NORTHLANDERS #21 begins a compelling 8 issue arc (yes, the longest NORTHLANDERS arc to date) called The Plague Widow. This arc debuts the art of Leandro Fernandez here at Vertigo. Take a look at his pencils and inks from the first 3 pages:

Here are a few sketches by RM Guera from SCALPED #33 out in November.:

And here’s the cover to #35 by Jock, a one off that will have art by Danijel Zezelj (LUNA PARK):

Many of you already know that this month Vertigo will publish its first HOUSE OF MYSTERY HALLOWEEN ANNUAL. Now here’s your chance to see a few pages of what to expect–you’ll have to pick up a copy to see the amazing Halloween party 2 page spread at the HOUSE!

HOUSE OF MYSTERY:

Merv Pumpkinhead makes an appearance in HIGH SPRITS:

And meet the cast of I, ZOMBIE:

A shocking new drama unfolds on the stage of GREEK STREET. Disturbed wayward Eddie and visionary Sandy are on the run…and they’re headed for London where Dedalus is investigating a suicide. Issue #6 “The Cassandra Complex” is part 1/4 of an intense new storyline.

Check out the cover by Davide Furno:

And a few character sketches by Davide Gianfelice:

When you’re a big-time comic book editor, such as myself, you get to know more about the writers and artists you work with than you ever thought you would. A lot more.

That’s because this job is kind of a cross between high school basketball coach and psychotherapist. The creative existence isn’t easy, especially when you’re relying on it to pay your rent. It attracts a lot of insecure, needy people. (Trust me — I am one.) The people who get into it without being insecure and needy, become so in short order.

That means, when you’re trying to get people to give you their best work (and give it to you on time) your job requires an endless quantity of listening, understanding, sympathizing and cajoling.

Funny thing was, I never had to do any of that with Jonathan Ames. Already a thrice-published novelist, widely-read essayist and all-around literary celebrity before ever entering our magical world of the graphic novel, I found Mr. Ames to behave as the consummate professional. Never missed a deadline, took every editorial suggestion in the most constructive possible spirit. Even his spelling and punctuation were impeccable.

Yet, I learned more intimate, embarrassing details about Jonathan Ames than I ever cared to know.

I learned about his insecurity and neediness. And more. I learned about his baldness-anxiety, his spastic colon, his bouts with premature ejaculation, and of course, since the book he was writing for me was called THE ALCOHOLIC, his struggles with booze and dope.

I never asked him any of this stuff, believe me. Look, I was raised an uptight New Englander. I’d rather lick the side of a steel dumpster in February than question a guy about his sexual dysfunctions. But I didn’t have to. It was all in his damn script!

Oh, but wait a minute. The “Jonathan A.” in THE ALCOHOLIC wasn’t the REAL Jonathan Ames. It was an incredible simulation. Or something. At least that’s what Jonathan told me after he turned the script in and I felt the need to inquire whether the other characters in the book would object to their depiction.

Anyway, the point is, Ames keeps his distance from the “Jonathan A” who appears in THE ALCOHOLIC. I assume the same is true for the character of “Jonathan Ames” in the spankin’ new HBO series “Bored to Death,” which Ames created and which premieres right around the time the ALCOHOLIC paperback hits stores this month.

For all of his serial confessing and the fame and riches that he’s earned by it, Jonathan Ames still wants to be sure that when you’re reading his books (or watching his TV shows - whatever), you’re learning more about yourself than you are about the semi-fictional “Jonathan” who exists in his self-created purgatory between life and literary invention. That’s Ames’ real secret. “Jonathan” is all of us.

Pick up THE ALCOHOLIC, now in softcover for these difficult economic times, and you’ll learn more than you thought you’d ever know — about yourself.

Now, here’s a peek behind the scenes, some never-before-seen sketches from artist Dean Haspiel, including Dean’s original cover sketch, actually drawn on a shred of paper towel.

SWEET TOOTH #1 is now here.

With smash reviews of Jeff Lemire’s OGN THE NOBODY now out there and everywhere, the anticipation has gotten intense. Creators who’ve sneaked a peek, fellow Vertigo editors, and other DC people from all kinds of departments can’t wait to see what’s going to happen. And I can’t blame them. I’ve been with SWEET TOOTH a long time, and it blew my mind that long ago. Seven issues are in the can of this very different ongoing. You clock the difference in style as soon as you see it—and there are plenty of pages and images around the web that I’m sure you’ve previewed. But it’s also a different kind of challenge to publish, month in, month out. Having a sole creator as both writer and artist is a difficult balancing act—harder than the team approach. You need to be lucky enough to be working with someone who’s mastered both and can produce 22 pages every month; moreover—and this isn’t so easy to clock, but it’s key—someone whose whole is even greater than the sum of his own parts.

With a writer/artist, you have a single vision driving the story. But you can also watch the creator reinvent himself over the long road. In the typical monthly the writer and his or her artist collaborators invariably challenge one another—it’s either supportive, or competitive, or contentious, but that creative friction leads to sparks or fires or disasters that change the book. Jeff would be the first to credit my input as well as original editor Bob Schreck’s, Jose Villarrubia’s on colors, Pat Brosseau’s on letters—but there’s a reason he gets the above-the-title cover credit. It takes a certain nerve flying solo: to believe in oneself or conversely doubt oneself enough to pull the trigger; to never rest on laurels (or antlers, as the case may be); to make what was once new, new again. And this doesn’t even consider the amazing daily page production—being both the sprint and the marathon as issues run on and on. Like I said, I’ve seen seven issues and pieces far beyond that number. Whereas THE NOBODY had a conscious unity, SWEET TOOTH is taken down and rebuilt every issue—sometimes every page. And as far down the road as I can see, who knows where Gus’ journey ends. Not even Jeff knows yet, although it’s in his head somewhere.

Now to reveal an inked spread from issue #5:

Post-apocalyptic comics that have influenced SWEET TOOTH by Jeff Lemire

With my Vertigo monthly SWEET TOOTH coming up in just a few days, I’ve been hunting down and/or re-reading as much post-apocalyptic fiction as I can for inspiration. In addition to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and films like The Road Warrior, I’ve also been hunting down as many post-apocalyptic comics as I can. Here are some of my favorite comics in the genre:

SCOUT–Tim Truman’s overlooked masterpiece from the 1980’s. A hard traveling Apache warrior hunting down the “Four Monsters” of Native lore, who have taken the form of politicians and war mongers in this post-apocalyptic America. Truman’s storytelling is incredible. The first series ran for 24 issues, and the sequel, SCOUT: WAR SHAMAN ran for 16, and is even better. It follows a wiser older Scout, ten years later as he treks across America with his two young sons in tow. It was a huge impact on me when I read it as a kid, and is now a huge influence on SWEET TOOTH.

WINTERWORLD–A three issue mini-series from Truman’s “4-Winds” imprint at Eclipse Comics. The same imprint under which he produced Scout. This 1987 story by Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffino, follows a scavenger in a world frozen over. He uncovers shopping malls long buried in the snow and ice, and trades the goods he finds. It might have been Zaffino’s first American comics work, and the art is simply stunning.

BOY AND HIS DOG–Harlan Elllison and Richard Corben. This is a total classic which my partner in crime, and colorist on SWEET TOOTH Jose Villarrubia recommended. I love Corben, and he is in peak form here adapting Ellison’s short stories about a young post-nuke survivor and his highly intelligent telepathic dog. Apparently it was made into a film in the 70’s or 80’s with Don Johnson, but I haven’t found that yet.

PUNISHER THE END–Garth Ennis and Richard Corben. Another Corben gem. This is my favorite Punisher story. Frank Castle breaks out of prison after decades inside to find a world demolished by a holocaust. He immediately sets out to punish those responsible. Corben’s aging gray-haired Frank is an unstoppable force of nature and amazing to behold. This character design ended up being a huge influence on the design of Jepperd, the big bad ass in SWEET TOOTH.

As a bonus, here are a few pencils of a particularly “post-apocalyptical” sequence from SWEET TOOTH #3!

People (well, especially people non artistically inclined like myself), are often curious as to how the artist got from a blank sheet of paper to the finished product. Well, GRAPHIC CONTENT is happy to bring you behind-the-scenes of Brian Bolland’s cover to JACK OF FABLES #39.

What started as a pencil sketch, gets inked, added to, more detailed and brought to life with color. Simple, right?

By now, you’ve heard the news out of San Diego: Indie star Matt Kindt (Pistolwhip, Super Spy, 3 Story) will make his Vertigo debut with the graphic novel REVOLVER in August 2010. It’s a surreal thriller about an ordinary guy living in two wildly different realities, gradually realizing he alone has the power to avert the series of apocalypses that’s destroyed one world, yet finding himself freer and more alive there than he ever was in the other. (Check out this design sheet, which I think says it all.)

My first introduction to Matt’s work was Mephisto and the Empty Box, his one-shot comic with Pistolwhip collaborator Jason Hall about a magic trick gone heartbreakingly wrong. I fell completely for his loose, gorgeous art and cinematic storytelling in just 24 pages. Now I’ve had the pleasure of working with him on 192 of ‘em.

I’m not just in it for the art, though. Matt’s the dean of what I call the St. Louis School of Speedsters. Like his fellow Missourans Chris Samnee and Brian Hurtt, he’s insanely fast and prolific. I believe Matt squeezed in three 8-pagers, the last bits of another 200-page graphic novel, and one 32-page minicomic for other publishers, all while wrapping up REVOLVER. And REVOLVER is wrapped up — I’m staring at it right now as I type this. All 192 pages of beautiful, creepy, thrilling, deeply moving blue-and-brown-toned magnificence. Done. Finished. In your hands in 2010. Heartbreakingly cool. Like magic, really.

Two Graphic Novels were announced at today’s panel:

From Mat Johnson, award winning novelist and author of the highly acclaimed Vertigo graphic novel INCOGNEGRO, and artist Simon Gane comes DARK RAIN, an uncompromising portrait of the life and death of the American city. Johnson uses the setting of New Orleans and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina intertwined with a suspenseful bank heist to explore social issues with a page-turning plot.

Sam, a 20-something living in Seattle, wakes up one morning to a world where things are out of control—the stock market has crashed, there’s a bird-flu epidemic in Asia and radioactive material has gone missing in Russia. Next, Sam wakes up and the world is fine. REVOLVER, written and illustrated by Eisner Award nominated Matt Kindt, is a tale of two realities and how they both test Sam’s limits until he makes a move that changes his path forever.

And Vertigo rolled out more details on I, ZOMBIE the upcoming new series that was originally announced here on Graphic Content last week:

Written by Chris Roberson and with art by Michael Allred, I, ZOMBIE is the story of Gwendolyn “Gwen” Dylan a 20-something gravedigger in an eco-friendly cemetery. Once a week she must eat a human brain to keep from losing her memories, but in the process she becomes consumed with the thoughts and personality of the dead person until she eats the next one. With a posse of vampires who play paintball, a smitten weredog, a swinging 60s ghost and a sexy but demented mummy, Gwen ‘zombie girl detective’ sets out to fulfill the dead person’s last request, solve a crime, or right a wrong.

And here are the covers to the new 6 issue mini-series JOE THE BARBARIAN (sorry, I mistakenly wrote 3 issue last week) and CINDERELLA: From Fabletown With Love:

For those of you who couldn’t make it to the show or if you missed any of the DC COMICS panels, or, you just want to relive the experience again, you can find photos, podcasts from the panels, and other information, here.