VERTIGO By 1993, comic books had surged once more in popularity,
due in no small part to the industry’s efforts to convince the masses that they were no longer strictly for children. To fur- ther stress this point, DC Comics launched Vertigo, a line of titles aimed specifically at adults, with a strong emphasis on fantasy and horror. Overseeing the launch was Karen Berger, an editor at DC
since 1979. Berger cut her teeth on horror titles such as House of Mystery and, more importantly, Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, where she was instrumental in the title’s move away from the approval of the Comics Code Authority. As if that wasn’t enough to make horror fans eternally grateful, Berger was also responsible for recruiting many up-and- coming British writers into DC’s stables, including Peter Mil- ligan, Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman. The success of Gaiman’s The Sandman and the media attention around it prompted DC to form the Vertigo imprint in the hopes that it would, in Berger’s words, “do something different in comics and help the medium ‘grow up.’” “Our mission from the beginning was to produce daring,
smart and provocative comics and graphic novels that would appeal to progressive comics readers and most importantly serve as great stories to bring new readers into the comics medium,” says Berger, now Senior V.P. Executive Editor. With its progressive mandate, and Berger’s affinity for
the genre, Vertigo was the perfect showcase for horror ti- tles such as Swamp Thing, Hellblazer and Preacher, al- lowing them a flexibility and range that was still unheard of in the mainstream well into the last decade. Even titles that were ostensibly “non-horror,” such as The Sandman, Y: The Last Man, 100 Bullets, and Fables regularly dis- played horrific themes and imagery in no small part due to the company’s creative freedom. In recent years, Vertigo has seen an increase in compe-
tition as many publishers allow their creators more free- dom, yet the company continues to consistently fill the market with excellent horror product. “Our titles showcase a unique blend of pop/edgy/literary work that can proudly stand beside the best in contemporary genre novels,” adds Berger. Indeed, House of Mystery, Madame Xanadu, Sweet Tooth, American Vampire, I, Zombie and The Unwritten are all destined to be future classics. And with more titles set to debut this fall, including one from horror writer Peter Straub, Vertigo’s con- tinued reign is as- sured. PC
Vampirella
Originally created by Famous Monsters’ Forrest J Ackerman for Warren Publishing in 1969, Vam- pirella is still horror comics’ premiere sex sym- bol. At first, the alien bloodsucker appeared in her own title introducing anthologized stories, but her tall leather boots and revealing latex outfit made her far more eye-catching than her undead fore- bearers at EC. As the character evolved and changed hands – first sold off to rival Harris Comics and now owned by Dynamite Entertain- ment – she became a comic heroine in her own right, stalking Earth to destroy evil vampires. PAUL C.
The Walking Dead
In Robert Kirkman’s epic zombie yarn The Walk- ing Dead (2003 to present, Image), the survivors are just as deadly as the flesh-hungry zeds them- selves, allowing for a harrowing human narrative to play out against the apocalyptic backdrop. As one of the best-realized zombie comics ever – and one that’s making its way to television this month via Frank Darabont – it’s an absolute no- brainer that we put it on Rue Morgue’s cover last issue. MSK
Warren Publishing brings back the terror
When more daring titles were pushed out of busi- ness by the strict standards of the Comics Code Authority, EC publisher Bill Gaines changed his humour book Mad to a larger, black and white magazine to escape the censors. It was a legal loophole that Jim Warren used to rein- troduce horror comics to the newsstands in
1964. Warren’s new titles, Creepy and Eerie, heralded a renaissance for the stigmatized genre. PAUL C.
The Weird West subgenre This western-horror hybrid genre has flour-
ished in the four-colour format, from Kid Colt in the 1950s (who had runs-ins with the supernat-
ural), to DC’s Weird Western Tales in the ’70s (which popularized mutilated anti-hero Jonah Hex), to Joe R. Lansdale’s ’90s-era Jonah Hex tales, featuring gore and monsters. An upcoming western comic book prequel to the next install- ment of the Silent Hill video game franchise proves horror is still at home on the range. DA
RM38
“The Wrath of ... the Spectre” story arc
In their monumental 1974 run, Michael Fleisher and Jim Aparo re-imagined The Spectre as God’s avenging angel in Adven- ture Comics #431-440. Since 1940, the character was portrayed mostly as a ghost detective who generally dealt with super- natural adversaries. In these ten issues, however, The Spectre plays judge, jury and, most importantly, executioner to an array of criminals and murderers. The sto- ries were highly controversial at the time for the rather gruesome ways that he dis- posed of his foes. To wit: flesh-melting, rapid aging, slicing in half with a giant pair of scissors, premature burial, turning flesh to glass/wood and subsequent shatter- ing/sawing, spontaneous combustion and the best: death by giant duck. PC
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