DC Entertainment’s Vertigo Imprint feiert in diesem Jahr seinen 25. Geburtstag.
Einst gegründet, um nihilistisch angelegten Figuren wie dem "Swamp Thing" oder dem "Sandman" (deren erste Ausgaben noch als "reguläre" DC Serien erschienen) eine Art eigener verlegerischer Heimat zu geben, litt der Imprint in den vergangenen Jahren an einem regelrechten ausbluten, was die künstlerische Vielfältigkeit betraf.
Im Herbst nun, unterzieht DC Entertainment seinen "Vertigo" Imprint einem groß angelegten Relaunch. Neben dem Start der vier "Sandman Universe" Serien (siehe Beitrag HIER!) startet man sieben zusätzliche neue Heft-Serien!
Zu den Kreativen gehören unter anderem Mark Russell, Mike Dowling, Mirka Andolfo sowie Ramon Villalobos, die bereits für DC bzw. Vertigo tätig waren. Neu sind aber z.B. Video Game Developer / Autorin Zoe Quinn, "Nine Inch Nails" Art Director Rob Sheridan und Sex Education Podcasterin Tina Horn.
In diesen neuen Serien sollen unter anderem Themen wie Rassenhass, virtuelle Realitäten oder auch -in einem Science Fiction Szenario- Sex-Arbeiter/Innen in einer dystopischen Zukunft angesprochen werden.
Diese sieben neuen Heft-Reihen sollen (gemeinsam mit den vier "Sandman Universe" Serien) das Herzstück des "neuen" VERTIGO Imprint werden.
DC Entertainment beschreibt das in seinem press release folgendermaßen: "modern, socially relevant, high-concept, inventive material".
Koordiniert / editiert werden all diese Serien von Mark Doyle, dem neuen DC Vertigo Executive Editor. Zuvor hatte er als Editor der "Batman" comic books bereits mit Autoren / Künstlern wie Scott Snyder oder Greg Capullo zusammengearbeitet. Unter seinem wachsamen Blick veröffentlichte DC erfolgreich "Bat"- Nebenserien wie etwa "Gotham Academy", "Grayson" (Nightwing) oder auch "Batgirl".
“It’s time to rebuild DC Vertigo,” so Doyle in einem offiziellen Statement.
“We’re returning to our roots by spotlighting the most exciting new voices in comics, as well as bringing new voices to comics. From the corners of television, games, music, activism, podcasting, comics and more, all of our creators are passionate and have something to say.
These sophisticated stories have amazing new characters and vast worlds to explore. That’s what it has always been about for me — new stories, new voices, new possibilities. We’re creating a new generation of DC Vertigo classics for readers of all genres.”
Kurz-Beschreibungen der sieben Neu-Starts:
Border Town
by Eric M. Esquivel and Ramon Villalobos
When a crack in the border between worlds releases an army of monsters from Mexican folklore into the small town of Devil’s Fork, Arizona, the residents blame the ensuing weirdness — the shared nightmares, the otherworldly radio transmissions, the mysterious goat mutilations — on “God-dang illegals.” With racial tensions supernaturally charged, it’s up to new kid in town Frank Dominguez and a motley crew of high school misfits to discover what’s REALLY going on. (September)
Hex Wives
by Ben Blacker and Mirka Andolfo
“The women are too powerful. They must be tamed.” A malevolent conspiracy of men brainwashes a coven of witches to be subservient, suburban housewives. But it’s only a matter of time before the women remember their power... (October)
American Carnage
by Bryan Hill and Leandro Fernandez
In this thrilling crime saga, disgraced FBI agent Richard Wright, who is biracial but can pass for white, goes undercover in a white supremacist group believed to be responsible for the death of a fellow agent. (November)
Goddess Mode
by Zoë Quinn and Robbi Rodriguez
In a near future where all of humanity’s needs are administered by a godlike A.I., it’s one young woman’s horrible job to do tech support on it. But when Cassandra finds herself violently drawn into a hidden and deadly digital world beneath our own, she discovers a group of super-powered women and horrific monsters locked in a secret war for the cheat codes to reality. (December)
High Level
by Rob Sheridan and Barnaby Bagenda
Hundreds of years after the world ended and human society was rebuilt from scratch, a self-interested smuggler with a price on her head is forced to traverse a new continent of danger and mystery to deliver a child messiah to High Level, a mythical city at the top of the world from which no one has ever returned. (2019)
Safe Sex
by Tina Horn and Mike Dowling
A dystopian sci-fi thriller about a ragtag team of sex workers fighting for the freedom to love in a world where sexual pleasure is monitored, regulated and policed by the government. (2019)
by Mark Russell and Richard Pace
God sends Jesus to Earth in hopes that he will learn the family trade from Sun-Man, an all-powerful superhero, who is like the varsity quarterback son God never had. But, upon his return to Earth, Christ is appalled to discover what has become of his Gospel and vows to set the record right. (2019)