by

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his '' Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the ''Di ...

, 2011

Editorial changes, "relaunch", and discontinuation

In December 2012, Karen Berger announced that she would be leaving the company the following March. Berger's position at the head of Vertigo was filled by

Shelly Bond Shelly Bond ( born Roeberg) is an American comic book editor, known for her two decades at DC Comics' Vertigo (DC Comics) imprint, for which she was executive editor from 2013 to 2016. Career Bond began working in the comics industry as an edito ...

, who had begun editing for the imprint in 1993. However, in 2016, DC "restructured" Vertigo, eliminating Bond's position, and oversight of Vertigo was placed under

Jamie S. Rich Jamie S. Rich is an author of both prose and graphic novel fiction, a web series host, and editor of American comic books. He is currently Executive Editorial Director at IDW Publishing. Career As writer His first published work was the novel ...

, until May 2017 when Mark Doyle became the new editor. In 2018, DC Comics announced a "line-wide relaunch and rebranding" as "DC Vertigo", including 11 new ongoing titles planned for the coming year, under Doyle's editorship. These included a new sub-imprint based on Neil Gaiman's ''Sandman'' with four new ongoing series, announced in March, and seven new series announced in June. The relaunch experienced a number of complications, however. ''Border Town'' by Eric M. Esquivel and Ramon Villalobos dealt with immigration and Latino identity, for which Esquivel received death threats in advance of its publication. The series was well received by critics, but after four issues were published, Esquivel was accused of sexually and emotionally abusing a former partner. Villalobos and colorist Tamra Bonvillain withdrew from the project, and DC cancelled the series, including issues that were ready for publication. Meanwhile, ''Second Coming'' by

Mark Russell Mark Russell (born August 23, 1932) is an American political satirist and comedian. He is best known for his series of semimonthly comedy specials on PBS television between 1975 and 2004. His routines were a mix of political stand-up humor cover ...

and Richard Pace came under criticism from Christians and conservatives who considered its announced premise – in which Jesus Christ returns and lives as a roommate with a modern-day superhero – blasphemous and offensive. The series was cancelled before the first issue was published; Russell and Pace later published the series to critical acclaim through

Ahoy Comics Ahoy Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 2018 by publisher Hart Seely, editors Tom Peyer and Stuart Moore, and chief creative officer Frank Cammuso. At its launch, Ahoy sought to distinguish itself from other comics publ ...

. ''Safe Sex'' by Tina Horn and Mike Dowling was also cancelled before its debut, and later published as ''SFSX'' by Image Comics. In June 2019, DC announced that, as part of a consolidation into a unified branding, the Vertigo imprint would be discontinued in January 2020. The DC Zoom and DC Ink imprints for children and young adolescents were also eliminated. Under the new plan, all of the company's comics would be published under the "DC" brand, and categorized by intended reader age: DC Kids (8–12 years), DC (13+), and DC Black Label (17+). The ''Sandman''-related titles retained their new branding as " The Sandman Universe".

Creators

Editors

In addition to Berger, several other editors have become linked to the imprint. Berger was editing proto-Vertigo titles from the start of her time with DC, beginning in 1981 with ''House of Mystery''.''Sequential Tart'': "A Touch of Vertigo – Karen Berger" by Jennifer M. Contino
. Retrieved June 5, 2008. She took over editorship of Alan Moore's ''Swamp Thing'' run from Swamp Thing co-creator Len Wein in 1984, and in 1986 "became DC's British liaison," bringing to DC's pre-Vertigo titles the individuals who would be instrumental in the creation and evolution of Vertigo seven years later."Vertigo at Ten": Karen Berger interviews by Jen Contino, March 25, 2003
. Retrieved June 5, 2008. From 1988, her ''Swamp Thing'' and other DC titles were joined by Gaiman and McKean's ''Black Orchid'' miniseries and ''Hellblazer'' as well as the odd miniseries ''The Weird''. Editing

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, '' Electric Warrior'' and '' Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critica ...

's ''The Wanderers'', Berger was joined on issue #5 (Oct 1988) by co-editor Art Young, who would also later be instrumental in the formation of Vertigo. Grant Morrison's ''Animal Man'' and the ultra-dark ''Arkham Asylum'' OGN were swiftly joined on Berger's slate by ''The Sandman'', ''Skreemer'', ''The Books of Magic'', ''The Nazz'' and ''Shade, the Changing Man''. Berger continued with ''The Sandman'' and ''Shade'' during 1992, and saw the pre-Vertigo titles as "all avingsome basis in reality." By the early 1990s, " e core Vertigo titles had already become their own little enclave," so when Berger returned from maternity leave, she spoke with DC President

and Executive Editor

, the outcome being a separate imprint to "actively expand hesensibility" of the titles she had been editing. Berger included in the initial Vertigo line-up the five titles she had had some hand in creating or editing (''Swamp Thing'', ''Hellblazer'', ''Animal Man'', ''Sandman'' and ''Shade'') as well as ''Doom Patrol'' which she "decided to include... because Grant Morrison was working on it and the sensibility was very much like the other series." Berger oversaw the entire Vertigo line, and was promoted to the position of "Senior Vice President—Executive Editor, Vertigo" in July 2006.TimeWarner Newsroom, July 17, 2006
. Retrieved June 5, 2008. Her promotion came as Vertigo was said to be equivalent to "the fourth largest American comic book publisher" in 2005, with

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

praising her personally as having "built Vertigo into an imprint which is simultaneously one of comics' leading creative and commercial successes." In addition, Berger won

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for her editing in 1992, 1994 and 1995 for her work on the proto- and early Vertigo titles ''Sandman'', ''Shade'', ''Kid Eternity'', ''Books of Magic'', ''Death: The High Cost of Living'' and ''Sandman Mystery Theatre''.

Art Young Arthur Henry Young (January 14, 1866 – December 29, 1943) was an American cartoonist and writer. He is best known for his socialist cartoons, especially those drawn for the left-wing political magazine ''The Masses'' between 1911 and 1917. B ...

joined Karen Berger to edit pre-Vertigo issues of ''Animal Man'' (from issue #3), ''Hellblazer'' and ''Swamp Thing'' on issues cover-dated November 1988. Two months later, Young also took on the initial issues of ''The Sandman'', before in mid-1990 moving to ''Doom Patrol'', which with ''Animal Man'' he edited until early 1991 (also over-seeing the original ''Books of Magic'' miniseries along the way). He then left DC to work for Disney in setting up Touchmark, before returning with those projects to Vertigo in early 1993, when he edited debut title ''Enigma'', and later miniseries and one-shots such as ''Sebastian O'', ''The Extremist'', ''Mercy'', '' Rogan Gosh'', ''The Mystery Play'', and ''Tank Girl: The Moovy''. He edited all four of the "Vertigo Voices" titles in 1995, as well as ''Shadows Fall'', ''Ghostdancing'', ''Egypt'', ''Millennium Fever'' and both ''Tank Girl'' miniseries. Young's last editorial credit for Vertigo was ''Flex Mentallo'' #1 (June 1996).

was a Vertigo Group Editor. Like Young, she has overseen a large number of notable projects during her (almost-)exclusive time working with Vertigo since April 1993. Roeberg took over editorial duties on the second Vertigo issues of both ''The Sandman'' and ''Shade, the Changing Man'' from Lisa Guastella—then Lisa Aufenanger—editing those two titles until their respective final issues; she also edited the first 36 issues of the "ahead of its time" crime/noir series ''Sandman Mystery Theatre''. Between 1993 and 2000, she edited titles exclusively for Vertigo (with one exception—the nine issues of

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Hate'' and '' Neat Stuff''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduce ...

and

Gilbert Hernandez Gilberto Hernández (born February 1, 1957), usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto (), is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ''Palomar''/''Heartbreak Soup'' stories in '' Love and Rockets'', an alterna ...

's ''Yeah!'' (1999–2000) for DC's imprint Homage), including relatively little known titles and one-shots such as ''

Skin Graft Skin grafting, a type of graft surgery, involves the transplantation of skin. The transplanted tissue is called a skin graft. Surgeons may use skin grafting to treat: * extensive wounding or trauma * burns * areas of extensive skin loss du ...

'', '' The Last One'', ''The Heart of the Beast'' (1994), ''Mobfire'', ''Terminal City'', ''Menz Insana'', ''The Girl Who Would Be Death'', ''

Heavy Liquid A heavy liquid is a solution or liquid chemical substance with a high density and a relatively low viscosity. Heavy liquids are often used for determination of density in mineralogy, for density gradient centrifugation and for separating mixtu ...

'', ''Pulp Fantastic'' and ''Accelerate''. She also edited the first Vertigo works of Bill Willingham and Ed Brubaker in ''Proposition Player'' and ''Scene of the Crime'', and the higher-profile series ''Moonshadow'', ''Girl'', ''Seekers into the Mystery'', ''The Minx'' and all issues of ''House of Secrets'' (with Jennifer Lee from issue #11).
She (co-)edited the final 25 issues of ''The Dreaming'' between 1999 and 2001, initially as Shelly Roeberg, and latterly as Shelly Bond (after marrying artist

), and most of the ''Sandman Presents...'' miniseries and one-shots. From 2000, she has continued to edit most of the highest-profile Vertigo titles, including almost all of Mike Carey's ''

'' (with Mariah Huehner) and the entirety of

's ''

Deadenders ''Deadenders'' is a science fiction comic book series written by Ed Brubaker and published by DC Comics. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future in New Bethleham USA and features a heavy Mod content among the characters. The cover work is by Ph ...

'',

& David Tischman's ''American Century'',

's ''The Witching'',

Si Spencer Si Spencer (1961 – 16 February 2021)Si Spencer, 1961-2021
at ''

's ''Books of Magick: Life During Wartime'', Steven T. Seagle and

Kelley Jones Kelley Jones (born July 23, 1962) is an American comics artist best known for his work on ''Batman'' with writer Doug Moench and on '' The Sandman'' with writer Neil Gaiman. Early life Kelley Jones was born in Sacramento, California and grew up ...

' ''The Crusades'' and

's ''Fables'' (to date). She oversaw the first fourteen issues of ''American Virgin'', the first eleven of ''Jack of Fables'', the first two ''Vertigo Pop!'' miniseries,

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American screenwriter and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–19 ...

's ''Zatanna: Everyday Magic'' and the innovative ''Vertical'' one-shot. She helped shepherd the OGNs ''Barnum!'', ''Confessions of a Blabbermouth'', ''1001 Nights of Snowfall'', ''God Save the Queen'', ''The Little Endless Storybook'', ''Re-Gifters'', ''Sandman: Endless Nights'' and ''Silverfish'' as well as both ''Bite Club'' miniseries, ''Faker'', ''Grip: The Strange World of Men'', ''My Faith in Frankie'' and ''House of Secrets: Facade''. From 2007, she had also been heavily involved in the new DC imprint "Minx", but continued to edit titles for Vertigo, including the new 2007/8 series ''House of Mystery'', ''Vinyl Underground'' and ''Young Liars''.

was, by 1990 editing (with Karen Berger) what would become the pillars of Vertigo: ''Hellblazer'', ''Sandman'' (taking over from Art Young), ''Swamp Thing'' and ''Shade, the Changing Man''. He soon left ''Swamp Thing'' to

Stuart Moore Stuart Moore is an American writer and editor of comic books and novels. Career Stuart Moore's writing includes ''Civil War'', the first in a line of prose novels from Marvel Comics, and two stories for Amazon's Kindle Worlds program: ''X-O M ...

, however with issue #100, and Moore would edit and co-edit the remaining 71 issues of that title, including the switch from DC to Vertigo. Peyer moved to ''Doom Patrol'' and ''Animal Man'', which he edited during the transition from DC to Vertigo, before moving to edit the initial issues of ''Kid Eternity'' and ''Black Orchid'' as well as two "Vertigo Visions" one-shots. Peyer left editing behind in 1994, returning to DC as a writer. Moore edited a wide range of Vertigo titles between 1993 and 2000, including the transitional issues of ''Hellblazer'' as well as ''Swamp Thing'', the first fifteen issues of ''The Invisibles'', the first seventeen issues of ''Preacher'' and the first thirty issues of ''Transmetropolitan''. In 1996, Moore won the Eisner Award for best editor, for his work on ''Swamp Thing'', ''Invisibles'' and ''Preacher''. He edited the first issues of ''Books of Magic'', and both ''Books of Faerie'' miniseries (with

), and returned to the main ''Books of Magic'' title for a further 20+ issues with Chiang in 1998. He also edited several miniseries for both Vertigo and Vertigo's sister imprint

Axel Alonso Axel Alonso () is an American comic book creator and former journalist, best known as the former editor in chief at Marvel Comics, a role which he held from January 2011 until November 2017.Marston, George (November 17, 2017)"AXEL ALONSO Out, CB C ...

(who would later move to

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

) began his editorial career at Vertigo on ''Animal Man'', ''Black Orchid'', ''Doom Patrol'' and ''Hellblazer'', and also edited the opening issues of

and

's ''

'' and the final issues of

and Steve Dillon's ''

''. Will Dennis was promoted from assistant editor to editor upon Alonso's departure. He took over the editing of ''

'' and later assumed the reins of Vertigo's biggest hit series since ''

'', Brian K. Vaughan and

's '' Y: The Last Man''. Dennis has been responsible for bringing writers Brian Wood (''

'') and

Jason Aaron Jason Aaron (born January 28, 1973) is an American comic book writer, known for his creator-owned series ''Scalped'' and ''Southern Bastards'', as well as his work on Marvel series '' Ghost Rider'', ''Wolverine'', '' PunisherMAX'', ''Thor'', and ...

('' Scalped'') to Vertigo. He teamed writer

and artist Jock on their breakout series '' The Losers''. Dennis edited Vaughan's commercially successful graphic novel ''

Pride of Baghdad ''Pride of Baghdad'' is a graphic novel written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Niko Henrichon released by DC Comics' Vertigo Comics, Vertigo imprint (trade name), imprint on September 13, 2006. The story is a fictionalized account of the t ...

''. He was the editor who presided over the Vertigo Crime line of graphic novels.

was hired as an editor at Vertigo in 2004 after previously writing two of the line's

Vertigo Pop Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use ...

miniseries and several entries in the

"Big Book" series as well as several other non-comics works . His contributions to the line as an editor have included the series, '' The Exterminators'' and '' Testament''. For the latter, he brought media theorist

Douglas Rushkoff Douglas Mark Rushkoff (born February 18, 1961) is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist, and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture and his advocacy of open sourc ...

to Vertigo. Taking over editing of ''

'' from Will Dennis, he hired acclaimed Scottish crime novelist

to write the title for 13 issues. He brought

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a ...

to Vertigo, where Pekar published the graphic novel '' The Quitter'' as well as eight issues of Pekar's long-running ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...

'' autobiographical series. Vankin also edited the graphic novels ''

Incognegro ''Incognegro'' is the independent and debut studio album by American rapper Ludacris. It was released on August 17, 1999, by Ludacris' newly founded indie record label, DTP Entertainment. Recording sessions took place from 1998 to 1999, with Luda ...

'' by

Mat Johnson Mat Johnson (born August 19, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American fiction writer who works in both prose and the comics format. In 2007, he was named the first USA James Baldwin Fellow by United States Artists. Life and career John ...

and ''The Alcoholic'' by novelist and essayist

Jonathan Ames Jonathan Ames (; born March 23, 1964) is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, '' Bored to Death'' ( HBO) and ''Blunt Talk'' ( STARZ). In the late '90s and early ...

Writers

Although the "mature reader" works of

, Grant Morrison (with Jamie Delano and Neil Gaiman) under the DC imprint paved the way for Vertigo's launch, neither author was part of the initial line-up. Indeed, Moore never produced work for the Vertigo imprint—having refused to work for parent company DC in the late 1980s—although his DC-published ''Swamp Thing'' work and ''V for Vendetta'' reprint-maxiseries were subsequently collected as Vertigo-issued TPBs, while the ''Hellblazer'' solo title dealt with the character co-created by Moore, but never written by him.

Launch writers

, whose pre-Vertigo work on ''Animal Man'' and ''Doom Patrol'' was similarly retroactively branded as "Vertigo" when collected, also wrote two issues of ''Hellblazer'' pre-Vertigo, which are collected in a 2005 trade paperback. Wrote three volumes of ''The Invisibles'' between

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. In addition, they had produced a number of miniseries including ''Sebastian O'' (1993), the Doom Patrol spin-off ''

Flex Mentallo Flex Mentallo is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Richard Case in 1990, during their run on ''Doom Patrol''. Flex is in part a parody of Charles Atlas' lo ...

'' (1996), ''Seaguy'' (2004), ''Vimanarama'' (2005), '' We3'' (2004–2005) and "Joe The Barbarian" (2010) as well as the longer miniseries ''The Filth'' (2002–2003). They collaborated with writer Mark Millar on five issues of ''Swamp Thing'' in 1994, produced two one-shots—''The Mystery Play'' (1994) and ''Kill Your Boyfriend'' (1995)—and contributed to several anthologies. Of the eight debut Vertigo titles, half of them were the work of two authors. Neil Gaiman, who went on to become a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' best-selling novelist, came to prominence four years pre-Vertigo with the launch of ''The Sandman'' for DC Comics, a title that became the backbone of the initial Vertigo line-up. Gaiman's work on the first ''

'' miniseries (also released as a DC title, 1990–91) lay the groundwork for the long-running Vertigo Universe series of the same name, which featured young wizard

Timothy Hunter Timothy Hunter is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''The Books of Magic'' #1 (January 1990), and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton. Publication history Tim Hunter was created by ...

, who began his career at 2000 AD, before working briefly for both

Pacific Comics Pacific Comics (PC) was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1981 to 1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began at a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes. Alo ...

and

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...

, contributed two titles (one quarter of the initial line-up; the same as Gaiman) to the Vertigo launch. His ''Shade, the Changing Man'' was launched by DC and ran 70 issues (July

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

) – #70 (April 1996), by which time it was under the Vertigo imprint. He also wrote the creator-owned eight-issue miniseries ''Enigma'' (1993). Milligan and

Brett Ewins Brett Ewins (1955 – 16 February 2015) was a British comic book artist best known for his work on ''Judge Dredd'' and ''Rogue Trooper'' in the weekly anthology comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD''. Biography Ewins studied Conceptual Art at Gol ...

's ''Skreemer'', written for DC pre-Vertigo (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

) was subsequently collected by Vertigo, while his work on the DC character

was released entirely by Vertigo as a four-issue miniseries (1999), an original graphic novel (2002), and an ongoing series (2003–2005). Milligan also produced the one-shots ''The Eaters'' and ''Face'' in 1995 for the "Vertigo Voices" sub-imprint, and a number of other miniseries, including ''The Extremist'' (1993), ''Tank Girl: The Odyssey'' (1995), ''Egypt'' (1995–1996), ''Girl'' (1996), ''The Minx'' (1998–1999), and ''Vertigo Pop!: London'' (2003).

(''Hellblazer'') and

(''Animal Man'') were two other launch authors who went on to great success with Vertigo and elsewhere. Ennis' best-known Vertigo work was his and artist Steve Dillon's creator-owned ''

'', which ran for 66 issues and six spin-off specials between 1995 and 2000, while Ennis' prolific work on ''Hellblazer'' rivals initial-series author Delano. Ennis has also written several miniseries for Vertigo, including ''Goddess'' (1995–1996), ''Pride & Joy'' (1997), ''Unknown Soldier'' (1997), and ''Adventures in the Rifle Brigade'' (2001–2002), as well as eight one-shot ''War Stories'' between 2001 and 2003. Two of his pre-Vertigo works—''True Faith'' (serialized in Crisis) and the four-issue DC/

miniseries ''Bloody Mary'' (1996–1197)—have had collections released under the Vertigo label. Alan Moore, co-creator of the jaded, chain-smoking, modern-day British wizard

in ''Swamp Thing'', hand-picked Jamie Delano to continue Constantine's adventures as star of the DC title ''Hellblazer'' (1988–2013), but Delano left that series in 1991 before the launch of Vertigo. Delano did write Vertigo's ''Animal Man''#51–79 (1992–1995), and produced 19 issues of ''Outlaw Nation'' (2000–02) and the 12-issue miniseries ''2020 Visions'' (1997–1998), plus two Hellblazer miniseries—'' The Horrorist'' (1995–1996) and '' Hellblazer Special: Bad Blood'' (2000). He also wrote the one-shot titles ''Tainted'' (1995) and ''Hell Eternal'' (1998), the miniseries ''Ghostdancing'' (1995) and ''Cruel and Unusual'' (1999), contributed to anthology titles, and with Gaiman and Kwitney wrote ''The Children's Crusade'' #2.

, who was writing ''Doom Patrol'' when Vertigo launched, continued on that title until #87 (Feb. 1995), the final issues. She also penned two "Vertigo Visions" specials—1993's ''The Geek'' and 1998's ''Tomahawk''. Nancy A. Collins, who wrote ''Swamp Thing'' #110–138 (Aug. 1991 – Dec. 1993), also wrote the 1996 one-shot ''Dhampire: Stillborn''.

Later writers

has produced most of his output for Vertigo, working exclusively for the company between

and 2000. Reiber wrote the first fifty issues of the first ongoing ''The Books of Magic'' series (May 1994 – July 1998), as well as a number of miniseries, mostly set in the wider Vertigo universe (and particularly the Sandman/Books of Magic sections) – ''Mythos: The Final Tour'' (1996–7), ''Hellblazer/The Books of Magic'' (1997–8), ''

The Trenchcoat Brigade ''The Trenchcoat Brigade'' is a four-issue comic book limited series that was published in 1999 as a part of DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, featuring several mystic DC Universe characters. The title references an offhand joke used by John Constantin ...

'' (1999), '' The Books of Faerie: Molly's Story'' (1999). Reiber's ''Shadows Fall'' (with artist John Van Fleet) was a self-created horror story grounded in a reality which made the tale "all the more creepy than if the story was played out in the realm and scope of superheroes." Reiber's ''Tell Me Dark'', produced for DC, was collected in softcover by Vertigo, and he also contributed to various anthologies.

began his comics career on DC's ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strang ...

'' title over a decade before the formation of Vertigo, and later became one of the earliest Vertigo creators thanks in large part to his proposed Touchmark projects. DeMatteis' ''Mercy'' (1993) one-shot and miniseries ''The Last One'' both debuted in 1993, with reprints of two creator-owned

Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's ...

projects following in subsequent years: his 198587 creator-owned maxiseries ''Moonshadow'' was reprinted between 1994 and 1995, with the miniseries ''Blood: A Tale'' seeing print again in 1996–7. DeMatteis also wrote fifteen issues of ''Seekers into the Mystery'' (1996–7) for Vertigo. Mike Carey, having started his American comics career with

Caliber Comics Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America ...

in the mid-1990s catapulted to prominence in March

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

with the first issue of his ''Sandman'' spin-off miniseries ''Sandman Presents: Lucifer'', which would lead to an ongoing series a year later and considerable praise and projects for Carey. A second Sandman miniseries, '' Sandman Presents: Petrefax'' (2000), soon followed, before the June 2000 debut of ''

''. Neil Gaiman's preferred Sandman spin-off had not had an easy time being published, due to its title and main character, but Carey was able to helm it for a Sandman-equalling 75 issues (and a 2002 one-shot: ''Nirvana'') for 6 years. During this time, Carey also wrote the hardcover OGN ''Sandman Presents: The Furies'' (2002), over 40 issues of ''Hellblazer'' between 2002 and 2006 and a 2005 Hellblazer original graphic novel, ''

All His Engines ''John Constantine, Hellblazer: All His Engines'' is an original graphic novel featuring the DC Comics character John Constantine, written by Mike Carey, with art by Leonardo Manco. The graphic novel is a spin-off of the long-running series ''Hel ...

''. He also wrote a non-Sandman miniseries, ''My Faith in Frankie'' (2004), the comicbook adaptation of ''Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere'' (2005–6) and the OGN ''God Save the Queen'' (2007). In 2007 he launched the ongoing series ''Crossing Midnight'' (2007–8) and the miniseries ''Faker'' (2007–8). Brian K. Vaughan's first Vertigo work was a short story in 2000's ''Winter's Edge'' #3 anthology, which led to him relaunching ''Swamp Thing'' (vol. 3) (2000–01), which lasted for 20 issues. In September 2002, his (and

's) '' Y: The Last Man'' launched. It would ultimately run for 60 issues until March 2008. Vaughan also wrote the 2006 OGN ''Pride of Baghdad'' for Vertigo.

's first Vertigo work was on the "Vertigo Visions" '' Prez'' one-shot (1995), and intermittent contributions to a couple of anthology titles preceded his ''Scene of the Crime'' (1999), effectively laying the groundwork for his later crime comics. His next Vertigo project, the

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...

series ''

'' (2000–01), ran for 16 issues while Brubaker wrote for both '' Batman'' and '' Detective Comics'' for parent-company DC. His 2001 miniseries '' Sandman Presents: The Dead Boy Detectives'' told the story of some incidental Sandman characters, and was later retold by

in manga form (2005). Brubaker subsequently took his Vertigo/crime sensibility to work from

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

and the mainstream DC and Marvel universes.

came to Vertigo after a plethora of small press work in 1999 to launch his poker miniseries ''Proposition Player'' (1999–2000), and contribute to the ''Sandman'' universe with a one-shot spy-spoof, ''Sandman Presents: Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of D.R.E.A.M.'' (2000), and a single issue contribution to ''

'' on-going series. A second ''Sandman'' one-shot, ''The Sandman Presents: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dreams...'' (2001), also led to a 4-issue miniseries, ''Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad'' (2002). Willingham's best-known work soon followed, with the July 2001 debut of ''

'' (with artist Lan Medina). In 2004, he returned to the world of the Sandman with ''Sandman Presents: Thessaly: Witch for Hire'', and 2006 saw the debut of the Vertigo-esque magical—but mainstream DCU title—''Shadowpact'' and ''Fables'' companion series ''Jack of Fables''. In July 2008, with ''Fables'' nearing a major turning point in its run, Willingham relaunched ''

'' as a Vertigo title with

(then known as Matthew Sturges). Other notable people who have written for Vertigo include

David Lapham David Lapham is an American comic book writer, artist, and cartoonist, best known for his work on the independent comic book '' Stray Bullets''. Career David Lapham started his career in 1990 as a penciller at Valiant Comics. He went on to wor ...

, Mark Millar,

, James Robinson, and Brian Wood.

Artists

Several artists have also produced a large amount of notable work for Vertigo, several ( Steve Dillon,

and

) mainly producing lengthy runs on individual creator-owned titles (in Guerra's case, ''Y: The Last Man'' makes up around 80% of her output to date), but others on a number of titles. Vertigo's main Universe titles, ''The Sandman'', ''Hellblazer'' and ''Swamp Thing'', have been particularly artistically diverse, and home to many talents, while the large number of creator-owned miniseries has seen large numbers of individuals producing work for Vertigo. Peter Gross worked on a pre-Vertigo issue of ''Swamp Thing'' and an early Vertigo issue of ''Shade the Changing Man'' (#36, June 1993) before penciling & inking a story featuring Timothy Hunter in the "Children's Crusade" crossover ''Arcana Annual'' (Jan. 1994). This led to a regular inking role on the newly launched ''Books of Magic'' series, taking over as regular penciler and inker with #6; he would stay with the title for most of its run, writing as well as drawing its final 25 issues (1998–2000). Gross also inked Reiber's ''Mythos'' one-shot, and provided full artwork on the first ''Books of Faerie'' miniseries (1997) and pencils on the following year's ''The Books of Faerie: Auberon's Tale'' (1998). After ''Books of Magic'', Gross moved to ''Lucifer'' (beginning with #5, Oct. 2000) and penciled 56 of the remaining issues, as well as inking a handful. He also co-penciled 2005's ''Constantine: The Official Movie Adaptation'' and several issues of

's ''Testament'' from 2006 to 2007.

has similarly produced a disproportionate amount of his artwork for Vertigo titles, including the lion's share of the alternate reality '' Books of Magick: Life During Wartime'' series (2004–5). His first Vertigo work was as one of several pencilers in the pages of ''Sandman'' #62 (Aug 1994), and in 1995 he penciled and inked Peter Milligan's ''The Eaters'' one-shot. His artwork appears in most (14) of the non-Peter Gross issues of Mike Carey's ''Lucifer'', and he also handled art duties for Caitlin R. Kiernan's 4-issue ''The Girl who would be Death'' (1998–9). In addition, he has worked on a number of single (and jam) issues of other Vertigo titles, including ''The Crusades'', ''House of Mystery'', ''The Invisibles'', ''Mythos'', ''Sandman Mystery Theatre'', ''Swamp Thing'' and ''Testament'' between 1994 and 2007.

s first major American work was on the 1991 ''Kid Eternity'' miniseries with Grant Morrison. A 1992 cover for ''Doom Patrol'' similarly fell in Vertigo territory ''pre''-Vertigo, while Fegredo's first "true" Vertigo work was also on the joint-first new series released by the imprint: Peter Milligan's ''Enigma''. Immediately after the end of the eight-issue series, Fegredo took over as cover artist on Milligan's long-running ''Shade, the Changing Man'' (issues #42–50), collaborated with Milligan on 1995's one-shot ''Face'' (Jan) and then returned to cover duties on ''Shade'', producing all but one of the remaining pieces of art. He produced pencils and inks for the miniseries ''Millennium Fever'' (1995) and (with Milligan) for ''Girl'' (1996). Between 1997 and 2002, he contributed artwork on fill-in issues (or to jam issues) of ''Crusades'', ''The Dreaming'', ''Flinch'', ''House of Secrets'', ''The Sandman Presents: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dreams...'', ''Totems'', ''Weird War Tales'' and ''Weird Western Tales''. In addition, his cover work graced the 1999 miniseries ''Sandman Presents: Love Street'', six issues of ''The Books of Magick: Life During Wartime'' and the first fifteen issues of Mike Carey's ''Lucifer''.

, although primarily known as an artist, has also produced scripts for Vertigo, producing as writer-artist three Sandman tie-ins: ''The Little Endless Storybook'' (2001) and two manga retellings of storylines: ''Death: At Death's Door'' (2003) and ''The Dead Boy Detectives'' (2005). Between 1993 and 1994, she penciled the first six issues of the ongoing ''Black Orchid'' series and the 4-issue miniseries ''Finals'' (1999). She has contributed ten issues each to the high-profile Vertigo series ''Sandman'' (penciling the complete "

Brief Lives ''Brief Lives'' is a collection of short biographies written by John Aubrey (1626–1697) in the last decades of the 17th century. Writing Aubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood, who ...

" storyline, part 7 of which was the first Vertigo issue) and ''The Invisibles'', and penciled four of the last five issues of ''Seekers into the Mystery''. She has produced fill-in issues of ''Books of Magic'', ''The Dreaming'' and ''Swamp Thing'' and contributed artwork to the anthology comics ''Fables'' #59 (in addition to a story in the hardcover OGN ''1001 Nights of Snowfall'') and ''Transmetropolitan: Filth of the City''.

Jon J Muth Jon J Muth (; born July 28, 1960) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books as well as graphic novels and comic books. Career Muth studied stone sculpture and ''shodō'' ( 書道) (brush calligraphy) in Japan; and studied painti ...

, a painter, has produced several lavish volumes for Vertigo, including writing, penciling, inking and coloring the 1998 one-shot ''Swamp Thing: Roots''. Primarily, his Vertigo output has been in collaboration with JM DeMatteis, an issue of ''Blood: A Tale'', the maxiseries ''Moonshadow'' (and its coda, ''Farewell, Moonshadow'' (1997)) and three issues of ''Seekers into the Mystery''. Muth painted Grant Morrison's ''The Mystery Play'' (1994) and the 2002 ''Lucifer: Nirvana'' special for Mike Carey. His work also effectively ended Neil Gaiman's ''Sandman'' series, Muth painting issue #74, the final issue of '' The Wake'' storyline, and second-to-last main issue. The artwork of

Charles Vess Charles Vess (born June 10, 1951) is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau ...

has infrequently but notably accompanied the words of Neil Gaiman on Vertigo projects, including the 4-issue ''Stardust'' (1997–8) miniseries, later reprinted as an illustrated hardcover book. Vess' work can also be seen in the two

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

adaptations in the pages of ''The Sandman'', the first of which (pre-Vertigo) won the comic and duo the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for Best Short Story, and the last of which was also the final (75th) issue of the series. Vess also contributed a story to the ''Fables'' OGN ''1001 Nights of Snowfall'', illustrated a ''Books of Magic'' cover and produced an issue of ''The Dreaming'' (2000).

earliest American comics work was in the pages of pre-Vertigo ''Hellblazer'', and in May 1993 he became one of the early Vertigo artists by illustrating (with assists from Paul Peart and Sean Harrison Scoffield) the entire 16-issue run of ''Kid Eternity'' (1993–4). He drew the covers for twenty-three of the twenty-five issues of the first ''The Invisibles'' series and also returned to ''Hellblazer'' (switching from artwork and covers to just covers after around 20 issues) between 1995 and 1998. He drew three issues of ''Shade, the Changing Man'' (1994), the one-shot ''Hell Eternal'' (1995) and the miniseries ''The Minx'' as well as inking most of

Michael Lark Michael Lark (born 1966) is an American comics artist and colorist. Lark has provided pencils for DC Comics' ''Batman'', '' Terminal City'', '' Gotham Central'' and '' Legend of the Hawkman''. His work for Marvel Comics includes '' The Pulse'' a ...

's work on ''Scene of the Crime''. He penciled four issues of the final ''Invisibles'' series between 1999 and 2000, produced covers for the ''Hellblazer Special: Bad Blood'' miniseries, and shared art chores with John Bolton on the 2001 miniseries ''User''.

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...

, another frequent Gaiman collaborator has rarely worked with that author directly for Vertigo, but has utilised his characters, including in the OGN ''Sandman Presents: The Furies'' and the ''Books of Magic'' lead-in ''Arcana'' Annual. He also contributed to the ''Sandman Mystery Theatre'' annual, and the ''Fables'' OGN ''1001 Nights of Snowfall''. With Sean Phillips, he produced the artwork for

Devin Grayson Devin Kalile Grayson is an American writer of comic books and novels. Titles that she has written include ''Catwoman'', '' Gotham Knights'', '' The Titans'', the Vertigo series ''USER'', and ''Nightwing''. Early life Grayson was born in New Hav ...

's 2001 miniseries ''User'', and individually fully illustrated the OGN's ''Menz Insana'' (1997) and ''God Save the Queen'' (2007). Other artists include

, Mark Buckingham, Guy Davis,

Phil Jimenez Phil Jimenez (born July 12, 1970) is an award-winning American comics artist and writer known for his work as writer/artist on ''Wonder Woman'' from 2000 to 2003, as one of the five pencilers of the 2005–2006 miniseries ''Infinite Crisis'', his ...

, Jock,

and

Liam Sharp Liam Roger Sharp (born 2 May 1968) is a British comic book artist, writer, publisher, and co-founder/CCO of Madefire Inc. Early life Liam Sharp was born in Derby. He went to School at Brackensdale Junior then infants school, before moving to ...

Cover artists

Inarguably the name most associated with Vertigo's cover output is the artist who provided ''all'' of the covers to the Vertigo's highest profile series (''The Sandman'' series (1989–96)): Dave McKean. The first 46 of these covers were created for the DC imprint, but McKean's work also includes a number of Sandman-spin-off issues, miniseries and galleries. These include the two ''Death'' miniseries and all 60 issues of ''The Dreaming'' (1996–2001). He provided the first 24 DC published covers to ''Hellblazer'', and all 22 covers to the 1993-5 ''Black Orchid'' Vertigo series (which spun off from his (and Gaiman's) 1988 DC miniseries). He produced the first cover for ''Sandman Mystery Theatre'' and his work was featured in a 1997 artbook incorporating his ''Sandman'' covers, "Dust Covers: The Collected Sandman Covers, 1989–1997." In addition, McKean's artwork also graced the inside pages of the public service comic ''Death Talks about Life'' (1994), an issue of ''The Dreaming'' (#8), two issues of the DC-published ''Hellblazer'' (#27 with Gaiman and #40 with Delano) and his and Neil Gaiman's OGN ''Mr Punch'' (1994). The duo's ''Black Orchid'' was similarly produced for DC, but was retroactively deemed a Vertigo title. Brian Bolland and

Glenn Fabry Glenn Fabry (; born 24 March 1961) is a British comics artist known for his detailed, realistic work in both ink and painted colour. Career Glenn Fabry's career began in 1985, drawing '' Slaine'' for '' 2000 AD'', with writer Pat Mills. He also ...

have also produced a large number of iconic covers for the Vertigo line, Fabry probably being best known for his work on one title: Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's ''Preacher'' (and the spin-off miniseries). Bolland, one of the very earliest British creators whose work was brought to America, drew the first 63 covers for ''Animal Man'', mostly for DC, but also the first six Vertigo issues before handing over to a succession of other artists. Bolland also drew the cover for Vertigo's first ''Doom Patrol'' issue and for the entire second and third volumes of Morrison's ''Invisibles'' (1997–2000) (and in addition provided artwork for the TPB collections of Morrison's ''Doom Patrol'' run, and all volumes of ''The Invisibles''). Bolland provided covers for three issues of Mark Millar's ''Swamp Thing'' run (1995), and miniseries including ''Vamps'' (1994–5), both Vertigo ''

Tank Girl ''Tank Girl'' is a British comic book character created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, and first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline''. After a period of intense popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ...

'' (1995–1996) miniseries and ''Blood + Water'' (2003) as well as the one-shot ''Zatanna: Everyday Magic'' (2003). Bolland also wrote and illustrated stories for the anthology titles ''Heartthrobs'' and ''Strange Adventures'' (1999) and OGN ''1001 Nights of Snowfall'', as well as providing a cover each for the ''Gangland'' and ''Winter's Edge'' anthologies. With issue #12, Bolland took over cover duties (from ''Fables'' cover artist

James Jean James Jean is a Taiwanese-American visual artist working primarily in painting and drawing. He lives and works in Los Angeles, where he moved from New York in 2003. Early life Jean was born in Taiwan and raised in New Jersey. During his early ed ...

) on ''Fables'' spin-off ''Jack of Fables'', which he continues to produce .
Fabry, in addition to his ''Preacher'' covers, provided covers for Ennis' miniseries ''Adventures in the Rifle Brigade: Operation Bollock'' (2001–2002) and most of that authors first run on ''Hellblazer'' (1992–1994)—which included the first Vertigo issue—as well as his return to the title in 1998–9. In addition, Fabry has also penciled a couple of short ''Hellblazer'' stories for various specials, and drew the covers for the ''Hellblazer: The Trenchcoat Brigade'' miniseries. He contributed to the multi-artist ''Transmetropolitan'' special "I Hate It Here" and provided three covers each to the ongoing ''Transmetropolitan'' (2002) and ''Swamp Thing'' (Vol. 3) (2001); covered the complete '' Scarab'' (1993–4) miniseries, all 19 issues of ''Outlaw Nation'' and one issue each of the anthology titles ''Gangland'', ''Heartthrobs'' and ''Weird War Tales''. Between 2005 and 2006, Fabry fully illustrated Mike Carey's adaptation of ''Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere'', having previously collaborated with the man himself on a story in the 2003 OGN ''Sandman: Endless Nights''. At the start of 2008, he provided a cover for an issue of ''Exterminators'', before taking over from

as on-going cover artist on, again, ''Hellblazer''. Other notable cover artists include Dan Brereton,

Tim Bradstreet Tim Bradstreet (born on February 16, 1967)is an American artist and illustrator, best known for his work on comic books, book covers, movie posters, roleplaying games and trading cards. Early life Tim Bradstreet was born February 16, 1967, in Ch ...

, Dave Johnson and

J. G. Jones Jeffrey Glen Jones is an American comics artist who is known for his work on titles such as ''Wanted'' and ''Final Crisis''. Early life Jones hails from Walker, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University and the University at Albany, SUN ...

Publications

Adaptations in other media

Film

* ''

'' (1982), based on the comic book series by Len Wein and

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

, directed and written by

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

*'' The Return of Swamp Thing'' (1989), based on comic book series by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, directed by

Jim Wynorski Jim Wynorski (born August 14, 1950) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Wynorski has been making B-movies and exploitation movies since the early 1980s, and has directed over 150 feature films. His earliest films were releas ...

*''

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

'' (2005), based on the ''

'' series of comics. *''

'' (2005), based on the graphic novel ''

'' by

John Wagner John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...

and by

Vince Locke Vincent Locke () is an American comic book artist known for his work on ''Deadworld'' and '' A History of Violence'' and for his ultraviolent album covers for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Biography Locke began work in 1986 illustrating ''De ...

, directed by David Cronenberg. *''

'' (2006), based on the comics series by

and David Lloyd, and produced by the Wachowskis. *''

'' (2009), based on the comics series by

and

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

directed by

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...

*'' The Losers'' (2010), based on the monthly series, created by

and Jock. *''

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was foun ...

'' (2019), based on the series, created by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle.

TV

* ''Human Target'' (1992), based on the comic book series by

for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and another TV series of same name in 2010 for

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

*''

'' (2014–2015), based on the comic book series ''

'' by

and developed by

David Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the ''Blade'' ...

and

Daniel Cerone Daniel Cerone is a television writer and executive producer. His credits include '' Dexter'', where he served as showrunner, along with ''The Blacklist'', ''The Mentalist'', ''Dirty Sexy Money'' and '' Charmed''. He was the co-creator of ''Constant ...

for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

*'' iZombie'' (2015–2019), loosely based on the comic book series of the same name by Chris Roberson for

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

*''

'' (2016–2021), loosely based on the ''Sandman'' character

by Neil Gaiman and Mike Carey for

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

(season 1–3) and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

(season 4–6) *''

'' (2016–2019), based on the

comic book series a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

and developed by

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part o ...

for

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

*''

'' (2019), based on the

and

for HBO *''

'' (2019), based on the

by Len Wein and

for

*'' Sweet Tooth'' (2021) based on

Jeff Lemire Jeff Lemire (; born March 21, 1976) is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles including the ''Essex County Trilogy'', '' Sweet Tooth'', and ''The Nobody''. His written work in ...

for

*'' Y: The Last Man'' (2021), based on

by Brian K. Vaughan and

for

FX on Hulu FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the comp ...

*'' The Sandman'' (2022) based on

by Neil Gaiman for

Video games

*''

'' was optioned and partly developed as a game, but canceled. The license has been bought and an unconnected game is in development . *''

'', a spin-off based on the film of the same name. *''

The Wolf Among Us ''The Wolf Among Us'' is an episodic graphic mystery-drama adventure game developed by Telltale Games, based on Bill Willingham's ''Fables'' comic book series, to which it serves as a prequel. The game consists of five episodes that were re ...

'' is an episodic

graphic adventure An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

, a prequel to

's ''Fables'' comic book series.

References

External links

* * *
Vertigo on Comic Book Realm
{{Warner Bros. 1993 comics debuts 1993 establishments in New York City 2020 comics endings 2020 disestablishments in the United States DC Comics imprints Publishers of adult comics he:DC Comics#שנות ה-90

History

Development

Initial year

Middle period

Vertigo Visions

Vertigo Voices

Vertigo Vérité

V2K

Vertigo Pop!

Vertigo X

Vertigo Crime

Editorial changes, "relaunch", and discontinuation

Creators

Editors

Writers

Launch writers

Later writers

Artists

Cover artists

Publications

Adaptations in other media

Film

TV

Video games

See also

References

External links