From: jerry@teetot.acusd.edu (Jerry Stratton)
Subject: News from San Diego
Organization: usd
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 09:18:15 GMT

The Cutting Edge: Vertigo
Report from the San Diego Comic-Con
Captain Video

Well, I was going to spend lots of time editing this before sending it 
up, but I want to go to sleep so I can get up and go back to the con 
tomorrow.

Oh, and I finally met Tom Galloway, the Marc Lynx guy (oops, sorry,
there. Forgot your name already), Catherine something-or other the
Canadian (boy, I'm doing well, aren't I? Forgive me, it is 2 am, and I should be
sleeping with me teddy now) and Kathy Li (who bloody well lives in San Diego
like I do, but it's still the first time we've met). Anyway: The first and
last of Captain Video's Comic-Con Updates. Probably no scoops,  but some
interesting stuff from DC.


Sandman

Vertigo is the name of DC's new line for creator-owned comics and other 
oddities. It officially starts in January 1993, and the following comics 
will be shifted into it: Sandman, Shade, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, Doom 
Patrol, and Animal Man.

For the first year, two new books will be introduced per month. One will 
be based on an existing DC character, the other will be a creator-owned 
idea or character.

The panel consisted of Peter Milligan and Chris Pecello (sp?) of Shade, 
the Changing Man; Art Young, editor of Enigma and one of the guiding 
forces behind Vertigo; Garth Ennis of Hellblazer; Stuart Moore (sp?), 
editor of Hellblazer and Swamp Thing; Jamie Delano of Animal Man, and 
Jill Thompson (Sandman artist, I believe). Also, Karen Berger was there.

NEW TITLES

JANUARY

The Death miniseries, by Neil Gaiman and Chris Pecello (sp?). Chris says 
the story will be similar to Sandman, since it's Neil, and his art will 
be more conservative, geared towards telling the story. The story, as 
most net-types already know involves the legend that, once every hundred 
years, Death becomes mortal for a day. The miniseries will be three 
issues, each issue covering one day.


Enigma will be an 8 issue miniseries dealing with things that are of 
interest to Peter Milligan: life, death, and sex. According to Milligan, 
everything kicks off with sex, everything ends with death, and in 
between there'll be hopefully be few deaths and lots of sex.

Enigma is a comic book in Michael's (the main character's) youth. 
Suddenly the Enigma character is messing around on the west coast. 
There'll be lots of superheroes and villains, but this is not a 
superhero comic. It's a 'Journey of Awakening' with Michael pursuing 
Enigma. The Enigma is an existential superhero. The comic will deal with 
issues of personal freedom and choice, and sexual awakening. There'll be 
lots of humor, 'perversely darker than Shade.' Drawn by Duncan Fegredo 
(of the Kid Eternity miniseries).


FEBRUARY

The Sandman Mystery Theater covers the Golden Age Sandman, Wesley Dodds 
(sp?). It'll be by Matt Wagner and Guy Davis (of Baker Street). It'll 
have a 'Twin Peaksy image.'

Mercy is a creator-owned 64 page one-shot by J.M. DeMatteis, fully 
painted by Paul Johnson. It's a personal story about greed, ordinary 
people, and a supernatural entity called Mercy. An old man in a coma 
(sort of a 'Donald Trump-like figure) is obsessed with following Mercy 
around the globe. Sort of a 'global 90's politically correct thing.'

I'm not sure whether Sebastian O is part of the February line-up. It's a 
three issue mini from Grant Morrison and Steve Yole. It's about a 
Victorian dandy, an Oscar Wilde-like figure in a world where technology 
and computers have been discovered. Virtual reality exists, but the 
world is still the 1890s. Sebastian O is a rake. He's incarcerated in 
Bedlam for sexual hijinks. He escapes and wreaks havoc.

MARCH

Dick Foreman will be writing the Black Orchid comic, and it'll be drawn 
by Jill Thompson. Jill brought some art to Dick, and was told 'she 
needed to look more, oh, I don't know, orgasmic.' She needs to look like 
she's in ecstasy all the time. It will be close to Neil Gaiman's 
miniseries.

Kid Eternity will be coming out as well, written by Ann Nocenti and 
drawn by Shawn Phillips. It'll be close to what Grant Morrison and 
Duncan Fegredo did. 'Ann has been dying to stretch her limbs on 
something less Marvel-like.' said Karen Berger.

Sometime, somewhen, a Tim Hunter series will come out as well.



EXISTING BOOKS

Sandman: Brief Lives is nine issues long and getting longer. It follows 
Sandman and his crazy sister Delirium, looking for their brother 
Destruction, and all the weird encounters they have along the way. It's 
written through the fifth issue.

Hellblazer: Garth says that Steve Dilolin (huh? That's got to be wrong. 
I was typing in the dark) will be taking over as artist in 5 issues. 
Constantine will have family trouble with his sister, on or before his 
48th birthday party. Then things go horribly wrong. He ends up sleeping 
on the streets of London with no friends. 'Another Garth Ennis feel-good 
story.'

Original Sins, the Hellblazer paperback, will sport a Dave McKean cover.

Shade: According to Peter Milligan, Shade gets his 'man equipment back.' 
Chris will come back for the art. Shade's gonna be sorting out the 
problems he's had previously with his body. 'Expect some changes there.' 
He'll be coming up against a guy obsessed with torture -- who uses 
torture as a spiritual aid to reach the 'Garden of Pain.'

Doom Patrol: Some guy named Stewart says that issue 63 is Grant 
Morrison's last issue. There will be a lot of changes every issue until 
then. Rachel Pollock will take over. She's the greatest living expert on 
the Tarot. There will be an eight-page preview of her first issue in 
Grant's last issue, which will be November. They'll skip a month, then 
bring on Rachel. There won't be much left of the Doom Patrol when Grant 
leaves. Rachel 'also has a very disturbed look on the world.'

Animal Man: Animal Man (Jamie Delano and Steve Puch (sp?)) will spend 
the next six issues trying to reapproach humanity in physical form. He 
will progress up the evolutionary scale. 'Lots of weird crazy shit.'

Swamp Thing: They've been getting mail on the visuals. The twentieth 
anniversary is coming in a couple of months. It'll bring the return of 
Arcane and others. There will also be a fill-in by Dick Foreman. It'll 
be a 'peyote and underground comix' mix. Then, there'll be a year-long 
storyline dealing with the essential dilemma between his roles as a 
protector of the Earth and the Green and as a husband and father. 
They'll 'really screw up his life. Will be fun.'

PRE-VERTIGO

Tell Me Dark is a hardcover graphic novel coming out before Vertigo. 
It'll be 80 pages, by Carl Edward Wagner and John Reemer (sp?). Kent 
Williams will be illustrator. It's a Hallowe'en 
'passionate/violent/strange love' story. The 'love story that kills 
you.'


AT THIS POINT, QUESTIONS WERE TAKEN FROM THE FLOOR
(These are paraphrased. I am not that fast a typist.)

Q: Why are some stories put in Vertigo, such as Doom Patrol and Animal 
Man.
A: Vertigo is 'weird takes.' Though Doom Patrol and Animal Man deal with 
superheroes, they're not 'really' in the DC Universe.

Q: Whatever happened to Touchmark?
A: Disney's comics program wasn't going as well as they'd hoped. They 
decided to focus on the kid's market, moving away from the direct 
market. They weren't making any money. Art Young saw the budget 
shrinking. Fortunately, Karen Berger was looking to expand her 
publishing group. Disney would have proceeded if Art had stay, but will 
not do anything with it now that he's left.

Q: Question about creator ownership.
A: Vertigo is not a universe. Some stories will be in the DC Universe 
(such as Animal Man and Sandman), and some (giving the example of 
Watchmen) will be self-contained. Art Young is editing a lot of the 
creator-owned series. These stories will have a beginning and an end. If 
Enigma is successful, for example, it can be brought back for another 
miniseries. The contracts will state that the work is complete unto 
itself and not part of the DC Universe. Some contracts will allow for 
being part of the DC Universe. This will be up to the creator to choose.

Q: What about a Swamp Thing comic based on the TV show.
A: There will be none. The sensibility of the TV show is 'a little 
different from what we're doing.'

Q: Any more on the lung cancer storyline in Hellblazer?
A: The Devil is immensely annoyed. He'll spend a couple of years getting 
around to getting back at Constantine. This will culminate in the last 
six issues Garth Ennis is doing. Next month begins a 3-part that kind of 
explains how Hellblazer's view of Hell fits in with Sandman's.

Q: Team Ups among the Vertigo comics?
A: At the end of 1993, an annual crossover might happen, but plans are 
nebulous. Neil Gaiman will write bookends to it (like Armageddon: Two 
bookends, with annuals in between). This will cover Doom Patrol, Swamp 
Thing, Animal Man, the Tim Hunter series, and something with the 
initials B.O. (I don't remember what that was. Silly me for abbreviating 
the book names.)

Q: Hells.
A: Hell's explained in coming issues. Lucifer will be back in a year and 
a half or so.

Q: Tim Hunter.
A: Not much now on the Tim Hunte series. It'll basically involve Tim 
learning to deal with his potential as one of the greatest wizards in 
the DC Universe. Also, the ordinary trials of an adolescent.

Q: What about the comics glut? Will that hurt sales?
A: They're not worried. The glut is not part of their market. Their 
market (adults) need more material that doesn't have superheroes.

Q: Swamp Thing trade paperbacks?
A: Nope. They haven't worked out a Vertigo trade paperback program.

Q: What about Brother Power the Geek?
A: Brother Power the Geek is on a 'planned hiatus.' The script that 
ended up being written wasn't what they wanted.

Q: What about the Phantom Stranger?
A: There will be a Phantom Stranger special, written by Alisa Kwitney. 
No artist has been set yet. It'll be sometime in 1993.

Q: What happened to Piranha?
A: Piranha is resurfacing soon. Andy Helfer is the new editor. There'll 
be an Ice-T comic. Piranha will have a fiction line and a non-fiction 
line.

Q: Unknown.
A: Peter Milligan said his 'life is like Shade.'
Peter Milligan: his life is like Shade.

Q: What about Mr. E?
A: Mr. E is up in the air.

Q: How well did Neil Gaiman's tour go? Will there be tours for other 
people?
A: Neil's tour went very will. They are planning more author tours. 
There will be a Vertigo tour for the first few months, involving most of 
the people on the panel.

Q: How well will Vertigo be advertised?
A: They'll be doing lots of mass-market advertising and publicity, and 
giving a steep discount to those distributors who advertise in 
alternative press (not the Comics Buyers Guide, for example).


Hope people find this interesting. I'm off to see the Sandman. (That is, 
I'm going to f***ing sleep!)

Jerry Stratton
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