Karen Berger Leaving Vertigo

[Colin YNWA]

By contrast, Vertigo's biggest success of late was the McGuyver-esque Human Target tv series that has nothing to do with the comics and made naff-all cash for Peter Milligan.

Or more importantly did Len Wein and the family of Carmine Infantino, who actually created the character. The answer to that one is almost certainly yes. I, like you, don't know the specifics, but its been widely reported Len Wein has got through some dry patches in his writing career, living off the money he earns in royalties from his character Lucius Fox appearing in the Batman movies. 

That said your overall point is a fair one.

[Colin YNWA]

I'll resurrect this thread rather than start a new one as here the deaths throws of Vertigo were sounded must strongly on the boards, BUT interesting video here feeding back on the DC retailers summit that have been taking place. The news of Vertigo starts at 8.30 mins on the second video on the link, after some more general DCU stuff*

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/25/a-comic-show-monster-week-and-what-i-learned-from-the-dc-roadshow/

Now for those moire cynical amongst you, those that don't share my naive optimism, nor my acceptance that we're not on the inside so we don't really know, YES this is reporting on spin and YES it does sound a little like DC are trying to make Vertigo compete a little to closely with Image which might be dangerous, but at least the spin seems to suggest that the death bells for Vertigo might have been sounded too early... time will tell.

*Which it chills me to say I have no real interest in, even if not 18 months ago the DCU stuff being reported would have all sounded very exciting to me. DCU have you truly lost me, have you?

[Link Prime]

DCU have you truly lost me, have you?

Yes.



*Apart from Snyder & Capullo's 'Batman'.

[Colin YNWA]

And All Star Western and Wonder Woman, which doesn't feel very DCU actually and Animal Man which also doesn't feel very...

damn

[Professor Bear]

That presenter ignores that Vertigo's problem was never that it wasn't printing comics outside the box, it was that the talent cleared off to other publishers because the contracts were better, and the editors didn't muck the talent around and actively undermine adaptations of creators' material in other media.  You are correct, Colin, that we don't work at DC and we don't know the specifics, but we do know - if not from the testimony of writers like Alan Grant, Mark Waid, Chris Roberson, John Rogers, Dwayne McDuffie, Mark Millar, Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, and so on*, then from the simple act of observing who stops working there and never goes back - that for whatever reasons the environment is hostile to talent and there are very few writers who last long - of those that do, I can't help but notice that these are the people working on Vertigo's new titles rather than indy finds.
There's little or no new talent coming into the imprint, and that presentation mentioned they're trying to resurrect Sandman and reprint old Swamp Thing tales?  Doesn't sound much like planning for the future to me, it just sounds like they've taken the success of Image as a personal affront - just look how many times the name of the company comes up in that dude's monologue - and are trying to wind back the clock.

*I would have mentioned Alan Moore, but... well, you know.

[Jim_Campbell]

but at least the spin seems to suggest that the death bells for Vertigo might have been sounded too early... time will tell.

Also, there was the under-reported story late '12/early '13 that I think I linked to in the 'Hellblazer Cancelled' thread about Vertigo being moved out of Bob Harras' direct chain of command, which I took to be a generally positive thing...

Cheers!

Jim

[Professor Bear]

Is that definately happening, though?  Seems pointless without the line's flagship character - although that could be why they're throwing money at getting Sandman back, I suppose.

[Colin YNWA]

Is that definately happening, though?  Seems pointless without the line's flagship character - although that could be why they're throwing money at getting Sandman back, I suppose.

I reckon they're throwing money at getting Sandman back as they'll make a LOAD more money from it once the book is out, its going to be massive (I would assume... I have a history of getting stuff like that wrong!).

I think loosing all the DCU characters (if that's what you're referring too?) back seems kinda the point of what they're trying to do (though chicken egg) get things opened up so they can create genuinely new stuff.

[Professor Bear]

Sandman is fine if you're a child or a lady type, but it's not enough on its own to justify an entire comics imprint, which is what's happening once you take away Hellblazer, Doom patrol, Books of Magic, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, etc and replace them with whatever the few writers left deign to squeeze out between writing the company's superhero output.  I mean, even that guy in the video is saying things like "hey, you should give this a try, IT'S LIKE SOMETHING IMAGE WOULD PUBLISH."

[The Adventurer]

Still reading more Vertigo books then DC. And Vertigo is looking stronger, which I expected.

Fables, Astro City, The Wake, etc...

Making Vertigo more like Image isn't a bad thing IMO. Because Image is killing it. That being said... you're not going to see DC give the level of creator control/ownership that Image does. But its always good to have options.


As an aside...
As someone who got into Vertigo late (2001ish) I didn't become a fan of the line on the back of the old guard titles (Sandman, Hellblazer, Preacher, Doom Patrol, Books of Magic, etc...) and actually actively avoided such books (still do in some cases). And yet actually still found a ton to enjoy. 'MY CLASSIC VERTIGO' was based around Fables, Y-The Last Man, The Losers, and American Century.

Vertigo is NOT defined only by its early successes. It is not its only draw.

[Colin YNWA]

Making Vertigo more like Image isn't a bad thing IMO. Because Image is killing it. That being said... you're not going to see DC give the level of creator control/ownership that Image does. But its always good to have options.

Yeah and I think that may well be the problem, they can't as you say become Image and frankly what would be the point as well... that's what Image does and the rights thing as you say. So it has to become something else. Whatever that is and I'm sure they have a plan for that. The positive sales moves they are talking about might make part of that offer?

As someone who got into Vertigo late (2001ish) I didn't become a fan of the line on the back of the old guard titles (Sandman, Hellblazer, Preacher, Doom Patrol, Books of Magic, etc...) and actually actively avoided such books (still do in some cases). And yet actually still found a ton to enjoy. 'MY CLASSIC VERTIGO' was based around Fables, Y-The Last Man, The Losers, and American Century.

Yeah completely agree with this. In some ways I think its a really positive move by Vertigo to have 'ditched' the last of its old DCU characters back into the mire. This way they don't have that need to have creators working on DC Horror type titles and can focus on new more creative things?

[Montynero]

GAIMAN'S "SANDMAN: OVERTURE" SPEARHEADS VERTIGO REBUILDING INITIATIVE

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=46361

[Montynero]

"Hinterkind," written by Ian Edginton, set in a post-apocalyptic world in which creatures of myth and legend have returned"

I'm in.

[Colin YNWA]

"Hinterkind," written by Ian Edginton, set in a post-apocalyptic world in which creatures of myth and legend have returned"

I'm in.

Yeah that sounds very good. I hope its an ongoing, no such details available, well where I saw it.

Also:

The Discipline by Peter Milligan, an erotic thriller about a woman at the center of an shadow war that spans eons.

Sounds good. A little more here

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/07/01/sandman-overture-the-new-name-for-sandman-zero-plus-new-vertigo-comics-hinterland-by-edginton-the-discipline-by-peter-milligan-and-the-dead-boy-detectives/

[Montynero]

Hinterkind's an ongoing, Colin.

I'd put an order in now, but no-one's listing it.

Wonder if the artist is a tooth alumni too?