As you know, I love Vertigo books. Here's a look at this year's best Vertigo (and most likely best comics, period).
Ongoing Titles
These are the core titles of Vertigo this year that really stood out to me, the ones that have already had their "Best New Series" nominations and may still have years more down the road. And don't worry there's quite the variety, from historical fiction and the political to the hilarious and historical fiction...I love it all.
Madame Xanadu
One thing I really love about this series, is all the DC/Vertigo character cameos. Although, I'm not really a fan of DC comics in general, I do recognize the characters as they appear and I find those moments exhilarating like any comic nerd should. To see Etrigan, Zatara, Spectre, Wesley Dodds, Death of the Endless, Phantom Stranger, Morgaine le Fey and most recently, the Martian Manhunter without being bound to the tiresome events like Blackest Night or stories associated with these characters is a fun little addition.
Of course, the series has a lot of other great qualities, I don't feel it's the typical Vertigo series, I mean of all the titles I read it often feels like it's on the lighter side...now maybe that's just me being desensitized but I think it could be appropriate for children...I mean apart from Jack the Ripper murdering prostitutes and Torquemada burning heretics at the stake and a little bit of this and that. But no, this series is fantastic, the entire series has been taking us on a journey through the life of Madame Xanadu, which happens to span hundreds of years so there's a lot of action to look forward to. However, 2009's issues were primarily set in the modern age.
In the beginning this series seemed to revolve around Madame Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger's strange relationship over the span of centuries but this year the comic appears to have taken a new direction. Now we see Madame Xanadu slip into the role she will serve in present day, opening up her shop in (New York City?) where anyone can come unafraid and seek her magical services.
Of course eventually that story had to come to an end, and the great Amy Reeder Hadley, Richard Friend and Guy Major returned to do the art for the series and to be honest, it was a little refreshing. Not that I didn't enjoy Exodus Noir, I did quite a lot, but it felt more like something that should be a spin-off mini...it had a whole different feel to it and it has been nice to have things back to the basics. And now, with this most recent arc (which will wrap up later this month) and the splash page finale of issue seventeen combined with upcoming solicits for January and February I can guess the new direction this comic is taking but you never know (unless you're part of the creative team), maybe it's just a temporary shift. Either way, I expect great things from this title in 2010...then again, I actually thought it was going to be wrapping up soon or taking place in more present day, so I don't know if it's scheduled to end soon or the unforeseen will happen but either way, I approve of this series, from the beautiful artwork to the amazing stories, definitely recommended.
Unknown Soldier
Now, apart from all this political awareness, you also get just an all-round badass protagonist. I mean you must be wondering when I said he's a peace activist how he's supposed to be the Unknown Soldier a.k.a. the soldier who gets things done, all morals aside. Well, you see, in the first issue (which has been collected in a six issue trade, Haunted House), he runs out to save a young girl from the rebels and, well, he snaps. A voice starts telling him what to do, how to kill, end this war once and for all...and he acts on impulse. We sort of saw a Jason Bourne-like past with flashbacks but I'm not sure if the creative team ever plans on going back to that, it seems to have fallen by the wayside at least for now. Although he is the Unknown Soldier, it is quite obvious he doesn't enjoy this life, in fact recent events have led to the possibility of him leaving this life behind him. I'm not sure how I feel about that personally, because it leaves me wondering what direction this book is taking and if it'll last much longer if it's "resolved" so soon, but I trust Dysart and Ponitcelli know what they're doing.
If you like a multitude of both internal and external conflict, then you will enjoy this story. If you like a story that follows a protagonist that seems too awesome to be real (you know, James Bond, Jason Bourne, etc.) but in a world filled with real-life situations and problems, then you too will enjoy this story. Okay, I shouldn't say will, everyone's different...but I think this series should appeal to a wide-range of readers. Check it out.
Northlanders
Now what is Northlanders actually about? Well, if the title hasn't already made it obvious, it's a story about the people of the Northlands. Vikings and other similar cultures. But like I said, each story is different, each one's a new world you can jump into. This year we saw a lot of "smaller scale" stories, after the conclusion of The Cross + The Hammer (which blew my mind btw and made me love the entire story more) we got a one-shot detailing the art of single combat. Brian Wood has a tendency to put a lot of detail into the little things in the story, the setting and so forth, although I'm not always a fan of that, or at least too much of it. I feel he does it well. After that story we had a two issue arc about three women under siege in a fortress, you know for as little action as there was in that story, somehow I enjoyed it more then most of the stuff I read. Then of course there was the stand-alone issue I mentioned before, the epilogue to the first arc. And now we have this great story starting (the Plague Widow) about a village hit by the plague and how the town deals with it. The culture makes some of their decisions appear inhumane to well, anyone, but at the same time necessary. Northlanders takes history and makes it real, not the fairy-tale stuff they feed you in school as children, but real history, brutal and horrible. I love it! Now, I can understand if not everyone is a fan of Wood's unique writing style, but you can always give it a try. And if you just want to jump in on the series, #21 is a great place to start. Brian fashioned the cover to look like a #1 so people wouldn't be intimidated since the story begins in the issue, you don't need to worry about missing back story. Experience history as if you were actually there! (Okay, that may be an exaggeration but I'm allowed to stretch the truth, right?)
Jack of Fables
What sets Jack of Fables apart from its root-series? The protagonist of course. Jack Horner narrates the series (for the most part) and often has interjections that inflate his self-image or he denies things that might tarnish that same ego. This is a comic where breaking the fourth wall can happen at least once per issue, but it works, it flows well and only adds to the humor. And the humor is what I love so much about this title. I have recommended it to many people, posting little snippets of epic hilarity in the form of some of the best dialogue and situations you can imagine. Another great thing about the series is it's not just about the laughs, there is a story line throughout, a very well-written one. The question is, does one writer take the story and one injects the humor or do they both do equal shares?
Of course, things are not all perfect in the world of Jack of Fables, this year saw some drastic changes in the series, thanks to the Great Fables Crossover. Initially I thought the event would have no effect and I wasn't exactly sure if I liked that idea or not, and now that I've seen it has had great impact, I'm still not sure about how I feel. Up until that point, 90% of the supporting cast seemed to be Literals, or at least tied into that story line, and the Great Fables Crossover brought that entire story to a close. So then, what direction was Jack of Fables supposed to head in now that it's underlying story for a thirty-five issue run was over? As far as I can tell based on the latest four-issue arc which concluded earlier this month and the solicits for upcoming releases, they've decided to replace our main character! Even though you can't see it, my mouth is gaping at this new twist. It seems Jack Frost shall be the new star of the series and although I like how they eased into it with The New Adventures of Jack and Jack, I can't help but feel ill at ease with this development. Jack Horner was the reason I was reading Jack of Fables, so with him gone, can it possibly be as awesome? Who knows, maybe this is just a temporary change, although #40 says that Jack is doomed and it's all Jack's book now, the narrator has lied before, specifically about upcoming events, so maybe it's just a ruse meant to frighten me. Either way, I hope Jack Frost can live up to the legacy of his father, he is an interesting character and its nice to see him find his way as a hero, it's just...he lacks all the bad qualities that made his predecessor interesting.
Here's to hoping the series continues to appeal to my interests, but if it does not, I still vehemently encourage readers to give the first six trades a try, oh the laughs they brought me...good times, good times.
House of Mystery
And on top of all that, the series had a " Halloween Annual", in honor of the horror...now normally I'm not a fan of annuals but I thought it was a nice idea, you didn't need to be reading anything to get into it, and you didn't need to read it to understand something you were already reading. It was nice to see some of my favorite characters all in the same comic without it actually being some nonsensical crossover. It also gave us our first sneak peek at the world of I, Zombie...excited for that in the 2010 year. But I've gone off-topic, back on topic, I feel House of Mystery is a brilliant blend of writers and artists (since there's often a changing cast thanks to the "second story" in every issue and the anthology 13th issue. And the overall story has been utterly superb this past year. And if you are afraid of catching up on 20 issues, guess what? Matthew Sturges has said #21 (January '10) will be a great jump-on point for new readers. So no need to fear! As someone whose already reading it, I fear that means it'll feel like everything's starting over from scratch, but I can only guess of what the new year will have to offer and hope the series will continue its ascent to greatness.
Fables
Now, although below I shall review the issues of this year, I assure you the series will be way more enjoyable if you read all the back issues, they have been collected very well in 12 trades so far with a 13th set for February release. And if you think, well screw that, I'm not wasting my money. It's not a waste of money, you will find the series to be well worth the cost, and each trade is jam-packed with so much awesomeness you'll feel like you haven't paid enough!
So the year started off with the conclusion of the Dark Ages story arc and from that one thought comes to mind, the picture you see up a little and to the right. I too sit and mourn the passing of @#$@ (if you don't already know who it is it's only because you have never paid the slightest bit of attention to Fables), he was one of my favorite characters ever since the Fables: The Last Castle one-shot (collected in Vol. 4). That's all I have to say on that, the story was truly tragic, one of my favorites. Oh and of course it birthed one of the coolest nemesis' to date, Mister Dark.
Then we had the Great Fables Crossover, initially I was unsure how I'd feel about it, reading solicits and not being caught up to recent day on the titles yet I didn't know what to think, but if you want the reasons why you should read it, Vertigo had this awesome editorial on reasons to read it, too bad I can't find that right now...maybe it's on the Internet somewhere. The basic idea though is its not some whole giant convoluted crossover...it was 3 issues, 3 titles, 3 months. And the three titles were Fables #83-85 (duh!), Jack of Fables #33-35 (a spin-off of Fables) and The Literals #1-3 (a mini spin-off of Jack of Fables released solely for the event). Truth be told, the storyline mainly involved Jack of Fables ideas and themes and some people who just read Fables may not have enjoyed and understood it so much but that's why I read both! It brought some nice closure to events in Jack of Fables and kicked-off some new changes for that title as well, it's effect on Fables...remains to be seen. Either way I think it was a great story, but as part of another series, as far as Fables is concerned it didn't actually seem all that essential IMHO.
Finally, the story line that was wrapped up just a few days ago, Witches, ah, this too has become one of my favorites already, perhaps because of the freshness in my mind or perhaps just because each new story means more build-up to make the story afterward even better. Whatever the case, I enjoyed this arc intensely, but highlights included: getting a lot more insight into the world of the magic Fables and seeing just how cunning and devious all of them are with their hidden agendas; and most importantly, Bufkin finally came out into the spotlight in an action-packed tale that has become his defining moment. I mean he's sort of been around the entire series with a little cameo in over half the issues but it wasn't until now he came unto his own and it was wonderful, I'd love to see a mini on him one day.
So my final words: give in to the masses, jump on the bandwagon and read Fables!
Minis and One-Shots
Okay, so I don't have as many of these to spotlight since I kept to the on-going's for the most part this year but I did come across some really good ones...however, don't expect as much insight with these choices, because being as short as they are, to give away some things I may end up ruining a large percentage of the content for you. On the upside, if you get any and don't like them, you'll not be out much time and money since they are just a few issues.
The Nobody
Bang! Tango
Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye
Vertigo Crime
Favorite New Ongoing
Three new ongoing titles have dawned this year, and although I could probably review them all, I've decided I would pick my favorite of the three and review that. The three are: The Unwritten (eight issues), Greek Street (six issues), and Sweet Tooth (four issues). You can find a video review of both Greek Street #1 and Sweet Tooth #1 here and here respectively...and a less-in-depth review of Sweet Tooth #4 here.
The Unwritten
But, it was with the fifth issue of the series that I knew The Unwritten had come into its own, no longer bound by the reputation of Lucifer's tale, this story rose to being one of my favorite comics of all time. There's still quite a bit of mystery surrounding just what exactly is going on, but our protagonist is one Tom Taylor. He's famed around the world since his father wrote the Tommy Taylor series (read by one third of the world, think Harry Potter) and seemingly named his son after the protagonist of his own books. Now, one thing I like about comics like the ones I have become accustomed to is that the protagonist is not necessarily the most featured character in every issue so you can get a whole slew of interesting characters rather then just one.
In the first four issue arc of Unwritten, Tom was thought of by many people around the globe as the character Tommy Taylor incarnate, but his rise to fame became his downfall when a mysterious organization set him up to appear a murderer of a group of authors. It was in issue five that we see a little back story on this mysterious organization and some of the work they've been doing in past centuries, but like I said, still a lot of mystery to keep you invested in the story and anticipating the big reveal. You can pick up the first five issues in a trade come January.
The current arc is set in Donostia, a prison in France where Tom was sentenced after the mass murder he was framed for committing. I absolutely love the story right now, Mike Carey's writing and Peter Gross' art combine for one epic series. This month's issue only succeeding in boosting the title up even more points (if that's possible) with an "interlude". I won't spoil any details, but I've had some fun noticing slight similarities to Lucifer and with this issue I immediately thought of Martin. Now I'm not saying that this is just a Lucifer rip-off, or in the shadow of the former, or even remotely similar story-line wise...it's just one of those nerdy passions of mine to make the little connections.
So in conclusion (since I may have gotten off-track), if you have gotten interested in picking up only one title from this entire article, let this BE THAT ONE, one of the best comics on shelves these days, pick it up! If you don't like it, you probably don't like anything other then superhero comics which is fine, but then you probably never read this far in the review anyways before finding "better things to do".
Epic Titles from the Past
These were my favorite titles from past years that Vertigo chose to reprint or collect this year, ranging from several epics that I don't even need to say anything about other then the fact that they were part of the After Watchmen event to smaller-scale epics that are basically unheard of (which is what I'm typing up this article for, to make the unknown known).
The Alcoholic
Blood and Water
100%
Shade, the Changing Man
In this series, Peter Milligan took an old DC character (now that I think about it, even his revamping is probably considered old by today's standards, that was twenty years ago) and remade him to be the protagonist of a title aimed at mature readers, an "intellectual" comic. This title takes a look at America, the American Dream (the main villain, at least thus far has been the "American Scream"), the flaws in it of course. Our main character is an alien from Meta who has been sent to Earth to cure it of its madness...some of his origins still need to be delved into I think, although we've got a decent amount thus far, the first trades definitely give you enough of a taste that you're yearning for more, especially with all these unfinished plot threads left hanging now... Which is why I think it'd be best for Vertigo if they got on the ball and collected this series, maybe one a month? Even if they don't do that though, I definitely think you should pick up the first two trades, even if you're not an American, it's just a great commentary on all types of people, their motivations, their dreams. And when I heard that Shade will be appearing in Hellblazer (which is currently being written by none other then Peter Milligan) I was quite enthused. Definitely give Shade a try if you're into the non-typical comics that can also bring some deep thought. Fun stuff!
Preacher
So, if you don't already know what Preacher is, it's Garth Ennis at his best (even if he claims The Boys will out-Preacher Preacher). However, as should not be a surprise if you've read Ennis, this is a comic that caused(es) a lot of controversy for its language, violence, blasphemy, bestiality, etc. All in an effort to make us take a step back and look at religion and of course, society. But yes, if you are easily offended or still on the innocent side, this is not for you at all. One of my fears about HBO making a series of it was that it would raise even more controversy and non-comic readers would start protesting comics...and then all Hell would be unleashed.
However, since that hasn't happened yet, we still can enjoy Preacher...the comic is absolutely hilarious...in that, I know I should be reeling in disgust but this is just too good, kind of way. With a cast of individuals including, but not limited to: a teenage boy with an arse for a face, a business tycoon who gets off with meat products, a very foul-mouthed man trying to bring about Armageddon but finds himself constantly concerned about the fact that his head looks like a penis, the last descendant of Jesus Christ who just happens to be mentally retarded, the one-eyed product of generations of in-breeding who dreams of marrying his sister one day, a god who abandoned creation, an Irish vampire with a drinking problem, a man whose raped just about every animal in creation, and of course what seems to be the most renown character on this site: the Saint of Killers.
Look, if that wasn't enough to entice you...you are beyond hope...but for those of you who have found yourself intrigued, you can pick up the entire Preacher collection in nine nice trades (or you can wait for each new hardcover to come out and get them that way, the second one comes out in February).
Favorite Covers
Vertigo definitely had a vast abundance of beautiful covers (as it does every year) and I rarely ever come across one I don't like. So, although I had a very hard time even narrowing down my favorites to the Top 30, I decided I would bring it all the way down to the Top 5 since I don't really have any artistic talent and don't know how to describe why I love covers other then "they look pretty" and didn't want to make this a gallery with no actual words because then you couldn't read it. So without further stalling, here they are:
First Issue
Final Issue
Funniest Cover
Sexiest Cover
Favorite Cover Artist
Honorable Mentions
These are the comics I think are great but have not reviewed for a variety of reasons:
Y: The Last Man: This happens to be one of my favorite comics of all time, and they have been collecting it in Deluxe Edition now but the reason I don't review it is because it has been in the spotlight for the past couple years, it's not really anything new or unknown, LAMP has mentioned it many times, as has IE, the fact is...if you haven't read this already, there's nothing I can do to sway you. All I can do is pity you for missing out on one of the greatest comics of all time.
Hellblazer: Although I find John Constantine to be a fascinating character, Hellblazer is the only currently ongoing Vertigo series I am not yet caught up with since I feel the need to read many more back issues before I jump in to a title that's already surpassed the 250th issue milestone. But from what I've already read and from what I've heard of the stuff I haven't got to yet, I recommend at least checking out a trade or two.
100 Bullets: Once again, I have the same problem with Hellblazer, except 100 Bullets concluded this year so I don't have to worry about "catching up"...however, I have already read over thirty-six issues of the series and can assure everyone that it's an amazing series and I am confident it'll only get better as I continue my own reading experience with it. What would you do if someone gave you 100 untraceable bullets and all the evidence you need to prove someone else is ultimately responsible for the problems in your life?
Absolute Death: Okay, as much as I absolutely adore Death of the Endless, I have to admit I'm not really a fan of the "Absolutes" but if you are, pick this up, I've read the stuff collected in there and it's wonderful. Absolutes are only reserved for epics anyways, so I think the fact that this was ever published should be a testament to it's greatness.
Young Liars: I really loved this series in the beginning, but near the end things seemed to fall apart for me, and it was then that I found out the series had been cancelled, and I can only believe David Lapham was unable to play out his intended finale and therefore the series never was what it could have been. I for one, as a writer, can never be comfortable with the idea that a writer's vision was cut short and the ending has to be rushed or changed but sadly that's what it seems had to happen here.
Haunted Tank: I read this series at Inferiorego's recommendation, and oh what a recommendation it was, I could not say it any more eloquently or persuasively so just read his review of it.
Transmetropolitan: I absolutely love this series and am buying the new edition trade paperbacks as they come out but I can't think of a way to properly review it (possibly because I feel like my brain is fried...never reviewed so much in so short a time frame). However, if you are interested you can ask around on the site, quite a few users are big fans of this series and I'm sure would gladly give you a taste. I can't really say anything that the masses haven't. It's a hit, what more can be said? Besides that Spider Jerusalem is one of my favorite characters in this or any medium.
