Does DC need to bring back Vertigo?

[caj]

In 1993, DC’s Vertigo imprint for mature readers presented a rejuvenation of mainstream Western comics. Spearheaded by editor Karen Berger and a so-called “British invasion” of mostly European talents, Vertigo catered to more adult-oriented stories with select DC characters.

Is it time to bring it back? And if so, should it have new writers and characters or revisit the previous ones?

https://www.cbr.com/dc-vertigo-return/

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I know Vertigo for its creator owned series like Scalped, Preacher, Ex Machina and others. So I'd bring it back to fulfill that goal.

I don't mind using it for character reinvention but I feel like that's something you could do with Black Label.

[Brian B]

Bring Vertigo back? Heck, yeah!! Bring back some old titles, and launch some new ones, too, including creator-owned stuff.

On average, it was so much better than the main DC imprint.

What it would take to bring it back is a seriously talented editor. I think Jim Lee would have to make some pretty big changes. I’ve no idea who he could trust to run such an imprint.

[MRP]

The reason Vertigo died is that creators could get better deals elsewhere for creator-owned projects. Warner wanted a piece of the media rights even if it was creator-owned, so creators went elsewhere for the most part. With other media being even more prominent and profitable, DC's parent company isn't going to publish anything they don't hold at least a piece of the media rights for, so they will not be able to attract any kind of talent who could go anywhere else (Image. BOOM!, Dark Horse, Oni, etc. etc. etc.) and get a better deal for their creator-owned projects. The point of doing creator-owned stuff is to own those rights. Vertigo wasn't doing that at the end because WB wouldn't approve those types of deals. I don't think anything on that front will have changed in the intervening years. The Vertigo deals being offered were essentially non-starters and the market for creator-owned stuff has only gotten broader since then.

-M

[numberthirty]

The reason Vertigo died is that creators could get better deals elsewhere for creator-owned projects. Warner wanted a piece of the media rights even if it was creator-owned, so creators went elsewhere for the most part. With other media being even more prominent and profitable, DC's parent company isn't going to publish anything they don't hold at least a piece of the media rights for, so they will not be able to attract any kind of talent who could go anywhere else (Image. BOOM!, Dark Horse, Oni, etc. etc. etc.) and get a better deal for their creator-owned projects. The point of doing creator-owned stuff is to own those rights. Vertigo wasn't doing that at the end because WB wouldn't approve those types of deals. I don't think anything on that front will have changed in the intervening years. The Vertigo deals being offered were essentially non-started and the market for creator-owned stuff has only gotten broader since then.

-M

Exactly...

Image is the better deal. Not really any reason to discuss it past that.

Vertigo(as much as I was a fan...) belongs in a museum because times have changed.

[HsssH]

Yeah, it is not like DC killed Vertigo for no reason. There were even attempts to relaunch it one or two times before it got axed for good.

[Riv86672]

Any creator owned project someone wants to do is prob. better off done somewhere else; there are a lot more options now.

And if someone wants to use a DC character well, it can be done. Tom King’s (ugh) recent Human Target book would likely have been Vertigo back in the day. Now it’s just kinda…there. Black Label covers that sort of stuff now.

[Factor]

I don’t think they NEED to bring it back, but I would sure like it.
Plus DC are still doing creator owned stuff, like Tynion’s Nice House On the Lake.
But I think what would really set this imprint apart is to go back to more mature takes on DC’s more obscure characters on a regular basis.
Black Label is all about the minis and OGNs, but they don’t really have in-continuity ongoings anymore.
Plus Black Label is not only about mature content, but a kind of Elseworlds imprint?

I’d rather have a new Multiversity branding for AU stories and the return of DC Vertigo for mature stories featuring DC’s characters.

[Brian B]

Is DC Comics a comic book publisher that strives to be a great publisher, or are they just a repository for intellectual property with no redeeming artistic value, existing only in an attempt to extract value from century old characters for a failing media conglomerate and its shareholders that own them? If it’s just about money and not art, then why should I care at all? If it’s just about money and not art, then we can be honest with ourselves as DC consumers and recognize that Jim Lee is by definition a hack and actually one of the worst artists to ever work in comics.

I don’t believe it is all about the money. I think Jim Lee is an artist. DC could make a modest profit off a relaunched Vertigo. I’m not saying it will be some huge selling imprint with monetization possibilities, but they could make it work.

If it’s not about the art form, then I think we as fans really need to look at what we’re doing here.

[Frontier]

In 1993, DC’s Vertigo imprint for mature readers presented a rejuvenation of mainstream Western comics. Spearheaded by editor Karen Berger and a so-called “British invasion” of mostly European talents, Vertigo catered to more adult-oriented stories with select DC characters.

Is it time to bring it back? And if so, should it have new writers and characters or revisit the previous ones?

https://www.cbr.com/dc-vertigo-return/

What titles were Egyptian showgirl lady next to Constantine, plaided-pants lady in-between Cain and Abel,, and black corset lady from?

[Brian B]

What titles were Egyptian showgirl lady next to Constantine, plaided-pants lady in-between Cain and Abel,, and black corset lady from?

The showgirl with the ostrich is Steve Gerber’s Nevada. I’m not sure about the others.

[Ascended]

I loved Vertigo back in the day, when I was able to find any of the titles (not a lot of LCS options for me back then). I've enjoyed some of the newer stuff they've done. But honestly? I don't see a Vertigo revival going any better than what Milestone has seen, or any of the previous Vertigo relaunches that all ended up dying unceremonious deaths, starved for sales. Or the other imprints designed to fill that "Vertigo" space like Young Animal and whatever else.

It's just a different market now, and as others have said, the stuff that was appealing about Vertigo back in the day is stuff the indies are better at doing now.

We have Black Label, and that seems to work and fill a similar space.

I mean, I'll never say no to more Vertigo but it's stopped being something I feel we need, or even something I feel would be truly beneficial to the company. Black Label and bookstore OGN's can do what Vertigo used to, all we're missing is the name pedigree and the specter of Gaiman and the other amazing Vertigo guys hanging over the imprint reminding us that what we get now isn't as good as what we did then.

[MRP]

Is DC Comics a comic book publisher that strives to be a great publisher, or are they just a repository for intellectual property with no redeeming artistic value, existing only in an attempt to extract value from century old characters for a failing media conglomerate and its shareholders that own them? If it’s just about money and not art, then why should I care at all? If it’s just about money and not art, then we can be honest with ourselves as DC consumers and recognize that Jim Lee is by definition a hack and actually one of the worst artists to ever work in comics.

I don’t believe it is all about the money. I think Jim Lee is an artist. DC could make a modest profit off a relaunched Vertigo. I’m not saying it will be some huge selling imprint with monetization possibilities, but they could make it work.

If it’s not about the art form, then I think we as fans really need to look at what we’re doing here.

Doesn't matter what Lee thinks, contracts have to be approved at a pay grade above his, and the kind of contracts Vertigo used to offer, they cannot anymore. They couldn't when they existed before either, which is why there was a talent flight form Vertigo to other publishers like Image. And DC isn't a publisher, it's content creating house that happens to publish, and a subsidiary of a larger media corporation whose primary focus is not publishing, so publishing "goals" are secondary to their other goals. I'm sure DC's owners will revive the Vertigo brand for something at some point to retain the trademarks to the brand, but it will be a pale shadow of anything we remember Vertigo as, and only last long enough to satisfy the fair use requirements to retain the trademarks. Other than that, you will not see anything resembling the old Vertigo. At this point, anything creator-owned done by DC is more along the lines of Marvel's ICON, something done as part of a contractual obligation to, or to curry favor with, a creator whom they want to have avalable for other projects with IP they own (see deal with Bendis, Tynion, PKJ, etc.) and not as a publishing initiative in its own right.

-M

[Brian B]

Doesn't matter what Lee thinks, contracts have to be approved at a pay grade above his, and the kind of contracts Vertigo used to offer, they cannot anymore. They couldn't when they existed before either, which is why there was a talent flight form Vertigo to other publishers like Image. And DC isn't a publisher, it's content creating house that happens to publish, and a subsidiary of a larger media corporation whose primary focus is not publishing, so publishing "goals" are secondary to their other goals. I'm sure DC's owners will revive the Vertigo brand for something at some point to retain the trademarks to the brand, but it will be a pale shadow of anything we remember Vertigo as, and only last long enough to satisfy the fair use requirements to retain the trademarks. Other than that, you will not see anything resembling the old Vertigo. At this point, anything creator-owned done by DC is more along the lines of Marvel's ICON, something done as part of a contractual obligation to, or to curry favor with, a creator whom they want to have avalable for other projects with IP they own (see deal with Bendis, Tynion, PKJ, etc.) and not as a publishing initiative in its own right.

-M

So, you’re saying the art is over? That’s sad.

[Lee Stone]

DC has/had things in place that could replace Vertigo.

Young Animal could be used for the offbeat/fringe/artsy/supernatural horror things that Vertigo started with, and Black Label could be used for the crime/creator owned stuff.