Friday
Well-Known Member
So who here picked it up and took thier first step into some amazing comics?
Anyone?
Guys? Come on!
It's like 5 bucks.
Anyone?
Guys? Come on!
It's like 5 bucks.
Friday
Well-Known Member
Vertigo collected the first issue of 6 of thier titles, 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man, Swamp Thing #21 (First Alan Moore), Books of Magic: Life During Wartime, Transmetropolitan, and Death: The High Cost of Living. It's a sample pack, and a damn good bargin at $5.UltimateE said:
And so people know what they're getting
100 Bullets - An amazing neo-noir conspiracy book by Azzarello and Risso. If you like crime, twisting plotlines, and realisitc dialogue this is a must buy.
Y: The Last Man - We've talked up Y quite a bit here, and I still don't think we've said enough. Amazing stuff from Ultimate writter Brian K Vaughan.
Books of Magi: Life During Wartime - Tim Hunter, from the Gaimen created Books of Magic series is back. Destined to become the worlds most powerful magus, Tim now just wants to do his own thing.
Transmetroploitian - Outlaw Journalist Spider Jeruselum fights for the truth, no matter how ugly and depraved it is.
Swamp Thing - It's friggin Swamp Thing! And Alan Moore! DO I really need to write more?
Death: The High Cost of Living - Follow death as she assumes human form to learn more about the strange creatures that she shuffles off the mortal coil. Written by comic master Niel Gaiman.
Friday
Well-Known Member
It's a great deal. Cheap, and there's going to be a few books in there you might want to start picking up.UltimateE said:
Swamp Thing currently has an ongoing, 100 Bullets is a great trade read, Transmetropolitan is pure Ellis, BOM: Life During wartime I confess to not knowing much about. And Y and Death really speak for themselves.
Friday
Well-Known Member
The only problem I have with Transmet is that it took them 11 trades to complete a 60 issue series. It seems like they should have shaved that all down a little.UltimateE said:
compound
Well-Known Member
I'd file this under: "ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT IDEA". But not for me -- I don't need any more convincing! (I either own, or have read, everything in this collection, other than the Swamp Thing story.)
Having said that, I hope they produce a second volume of this, featuring:
* Fables #1 -- the series is ongoing, selling reasonably well, so it's a sensible choice. The murder of Rose Red that's introduced in the first issue provides a great hook into the world of take-no-bull$h*t Snow White, hard-a$s detective Bigby Wolf, and the other "legends in exile" living in an enchanted ghetto within modern-day New York
* Human Target Vol. 3(?) #1 -- I haven't read this one, but I understand that it's a self-contained 9/11-related story that nicely introduces readers to the series' protagonist, Christopher Chance, and his unique skill at impersonating people in need.
* Sandman Mystery Theater #1 -- those who already love the weird noir stylings of 100 Bullets probably deserve to have a look at this 30s period piece that mixes Golden Age wonder and strangeness with more down-to-earth concerns about race, gender, and sexuality in the early 20th century.
* Lucifer #1 -- introducing writer Mike Carey's version of the charming, piano-playing devil from the original Sandman series; this book is still running as well, so it could provide a convenient tease for readers who might consider picking up the TPBs
* Losers #1 -- if anything, this politically-charged high-intensity (and criminally under-ordered) action series is a testament to the vitality and diversity of the Vertigo line; moreover, it's a great way to establishing that 'mature readers' comics need not be limited to the sex-&-sorcery formula that other Vertigo titles have developed a reputation for.
Any choices for a sixth title? :?
Having said that, I hope they produce a second volume of this, featuring:
* Fables #1 -- the series is ongoing, selling reasonably well, so it's a sensible choice. The murder of Rose Red that's introduced in the first issue provides a great hook into the world of take-no-bull$h*t Snow White, hard-a$s detective Bigby Wolf, and the other "legends in exile" living in an enchanted ghetto within modern-day New York
* Human Target Vol. 3(?) #1 -- I haven't read this one, but I understand that it's a self-contained 9/11-related story that nicely introduces readers to the series' protagonist, Christopher Chance, and his unique skill at impersonating people in need.
* Sandman Mystery Theater #1 -- those who already love the weird noir stylings of 100 Bullets probably deserve to have a look at this 30s period piece that mixes Golden Age wonder and strangeness with more down-to-earth concerns about race, gender, and sexuality in the early 20th century.
* Lucifer #1 -- introducing writer Mike Carey's version of the charming, piano-playing devil from the original Sandman series; this book is still running as well, so it could provide a convenient tease for readers who might consider picking up the TPBs
* Losers #1 -- if anything, this politically-charged high-intensity (and criminally under-ordered) action series is a testament to the vitality and diversity of the Vertigo line; moreover, it's a great way to establishing that 'mature readers' comics need not be limited to the sex-&-sorcery formula that other Vertigo titles have developed a reputation for.
Any choices for a sixth title? :?
ourchair
Well-Known Member
I actually feel that the inclusion of titles like Death: The High Cost of Living, Swamp Thing and Transmetropolitan was the wrong decision.compound said:
Instead of promoting series whose commercial prospects have already been decided (Death as part of essential Gaiman reading, Transmet as popular misanthropy), Vertigo could have gone with trying to promote series that are severely underperforming, some even selling far less than these older legacy titles were back in the days when comics were still considered geek material.
As you mentioned, titles like The Losers and Human Target deserve attention and excluding them for the sake of titles that have already been "sold" strikes me as not only a shame, but underselling the imprint as merely "The Imprint of Weird and Trippy Late 20th Century Comics".
I mean, I don't mean to be Mister Poo-Poo here, but this is almost as if Marvel Comics had sold a sampler that consisted entirely of Brian Michael Bendis books.
compound
Well-Known Member
In no way have the commercial prosepcts of Transmet and Death been decided with any kind of finality. DC have been mercifully diligent about keeping the two Death mini-series and all the Transmet TPBs in circulation. In fact, there's still a few uncollected Spider stories from random odds and ends, if I'm not mistaken -- Winter's Edge stories, anthology pieces, etc. So there may yet be one more Transmet book forthcoming. And Death has since appeared in various other titles since Time of Your Life -- the At Death's Door manga by Jill Thompson, for example.ourchair said:
The stories reprinted in First Taste may be a helpful 'gateway' of sorts, for an untapped market to discover the related work.
For all intents and purposes, First Taste seems to be aimed at the (mythical?) 'bookstore crowd' rather than the set-in-their-ways readers who buy from the Diamond-dependent direct market. And they may not yet be familiar with Spider's cult misanthropy, or Death as icon of post-Hot Topic affected Goth chic.
compound
Well-Known Member
Anybody else want to speculate which stories could (or *should*) be reprinted in the next volume of First Taste (if there are really plans for another one, that is)?
Friday
Well-Known Member
Vertigo First Taste Classic
The Sandman #1
A good, one shot Hellblazer story.
The Invisables #1 (Always good to have Morrison in your line-up)
Preacher #1 (Same with Garth Ennis)
V For Vendetta #1
Since a few of those are a bit oversized we'll stick at 5.
The Sandman #1
A good, one shot Hellblazer story.
The Invisables #1 (Always good to have Morrison in your line-up)
Preacher #1 (Same with Garth Ennis)
V For Vendetta #1
Since a few of those are a bit oversized we'll stick at 5.
compound
Well-Known Member
If you want to get people into non-superhero comics, you probably can't go wrong buying this for them, for Christmas.
It's ideal for people who belatedly 'discovered' the quality of the 2000AD veterans and the Vertigo proteges (Morrison, Ellis, Vaughn, Brubaker, Milligan, Ennis, among others), by way of their work on the 'mainstream' titles.
And it's an equally good jumping-on point for well-read, well-meaning, but unintentionally snobby types who don't want to read comics unless they can be readily classified as "graphic novels".
There was also a follow-up release a few months back called VERTIGO: FIRST OFFENSES, which includes reprints of the following: THE INVISIBLES #1 (written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Steve Yeowell), FABLES #1 (written by Bill Willingham and illustrated by Lan Medina & Steve Leialoha), PREACHER #1 (written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillon), SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE #1 (written by Matt Wagner and illustrated by Guy Davis) and THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: LUCIFER #1 (written by Mike Carey and illustrated by Scott Hampton).
I'll leave it up to Baxter to decide if he wants to do a quick run-down of the content, because he does the descriptive blurby thingamajig better than I can.
It's ideal for people who belatedly 'discovered' the quality of the 2000AD veterans and the Vertigo proteges (Morrison, Ellis, Vaughn, Brubaker, Milligan, Ennis, among others), by way of their work on the 'mainstream' titles.
And it's an equally good jumping-on point for well-read, well-meaning, but unintentionally snobby types who don't want to read comics unless they can be readily classified as "graphic novels".
There was also a follow-up release a few months back called VERTIGO: FIRST OFFENSES, which includes reprints of the following: THE INVISIBLES #1 (written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Steve Yeowell), FABLES #1 (written by Bill Willingham and illustrated by Lan Medina & Steve Leialoha), PREACHER #1 (written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillon), SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE #1 (written by Matt Wagner and illustrated by Guy Davis) and THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: LUCIFER #1 (written by Mike Carey and illustrated by Scott Hampton).
I'll leave it up to Baxter to decide if he wants to do a quick run-down of the content, because he does the descriptive blurby thingamajig better than I can.
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ourchair
Well-Known Member
By finality, I meant that these are projects that do make money in the 'ancillary' market of trades, hence Death, regardless of how well they did in singles.compound said:
But these samplers would be a great opportunity to promote stuff that's running right now. Why focus on Transmetropolitan and the like, when you could be pushing stuff like the Losers and Fables (now featured in First Offenses) that have the makings of cash cow-ness before their runs conclude and the freshly pressed fanatics eventually decide to get the trades.
Hell, it'd justify them making 'must-have' hardcovers like they do for Sandman, which to my mind are designed for converts who have already read off of a friend or bought some worn-out softcover trades on a whim before. DC/Vertigo needs to perfect the art of comic-rape.
compound
Well-Known Member
Funny how they still haven't thrown in an 'iconic' John Constantine/Hellblazer story yet. Too much continuity? It's odd, because after Morpheus and maybe Death, he is the first image that comes to mind, when one mentions 'Vertigo', to me. He's definitely part of the 'canon', and his series is ongoing until now. Maybe the editors would rather not associate him with the Vertigo imprint 'brand', since the movie was such a horrible failure?
I hope DMZ #1 gets reprinted along with the next 'First' collection, because I can see it becoming the next "breakthrough hit", in the Fables/Y The Last Man kind of way.
I hope DMZ #1 gets reprinted along with the next 'First' collection, because I can see it becoming the next "breakthrough hit", in the Fables/Y The Last Man kind of way.
GMaster
Banned
Same about Johnny Boy. I don't get why they havn't included him. Also, they should put Preacher in there. Preacher is one of THE greatest comics of all time. Its worth a mention.
compound
Well-Known Member
Um... They did, in the second collection, titled First Offenses. See Post #14 in this thread.GMaster said:
compound
Well-Known Member
Should there be another 'Firsts' collection? Or do you think it would be diluting the line already?
Friday
Well-Known Member
Deffinatly continue this. I know a few people that are getting First Offenses for christmas this year (I actualy can't find First taste atall. Go figure.)
For the next collection we need a Hellblazer story. I'd suggest Ennis's first issue, or any of the Ellis stand alones. Setting Sun was one that stuck with me... Or the man with the aborted fetus of the antichrist in a box. That was excellent.
Animal Man #1 - Because Grant Morrison is that damn good. And its a great portrayal of a tier 7 superhero trying to come back.
Not sure what else sould go into the next one after that. I agree that they're deffinatly marketing these to the bookstore crowd so and of the new launches (DMZ, Exterminaters, Testement, American Virgin) would all be outside of thier targets. Losers would probably be a good choice since its finishing out now.
For the next collection we need a Hellblazer story. I'd suggest Ennis's first issue, or any of the Ellis stand alones. Setting Sun was one that stuck with me... Or the man with the aborted fetus of the antichrist in a box. That was excellent.
Animal Man #1 - Because Grant Morrison is that damn good. And its a great portrayal of a tier 7 superhero trying to come back.
Not sure what else sould go into the next one after that. I agree that they're deffinatly marketing these to the bookstore crowd so and of the new launches (DMZ, Exterminaters, Testement, American Virgin) would all be outside of thier targets. Losers would probably be a good choice since its finishing out now.
