DC’s venerable Vertigo imprint will relaunch in September, introducing seven new titles to the marketplace under the stewardship of editor Mark Doyle.
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Vertigo’s new line, which was announced today, features veteran comics talent as well as name writers from outside of the comics field. They will join the recently-announced Sandman Universe of titles as DC reinvents the 25-year-old imprint, which has struggled to find an identity for itself in recent years.
“It’s time to rebuild DC Vertigo,” said Doyle in a statement. “We’re returning to our roots by spotlighting the most exciting new voices in comics, as well as bringing new voices to comics. From the corners of television, games, music, activism, podcasting, comics and more, all of our creators are passionate and have something to say. These sophisticated stories have amazing new characters and vast worlds to explore. That’s what it has always been about for me — new stories, new voices, new possibilities. We’re creating a new generation of DC Vertigo classics for readers of all genres.”
[Start Gallery Call-to-Action Key=7453]The line will begin rolling out in the late fall/early winter of 2018 and will carry through 2019. Here’s the rundown (you can check out some early promotional art in the attached image gallery):
- BORDER TOWN from writer Eric M. Esquivel (Adventure Time, Starburns Presents) with art and covers by Ramon Villalobos (Nighthawk, America) will debut in September – When a crack in the border between worlds releases an army of monsters from Mexican folklore into the small town of Devil’s Fork, Arizona, the residents blame the ensuing weirdness—the shared nightmares, the otherworldly radio transmissions, the mysterious goat mutilations—on “God-dang illegals.” With racial tensions supernaturally charged, it’s up to new kid in town Frank Dominguez and a motley crew of high school misfits to discover what’s REALLY going on.
- HEX WIVES from writer Ben Blacker (co-creator of The Thrilling Adventure Hour) with art by Mirka Andolfo (WONDER WOMAN, SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL) will debut in October – “The women are too powerful. They must be tamed.” A malevolent conspiracy of men brainwashes a coven of witches to be subservient, suburban housewives. But it’s only a matter of time before the women remember their power…
- AMERICAN CARNAGE from writer Bryan Hill (TITANS show set to launch on the DC-branded digital service, MICHAEL CRAY) with art by Leandro Fernandez (THE NAMES, The Punisher Max) will debut in November – In this thrilling crime saga, disgraced FBI agent Richard Wright, who is biracial but can pass for white, goes undercover in a white supremacist group believed to be responsible for the death of a fellow agent.
- GODDESS MODE from writer Zoë Quinn (Crash Override, featured in People’s 25 Women Who Are Changing the World and Forbes’ 30 Under 30) with art by Robbi Rodriguez (Spider-Gwen, FBP: FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS) will debut in December – In a near future where all of humanity’s needs are administered by a godlike A.I., it’s one young woman’s horrible job to do tech support on it. But when Cassandra finds herself violently drawn into a hidden and deadly digital world beneath our own, she discovers a group of super-powered women and horrific monsters locked in a secret war for the cheat codes to reality.
- HIGH LEVEL from writer Rob Sheridan (former art director for Nine Inch Nails, co-creator of the Year Zero alternate reality game) with art by Barnaby Bagenda (THE OMEGA MEN, GREEN LANTERNS) will debut in 2019 – Hundreds of years after the world ended and human society was rebuilt from scratch, a self-interested smuggler with a price on her head is forced to traverse a new continent of danger and mystery to deliver a child messiah to High Level, a mythical city at the top of the world from which no one has ever returned.
- SAFE SEX from writer Tina Horn (host/producer of Why Are People Into That? podcast, writer/journalist/lecturer in sexual education and activism) and artist Mike Dowling (UNFOLLOW, 2000 AD) will debut in 2019 – A dystopian sci-fi thriller about a ragtag team of sex workers fighting for the freedom to love in a world where sexual pleasure is monitored, regulated and policed by the government.
- SECOND COMING from writer Mark Russell (God Is Disappointed in You, THE FLINTSTONES) with art by Richard Pace (IMAGINARY FIENDS) will debut in 2019 – God sends Jesus to Earth in hopes that he will learn the family trade from Sun-Man, an all-powerful superhero, who is like the varsity quarterback son God never had. But, upon his return to Earth, Christ is appalled to discover what has become of his Gospel and vows to set the record right.
While several of the artists have been involved with DC in the past, this is the first major project for the publisher for many of the writers. Blacker, who is best known for Thrilling Adventure Hour, has worked on projects like Deadpool and Star Wars at Marvel. Horn, Sheridan, and Quinn are well-known in their own spaces but new to comics writing. Only Russell and Hill have significant DC pagecounts under their belts, and both of them have been working on critically-acclaimed work within DC’s main corporate/licensed sphere for the last couple of years.
More details on the titles will likely be available beginning with DC’s September 2018 solicitations, but expect the bulk of the information to come out of next month’s Comic Con in San Diego.
