10 Incredible Vertigo Comics That Changed The Entire Industry

DC in the late ’80s was an amazing time for readers. The success of Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, and Dave Gibbons spurred the publisher to get even more talent from the British Isles. This led to DC putting out some of the best mature readers series, which would lead to the creation of Vertigo in 1993. Vertigo wasn’t the first time the Big Two created a mature readers, creator-owned imprint (Marvel had Epic in the ’80s), but it was the best. Vertigo absorbed books like Swamp Thing, The Sandman, Hellblazer, Doom Patrol, Animal Man, and Shade the Changing Man, and gave creators a place where they could tell any kind of story they wanted. It was revolutionary and led to some of the best comics of all time.

Vertigo gave readers basically every kind of comic they could ever went, from sci-fi to fantasy to horror. The imprint’s comics were a symbol of excellence for readers, and are some of the most critically acclaimed books of them all. These ten are the best of Vertigo (I’m not including any of the Vertigo superhero books in this list, so no Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, or Shade the Changing Man), amazing comics that changed the comic industry.

10) Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery

Vertigo was a true golden age of comics, with some amazing series from the greats. Grant Morrison’s work on Animal Man and Doom Patrol helped lay the groundwork for Vertigo, and they would return to a character they created for Doom Patrol in 1998 (I know I said I wouldn’t include the DC superhero books, but I’m making an exception for this one because it really is that good). Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery, by Morrison and Frank Quitely, brought back the character as he tried to find a missing friend of his, the Fact, and is pulled into a mystery much greater than he expected.

Meanwhile, Wallace Sage has decided to kill himself and calls a suicide hotline, which will go in even stranger directions. What follows is a semi-autobiographical story that digs into the way creators get their ideas. It’s a wild comic, full of mind-bending concepts that will frequently surprise you. Quitely’s art is fantastic, really bringing everything Morrison was laying down to life. Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery is an under-appreciated gem, and it’s easily among the best Vertigo comics ever.

9) Transmetropolitan

Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson, has an interesting history. It was first published by Helix, a sci-fi DC imprint. However, Transmetropolitan was the only successful book, and it got folded into Vertigo. Transmetropolitan follows journalist Spider Jerusalem, a nihilistic, hedonistic political columnist who gets his job back writing about politics in the City, a future dystopian city. What follows is biting political satire and black humor, all centered on one of the most unlikable characters in comics. Transmetropolitan talks about the power of the printed word, the corruption of power, and the sheer hopelessness of our late capitalist moment. It’s a lot of fun if you’re idea of fun is dissecting humanity and politics.

8) The Sandman

Thanks to the accusations against Neil Gaiman, The Sandman has fallen out of vogue with many, but that doesn’t change just how good it is. The Sandman tell the story of His Darkness Dream of the Endless over 76 issues, several hardcovers, and a prequel miniseries, taking readers on a journey they’re unlikely to forget. The Sandman grabbed readers from the beginning and quickly became one of the most popular and acclaimed DC titles of its day. The Sandman‘s contemporary fantasy vibe became the touchstone of early Vertigo, and it was beloved by fans of the day. On top of that, the art is fantastic, with greats like Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Danny Vozzo, P. Craig Russell, Michael Zulli, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, and many, many more. The Sandman is a Vertigo classic.

7) We3

We3, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, is an amazing book. Morrison left DC in 1999, working at Marvel until 2004, and returned with three Vertigo series. Two of them — Vimanarama and Sea Guy — are both pretty good, but We3 is easily the best. It follows a squad of animal weapons — lost pets enhanced with cybernetic technology, named Bandit, Tinker, and Pirate — as they escape the government and try to find “home”. What follows is a harrowing, heartbreaking, heartwarming tale that has become one of Morrison’s most beloved works. Quitely’s art is the real draw of the series; it depends on visual storytelling to work, as it stars characters that can barely speak, and We3 has some phenomenal visuals. We3 is everything you could want it to be and then some.

6) Y: The Last Man

There were always must-read Vertigo books for most of its existence, books that every Vertigo fan read. First there was The Sandman, then Preacher, and in the early ’00s, there was Y: The Last Man (100 Bullets was also popular, but I wouldn’t list it with the must-reads). Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, followed Yorick and his monkey Ampersand, the only survivors of a plague that killed every male, human or animal, on the planet. What follows is an adventure in this new world, as new power structures rise and Yorick is targeted by basically everyone. The ending isn’t the best, but the series as a whole is pretty phenomenal, an amazing tale that will keep you coming back for more.

5) Hellblazer

So, this one is going to break the rules I already established again, but these things happen. Hellblazer stars John Constantine, the British punk rocker turned magician, as he did his best to save the world and survive. Hellblazer is the longest-running Vertigo title, running for 300 issues from 1988 to 2013. Hellblazer has boasted many of the greatest writers and artists in comic history, like Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Eddie Campbell, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrrison, Neil Gaiman, Brian Azzarello, Peter Milligan, and many more, giving readers some pitch perfect horror. Personally, I’m partial to Ennis/Dillon, but Hellblazer is a book that you can pick up at any creative run and find some great stories. While it was never the must-read Vertigo book, it’s still a legendary Vertigo book.

4) Kill Your Boyfriend

Kill Your Boyfriend, by Grant Morrison and Phillip Bond, is a 1995 one-shot. The best way to describe it is Natural Born Killers set in England, with dance music and hallucinogens. A British schoolgirl meets a bad boy and the two fall in lust, going on a cross-country crime spree. Kill Your Boyfriend is pretty hard to find, but it’s worth the hunt. It’s violent and funny, with an ending that isn’t surprising but works perfectly.

3) Preacher

When The Sandman ended, everyone wondered what the next big Vertigo title would be, but they didn’t have to wait long to find out. Preacher, from the Hellblazer team of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, took off like a rocket and became a favorite of fans from 1995 to 2000. Preacher stars Jessie Custer, a man forced into being a Christian preacher by his monstrous grandmother. One day, he’s possessed by Genesis, a half-angel/half-demon force, and accidentally kills his entire congregation while gaining the Word, the ability to make anyone do what he tells them to.

Jessie learns that God is scared of Genesis and has abandoned Heaven, so he goes on a quest to find him, along with the Irish vampire Cassidy and his hitwoman ex-girlfriend Tulip. Preacher is a road trip through America’s dark soul, full of insane violence, extreme profanity, amazing humor, and some great social commentary. Preacher introduced readers to some crazy characters, and constantly shocked readers with how far it was willing to go. Preacher has a little something for everyone, and an anti-toxic masculinity message that no one was talking about in the ’90s. Is it extreme? Yes, but there’s a also a lot of heart in this book, and that’s what makes it so amazing.

2) Sandman Mystery Theatre

DC has some brilliant ’90s comics, but few of them are as cool as Sandman Mystery Theatre, by Matt Wagner, Steve Seagle, and Guy Davis. The series took place in 1930s New York City, and followed Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman, as he solved murder mysteries in the city and fell in love with Dian Belmont. Sandman Mystery Theatre is pitch-perfect detective noir, full of compelling characters, great mysteries, and everything you could want from this kind of book. We even get appearances from the stars of Golden Age DC, planting the seeds for Dodds to eventually join the Justice Society of America. DC has recently put out compendium editions of it, putting it back in print for the first time in years, ready to be discovered by an all-new generation of readers.

1) The Invisibles

The Invisibles is the best Vertigo book ever in my opinion. It’s writer Grant Morrison’s magnum opus, with the writer working with artists like Jill Thompson, Chris Weston, Steve Yeowell, Phil Jimenez, Frank Quitely, and more. The Invisibles follows a cell of the titular group — King Mob, Ragged Robin, Boy, and Lord Fanny — as they recruit Dane Whitman, a Liverpudlian who happens to the latest incarnation of the Buddha.

Whitman becomes Jack Frost, and learns the true secret of the world — that it’s under the control of the Outer Church, Lovecraftian monsters from another universe who believe in brutal order. The Invisibles, in a lot of ways, is the ’90s perfectly encapsulated in comic form. Morrison takes readers in directions they have never been before, mixing conspiracy theory, magic, violence, sex, drugs, dance music, technology, and pop culture into a heady brew. The Invisibles is complicated, but that’s part of its charm. Once it gets its hooks in you, it never lets go.

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