Vertigo Comics FAQ
Katie Schwarz
URL: http://www.idyllmtn.com/rac/dc/vertigo/
This is the Frequently Asked Questions list for the Usenet newsgroup
rec.arts.comics.dc.vertigo. Please send e-mail if you have any suggestions
or questions: k...@socrates.berkeley.edu
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Vertigo Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: November 9, 1999
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1. When are PREACHER and THE INVISIBLES going to end?
2. What new SANDMAN-related material is coming out soon?
3. Where are the Sandman Frequently Asked Questions and Sandman
Annotations?
4. What's up with the SANDMAN, DEATH, BOOKS OF MAGIC, and STARDUST
movies?
5. What's up with the PREACHER movie?
6. What comics has Tim Hunter appeared in besides the current BOOKS OF
MAGIC ongoing series? Where did Tamlin first appear?
7. Is there a connection between the Genesis creature in PREACHER and the
angel and demon lovers in Garth Ennis's HELLBLAZER?
8. Is there a connection between Crazy Jane in DOOM PATROL and Ragged
Robin in THE INVISIBLES?
9. How much of SWAMP THING was reprinted? Why was it in black and white?
Which reprint issues correspond to the trade paperback collections?
10. Are Vertigo books part of the DC universe?
11. Where are some Vertigo-related web sites and mailing lists?
12. Which Vertigo creators participate in this newsgroup?
13. How can I send letters to Vertigo by e-mail?
14. How can I get Vertigo's submissions guidelines/send submissions to
Vertigo?
15. What are the collections, in order, of HELLBLAZER, SANDMAN, PREACHER,
THE INVISIBLES, BOOKS OF MAGIC, and TRANSMETROPOLITAN?
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1. When are PREACHER and THE INVISIBLES going to end?
PREACHER's final story arc, called "Alamo", begins with #59, due Jan. 5,
2000, and ends with #66 in August.
THE INVISIBLES Volume 3 is numbered in reverse order, counting down to the
final issue, #1, in April 2000.
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2. What new SANDMAN-related material is coming out soon?
THE DREAM HUNTERS is a new Sandman story, based on an old Japanese
folktale, with text by Neil Gaiman and full-page paintings by the
acclaimed Japanese artist Yoshitake Amano, who did the Sandman 10th
Anniversary Poster. The 136-page hardcover came out Oct. 27, 1999.
THE SANDMAN COMPANION, due out Nov. 10, 1999, is a 304-page hardcover
containing story-by-story analysis and interviews with Gaiman and many
artists.
Miscellaneous Neil Gaiman stories will be collected in MIDNIGHT DAYS, due
December 1999. This trade paperback will include SANDMAN MIDNIGHT THEATER,
HELLBLAZER #27, the Brother Power story, and a previously unproduced Swamp
Thing story.
WINTER'S EDGE III, due Nov. 17, 1999, will have a Gaiman/Zulli Desire
story.
The third and fourth SANDMAN PRESENTS titles will be
* MARQUEE MOON, by Peter Hogan, about the mother of the girl in the
werewolf story from SANDMAN #38 and her adventures in a punk band in
London in 1977, one-shot, due date unknown
* PETREFAX, the adventurous mortician from Sandman #55. Four-issue
miniseries by Mike Carey/Steve Leialoha, starting Jan. 5, 2000.
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3. Where are the Sandman Frequently Asked Questions and Annotations?
Sandman Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/lore/sandfaq0.html
Sandman Annotations
http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/lore/sandfaq0.html
or ftp://theory.lcs.mit.edu/pub/people/wald/sandman
Also see The Wake, with freshly revised hypertext Sandman Annotations.
http://www.dyve.net/sandman/
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4. What's up with the SANDMAN, DEATH, BOOKS OF MAGIC, and STARDUST movies?
Warner Bros. optioned a SANDMAN movie based on issues 1-8. Jon Peters is
the producer; Neil Gaiman has no involvement with it. Eight or nine
scripts have been written and junked over the years.
A DEATH movie for Warner Bros. would be based on the "High Cost of Living"
miniseries. If the movie happens, Gaiman will write and direct.
Gaiman is also executive producer of a BOOKS OF MAGIC feature film, based
on the original miniseries; as of December 1998, he said its condition is
"encouraging". Matt Greenberg (Halloween: H20, Mimic) is the screenwriter.
Finally, Gaiman is involved with adapting NEVERWHERE and STARDUST for
Dimension Films.
More details and new rumors about any of these movies may appear on the
Corona Productions rumor pages,
http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/filmlistings.html.
They also have an interview with Neil Gaiman,
http://corona.bc.ca/films/WC/990908.html
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5. What's up with the PREACHER movie?
The movie was optioned, and Garth Ennis did a few drafts of a script based
on the first storyline of the series, but the project seems to be defunct
in 1999's anti-violence climate. For more, see the Corona Productions
rumor page,
http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/details/preacher.html
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6. What comics has Tim Hunter appeared in besides the BOOKS OF MAGIC
ongoing series? Where did Tamlin first appear?
* THE BOOKS OF MAGIC (1991 miniseries): Tim's first appearance. Written
by Neil Gaiman.
* MR. E miniseries (4 issues, 1991). By all accounts this is not
recommended to fans of the ongoing Books of Magic series, since Tim's
powers and characterization are totally inconsistent with it. John
Ney Rieber, writer of the ongoing series #1-50, said as far as he is
concerned, this miniseries never happened.
* ARCANA: THE BOOKS OF MAGIC ANNUAL (1993): Part of the Children's
Crusade crossover, introduced Marya and Daniel; also started the
Tamlin storyline. John Ney Rieber's first work on the title. Included
in the collection of the BOOKS OF FAERIE miniseries.
* THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE 1 and 2: "Bookends" of the crossover.
* "The Lot": 6-page story introducing the Narls and the Wobbly; first
appeared in Vertigo Rave, reprinted in SUMMONINGS collection.
* HELLBLAZER/BOOKS OF MAGIC, two-issue miniseries
* WINTER'S EDGE: each of these Vertigo specials had an 8-page Tim story.
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7. Is there a connection between the Genesis creature in PREACHER and the
angel and demon lovers in Garth Ennis's HELLBLAZER?
No. Garth Ennis has said in interviews and at cons that they are not meant
to be connected. PREACHER is creator-owned and not part of the mainstream
DC universe.
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8. Is there a connection between Crazy Jane in DOOM PATROL and Ragged
Robin in THE INVISIBLES?
In Grant Morrison's DOOM PATROL, one of the primary characters was Kay
Challis, a.k.a. Crazy Jane. She was introduced in DOOM PATROL #19, which
was produced in 1988 (it came out in late 1988/early 1989). At the end of
the series she was sane, mostly.
Ragged Robin in INVISIBLES was born in 1988, the same year Crazy Jane was
created (she is a time traveler from the future -- see INVISIBLES Vol. 2,
#6 for her origin); her birth name is Kay, according to Vol. 2 #2.
In response to a letter (vol. 1 #6) asking about the connection, Grant
Morrison replied: "I'm not allowed to answer this one for copyright reasons
(Crazy Jane belongs to DC, Ragged Robin belongs to me), but I'm sure you
thought long and hard about what happened to Kay Challis after she left
Danny the World." Reader Ste'phane Savoie comments, "Admittedly, Grant
could just be being whimsical, but this seems as close to a definite
answer as we'll get."
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9. How much of SWAMP THING was reprinted? Why was it in black and white?
Which reprint issues correspond to the trade paperback collections?
Essential Vertigo #1-7 original series #21-27 SAGA OF THE SWAMP
THING
Essential Vertigo original series #28-34,
#8-15 Annual 2 LOVE AND DEATH
The Essential Vertigo reprint also included a brief "Crisis on Infinite
Earths" reference that was cut from the LOVE AND DEATH collection. (As of
November 1999, both collections appear to be out of print from DC.)
The reprint series was cancelled due to very low sales. The last issue was
#24, corresponding to #43 of the original series, the story of Chester
Williams and the psychedelic tubers.
The original color separations were done for letterpress printing, which
is obsolete, and they could not be used for offset printed reprints. DC
decided to do the reprints in black and white instead of redoing the
colors, which would have driven the price up.
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10. Are Vertigo books part of the DC universe?
You can always start an argument over this. Officially, the books that
started out in the DC universe (most of them before the Vertigo imprint
existed) never left it -- that's SWAMP THING, HELLBLAZER, DOOM PATROL,
ANIMAL MAN, BLACK ORCHID, SANDMAN, SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER, and THE BOOKS
OF MAGIC. The old issues where Morpheus met the Justice League, Swamp
Thing met Batman, etc., weren't erased, and there are still occasional
appearances of the new Dream in the Justice League, Swamp Thing at Hal
Jordan's funeral, and so on.
But in practice, of course, these books usually ignore the world of the
mainstream superheroes -- and lots of readers hate to impose nerdy
continuity between one book and another. It was definitely no favor to
Garth Ennis when the editors made him come up with some contrived
explanation about the difference between the Devil and "the First of the
Fallen" so that HELLBLAZER would be consistent with SANDMAN.
Neil Gaiman says: "I used to describe SANDMAN as being a long bus ride from
the world that Superman and Batman live in; these days it's probably a long
plane ride, but obviously Superman exists somewhere in the same world as
Tim Hunter et al. ... But it's now a lot harder to cross characters over
between DCU and Vertigo. Permissions need to be sought and so forth. There
obviously isn't a 'Vertigo Universe', or if there is it's just a subset of
the giant DC universe. ... Nobody left the DC universe (as a big concept,
not as defined as 'those comics edited by Mike Carlin') when Vertigo was
started; SANDMAN 5, SWAMP THING, ANIMAL MAN 1-20, didn't un-happen."
SHADE's presence in the DC universe was argued over; John Constantine
appeared, but then they apparently destroyed San Francisco and nobody else
noticed. Michael Blakeman Cleveland notes, "Spectre #50 adds another piece
of evidence that Shade was in DCU continuity because the American Scream
(the antagonist from Shade #1-18, and occasional later issues) shows up."
Most of post-1993 Vertigo (INVISIBLES, PREACHER, etc.) is creator-owned
and outside of the DC universe.
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11. Where are some Vertigo-related web sites and mailing lists?
See the web version of this FAQ for links:
http://www.idyllmtn.com/rac/dc/vertigo
Mailing Lists
GARTH-L, mailing list for Garth Ennis fans. To subscribe, send e-mail to
majo...@owl.english.vt.edu containing the single line:
SUBSCRIBE GARTH-L Your Name
Onelist offers mailing lists for INVISIBLES and BOOKS OF MAGIC:
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/invisibles
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/booksofmagic
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12. Which Vertigo creators participate in this newsgroup?
The following creators have appeared from time to time, although they may
not be participating currently:
* Warren Ellis, writer on TRANSMETROPOLITAN
* Jill Thompson, artist on FINALS, SANDMAN, etc.
* Peter Gross, artist/writer on BOOKS OF MAGIC
* Peter Hogan, writer on THE DREAMING
* Paul Jenkins, writer on HELLBLAZER
* Stuart Moore, former editor
* Sean Phillips, artist on HELLBLAZER
* Steve Gerber, writer on NEVADA
* Caitlin Kiernan, writer on THE DREAMING
* Steve Dillon, artist on PREACHER
* Nancy Collins, former writer on SWAMP THING and DHAMPIRE
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13. How can I send letters to Vertigo by e-mail?
Vertigo's e-mail address for letters of comment is
DCOV...@aol.com
Letters should include the sender's home address, and it helps if you
tell them whether you want your home and/or e-mail address printed.
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14. How can I get Vertigo's submissions guidelines/send submissions to
Vertigo?
Instructions are at DC's official web site,
http://www.dccomics.com/guides/veguide.htm
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15. What are the collections, in order, of HELLBLAZER, SANDMAN, PREACHER,
THE INVISIBLES, BOOKS OF MAGIC, and TRANSMETROPOLITAN?
Hellblazer
1. ORIGINAL SINS -- #1-9, written by Jamie Delano
2. DANGEROUS HABITS -- #41-46, written by Garth Ennis
3. TAINTED LOVE -- #68-71, Hellblazer Special #1, and "Tainted Love"
from Vertigo Jam. By Ennis/Dillon.
4. DAMNATION'S FLAME -- #72-77, by Ennis/Dillon
5. RAKE AT THE GATES OF HELL -- will complete the Ennis/Dillon run,
will probably be out in 2000
6. The Gaiman/McKean story from HELLBLAZER #27 is included in MIDNIGHT
DAYS, due December 1999. See above under Sandman-related material.
There were also black-and-white reprints of HELLBLAZER and SWAMP THING by
Titan Books, a British comics publisher, about ten years ago. They had 11
volumes of SWAMP THING, covering Alan Moore's entire run (starting with
"The Anatomy Lesson"), and 4 volumes of HELLBLAZER, covering #1-14 and
SWAMP THING #76-77, which complete the crossover story where Tefe was
conceived. These were UK releases only and out of print for years, so lots
of luck finding any.
Sandman
1. PRELUDES AND NOCTURNES -- #1-8 (story arc called "More than Rubies")
2. THE DOLL'S HOUSE -- #8-16 (since 1999, new editions of this
collection omit #8, "The Sound of Her Wings")
3. DREAM COUNTRY -- #17-20
4. SEASON OF MISTS -- #21-28
5. A GAME OF YOU -- #32-37
6. FABLES AND REFLECTIONS -- #29-31 and 50 ["Distant Mirrors"], #38-40
["Convergences"], the Sandman Special ["The Song of Orpheus"], and
"Fear of Falling" from the Vertigo Preview
7. BRIEF LIVES -- #41-49
8. WORLDS' END -- #51-56
9. THE KINDLY ONES -- #57-69 and "The Castle" from Vertigo Jam
10. THE WAKE -- #70-75 (contains three pages that were omitted from the
original issue #72; these pages were also printed in THE DREAMING #8)
11. DUST COVERS -- a book containing all the covers from the SANDMAN
series with commentary by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, plus a new
8-page story about what it was like to write SANDMAN
DC is currently bringing out new hardcover editions of these
collections with new, unifying designs by Dave McKean; the paperbacks
will also be reprinted with the new covers, gradually phased in as the
stock of old ones runs out.
Preacher
1. GONE TO TEXAS -- #1-7
2. UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD -- #8-17
3. PROUD AMERICANS -- #18-26
4. ANCIENT HISTORY -- Saint of Killers/Arseface/Good Old Boys
5. DIXIE FRIED -- #27-33 plus "Cassidy: Blood and Whiskey"
6. WAR IN THE SUN -- #34-40 plus the Starr special
7. SALVATION -- #41-50
The Invisibles
1. SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION -- vol. 1 #1-8
2. BLOODY HELL IN AMERICA -- vol. 2 #1-4
3. COUNTING TO NONE -- vol. 2 #5-13 plus "And We're All Police Men" from
Winter's Edge
4. KISSING MISTER QUIMPER -- vol. 2 #14-22, due out Jan. 19, 2000
The Books of Magic
1. THE BOOKS OF MAGIC -- 1991 miniseries by Neil Gaiman
2. BINDINGS -- ongoing series #1-4, by John Ney Rieber
3. SUMMONINGS -- #5-13 plus "The Lot" from Vertigo Rave
4. RECKONINGS -- #14-20
5. TRANSFORMATIONS -- #21-25
6. GIRL IN THE BOX -- #26-32
Transmetropolitan
1. BACK ON THE STREET -- #1-3 (originally Helix, reprinted by Vertigo)
2. LUST FOR LIFE -- #4-12
3. YEAR OF THE BASTARD -- #13-18 and story from Winter's Edge II
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Compiled by Katie Schwarz with help from:
Lance "Squiddie" Smith often provides news about Sandman-related things.
Mike Collins explained the UK Titan reprints and argued that SHADE wasn't
in the DC universe.
Achim Reinschmidt and Phillip B. Hume noted Tim Hunter's appearances.
Phillip also commented on whether BLACK ORCHID was in the DC universe.
Matthew Daly reviewed the Mr. E miniseries.
John Ney Rieber informed the Vertigo newsgroup that he rejects the Mr. E
miniseries.
Michael Blakeman Cleveland discussed SHADE's continuity and Doom Patrol
writers.
Andrew Farrell, Donald MacPherson, v!v!d, and Charles R.L. Power noticed
Vertigo creators in the newsgroup.
Tom Galloway passed along Neil Gaiman's comments on whether SANDMAN is in
the DC universe.
Stuart Moore used to provide lots of official information on the Vertigo
newsgroup.
Christian R. Hojsting corrected information about the Titan reprints of
Swamp Thing.
Ste'phane Savoie and Bradly E. Peterson discussed Crazy Jane and Ragged
Robin.
and miscellaneous suggestions from:
Andrew Watson, Anthony John Bailey, Curt Shehow, Christopher Bird