Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Vertigo Title Review (R.I.P.)

In recent years, I've come to really love the Vertigo titles, although usually I miss out on them until they're all in trades, and then reread them! Not any longer I say, so I've decided to pick up a bunch of Vertigo titles and add them to my already massive comics list of all the Marvel, DC and Crossgen titles!

This thread is for reviewing the latest Vertigo titles to come out! However, I currently don't get Hellblazer or Lucifer, although I really want to hear what you have to say about them! So Lucien, Faraway and others who pick these up, let me know how things are going! I've read the first two Lucifer trades and found the series to be extremely interesting, and Carey's writing to be really, really good! I plan to get arond to getting all of them. I've never actually read a Hellblazer comic though, and want to know how they are. Is is hard to get into, now that it's on issue #200 almost? Has the series always been good? Who else is reading it and how long have you been?

FYI, I've read and loved all the Sandman and Preacher stories, absolutely love the first Books of Magic story and am currently reading Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing in my spare time (I consider it the beginning of Vertigo).

For recent Vertigo titles, I say this:

Fables- Absolutely excellent, one of the best ten comics out. Amazing writing, great art and really interesting and well-developed characters. Price Charming is a loveable bastard rouge, Bigby Wolf is great, Snow White steals the show every once in awhile, and the writers are good for introducing another really cool 'fable' ever few issues. The lastest issue does Cinderella, and turned out to be really cool with a few interesting twists!

Y: the Last Man- Another really excellent title, one of the best on the market. Very eerie with a creepy atmosphere, with great characters and characterization. I like the art a lot too, and I love humor (very Vertigo-esque humor) and the social commentary that fills ever issue. The lastest issue was the craziest and most human IMO, with some deep characterization of Yorick, and a disturbing sequence of sexual torture. The sequence won't be like you think however, it totally took me in a different direction than the one I thought was planned.

My Faith in Frankie- A very, very cool book, and I reccomend it to anyone! Very cute in a Vertigo kind of way, with great dialogue and story from Mike Carey (I've got to really start reading more of this guy's work!). I really like the art in this book too, and I've already fallen in love with the main character, Frankie. A love story with deities and dead boyfriends, and a really interesting twist mid-way through #2!

All three books are superb right now, and better than most DC mainstream or Marvel books! I highly reccomend them. Next up, I'll review the Human Target (I picked up issue 1) and the new Swamp Thing title when it comes out.

Tell me what you think! Give me reviews of Lucifer and Hellblazer! Remenince (sp?) about the good ol' days of Sandman or Preacher!

As with all threads that get no replies, the original poster must now assume that everyone hates him

I would have thought what they did to your statue would have been a clue.

Actually, I don't read any Vertigo titles. Only read a few trades of Sandman but didn't enjoy them enough to become a fan.

I've read the first trades of Fables and Y and, again, just didn't do it for me. The ideas behind both were great but the story-telling and art work just weren't enough to keep me buying.

Maybe I'll download both series and try again.

I hear you Scooter, it took me a long time to come around to Vertigo, and then one, I just couldn't get enough (it was Preacher that ultimately did it for me)!

I generally stay away from Vertigo because I try not purposely expose myself to dirty words and explicit sexual conversation (yet I still read these boards) but I have fallen in love with Fables. The whole "Who is the Adversary" mystery has me hooked. I think it's either Santa Claus or Walt Disney. What do you think, CK?

I know, I love Fables too! The "Who is the Adversary" mystery has me hooked too, although I never thought of Santa Claus as the bad guy before!

Whoa, what a theory! I can't believe I didn't consider it, it makes sense in a way, especially if Santa has "convinced" the world that he's good. I had thought about Walt Disney, but I'm not sure. I honestly can't think of a better theory than Santa right now.

I'm totally hooked on the book! I love Bigby, Snow, Prince Charming, and the other falbes who've only appeared a few times.

I can't really take credit for the Santa Claus theory since I saw it somewhere else. i twould seem to make sense, though, as he's about the most celebrated fable in existence around the world today (or at least in the U.S.). I haven't read all of teh issues yet, but I think the fables get their strength from "Mundies" who tell stories about them. Isn't that why Snow was able to recover so quickly from the head wound she got in Animal Farm? Anyway, can't wait for the new TPB to come out so I can continue catching up on the series.

Is it possible that The Adversary could be be one, or both of, The Brothers Grimm?

I've really liked the last two issues of Human Target -- but a lot of that might have to do with Cliff Chiang's art, which I love. I hope he's now the regular artist, because as long as he does the art, I'll continue to pick up this title...

Hmmm... since CODENAME: KNOCKOUT was cancelled, I don't collect any Vertigo monthlies.

I do however own the first FABLES tpb and liked it-- a lot. I'll be collecting this series in tpb format.

The fact that the Vertigo books are available in TPB format makes it so much easier and more fun to collect them! While I enjoy buying the regular issues of Y and Fables, my entire Preacher collection is in TPB format, which made it so much easier for me to get into the series (it's nice to be able to read six or twelve issues at your own pace without having to wait for the next issue).

I just read The Human Target #1 last night--WOW. What a very well written and interesting story with incredible art. I haven't picked up the other issues yet, but Javier Pulido in issue one knocked me for a loop! I love that style of art (a la Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allfred), especially when it's used for a serious comic. The story itself was fascinating and one of the best written I've read in awhile. Great characters, great twists and amazing psychological insight. I haven't read too much by Peter Milligan, but this was absolutely superb! I'm definately picking up two and three this weekend, and then hoping to get to four and give to be caught up. (I still have to pick up the early issues of Y and Fables, although I've already read all the Y's.)

I do plan on picking up the new Swamp Thing comic too. And has anyone bought Thessaly? I liked her a lot as a character in Sandman, but the budget for last week didn't leave me room for it. I'm not sure if I'm going to grab it yet.

Cobie's recomendation: buy the Human Target! Along with Y and Fables!

*also* eagerly awaiting to hear YOUR reviews on Vertigo titles, and Bevis and Faraway's comment on the latest issues of Lucifer and Hellblazer (if they buy it)!

Fables is my favourite Vertigo title, one of my favourite comics. Willingham did Coventry (3 issues) which I don't think was nearly as good, and Proposition Player (which was fun) but has really hit his stride with Fables.

Others I get regularly are 100 Bullets (bummer reality book) and The Losers (bummer CIA book) - they're good, interesting - but if I decide to cut something, they're out. I used to get Y: The Last Man, but just found it too slow-paced and thin a story.

Transmetropolitan just turned me off completely. Maybe I read the wrong book. It struck me as sophomoric.

Sandman Endless Nights was great! Very exotic art and Gaiman stories.

Was LXG a Vertigo book? I enjoyed that quite a bit.

FC, LXG was an homage book from Wildstorm, and I loved it too! Some of Moore's best work in recent years IMO, and I really got into his use of the five main characters (although I grew to hate the Invisible Man and Mr. Hyde, esepcially after what Hyde did in the final issues of vol. 2). I really hope that Moore does more with this series, I was convinced that he was going to try and bring in Sherlock Holmes to the team.

I haven't picked up Transmetropolitan, 100 Bullets or the Losers yet, I'm still a bit weary of all of them. Maybe though, if there are more recommendations.

Picking up on this earlier comment. I think I read somewhere a comment that the adversary was Gepetto (sp?) Pinocchio’s “father”. Driven mad by his inability to repeat the success he slaved away until he was able to find a way to bring his carvings to life. These are the three in sun glasses we see trying to beat up jack. It came back to me on a second reading when they refer to the fables as “meat”. An apt phrase if they themselves were wood.

and Cobie, I have had a very hectic weekend and although I picked up the latest Lucifer I have not yet read it. once i have I'll let you know what I think

I echo your sentiment CK! Get Y-The Last Man & Fables! These are 2 fantastic books!

FC, I actually thought that Y was moving at a fairly fast pace. I thought Vaughn would stretch out Hero's role as an Amazon (sorta like "Will Yorick ever know his sister Hero's part of the group hunting him down?", but instead he let it bubble early on and that relationship is still brewing (sorry if this is wrong, i only have the 2 trades to go on).

If this was a Bendis book, we'd proabaly be 23 issues in and we'd still be at the white House lawn where the congressmens' wives are talking their spleens out explaining why they should be given their husbands' seats.

On-track, what made you decide it was moving slowly? Just wanna pick your brain here...and not meaning to slight.

Just off the top of my head (since the issues I have were exiled to the cellar), there seemed to be a sameness to the stories - Yorick and his "minders" advancing across country, encountering diverse groups of females. A few shoot-outs, the monkey goes missing, a very vaguely budding romance... I didn't get the sense of much drama for what should be a very dramatic story.

The astronauts sub-plot was interesting, but I felt it dragged over too many issues - suspense is nice, but when you're reading the monthlies, it's too much of a gap between developments. The sister story started out strong, then fell into the background.... Why wasn't the Culper Ring (the secret society) developed? I felt the more interesting stories were taking too long to resolve. Also, I found the art a bit flat - not bad, just dull.

I read the first trade and was very enthusiastic - it was a very different experience from the succeeding individual issues - so I suspect I would have enjoyed it more as a trades-only book.

For the record, I did get them in trades, so I don't know if your experience was due to getting it in singles. But since the cliffhangers were happening every issue, perhaps the month-long wait kinda dampened it for you.

Based on the UNMANNED & CYCLES tpbs, it looks like we'll have "episodes" happen to Yorick et al on their journey on a fairly regular basis. That and some extraneous factors kicking in (like the astronauts).

I think the art was fairly flat as well, though I must admit to a certian liking for less detailed work recently, what with all the Gary Franks, Michael Turners and Jim Lees currently dominating the story. I'm thinking perhaps a new colorist can add some depth/dimension to the art.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate your perspective.

Another thought on Vertigo - not mine - the owner of my CBS suggested that there should be a Vertigo omnibus, or something - like Shonen Jump (I think that's the one that features selections of a variety of titles). It would be a way of giving more people exposure to a wide variety of different titles each month, then they could pursue the ones that caught their interest. The publisher could also try out different concepts on a limited basis without the investment of effort and $$ that a series would take.

I'd very much like something like that. I think the Vertigo books are amazing, I wish they had more exposure!

And like I said earlier, sometimes the trades is the way to go for Vertigo. Some books, like Preacher, are just so much more fun to read that way.

New reviews:

Human Target 4-7: WOW. Wow. WOW! This is one of the best books on the market, and I now have it in my top five favorite books out right now. I think this might be Vertigo's current prize book. The writing is unbelievable good--both deep and poignant, with excellent dialogue and interesting pacing. The art is unbelievable too, I just love the Darwyn Cooke/Mike Allfred style. Peter Milligan is one hell of a writer, that's for sure. In just seven issues, he's had me thinking again in ways I haven't while reading comics in quite some time. Great stuff, very well-written.

My Faith in Frankie #2- I love this book! Don't know if I've reviewed it yet (to lazy to check page one), but I still recommend this to people!

More info on Human Target? What's the premise? I've been reading Cooke's "New Frontiers" and just think he does both art and story telling a great justice.

Fables: picked up the first TBP and been getting single issues ever since. Tons of story and art for your money.

If they've done the rest of the TPB like the first, with that little extra art or story, TPB is definitely a great way to read Fables. The one downer for me is the sex and gore rating. I can't really recall a single issue that benefitted from it. Perhaps Willingham just writes better when he doesn't have to drive around his demons?

Y-Man: Great premise and the first few arcs would great, but then it just got so slow.

They lost me about the time the astronauts landed.

Blockade Boy, here is a link on the premise of Human Target, since I don't think I can do it justice: here

It's about a guy, Christopher Chance, who impersonates people when they are in danger (thus, he's a Human Target). But it's about oh-so much more than that! So far, we've had insight into the notion of taking on the identity of another human being, 9/11, steriods in baseball, the idea of losing your personality, and so many more abstract concepts that if I try to explain them, I will make them seem dumb.

It's really good stuff, I'd say even better than Fables, which I love!

Hey, Cobie, did you get a chance to check out the latest Fables? Good stuff.

I checked it out!

The mystery thickens! What are Hugh, Lou and Drew? Who is the Adverisary? What is Red really? What is Bigby about to find?

This series is great! I can't believe I have to wait another month to the next issue!

It's fun isn't it, Bedlam? Hugh, Lou and Drew = Huey, Dewey, and Louie? Adversery = Geppetto? Is Red any one of the Wicked Witches that often inhabit fairy tales? Notice what she wanted to eat. This is really good stuff.