Vertigo: Graphic Content

The original graphic novel A.D.D. by author and media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, with art by Goran Sudzuka and Jose Marzan, Jr., is on sale today.

BOING BOING ran an exclusive preview and essay by Douglas Rushkoff.

And WIRED/UNDERWIRE ran exclusive preview and spoke with Douglas Rushkoff about the book.

Be on the lookout for more coverage!

They said it COULDN’T be done…

Less Talk!


FAIREST #1 variant cover by Phil Jimenez with color by Romulo Fajardo Jr.

More Action!

HELLBLAZER #288 double-page spread by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini

Who, exactly ARE they…

IZOMBIE #22 page 19 by Michael Allred

And what the *@#! do THEY know…?!

FABLES #113 page 19 by Adam Hughes page 19

Next week’s edition of Tuesday Tonic will spill absolutely everything that Bill Willingham doesn’t want you to know about FABLES: CUBS IN TOYLAND, the new epic storyline that will END. ALL. OTHERS.

No lie,
Shelly

Longtime AMERICAN VAMPIRE fans know that there are many different strains of vampires and they are all vulnerable to something different. Sometimes wood…sometimes silver…sometimes…

But the vamps spawned right here in the good ol’ US of A (a species known as HOMO ABOMINUM AMERICANA if you want to get technical about it…) like SKINNER SWEET and our gal PEARL are only vulnerable to one thing:

GOLD.

A fact that Pearl learned WAAAAY back in issue 5.

Remember that. It’s important. Crucial information to know for AMERICAN VAMPIRE 23 in stores THIS WEDNESDAY 1/25. Trust us, you do NOT want to miss this…

I will always be a true-blooded New Yorker (even though I’ve been living in New Jersey for 14 years!), and for me, New York will always be the center of the universe. But even though this is the greatest city in the world, I’m tired of reading about stories that take place here—it’s all too close to home.

I’d rather be transported and get immersed in a different culture and environment—pretend that I’m living somewhere else. One of the zillion reasons why I’m so excited that Vertigo is adapting THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and the two other titles in Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy” is that Sweden is as much a character in the books as the incredible creations of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. I’m re-reading the novels now, and I am totally taken with the gloomy glamour of Stockholm, the stark white landscapes of Hedeby Island and the omnipresent cold of this at once historic yet very modern country. Plus, there’s something about the austerity and doggedness of the Scandinavian sensibility, not to mention Lisbeth’s completely IKEA furnished luxury apartment in the second novel that I find totally fascinating!

So, if you’re yearning for a quick escape from this cold winter, go someplace even colder – read a Henning Mankell Inspector Wallander crime novel or read Let the Right One In, a chilling and touching portrait of a child vampire by John Ajvide Lindqvist or see the incredible film. And if you’re really stuck, there’s always Hedda Gabler to curl up with while you’re eating some lingonberry pie with a cup of hot coffee.

Skoal!
Karen Berger

So, I’m writing this while sitting on jury duty in King’s County (that’s Brooklyn to those who don’t know!) Supreme Court. I just got called to the empanelling room and the lawyers are trying to find us a room to do the “voir dire” …we’ve been wandering through this antique building for twenty minutes and everyone is well pissed off. Not the best start for the attorneys or their clients.

I’m struck by how suddenly real it is…these guys who’ve been through years of training, probably spent hundreds of hours preparing for this case, spent tens of thousands getting law degrees, spent thousands on nice suits, leather bags, slick shoes and they are stuck carrying a little wooden jury card holder that looks like something I made in woodshop in 8th grade jiggling the handles of locked doors.

This then is really where the rubber meets the road. After all the prep, hype, drama, fear, etc, it basically comes down to a bunch of pissed off people who can’t find the right empty conference room.

What’s this got to do with Vertigo comics? Not much, other then to say that at some point you’ve got to get down to what really matters. You’ve got to look past what you’ve seen online, what you’ve read in Previews, what I’m telling you on this blog, what you’re EXPECTING… and just judge a work on its own merits. On how it makes you feel. On what (if anything) it says to YOU. You know it when it’s there…and when it isn’t.

Listen to that inner voice as you approach all of our new Vertigo offerings this year (and any titles you’re already reading!) Everything else is just shoe polish and fancy briefcases.

Peace & elbow grease,

Will Dennis

OMNIVORACIOUS and GRAPHIC NOVEL REPORTER reviewed THE ANNOTATED SANDMAN.

POPMATTERS featured an interview with Peter Milligan on the HELLBLAZER ANNUAL.

HOW TO UNDERSTAND ISRAEL IN 60 DAYS OR LESS won the 2011 Middle East Outreach Council Book Awards in the Non-Fiction category.

Sure, talk is cheap, but the VERTIGO 2012 Preview Sampler is FREE!

Head over to your local comics shop in early February for a FREE 32-page preview featuring four new Vertigo monthlies that debut in March.

My contribution to the mix is FAIREST, the “sister” series to FABLES, written by Bill Willingham with art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning and painted covers by the incomparable Adam Hughes.

Two things you need to know about FAIREST:

1. Many of our stories predate FABLES.
So if you’ve always wanted to read FABLES but felt like issue #113 and/or 16 volumes was a bit late in the game to join the party, fear not! This is the perfect opportunity to break out your formal wear and find out what the fuss is all about. You don’t have to understand FABLES at all/on any level to enjoy FAIREST. But if you’re an ardent fan, you’ve got some seriously satisfying surprises ahead!

2. It rotates.
Future arcs will include stories by 2011 Arthur C. Clarke winner and always fashion-forward Lauren Beukes (rhymes with mucus—her words, not mine!) and art star Inaki Miranda. Also on deck is the fab Cinderella team of iZOMBIE’s Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus who bring on another spy story starring Fabletown’s favorite secret agent and noted scribe Sean Williams whose storyarc set in India will really take you places.

Keep checking back here for more info on the other new series that make their mark in March — assuming their respective editors are just as shameless about self -promotion.

And see you next week for Less talk/More action!

–Shelly

FREE PREVIEW FEATURES SNEAK PEEK OF THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED GRAPHIC NOVEL ADAPTATION.

Just in time for Free Comic Book Day, don’t miss STIEG LARSSON’S THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Special Edition Preview! This FREE advance look at the Vertigo graphic novel adaptation of the international best-selling thriller, scheduled to hit shelves November 2012, features the work of acclaimed author Denise Mina, artists Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti and cover artist Lee Bermejo.

This Special Edition Preview (scheduled to arrive in stores on April 18) introduces the dark mystery of the Vanger family, as disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired to uncover the truth behind a teenage girl’s disappearance over forty years ago. But before Blomkvist can take on the case, he’s going to be thoroughly investigated by hacker extraordinaire Lisbeth Salander…

FAIREST

THE NEW DEADWARDIANS

SAUCER COUNTRY

DOMINIQUE LAVEAU: VOODOO CHILD

Last week I gave a few clues about what’s coming up in 2012. One of the clues was “do you remember the Nocturnes?” Well, I was talking about AMERICAN VAMPIRE.

The Nocturnes are a band that you’ll be seeing soon in the pages of AV in a two-part story called (duh) “The Nocturnes” with incredible art by Roger Cruz.

Some of you might think you know Roger Cruz, but trust me, you don’t.

AV artist and co-creator Rafael Albuquerque called me one day to ask me if I knew Roger’s work. “Sure,” I said. “X-Men guy, right?” Indeed, Roger had done some X-Men back in the day, but as Rafael told me and I quickly learned, that’s not his “true” style…

Roger is an incredibly versatile and talented guy. That’s why we’ve asked him to come on board for this two-part story about the deep south, Doo-wop music, and a haunted man named Calvin Poole. Remember him? If not, you will. And you’ll remember The Nocturnes too…