How do current Vertigo titles stack up against Image

[CoffeeCup]

Never really read much of Vertigo. Can anyone tell me how their titles stack up agaist image?

I figure Synder's American Vampire and The Wake are good?

How about newer titles like: Coffin Hill, Trillium, FBP, Hinderkind.

What image titles would you compare these comics to?

[InformationGeek]

Never really read much of Vertigo. Can anyone tell me how their titles stack up agaist image?

I figure Synder's American Vampire and The Wake are good?

How about newer titles like: Coffin Hill, Trillium, FBP, Hinderkind.

What image titles would you compare these comics to?

Vertigo, to me, is what got me into Indie comics. They've had some fantastic comics, some that absolutely mop the floor with just about anything Image has put out recently. Recently, they are hurting a tad for some new books though, but they still got some good stuff. Hinterkind is something that's been slowly getting better and better with each issue, FBP is fantastic and really interesting science fiction, Trillium/The Wake are half good half bad, American Vampire is amazing, and Coffin Hill is great.

I'm not sure what they compare against, but they are some pretty solid stuff.

[Deniz Camp]

Sandman: Overture is the best thing in comics right now, period.

Astro City is the best superhero book being published anywhere. http://heshouldreallyknowbetter.blog...stro-city.html

Everything Vertigo puts out is at least worth a look, I've found. Not everything will be to your tastes, but I'd say it's the thoroughly smartest line in comics (while not approaching the genre/tonal diversity of Image, I think there is a stronger element of quality control).

FBP is smart and gorgeous. American Vampire is lush, thorough, characterful. Dead Boy Detectives is at turns whimsical and heartbreaking. Trillium was beautiful, emotionally honest, and pushed the artform. The Unwritten is brilliant, grand, and layered.

One bit that got overlooked but I thought was excellent was the Royals mini, by Williams and Coleby. Superheroes-as-historical-fiction, and it was very strong.

I'm not reading Hinterkind but Edington is usually excellent, and Coffin Hill I think has it's fanbase. It's too early to tell on "The Names", but there is a reason Milligan is one of the most acclaimed comics writers of all time. Didn't pick up The Wake, but if you're into horror Snyder usually steers you the right way.

[Maxpower00044]

I wish they didn't have ads, but American Vampire, The Wake, Trillium, Joe the Barbarian and FBP are great books and hold up against any Image title.

Also old Vertigo (Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Invisibles, Hellblazer) are all classics.

[Billy Batson]

They're worth the try and need of some supporting.

[ysemaj]

Only read two Vertigo titles at the moment which are Fables and Bodies.

Fables is one of the 'flagship' titles that Vertigo print, and although the idea was fresh and original when it got released and a few years after that, Willingham has dragged it out for a bit too long now and it could have really ended a few years back. I do still enjoy the issues though, just not as much as I used to.

Bodies is a new mini-series of 8 issues and I am enjoying the concept of it very much. Without giving too much away, it has a very clever spin on a murder mystery storyline and if you like a bit of history and some superb art that really transports you to Victorian times for example, then the comic is for you! There's only been 2 issues released so far so it would be easy to catch up.

That said, I don't feel as if these titles match up to the Image titles I am currently reading. Every Image title I have on my pull is much more enjoyable than Fables and Bodies, and I feel like Vertigo really need to try and have a fresh start and encourage artists and writers to tell whatever stories they want to tell. I don't think I could ever imagine Saga or East of West being printed by Vertigo. Not too sure why though...

[wwise03]

Generally speaking, I would say that it really depends on the book. Some Vertigo books are better than some Image books, and vice versa.

More specifically, I would opine that American Vampire is better than anything Image is putting out, save for arguably a few books. I love Fables, but I am reading that in Deluxe Hardcover edition, so I couldn't tell you how it's been for the last 5 years. Based on the first 7 hardcover editions, I like it more than most of the Image books on my list (which is 25 strong).

Other than that, I primarily stick with Image and Valiant. I've seen that reviews are at least decent for FBP, Hinterkind, and the like...but I would be interested to hear what others say.

Now as for the quality of the actual books, Image blows Vertigo out of the water. The paperstock used in Vertigo books doesn't compare to that found in most of Image's books. Also, Image books don't contain ads in the middle of the story. With The Wake, I found generally that the left side of the book contained story and the right side of the book contained ads. It made for an unpleasant reading experience.

[ysemaj]

Generally speaking, I would say that it really depends on the book. Some Vertigo books are better than some Image books, and vice versa.

More specifically, I would opine that American Vampire is better than anything Image is putting out, save for arguably a few books. I love Fables, but I am reading that in Deluxe Hardcover edition, so I couldn't tell you how it's been for the last 5 years. Based on the first 7 hardcover editions, I like it more than most of the Image books on my list (which is 25 strong).

Other than that, I primarily stick with Image and Valiant. I've seen that reviews are at least decent for FBP, Hinterkind, and the like...but I would be interested to hear what others say.

Now as for the quality of the actual books, Image blows Vertigo out of the water. The paperstock used in Vertigo books doesn't compare to that found in most of Image's books. Also, Image books don't contain ads in the middle of the story. With The Wake, I found generally that the left side of the book contained story and the right side of the book contained ads. It made for an unpleasant reading experience.

Fables is indeed great. Willingham has done an excellent job in giving the Fable characters such a unique voice and provides a darker tone to some of the characters that are usually viewed as 'all good.'

Also, I do agree that the quality of Image books are, without question, superior. The quality of the paper in a book such as Lazarus or Saga makes the paper in Bodies seem awful. I do however like the paper stock used in Fables, and it really suits the story that it tells. Could never imagine a glossy paper or any other type.

[wwise03]

Also, I do agree that the quality of Image books are, without question, superior. The quality of the paper in a book such as Lazarus or Saga makes the paper in Bodies seem awful. I do however like the paper stock used in Fables, and it really suits the story that it tells. Could never imagine a glossy paper or any other type.

I've only read Fables in the deluxe hardcover editions (which have the glossy paper). I think it works well, but I have looked at a Fables floppy and love that paperstock too. I don't remember, do the Fables floppies contain ads?

[Dorktron]

In my opinion, the CURRENT Vertigo titles are far below where Image's titles are right now on a whole. However, Vertigo's past titles (Scalped, DMZ, Transmetropolitan) I would say are close to par to Image's current titles.

[ysemaj]

I've only read Fables in the deluxe hardcover editions (which have the glossy paper). I think it works well, but I have looked at a Fables floppy and love that paperstock too. I don't remember, do the Fables floppies contain ads?

Ah really, would very much like to see the deluxe hardcover editions, they always seem too big for me for some reason.... I stopped buying the floppies a while ago and just stick with the trades now (which reminds me, need to buy the new one) but from what I can remember they don't have ads. I may be mistaken but it's been at least two years since I bought the single issues because I had a 'hiatus' from comics.

[TotalSnorefest]

Unfortunately, Vertigo seems to have lost some of their grandeur of the past in my opinion. Losing Karen Berger as editor probably has something to do with that. Also you need to keep in mind Image has been aggressively pursuing creators who would 'normally' have been at Vertigo. There's a Brubaker interview on 3 Chicks Review Comics in which he mentions how Stephenson straight up asked him "how much are Vertigo offering you for Fatale? Because we can top it." Something like Saga would've been a no-brainer for Vertigo a few years ago, since Vaughan had done Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man for them. Meanwhile Wood (DMZ, Northlanders) skipped off to Dark Horse. Things like that are indicative to me that Vertigo simply cannot offer the same kind of creator-owned control over properties, presumably because they're embedded in the larger Warner Bros. structure.

HOWEVER, they do put out stuff that's at the very least interesting! Of their recent offerings I've read the following.
The Wake --- This wasn't my cup of tea, it felt too much like 'Alien underwater' in the sense that it's a horror thing in an enclosed facility. There was some interesting mythology at play and I liked Murphy's art, but after 5 issues I dropped it. It's very beloved though it seems, so I might be a minority.
Trillium --- This is a really nice experiment with the form of comics, but I feel like it went on way too long. Issues 6 and 7 really grind it to a halt and the end wasn't super satisfactory for me. Had this been condensed to 6 issues and really went overboard with the 'flip the comic over' etc. layouts right away, I feel like it would've been better. But Lemire's art is still pretty good; the whole book is way above the average comic level and I would at least check it out for the interesting reading experience.
Anthologies --- In my opinion, this is where Vertigo shines currently. Whether it's The Witching Hour last year, or the current CMYK anthologies, they have a knack for lining up amazing talent. The Witching Hour had 9 short stories and included people like Cliff Chiang and Emily Carroll on art. That's nothing to scoff at. In these titles you can really discover some talents you weren't aware of.

[Deniz Camp]

Ex Machina was Wildstorm, actually.

But BKV was 'discovered' by Vertigo, yeah, with stuff like Swamp Thing being his biggest early high profile 'assignment'.

Different strokes for different folks, but again Sandman Overture is legitimately better than anything else coming out at the moment, and Bodies is one of the most smartest, most unique things coming out right now.

[TotalSnorefest]

Ex Machina was Wildstorm, actually.

But BKV was 'discovered' by Vertigo, yeah, with stuff like Swamp Thing being his biggest early high profile 'assignment'.

Different strokes for different folks, but again Sandman Overture is legitimately better than anything else coming out at the moment, and Bodies is one of the most smartest, most unique things coming out right now.

Oh yeah of course, not sure why I thought it was Vertigo, thanks! And I definitely agree, Sandman Overture is out of this world. But figured that kind of went without saying. I've not tried Bodies so I can't speak to that. Sounds interesting from your description above, but I can't really add much more to the pull list so with all these great series out by Image, Boom!, Dark Horse I find myself paying less attention to Vertigo right now. Shame, because their stuff is always interesting, but just how it is right now for me.

[Deniz Camp]

For sure, different strokes and all. Lots of great titles coming out from all corners.