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Vertigo




Title Creator Publisher Series Price
Other Lives Peter Bagge Vertigo $22.22
($24.95 list)
Otherlives
Read more and comment... 		OK, while this one may not be the one you've been waiting for, the near simultaneous release of new graphic novels by Dan Clowes and Pete Bagge (on top of last month's Hernandez Brothers love fest) has us remembering the days twenty years back when Bagge and Clowes were much more closely associated in the the minds of the comics reading population than is the case today (although the fact that Other Lives sports a lone front cover blurb from Clowes demonstrates that a link between them nevertheless remains).  Unlike Clowes, Bagge has eschewed formal inventiveness in his art and has instead continued to employ his personal and highly expressive comics language to tell twisted tales of (more or less) everyday people.  But, like Clowes, Bagge continues to focus on harnessing his cartooning skills to mine the rich vein of his unique and original comics language in the service of delineating character.  In Other Lives he has crafted an elaborate plot that explores the fungibility of individual identity in the internet age and that demonstrates the deformative effects of secrets, lies and Second Lives™.  It is an assignment which, when you stop to think about it, is one that comics is ideally suited for. 
The Nobody Jeff LeMire Vertigo $17.77
($19.99 list)
Thenobody
Read more and comment... 		We haven't had a chance to dip into this one yet, but Mr. Lemire has certainly gotten our attention (along with a large swath of the comics reading public) with his Essex County Trilogy (soon to be available in a single volume), so if you count yourself among his fans, this one should be worth a look.  HEre's what a few of his better known readers have to say:  "Jeff Lemire's deceptively simple artwork veils a complex mixture of life, love and regret." – Jeff Smith;  "Lemire has an unparalleled ability to capture small towns, fill them with interesting yet down to earth characters, and record the drama that unfolds between them,  He's at his pulpy best in The Nobody, and keeps you turning pages right to the end." – Jeffrey Brown.
100% Paul Pope Vertigo $33.33
($39.99 list)
100-pope
Read more and comment... 		100% by Paul Pope Pope's most accomplished work is now back in print in this (unfortunately over-priced) hardcover edition.  It's a great piece, we just wish the powers that be at DC didn't yield to the greedy need to rob Paul Pope's fans (and we also can't help but wonder what degree of complicity Pope himself shares in this).  Why is this book – which, we feel compelled to note, is the third incarnation of this work (it first appeared as a four issue series, then as a softcover), which means they're all getting paid yet again for the same piece – priced a full 100% more than Jeff Lemire's The Nobody (listed below), which is identical in format  – hardcover, black and white – also published by Vertigo, distributed through the same networks, and is an original work appearing for the first time.  We're offering a special discount on it, which takes a bit of the sting out, but only a bit.
2020 Visions Jamie Delano Vertigo $17.99
($19.99 list)
2020
Read more and comment... 		With artist chores ably handled by Warren Pleece, Steve Pugh, Frank Quitely, James Romberger.  Published by Speakeasy Comics, this 295 page B & W softcover collects the entirety of the 12 issue series originally published by Vertigo.  The series was originally conceived as four distinct stories, each of which connects with the others and all of which are set in the same vision of our future world -- dystopian, but not without hope; and each of which is drawn by a different artist.   This is an engaging volume by one of the most consistently interesting writers of genre comics currently working.
WE3 Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely Vertigo $11.69
($12.99 list)
We3cv
Read more and comment... 		Whew!  This is a brutal, emotionally wrenching and disturbing -- but ultimately very rewarding -- book.  Collecting the entire Vertigo mini-series, it takes that which so many rely on for emotional succor, and especially so in these anxiety ridden times -- our pets -- and then places them directly at the center of the source of so many of our anxieties -- the high-tech amoral world of the modern American military establishment.  Yet, it is a pitch perfect treatment of the theme.  There is not a single false step from start to finsh, and Quitely's art is the best of his career.  If you can stomach the grisly imagery this book dishes out, you'll find that it has a point to it and that the narrative makes a very strong case to back it up.  Although, to be honest, as with any work of fantasy that attempts to double as a polemic, there is the inevitable bit of having your cake and eating it too; but that's all part of the pleasure, guilty though it may be.
100% Paul Pope Vertigo $22.49
($24.99 list)
Pope100
Read more and comment... 		100% is Paul Pope's most cohesive sustained work to date.  It's a science fiction tale of boho NYC set in 2038.  Sexy girls, gritty guys and groovy gimmicks intermesh in a thoroughly enjoyable tale remarkably rendered, as always, by the supremely talented Mr. Pope.
American Splendor #4 Harvey Pekar Vertigo American Splendor $2.69
($2.99 list)

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American Splendor #1 Harvey Pekar Vertigo American Splendor $2.69
($2.99 list)

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American Splendor #1 - 4 Harvey Pekar Vertigo American Splendor $2.69
($2.99 list)

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The Fountain Darren Aronofsky, Kent Williams Vertigo $17.95
($19.95 list)
Fountain
Read more and comment... 		Now available in softcover! Here's what we said when the now out-of-print hardcover was released: "Wow! This is book has our vote for best original graphic novel ever published by Vertigo. Two years in the making, this work was born like a phoenix out of the ashes of Aronofsky's failed original attempt to make it as a film. Once Kent's pages started showing up at Darren's door, however, this resparked his imagination and orobouros-like inspired him to restart the film project, in a scaled down production. This led to a Mobius strip situation of the two projects being created simultaneously: the graphic novel based on the original uncompleted film script (which, upon hindsight, seems much more suited to the graphic novel format than film) and the new film inspired by the graphic novel. Kent Williams has really outdone himself here, producing a career high work that employs his full arsenal of techniques and stands to introduce many people to his stellar abilities. Aronofsky's script is a powerful allegorical tale about coming to terms with the death of a loved one -- and, ultimately, with death itself. Yes, this book is a bit pricey (not anymore, as this softcover edition is half the price of the hardcover!) but it's worth it . Recommended." And here's the trailer for the film.