Hellblazer bites the dust

[JamesC]

Everything that Vertigo was doing in the 90s is now being done by Image and the creators get a much better deal.
I can't see Vertigo ever having the impact on the stands that it once did.
The thing is that as well as being 'adult' or 'dark' Vertigo was almost a seal of quality in the very early days, meaning punters were much more likely to give something a go sight unseen.
Unfortunately the brand was diluted by lots of crappy mini-series and unsatisfying pseudo-intellectual guff.
If it's going to claw back some credibility Vertigo needs a group editor with Tharg like levels of authority and a high standard of quality and value.

[Professor Bear]

The neutral take (well kinda) is that aligning Vertigo with the digital arm means they might be trying more innovative ways of getting its product out there as DC see that being where Vertigo's market is shifting to.

I don't really see that kind of shift for Vertigo, as their graphic novel side of things is doing very well and given that modest sales of floppies and an audience of trade waiters is seen as a part of that, I don't see anyone seriously pushing for a major paradigm change in their business model.  Most likely it's just a move to keep a sub-division healthy by moving it to its own little corner of the office away from any kind of pissing contests among management, a not-unheard of move in the entertainment business where successful tv shows with backroom strife get shifted to their own production offices to stop people walking in the door and giving themselves producer jobs.  I suspect Karen Berger's "amicable" exit might have been a wake-up call to someone.

[Colin YNWA]

I've not idea and you make some good points Thunders McQueen, I do however wonder if you reflect on what JamesC says that maybe forging a good virtual presence might be seen as they way Vertigo retains an identity, its present one has in may ways has been taken by Image and Dark Horse?

Just because something is released in digital format shouldn't necessarily affect it getting an trade release and doing very well in that format. So for example Bayou from DCs online project that's name a forget... Zudo I think... maybe.

I'm not saying this is what their doing but it does strike me as an option. We'll see. 

[Professor Bear]

DC can shift to digital, but Vertigo's branding is that they're pretty much a graphic novel company - at best I see them shifting focus to their back catalog being available digitally rather than pushing current digital issues of their books and potentially affecting their trade sales down the line.  The lead Vertigo has lost to Image and Dark Horse can be laid at the door of the terms offered to creators by the company, and I don't think higher digital visibility will claw back the creators or properties that went elsewhere, or mend the fences with alienated talent - though the company now being effectively separate from the much-disliked DC may be enough of a Chinese Wall for some creators to consider returning to it.

As for Zuda, I would suggest that failed because it was a glorified fan art competition and created just as much ill feeling among losers as it did among winners - the contracts offered were apparently not great, and given how little we've ever heard of those winners or their work, I suspect they could have had as much success pimping their stuff via Twitter, only they'd still own it.

[Ancient Otter]

I don't really see that kind of shift for Vertigo, as their graphic novel side of things is doing very well

Any time I saw a review or mention of the Vertigo Crime books or OGNs in the last few years they were pretty lukewarm. Must be selling well if they're making OGNs though.

[Professor Bear]

Sandman and Preacher are evergreens, with newer stuff like 100 Bullets and Y The last Man doing respectably also.  I could be wrong, but pretty much everything Alan Moore did for ABC is currently owned by Vertigo, hence an Absolute Edition Landscape printing of Promethea that will be released shortly in order to make sure the rights don't revert back to the bearded hobgoblin.

[Link Prime]

Something to take the dross taste of 'Constantine' out of your mouth...the guts of the entire run of Hellblazer is up on Comixology for €0.89 an issue.
1st issue free too.
Some stone cold classics.

[Mabs]

Thanks for that, Link Prime! I'm off to check it out...