Back in 2008 Vertigo published INCOGNEGRO by Mat Johnson. This is one of the first books I worked on here at Vertigo. It received much acclaim including a NEW YORK TIMES daily review which called it an “engrossing graphic novel, with its smart dialogue and sharp images.”

This summer Mat is back with DARK RAIN: A New Orleans Story on sale in August. It’s an uncompromising look at the life and death of the American city. Mat 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.

Editor, Jonathan Vankin posted a great piece about the book with a sneak peek at some interior pages by artist Simon Gane here on Graphic Content.

And now, here’s a look at two final interior pages:

If you read last year’s Vertigo graphic novel INCOGNEGRO (and if you didn’t, it’s out in paperback now, so what’s your excuse?) you know Mat Johnson. I’ve known Mat since 2004. I met him just a month or so after I’d settled into my then-new position here at Vertigo.

An award-winning novelist, Mat had a gift for page-turning suspense, macabre humor and shattering social commentary. But could he bring those qualities to comics? He gave his first answer with PAPA MIDNITE, a Hellblazer spinoff reimagining the eponymous Constantine nemesis as the instigator of a New York slave rebellion circa 1740.

Next, Mat produced INCOGNEGRO, a twisty-turny noir mystery that explores race and identity in a way that, though the story’s set in the 1930s, could not be more timely today.

Now Mat’s written his third, and most challenging, Vertigo book. DARK RAIN: A GRAPHIC NOVEL OF KATRINA reaches stores one year from now, the fifth “anniversary” of the disaster that almost wiped out a great city.

DARK RAIN is a race-against-time thriller about two desperate-for-a-break ex-cons who get the bright idea, as New Orleans lies underwater, that now would be a pretty good time to rob a bank. Unfortunately, the bank is in central New Orleans and they’re on parole in a Houston halfway house. So while every sane person is racing to get out, our guys Emmit and Dabny set off on a mission to get in. Or die trying.

DARK RAIN is not only a nail-biting adventure driven by the hilarious and tragic friendship of Emmit and Dabny. It’s a story of American survival and the meaning of personal commitment, a document of a terrible tipping point in recent history. In short, it’s exactly the type of book I want to work on.

New Orleans is a character in DARK RAIN as much as Emmit and Dabny. We needed an artist who could bring the city to life. We found Simon Gane, whose work on Vertigo’s THE VINYL UNDERGROUND took you straight to London better than Virgin Atlantic. I don’t need to tell you what Simon’s doing for New Orleans. Just take a look.

Together, Mat and Simon are crafting what, in the opinion of your humble typist, will be received as one of 2010’s most important and exciting works of graphic fiction–a journey deep into the American heart of darkness.

— Jonathan Vankin

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.