5 Most Underrated Vertigo Comics of All Time

If you haven’t noticed, Vertigo Comics is back. The beloved DC Comics imprint, once the home of some of the publisher’s more mature and less superhero-focused titles, originally debuted in 1993 and helped to define a generation of comics covering a range of genres, including horror and fantasy, exploring stories with social commentary and taking some big swings with some big ideas. The imprint was discontinued in 2020 after years of decline but was relaunched in 2024 and, this year, returned in full force with an all-new slate of titles, including Bleeding Hearts by Deniz Camp, Stipan Morian, and Matt Hollingsworth that is already heading to second printing — and t here’s so much more to come.

But while Vertigo is having its renaissance, there are still great titles from its original glory days that are truly great and deserve to be appreciated as well. These are the Vertigo books that may not necessarily be as well-known as titles like Fables, The Sandman, Hellblazer, and Preacher. instead, these are titles that, in some cases, may have gone a little under the radar or just haven’t been thought about in years. They’re great comics — and books you definitely should check out as Vertigo makes its come back.

5) Hex Wives

Written by Ben Blacker with art by Mirka Andolfo, Hex Wives came at the end of Vertigo’s first run and you can say that they left some of their best books for last. Something of a Stepford Wives but with witches, the book follows a coven of reincarnated witches who have been imprisoned via brainwashing by a group of men called the Architects and forced to live, stripped of their memories and their powers, as subservient and obedient 1950s-style housewives. However, when one of the witches, Isadora, starts to regain her memories and her power, the tide begins to turn — and it doesn’t look good for the men.

There are lots of interesting layers to this story as the women start to come back into their own and figure out how to deal with their oppressors. The art is also fantastic with some excellent color choices from colorist Marissa Louise. And, of course, there’s cats. You can’t have a witch story without some cats. Hex Wives also excels because it’s not a straightforward story about oppression, though you are definitely on the women’s side. The series ends with much more story to tell but it also lands in a satisfying place. It’s one of Vertigo’s best books and if you missed it, now’s a great time to check it out.

4) Faker

Written by Mike Carey with art by Jock, Faker is a deeply underrated sci-fi tale with themes about identity, memory and reinvention all on a backdrop of high stakes conspiracy. The story follows a group of college friends — Jessica, Yvonne, Marky, and Sack — who attend a party when one of Marky’s ex-girlfriends slips something called Angel’s Kiss into their drinks. However, Angel’s Kiss isn’t just some fun party drug. It’s an experimental liquid data storage medium. After a mutual friend of the group, Nick, shows up, things get weird — and not only does the U.S. government get involved, but the friends start to realize that Nick may have a physical body, but he’s actually a creation of their minds thanks to Angel’s Kiss.

Faker is dark and thrilling with a high stakes story, but it’s also deeply tragic and sad. It asks big questions about what is really real — what you can touch or what you experience. The story and art are both haunting and will stay with you long after you finish the final issue.

3) The Vinyl Underground

No one does occult comics quite like Vertigo and one of the most interesting is The Vinyl Underground. Written by Si Spencer with art by Simon Gane, The Vinyl Underground follows a group of occult detectives in London. The group includes DJ Morrison Shepherd, a minor celebrity and son of an ex-footballer who has recently been released from prison, ex-con clairvoyant Perv who has seizures that give him clues to crimes, morgue assistant Leah King who moonlights and internet model and pornstar, and Shepherd’s ex-girlfriend, Kim “Abi” Abiola, an “African tribal Princess in exile” whose father is accused of the murder that kicks off the first mystery.

To be clear, The Vinyl Underground is a weird little story. It has vibes that are similar to John Constantine stories, but a little twistier and extravagant. The city of London is also very much a character of its own in the story and it really just ends up being a really cool book. It was cancelled after 12 issues, but they are a solid 12 issues to read.

2) Girl

Written by Peter Milligan with art by Duncan Fegredo and published in 1996, Girl is a short series at just three issues, but it’s a memorable one. The series follows 15-year-old Simone who lives in the fictional English town, Bollockstown. Dealing with “useless” parents and a deep dislike and intense despair for her own life, she’s thinking about ending it all but things get turned upside down when she meets a blonde version of herself named Polly and goes down a strange, chaotic, and dangerous journey — one that includes violent retaliation against those who dare oppress her.

Girl is a dark story and has a surreal twist, but it explore some really interesting themes, like teen identity and the line between imagination and reality. It also is very much a snapshot of the 1990s in a sense and makes for a very interesting read, both for the story itself and as a time capsule of sorts.

1) iZombie

While iZombie got a television adaptation on The CW, people tend to forget that it was a Vertigo comic first and a really good one at that. Written by Chris Roberson with art by Michael Allred, iZombie follows Gwen Dylan, a gravedigger in Oregon who, because she was bitten by a mummy, has to eat a brain once a month to keep from turning into a stereotypical zombie. It’s not a bad set up considering she’s a gravedigger, but when she eats the brains, she inherits some of the thoughts of the dead. Oh, and she has some interesting friends, including a 1960s ghost and a were-terrier.

iZombie the comic is quite a bit different than the television series and it’s honestly great. The book is full of supernatural battles — including zombies, of course — as well as family issues, romances, and near apocalypses. It’s all of the chaos of your twenties dialed up in the wildest way possible and it’s a series that shouldn’t be slept on, even if you enjoyed the television series.

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