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Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. It operates under the "Vertigo" name in order to separate itself from the more mainstream, family-friendly DC Comics image. Vertigo publishes stories aimed at a more mature audience. Many of the comics published by Vertigo contain mature themes, including violence (more realistic than what was found in conventional comics at the time), frank presentations of substance abuse, and other controversial topics. Karen Berger is the executive editor of the imprint.
History Vertigo was founded in the wake of DC's successful "mature" comics of the late 1980s, beginning with Saga of the Swamp Thing and continuing with Hellblazer, The Sandman, and Moonshadow. In 1993, Karen Berger and DC officially founded the Vertigo line to attract writers who wanted to publish "mature" comics of this sort, without having to worry about offending parents and young children. In an era when almost all of the big names in comics were artists, and most companies were pushing the art over story (such as the well known Image Comics), Vertigo was unique in pushing writers to the forefront. Although many of the initial Vertigo publications were set in the DC Universe (Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, and The Sandman), progressively they have been disconnected from the DCU, leaving the "superheroes" out. The Vertigo concept emphasized the supernatural rather than the super-human and can be seen as the "real" world of the DC Universe. In addition to these older titles that were set under this print, a plethora of new titles was introduced without any constraints as to when or where the plot happens. Vertigo has proven influential on the comic book industry, particularly because of its success with sales of trade paperbacks (often erroneously refered to as "graphic novels"). Collections of Sandman continued to sell on a regular basis long after the original issues had become scarce, prompting Vertigo to reprint more and more of its library in the paperback format. This had the additional effect of penetrating the bookstore market and extended the "shelf life" of these comics from one month to virtual infinity. Some series, such as Transmetropolitan, did not always sell well as serialized monthly issues but continued to be published because DC/Vertigo was confident that trade paperback sales would be strong. Due partially to Vertigo's success with the format, by the mid-2000s nearly every publisher was collecting the majority of its serialized comics into trade paperbacks. Since its inception, Vertigo has retroactively claimed many mature DC books that were published before its founding in 1993, such as Swamp Thing, Animal Man, and V for Vendetta. Transmetropolitan was initially launched under DC's short-lived Helix imprint but soon switched to Vertigo. Even a collection of the best of House of Mystery appeared under the Vertigo imprint. In 2005, Vertigo expanded its label to include the cinema with the release of the movie Constantine, based (loosely) on the long-running comic Hellblazer. A History of Violence (originally a Paradox Press title) came out on September 23 2005. A movie adaptation of V for Vendetta was released on March 17 2006. Notable authors Many notable comic book authors have written for Vertigo at one point or another, including such prominent names as: Notable series Notable comic book series published under the Vertigo line have included: Vertigo movies See also | ||||||||
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