Vertigo: Graphic Content

Top 5 Ladies That Kick Butt
by Chris Roberson, author of CINDERELLA: From Fabletown With Love

Bill Willingham’s take on Cinderella in the pages of FABLES transformed her from a fairy tale princess into a superspy who kicks butt and takes names. This reimagined Cinderella proudly took her place in the pantheon of femme fatales and lady spies who have high-kicked their way through pop culture. And who were some of the kick-butt ladies who came before? Here’s a few of my personal favorites, all of whom were influences when I sat down to write Cinderella’s first solo miniseries, CINDERELLA: From Fabletown With Love.

Irma Vep – This gal was the original femme fatale. Portrayed by music-hall performer Musidora in Louis Feuillade’s 1915 French silent film serial Les Vampires, Irma Vep was a member of a secret society of thieves and villains called “Les Vampires,” and she slinked around on rooftops in form-fitting catsuits. She set the standard for all of the butt-kicking ladies who followed in her footsteps.

Emma Peel – Diana Rigg wasn’t the first female companion to Patrick Macnee’s John Steed on the long-running UK television series The Avengers, and she wasn’t the last, but she was for my money definitely the best. No shrinking violet or damsel-in-distress, Rigg’s Emma Peel was a champion fencer, a martial artist, and was quick with a quip.

Wai Lin – The 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies is far from perfect, but that doesn’t stop Michelle Yeoh from being 100% awesome in it. As James Bond’s opposite number from the Chinese People’s External Security Force, Yeoh’s Wai Lin is if anything even more of a dashing badass than Bond himself. It’s been more than a decade since, and I’m still waiting for Michelle Yeoh in a Wai Lin solo vehicle—From Beijing With Love, anyone?

Sydney Bristow– Speaking of “far from perfect,” the last couple of seasons of J.J. Abrams’ Alias left a sour taste in the mouths of a lot of viewers, myself included. The resolution of the Rambaldi subplot that had been threaded through the show since its first season was a disappointment, among other sins. But the fact that the last seasons didn’t meet up with the high standards set by the earlier seasons shouldn’t detract from those first couple of seasons, in which former college student Sydney Bristow, played with panache by Jennifer Garner, kicked butt from one side of the planet to the other, through a dizzying array of costume changes, wigs, and cover identities.

Black Widow – Cinderella is far from the first female superspy to grace the pages of a comic book. I don’t know if Black Widow was the first, but after Cinderella she might be my next favorite. A few years ago Richard K. Morgan did a couple of stellar miniseries with the character, and this very week my old pal (and Clockwork Storybook stablemate) Paul Cornell has just started a new one, Black Widow: Deadly Origin. And if the first issue is any indication, it promises to be a fun ride.

With Frau Totenkinder gone, who’s in charge? FABLES #90 continues with THE WITCHES part 4!

Problem: How do you entice readers to start reading a monthly comic with issue #21?
Solution: Make it look like #1.

Brian gets a lot of well-deserved praise for being a great writer. From the damaged streets of the DMZ to the frigid wastelands of Northlanders, Brian brings heart, drama and truth to all of his stories.

But he doesn’t get enough praise for being a great designer and artist too. The first 34 issues of DMZ? Those covers were all Brian. That bold logo? Brian. And the new trade dress for Northlanders? That’s Brian too. He really wanted readers to know, “yes, it’s okay to start here!” We knocked around a few different ideas, but ultimately what did he do? He took the Northlanders logo, kicked it to the side, designed a new logo for “The Plague Widow” and put that front and center. Slipped a “1 of eight” in there and suddenly you’re thinking, “Hey, what’s this comic? I’ve never seen this before, maybe I’ll give it a shot…”

See Brian thinks about this stuff. He talks to retailers and readers, finds out what works, what doesn’t, and incorporates all of it into his work, sucking you in to a unique comic experience from the logo to the last line of dialogue. Start to finish, you know you’re in the hands of an artist. Enjoy it.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I think I’ve ever read,” says Ed Brubaker, co-author of GOTHAM CENTRAL

People are talking about THE CHILL, by Jason Starr and artist Mick Bertilorenzi, the next Vertigo Crime book to hit the streets in January 2010.

It’s a murder mystery steeped in Celtic mythology that is bound to heat up the winter. But you don’t have to take my word for it:

“THE CHILL is full of more grisly surprises than a backwoods fun house, fusing a noir cop sensibility to a balls-out supernatural thriller. Crime fiction legend Jason Starr makes twin debuts here—comics and horror—and shows he’s a master of both, right out of the gate. And Mick Bertilorenzi is his perfect partner in crime, with art that refuses to flinch.” —Duane Swierczynski, author of EXPIRATION DATE

“Anyone who misses eerie and creepy comics as much as I do is going to love THE CHILL. It’s dark, it’s sexy, it’s violent, it’s funny, it’s twisted as hell — THE CHILL is a blast.”
—Barry Eisler, New York Times bestselling author of FAULT LINE

“A great addition to the best new line in comics, THE CHILL is shadowy and sexy—and pulp in all the best ways. Comics readers are in for a dark delight if they’ve not yet met Jason Starr, a razor-sharp master of the crime novel. Bertilorenzi’s art and layouts manage to be beautifully conventional and innovative at the same time. All in all, a terrific goddamn read.” —Gregg Hurwitz, author of TRUST NO ONE

And check out my post with a 3 page preview here.

The first ever HOUSE OF MYSTERY Halloween Annual with stories from some of our ongoing series including HELLBLAZER, MADAME XANADU, and I, ZOMBIE is on sale now.

This special issue also includes some fun Halloween related questions answered by many of its amazing contributors. Here’s an exclusive sampling. Enjoy!

What is the greatest horror movie?

CHRIS ROBERSON, writer I, Zombie
It’s not really “horror,” but it was a theatrical release, so it should count. Every Halloween I make it a point to watch Rankin & Bass’s Mad Monster Party. It’s not a perfect film, but it is an awesome one. Those terrific Jack Davis designs? The voice talents of Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller? The music and lyrics of Maury Laws and Jules Bass? What’s not to love?!

AMY HADLEY, artist Madame Xanadu
Return to Oz–does that count? It’s one creepy movie, from weird, turn-of-the century psychiatric machines to a queen who literally switches decapitated heads to suit her mood!

MICHAEL ALLRED, artist I, Zombie
It would be a close call between Bride of Frankenstein and Dawn of the Dead. A memory of sneaking downstairs late at night and turning on the TV to find Bride of Frankenstein on would probably give it the edge though.

MATTHEW STURGES, writer House of Mystery
The Shining is the greatest horror movie ever made. With a few notable exceptions, it doesn’t rely on shock value to scare you. It’s a slow burn of dread that builds and builds such that when the violence finally erupts, it’s almost cathartic. I can’t watch it alone.

LEE LOUGHRIDGE, colorist House of Mystery
The Other Sister, Juliet Lewis creeps me out.

STEFANO LANDINI, finishes, Hellblazer
My absolute favorite horror film is Dawn of the Dead by the great Romero.
It’s not only a film but a piece of cinematic history!

SAL CIPRIANO, letterer, Hellblazer
John Carpenter’s Halloween. A classic example of what you can do with well- placed shadows and menacing music. Carpenter did it without any major gore, a staple of slasher movies thereafter.

DAVE McCAIG, colorist, Hellblazer
The Exorcist, because it’s the only movie that I find honestly scary instead of just being full of thrills.

KEVIN NOWLAN, inker, High Spirits
Frankenstein, with The Bride of Frankenstein a close second.
Amazing art direction, cast and make-up. Both movies are creepy and inventive, but The Bride is also funny.

SHELLY BOND, editor
Trilogy of Terror is my all-time favorite horror movie. It explains why I’m completely useless in the kitchen.

Have a very happy Halloween!

Vertigo Crime continues with THE BRONX KILL by Peter Milligan and artist James Romberger out in March 2010!

As mentioned in my post last Thursday, today begins a compelling 8 issue arc called The Plague Widow in NORTHLANDERS #21. Check out a preview at CBR And find out more about this new arc in interviews with Brian Wood at CBR and iFANBOY.

Bloodthirsty for more on AMERICAN VAMPIRE? Read USA TODAY’s interview with Scott Snyder.

And just in time for Halloween, fans of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN will enjoy the coverage of ABSOLUTE DEATH at WIRED/Underwire and TWITCH FILM.

Maldon-summertime, 991AD, a large force of Viking raiders landed on what is now Northey Island, Essex, England, and waited for the tide to recede in order to launch a full scale invasion of the mainland. Opposing the Vikings was a much, much smaller party of Saxons. When the tide receded, the Vikings were horrified to see that there was only a narrow causeway for them to advance over, a strip of land that could handle no more than three men abreast. The Saxons were easily able to hold them off. Frustrated at seeing his men cut down, the Viking leader appealed to the Saxons to “fight fair”. Amazingly, the Saxon leader did just that and let the Vikings all come ashore to fight in a conventional manner. They were, of course, defeated, and the Saxon leader beheaded. His name was Byrhtnoth, and you can find a huge statue of him at Maldon today. He’s regarded as a local cult hero, a man with a stout heart that faced overwhelming odds, but other accounts point to his sin of pride and arrogance. The Northlanders connection: a similar tidal footbridge was featured in “The Shield Maidens” (#18, 19) and I have notes for a future story about The Battle Of Maldon.

The Siege Of Paris-nearly a full year, starting in 885. I love how wonderfully political this was. But first things first: the invading Viking force was comprised of some seven hundred ships and 30,000 men, which was by and far the largest assembly of Vikings At War that I’ve come across in my research. Most Viking battles were small, resembling more gang warfare than the huge CGI battles you see in films. If you could put 700 men in a shield wall, you’d be a force to be reckoned with (this 30k number is often disputed). Anyway, the Viking are starving the French out, and probably would have succeeded if not for Charles The Fat, emperor of the Franks, who paid the Vikings to leave (history tells us this was a very common and effective way to get Vikings to leave you alone). Included in that deal was permission for the Vikings to rape and pillage Burgundy, no friends of Charles The Fat. The Northlanders connection: none so far, but if I have the chops, I’ll find a way to research this properly for a story. How can you resist the idea of Vikings in Paris?

Lindisfarne - 793. Not much of a battle. Not a battle at all, actually, but possibly the most famous sacking in history. The Christian Saxons had a really unfortunate habit of consolidating their wealth in possibly the easiest and most recognizable of locations, if you’re looking to remove it by force: churches. This was probably not the first Viking raid on the coast, but it was the first so famously recorded: “…never before has such terror appeared as we have now suffered from a pagan race…” It was the unthinkable, and so you can forgive the Northumbrians for leaving their heaps of silver and gold guarded only by fat monks this ONE time, but that treasure box called a monastery was returned to again and again by the Vikings as it kept being replenished. The Northlanders connection: issues #9-10 show the Lindisfarne raid through the eyes of a young boy who sees the Vikings as his personal heroes.

Edington - 878, England. This is one of my favorite tidbits from this time period. The Viking invasion, occupation, and, really, colonization of England was well underway, to the point that these occupied territories had a collective name: The Danelaw. King Alfred (not yet The Great) had been pushed back and back to the point that he and his men occpied nothing more than a few square miles of marshland. Literally, the future England was comprised of just that, that bit of marshland, and that’s how close we were to a Daneland and all of us now speaking Danish. But Alfred was able to put together enough of a coalition to meet the Vikings (under the Dane Guthrum) at Edington and save both his kingdom and his dream of a unified land (England). While I strongly dispute the Bishop Asser’s account of the sickly and pious Alfred himself slaughtering scores of Northmen, he earned his title The Great. The Northlanders connection: none, really, although the Vikings’ occupation of the British Isles is the backdrop for most of the Northlanders stories to date.

Stamford Bridge - 1066, three days before the Norman Invasion of England by William The Conqueror at Hastings. The Viking rule of England was on the wane, and in a last ditch effort to maintain his Northumbrian holdings, Tostig Godwinson invited the Norwegian King Harald across the water to help. The two combined armies met at Stamford Bridge, and as the result of sheer recklessness on Harald’s part, he took an arrow in the throat and died. More reinforcements were to come, but the tide of history turned and the Vikings proper were repulsed. I say proper, because this three-way battle illustrated how the Vikings, over the course of the last couple hundred years, had assimilated themselves into these lands. (Norwegian) King Harald was fighting (the Danish) King Harold (of England), who, three days later as I said, was defeated by William of Normandy (the Normans being of Viking heritage). The Northlanders connection: too complicated for my blood.

For those of you following the AMERICAN VAMPIRE news check out these stories:

iO9, LOS ANGELES TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES/Hero Complex, YAHOO NEWS, THE GUARDIAN
EXAMINER, IN ENTERTAINMENT, IMDB, CRAVE, and HORROR CRUSH