DC Is Bringing Back Vertigo (And Its First Series Is Already Out)

Straight from New York Comic Con today, DC Comics has announced the long-awaited return of their creator-owned comics label Vertigo, this time set to be called DC Vertigo. The imprint was previously home to some of DC’s biggest comic titles of all time including the likes of Sandman, Preacher, Y: The Last Man, and Fables, and has been dormant since January of 2020 when DC began to consolidate its publishing imprints. At the time Vertigo transitioned into the DC Black Label imprint, which became where more mature and adult-oriented stores for the DC heroes were published rather than creator owned comics.

With the news of Vertigo’s return, DC Comics has also confirmed the first title that will kick off the DC Vertigo imprint, and it’s one that is already being published, The Nice House By The Sea by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno. DC will publish upcoming issues of the series under the label, and republish its predecessor, The Nice House on the Lake, as a Vertigo title in the future.

What does DC Vertigo’s return mean for DC Black Label?

“It’s back,” Chris Conroy, an executive editor at DC that oversees the Black Label, Milestone, and Sandman Universe labels, wrote in a post on X referencing the Vertigo announcement. “New books to be announced. Some surprises from the archives coming as well. This is my editorial dream come true.”

Conroy confirmed on Twitter that the return of Vertigo doesn’t mean that DC Black Label is going away. In fact, Conroy revealed that the two will continue, with both publishing their own specific types of comics.

“DC Black Label continues, with some red-hot stories for DC’s superhero characters still on the way for years to come. Vertigo puts us back into the creator-owned business in a very big way. Yes, I’m running both; no, I haven’t lost my mind yet.”

DC did not confirm any other titles that would be released under the new DC Vertigo banner, but fans can almost certainly expect not only new titles but brand new editions of classic stories featuring the brand new DC Vertigo logo.

Why is DC Vertigo returning a big deal?

The original version of the Vertigo imprint was started back in 1993 by editor Karen Berger, kicking off with six titles that were already being published and which transitioned into being Vertigo titles, including: The Sandman, Hellblazer, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, and Shade, the Changing Man. These titles would become staples of the Vertigo imprint for years despite many of them originating from DC proper.

What Vertigo started as, and developed into further, was a place for weirder and more mature comic ideas to get published by a mainstream publisher. Notable creators got a major break into American comics with their work from Vertigo as well, including Garth Ennis, who penned Hellblazer and later co-created Preacher for the imprint. In addition, it was also where some creators would go to foster their original ideas having previously worked only on superhero titles for Marvel or DC, such as Brian K. Vaughan who would co-create Y: The Last Man under Vertigo and also pen Swamp Thing for the imprint.

The return of Vertigo under DC’s banner of publishing arms is a sign that they’re not only interested in telling stories that don’t immediately feature the characters they already on, but hopefully that they’re eager to foster talent in comics that hasn’t yet gotten their foot in the door at one of the two major publishers.