Vertigo is officially dead

[cranger]

I'm curious about this as well. Where would their YA graphic novels fall under. Just DC?

Yes, that is correct.

[Billy Batson]

RIP in peace

[kjn]

The new labels seem more direct and to the point, so I guess from a branding perspective I get it.

Does DC Kids include both Ink and Zoom? Because it kind of sounds like it's just Zoom.

Vertigo had already lost all differentiation that it used to have, especially with the start of the Black Label line. But I do think DC Ink and DC Zoom will lose out. DC Zoom simply sounds more exciting than DC Kids, and a lot of kids-centric properties have proven to be hits with older audiences as well (My Little Pony is just one example). But at the end it's a rather simple rebranding for Zoom.

But I think DC Ink will be the main loss here. The DC Ink stuff was done using a different breed of creators, made in a different format, had a different focus in its distribution channels, told a different type of story, and were intended for a different audience than the normal DC stuff. Everything about it screamed that it was its own imprint.

[skyvolt2000]

With Vertigo-style books at Image gaining success, there is really no point to Vertigo anymore, anyway. Vertigo won't be able to compete with the deal creators can get at Image. The only upside is that your project may stand a bit of a better chance of being adapted into television, streaming, or whatever at Vertigo. The downside is that DC/WB/ATT are going to take a sizable chunk of the rights and overall pie if that were even to happen. And if someone wanted to tell a mature or bizarre Batman title, or something, that can just be done under the Black Label imprint.

So again, no real point to Vertigo in 2019.

That is no longer true as we are seeing stuff at other companies get deals. Bitter Root got a movie deal before it's #5 issue came out at Image. Kwanza's Black got one as well with more to follow.

WB basically destroyed Vertigo out of greed, and now they have got nothing. Some Vertigo stuff like American Vampire will continue under Black Label but for the most part I suspect that Image will reap the benefits of Vertigo’s demise.

Try telling that to guys like this-

http://shawnsjames.blogspot.com/2019...go-comics.html

Who are blaming guys like Robby Rodriguez because they refused to be harassed by a certain group.

Ignoring the fact most of those Vertigo books ALWAYS had under 20K orders or most had a set shelf life before the first issue.

If it is for 8-12 year old it will be DC Kids. If it is mature it will be DC Black Label. Everything else will be just DC. Can it get any simpler than that?

It won't matter because kids will still have access to that Black Label in school or library.

But I think that kids over 8 may feel somewhat insulted if everything targeting them is cartoonish.

Unless that title has a toy line or cartoon show-kids are going to ignore it.

[iron chimp]

Try telling that to guys like this-

http://shawnsjames.blogspot.com/2019...go-comics.html

Who are blaming guys like Robby Rodriguez because they refused to be harassed by a certain group.

I think Shawn James should try telling himself to do some basic fact checking before anything else.

[Frontier]

I wonder if the Vertigo brand will still exist for things like Lucifer and the film adaptation of The Kitchen?

DC Kids sounds like it'll be for things like Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes as well as more kid oriented stuff like DC Super Hero Girls.

I think it would be kind of cool if DC did comics akin to the Marvel Action books IDW is putting out, like all-ages standard comics based around their tentpole properties.

It doesn't feel like DC's relaly had those since they stopped doing tie-in comics to their main Superhero cartoons.

[Mister Mets]

This is messy.

Vertigo is one of the best brands in comics history, associated with some of the best mainstream comics ever. Sandman. Preacher. Y The Last Man. 100 Bullets. Fables.

And there is a distinction between Vertigo and Black Label in that Vertigo was a decent home for self-contained projects, while Black Label seems to be mainly for mature-audience takes on the iconic characters (Vertigo did have series with existing DC characters like Swamp Thing and Morrison's Doom Patrol but there weren't many projects with JLA mainstays.)

However, there hasn't been anything that recent that got that level of acclaim.

Odds are good there will be some kind of relaunch, although I wonder if it's just too much of a headache for Warner Brothers, to deal with bad publicity on all sides with mature audience books that are often meant to be controversial.

I said this in another thread, but I'll place this here as well

"So I'll be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about DC retiring the Vertigo line. Their logic makes a lot of sense, but their wording is false. They stated that nudity, edgier violence and etc is more mainstream over the years. But then I recall the censorship over batman damned where they decided showing a nude batman was going too far. And this was regarding DC's "mature lineup" So safe to say I'm highly suspect that vertigo is going to have their content neutered after the merger."

The problem there was likely Batman nudity, rather than male nudity.

[iron chimp]

I too thought vertigo hadn't had a hit in ages but actually they gave Tom king his break into comics and he's gone on to shift at least 7 million units for DC which is way more than any other writer recruitment initiative elsewhere in DC in the same period. And I think they gave Sean Murphy his break at DC and he can shift massive numbers too.

So in last 10 years or so 2 of DCs biggest names

[byrd156]

Violence seems to be ok,

male nudity, sex and religiosity seems like a big no.

I really not sure if the problem is the brand. I think it is editorial and behind the scenes

That's just how American media is in general.

It's okay to watch people die in horrible ways but you can't see anyone naked because that would taint your innocence.

[Aahz]

That's just how American media is in general.

It's okay to watch people die in horrible ways but you can't see anyone naked because that would taint your innocence.

It is sometimes really strange if you look how differently movie ratings in US are in comparison to Europe.

[Lee Stone]

That's just how American media is in general.

It's okay to watch people die in horrible ways but you can't see anyone naked because that would taint your innocence.

True...

When it's extreme violence and gore, the defenders say, 'why protect our kids? they're going to see worse in the real world. might as well prepare them'.

But when it's sex and nudity, they say, 'that just glorifies sex and deviant behavior!'

As if the extreme violence and gore doesn't 'glorify' anything.
Especially nowadays where most villains are made to be sympathetic victims of society, for viewers to relate to.

[iron chimp]

In the 80s you could pick up comics that had the full spectrum of sexuality in graphic detail. Then they slowly starting disappearing from the shelves and new titles stopped appearing. People talk about Image like it's some hotbed of artistic freedom and experimentation - I like image but the books are beyond tame compared to what you used to be able to buy.

And at least vertigo went out in a blaze of glory - never forget those 200,000 emails - that's what you are up against as a comic book reader.

[Factor]

How old are your kids, though? As a parent, I could see you buying something labeled "DC Kids" for your kids if they're young -- say, under 10, but would kids buy it for themselves especially if they were a bit older?

if I were 10 or 11, and I saw the "DC Kids" label, I might avoid it because it would seem like something I outgrew. I think that's why DC had both Zoom for younger kids and Ink for older ones because I don't think kids who are 12 want to read material with the same brand as the books for 7 year olds.

Keeping the DC Zoom name instead of DC Kids may have been a better decision. DC Kids only works if the person deciding what to buy is the parent. An older kid will never pick a "Kids" comic if it's labeled as such.

[Lee Stone]

In the 80s you could pick up comics that had the full spectrum of sexuality in graphic detail. Then they slowly starting disappearing from the shelves and new titles stopped appearing. People talk about Image like it's some hotbed of artistic freedom and experimentation - I like image but the books are beyond tame compared to what you used to be able to buy.

And at least vertigo went out in a blaze of glory - never forget those 200,000 emails - that's what you are up against as a comic book reader.

You must be referring to comics sold only in comics shops. I didn't see stuff like that on the spinner racks at the local 7-11 when I was a kid.

[iron chimp]

You must be referring to comics sold only in comics shops. I didn't see stuff like that on the spinner racks at the local 7-11 when I was a kid.

Yes the comic shop or traded in the bookshop. All that stuff is gone now when I go into comic shop and that's the readers fault because the books all existed at one time