Thursday, October 30th, 2008--by Stephen Schleicher
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has announced voice actor Tom Wayland and others will read exceprts from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman during a fundraiser to benifit the organization.
Hosted by the CBLDF and Vertigo, the dramatic reading will be will be held at the Helen Mills Theater in New York City on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available for a $50 donation to the CBLDF. Only 100 tickets are available to this special reading event.
About the stories being performed:
Three Septembers & A January, originally published in THE SANDMAN #31 / Trade #6
The story of Joshua Abraham Norton the first, last and only Emperor of the United States of America that incorporates an explanation for his strange career centering on a challenge between Morpheus and Despair.
The Golden Boy, originally published in THE SANDMAN #51-56 / Trade #8
A revival of a 1970s DC character named Prez, it’s the story of the US’s first teenage president that considers how we view our leaders—while they’re in office . . . and once they’re gone.
I’ve only recently read the series thanks to the awsome absolute editions from DC/Vertigo, and love the series. Attending an event like this sounds like a load of fun. If you plan on going, you can reserve your ticket here.
The story that has preoccupied the pages of Fables for at least the last two years, was the buildup and invasion of the homelands by the Fables, who were sick and tired of The Adversary threatening their way of existence in the Mundy world. After last month’s stunning conclusion to the war, we’re left wondering, “What’s next?”
Or - “Is It A Bad Sign When You Fall In Love With A Comic Book Cover?”
I have a secret admission. I never read Fables in the individual issues, instead leaning on the TPB’s available at the local library to enjoy that series. And, never really having been a huge fan of Jack, I didn’t start reading his individual title until a particularly gorgeous Brian Bolland cover caught my eye. But when I ventured into the store to pick up my books recently, I was awestruck by the cover of this issue and Priscilla’s silent admonition that I needed to buy this book, if only to see the secrets that lay within… Does that make me shallow? Probably… But, in the spirit of ”Can I Just Jump Into A Title Week,” (now in it’s second month!) I decided to take a shot in the dark.
Vertigo has annouced that both Young Liars #1 and House of Mystery #1 have sold out at the distributor level, prompting the company to go back to press. But instead of two reprints, Vertigo is combinging both issues into a 48-page flip book featuring the complete issues. Best of all, Vertigo is keeping the price point at $2.99. Smart move Vertigo!
“We’re thrilled to see that two of our new monthly series are in such demand,” says Karen Berger, Senior VP – Executive Editor, Vertigo. “Now you can get the first issue of two Vertigo staples for the price of one: the gritty crime fiction of YOUNG LIARS and HOUSE OF MYSTERY’s modern horror.”
Vertigo has known for some time that it has something special with Bill Willingham’s Fables. And I’m sure Bill Willingham knows he has something special with Fables too. And even though some of the story arcs these past couple of years have been hit and miss at times, Willingham continues to deliver interesting tales of the struggles between the fables and the villains of the home world, and this issue is no exception.
We last saw Madame Xanadu in her brief appearance in DC’s Countdown, but coming in June, readers can learn more about her many adventures as Matt Wagner (Grendel and Mage) and Amy Reeder Hadley team up to bring Madame Xanadu to Vertigo Comics.
MADAME XANADU is a gothic love story between the mysterious Madame Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger. Their fraught, unconventional affair first blossoms in the final days of Camelot and develops over centuries, in the court of Kublai Khan, on the ships of Marco Polo, in London’s notorious Whitechapel district and on the streets of Greenwich Village.
The first issues arrives June 25, 2008, and will sell for $2.99.
Recently, Gatekeeper Manager Deon (who doesn’t get Howard The Duck, but somehow loves XO: Manowar) explained to me his problem with Vertigo comics: They’re just weird for weirdness’ sake. I don’t know how true that assessment is, but I can clearly see the kernel of truth at the bottom of that statement. I love classic Swamp Thing, I have read Hellblazer religiously since day one, I have all the Sandman trade paperbacks, I even loved Shade: The Changing Man. But there came a point where Vertigo seemed to have found a niche, a hook, and that hook was “Get the weird Gothy types.” House of Mystery is a very old-school Vertigo comic book, but is that necessarily a bad thing?
Arriving in stores this week is the updated tales from the House of Mystery. Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges, these new tales feature the trials and struggles of five unfortunate souls trapped in the house, and illustrated by Luca Rossi.
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008--by Stephen Schleicher
DC Comics and Vertigo have posted a pretty cool looking trailer for its latest series Young Liars, written by David Lapham.
Meet the YOUNG LIARS: Sadie Dawkins—a meek young heiress from Austin, TX who becomes addicted to drugs, moves to NYC and gets a bullet lodged in her brain, Annie X—the bulimic ex-model, Donnie—the transvestite druggy with a good heart, Cee Cee—the rock band groupie, Truman Runco—the schemer, and Danny—the habitual liar with an unnatural stalker-like obsession for Sadie.
Sadie drags her group of misfit friends through one hair raising adventure after another stretching from the gritty, violent streets and clubs of Manhattan, around the world, and back.
I know some of you don’t like these kinds of trailers, but as someone who has done a lot of motion graphics work, I know the amount of work that goes into taking still images from the comics and animating them. So I like it, I like it a lot.
Vertigo has announced plans to publish Hellblazer: Pandemonium, a new graphic novel by Jamie Delano and illustrated by Jock. Fans of Hellblazer know Delano’s name as the person who wrote the first 40 issues of the series.
Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges, two of my favorite writers, have teamed up with Vertigo for the new ongoing comic series House of Mystery.
A Pirate. A Poet. Tormented Lovers and the woman who tries not to come between them. For reasons unknown even to them, they have all been imprisoned in the House of Mystery, which functions as a tavern in an abandoned secret location. Together, they maintain the tavern and coax stories out of its patrons, all while they seek to discover the secrets behind their connections to each other and their unusual abode.
The House of Mystery series has been around for decades as a horror and suspense story. It was later revised and used as part of The Sandman. Willingham and Sturges say they will bring a brand new take to the title, that follows the lives of the house’s imprisoned characters. Art for the series will be done by Luka Rossi.
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