Posts Tagged ‘Vertigo’

Congratulations to Robert Harras on his promotion. The longtime Editor, who’s past experience includes being EIC of Marvel comics, a contributing editor under Jim Lee at Wildstorm, and Group Editor, Collected Editions at DC. I’ll leave the additional comments to the Comic fans and our true comic guys here at FHTI.

Official Announcement from DC:
New York, NY, September 27—Robert Harras has been named Editor-in-Chief, VP, DC Comics, it was announced today by DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio. Harras will oversee editorial for DC Comics, DC Universe, MAD Magazine and Vertigo and will be based in New York City, reporting directly to the Co-Publishers. Harras becomes the company’s first Editor-in-Chief in nearly 10 years since the position was held by Jenette Kahn from 1981 to 2002.

“Bob Harras’ personal and creative integrity is respected and renowned throughout the comic book industry,” said Jim Lee, DC Comics Co-Publisher. “As an editor, he provides invaluable insight into storytelling and character.”

“We could not be more excited to make this announcement,” said Dan DiDio, DC Comics Co-Publisher. “Bob is a tremendous evaluator of talent, character and story. He is a proven leader who brings a keen understanding of the marketplace to the position.”

Prior to being named Editor-in-Chief, Harras was the Group Editor, Collected Editions at DC Comics.

Before joining DC Comics, Harras was the Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics from 1995 to 2000.

Marvel Comics EIC Joe Quesada:
Several years ago, when I first learned that Bob had been hired at DC and was running their collected editions department, I often wondered how long it would take for them to tap Bob on the shoulder and bring him back into the monthly comics fold. For anyone who has forgotten history, Bob was one of the finest editors at Marvel during the ’90s and was one of the chief architects and driving forces that brought the X-Men to the massive popularity they have today. I’m thrilled for Bob and for the comics industry that he’s back and will have a hand in guiding DC’s comics line. The only downside to this is that it took so long for DC to make the move,

Best of luck, Bob, I look forward to reading some great comics!

Vertigo

FABLES #98

WildStorm

Let me know of any good stuff you guys are reading.  I suffer from comic tunnel vision sometimes.

–ExSleepyInk

This is the last wednesday before the summer draws to a close (although I looks as if the weather thinks it already did).  Make the most of it! sit outside in the sun and read a comic.  just don’t let the heat curl your pages!  Might I recommend Azrael#12, Batman Beyond#4, Birds Of Prey#5 and of course Brightest Day#10?  Looks like I just did.

DC

• AZRAEL #12
• BATMAN BEYOND #4 (OF 6)
• BIRDS OF PREY #5
• BRIGHTEST DAY #10
• CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #51
• DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #5 (OF 10)
• GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #2
• JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA SPECIAL
• OUR FIGHTING FORCES
• SUPERGIRL: DEATH AND THE FAMILY
• SUPERMAN: MON-EL VOL. 2: MAN OF VALOR
• TINY TITANS #32
• ZATANNA #5

Vertigo

WildStorm

Happy Reading!—ExSleepyInk

Hey folks.  Hope your Labor Day was safe and fun.  Remember that because of the holiday books are being delivered a day later.  See you at the shop on thursday.

Vertigo

WildStorm

I recommend Batman And Robin #14 (Things are heating up as we prepare for Bruce’s return), Green Lantern #57, Justice League: Generation Lost #9, and Red Robin #16.  Also, as usual, I will to strongly advise you to pick up the title below. 

 
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth—New World #2

After being publically cast to the wolves, B.P.R.D. is now officially working under the goverment’s umbrella.  It was pretty sudden, but the powers-that-be seem to know when they are out of their depth.  When you think back on all the recent Earth shaking events (literally) that have happened, both parties are going to need the help, but being watch-dogged isn’t something the Bureau will be used to.  In the beginning of this arc Abe goes to the Northwestern woods to investigate mass disappearances; how much you want to bet that this connects to a certain large character from Killing Ground?  Not only that, but when taking a closer look at the cover below, i noticed the strange man from the end of the last issue has a large scar under his beard (on his cheek) revealing a row of teeth.  I am thoroughly excited.  If you’re a fan you know who that is, and if you’re not I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you.  Anything Mignola is writing is gold (and the art is always great too).  Please give his stuff a shot.  It’s so much more that what you might have seen in the Hellboy movies.

—ExSleepyInk

Heat Vision has reported that Warner Bros. is looking for someone to possibly helm a Sandman television series.  Neil Gaiman’s beloved title, which brought a whole other demographic of readers to comic books, also inspired the launch of DC‘s Vertigo offshoot.  75 issues of the surreal series have been released since 1989, concentrating on the character Dream (Morpheus) and his six siblings the Endless (beings older and more powerful than gods).  Eric Kripke (creator of ‘The CW‘s ‘Supernatural‘) is rumored to be at the top of the studio’s list.  OK.  You will have a heck of a lot of angry fans if you dumb down and glam up something of this magnitude, guys.  Tread very, verrrrrry carefully.  Gaiman has also written Neverwhere, Mirrormask, Stardust, and most recently in mainstream comics, Whatever happened to the Caped Crusader? (which directly followed Batman: RIP).—ExSleepyInk

I recently picked up the new DC/Vertigo graphic novel Revolver and polished it off in about an hour or so.  Matt Kindt (who is previously known for Super Spy and Pistolwhip) wove a pretty in depth tale about a man named Sam who fell asleep at 11:11 one night after returning from the bar, only to wake up to chaos on the streets the next morning.  The surreal nature of every incident and interaction he is thrust into in the course of that day leads him to question whether it was only a dream, when he wakes up the next morning to his previously humdrum life (complete with a job he hates, a mean boss, and a materialistic girlfriend).  That is, until the next time he closes his eyes and wakes back into the same place he had left off in the crumbling world.  Soon he discovers things in the ‘real world’ he couldn’t possibly know if not for the clues he picked up in the last.  The two paralleling realities are strikingly similar, but for the fact that a dirty bomb has destroyed Seattle, Avian flu has swept the nation, and it seems someone is attacking us.  There is also the fact that a motivational speaker named Verve (from Sam’s comfortable universe) is sought out as a terrorist in this new altered distopian domain.  Throughout his shifts between the two dimensions, Sam not only finds himself working with people he would have never imagined towards uncovering the truth of recent events, and their collective survival, but in the other realm he begins to question his sanity and resent his banal existence and girlfriends trivial interests.  Throughout all of this, he seems to be the only one that has knowledge of another reality, so he seeks help from a psychiatrist.  But, amidst being diagnosed with a rare mental  illness (stemming from the choices Sam has made and the life he never lead) the doctor inadvertantly leads him to the possibility that he might not be alone.   Even more important; the other person might hold the key to everything!  In the end, which life will he choose? 

Ok.  This is my simplified summarization.  Saying anymore would give too much away–even giving my personal thoughts, for the most part.  Kindt’s use of a streaming news ticker on the bottom of each page (cleverly incorporating the page’s number) was a nice touch; especially how the tone of the news changed from upbeat, commercial and bordering pointless in his original boring life, to dire and dark in his other.  This breathed life and depth into the story.  Use of  blue and brown tones of water color lent it a simplistic, straight forward style that let you focus on the narrative.  I really enjoyed it.  It covered a lot of my own personal thoughts and theories on the mysteries of the world.  However, it did bare a striking similarity to some of the themes that Fox‘s amazing show Fringe touches on, just not as in depth (I guess that can be an endorsement if you’re already a fan of the series).  I wonder which one was the chicken and which was the egg.  What I think Kindt really wanted to convey was the age old search for a greater purpose and personal meaning.  Isn’t that what all the best reads should focus on?  All this being said, it’s definitely worth checking out.

—ExSleepyInk