This week I wanted to try something a little different and recommend some books that you might not be picking up every month. Why? Because you can only handle so many AVENGERS and GREEN LANTERN books before your head explodes. So feel free to try one (or all) of these instead:

IRREDEEMABLE (Boom):

What’s it about? According to writer Mark Waid, the basic idea of the series is this:

“What if you go from, you know, Captain America to Doctor Doom? What if you go from Superman to Lex Luthor? How do you go from being the greatest hero in the world — someone that everybody knows, and everybody loves, and everyone recognizes — to the greatest villain in the world? What is that path? It’s not a light switch, it’s not an on-off switch, it’s not something that you wake up one day and just become evil.”

The series focuses on the world coming to grips with it’s most beloved (and most powerful) hero going rogue. Waid examines what it takes to make a good man evil, and the effect it has on those around him.

Why should you read it? Waid is a master when it comes to writing super baddies (see EMPIRE) and ensemble casts (see KINGDOM COME). Peter Krause (the penciller) is spot on when it comes to showing character emotions. The book is two trades deep and shows no signs of stopping. Get on board with this title while it’s still early.

THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo):

What’s it about? Well, I can’t do a better job of summing it up than Wikipedia can, so I’ll just hand it over to them:

“The plot revolves around Tom Taylor, son of Wilson Taylor, an author who disappeared without a trace at the height of his career. Wilson wrote a series of books about a boy wizard called Tommy Taylor, filled with fantasy, even being compared to the Harry Potter series. During a comic convention, it comes to light that Tom Taylor may not be Wilson’s son at all. Conspiracy theories about identity fraud become prominent with fans of the books, becoming outraged that they may have been lied to all this time. Other fans in New Zealand that form a cult, create a theory that Tom Taylor may in fact be Tommy Taylor made flesh from words, and that he will be their messiah. This theory gains credibility when other characters from the Tommy Taylor series begin to involve themselves in the real world. Tom then sets out to find out the truth behind all of this, while a covert organization looms in the background.”

Why should you read it? Writer Mike Carey (LUCIFER) writes a character in Tom Taylor that is both sad and sympathetic. Artist Peter Gross is bold in his layouts, and his simplified line work helps give the book it’s own unique feel. The book is only 13 issues in, but is ramping up for a great second year.

CASANOVA (Image):

What’s it about? The book,  by writer Matt Fraction and artists Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, is a crazy espionage thriller with secret agents, shadowy bandaged benefactors, alternate universes, freelance thieves, fun gizmos, oh, and of course, sexy ladies!

Why should you read it? Did you not read the description? If that isn’t enough for you, let me remind you that Matt Fraction is the guy who made Iron Fist cool, and Ba makes Gerard Way look good in THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY. This book has two trades out already with a third “season” gearing up for later this year, so now is a good time to get caught up.

MOUSE GUARD (Archaia):

What’s it about? Let’s hear it straight from Achaia:

“The mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world’s harsh conditions and predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed. After persevering against a weasel warlord in the winter war of 1149, the territories are no longer as troubled. True, the day to day dangers exist, but no longer are the Guard soldiers, instead they are escorts, pathfinders, weather watchers, scouts and body guards for the mice who live among the territories. Many skills are necessary for the guard to keep the borders safe. They must find new safeways and paths from village to village, lead shipments of goods from one town to another and, in case of attack, guard against all evil and harm to their territories.” They are not simply soldiers that fight off intruders; rather, they are guides for the common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden mouse village to another. The Guard patrols borders, finds safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watches weather patterns, and keeps the mouse territories free of predators. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live.”

Why should you read it? If for no other reason than bad-ass medieval rodents and the interesting format (8″ x8” as opposed to 6.5″ x 10″). It also helps that writer/ illustrator David Peterson has managed to write characters so good that you often forget that you are reading about a colony of mice.

GHOST PROJEKT (Oni Comics):

What’s it about? Well, the official series pitch from Oni goes a little something like this:

“Russia is often remembered from the shadow cast during the Cold War-era when every stranger was a spy, but now that the Cold War is long over, some things left behind from that era may not stay lost. An abandoned Soviet research facility somewhere in Siberia has been home to a strange and dangerous weapon that is now in the hands of thieves claiming it for their own. U.S. weapons inspector Will Haley has been assigned to find out what dangers the weapon poses and with the help of Russian agent Anya Romanova they will find the answers, but it will be far from easy.”

Basically think X-files in Russia.

Why should you read it? Joe Harris lays out one creepy-ass mystery and Steve Rolston makes it even better. You can see the fear in a character’s eyes and feel a shiver down your spine when you catch a glimpse of a distorted footprint in the snow.  Also, the book is only five issues long, so you can probably grab the whole thing in trade format soon.

And one to grow on! Ok, this one is just debuting today, but I have high hopes…

MYSTERY SOCIETY (IDW):

What’s it about? Nick Hammond and Anastasia Collins run The Mystery Society, a group setting out to debunk myths and right covered up wrongs. The first issue sees the duo break into Area 51, and it just gets crazier from there (or so we are told).

Why should you read it? You have Steve Niles (30 DAYS OF NIGHT) writing a book about creepy conspiracy theories, so you know you have a good starting point right there. Add to that Ashley Wood (ZOMBIES VS. ROBOTS, SILENT HILL) , who can be as macabre as anyone throwing down pencils, and this series sounds like it will be read-with-the-lights-on awesome.

That’s it for this week folks! Stop in tomorrow to see what interesting paranormal goodness Dr. Cellus gleaned from his trip to the desert. Thanks, as always, for stopping in.

Today I am going to be starting a new column called “Spotlight”. In this column, I will, well, spotlight a different company, imprint, and maybe even a comic or two. You will get a little bit of history and a little bit of opinion, and hopefully, a lot of enjoyment.

As you might have been able to guess from the title, today’s Spotlight topic is going to be DC’s Vertigo imprint. So, let’s get started!

DC comics officially launched Vertigo in 1993, but the groundwork for the imprint was laid down well before that. The architect of Vertigo was an editor by the name of Karen Berger, who had started with DC in the late 1970’s as an assistant to editor Paul Levitz. Throughout the 1980’s Berger, now and editor, began amassing the (largely British) talent that would soon form the core of the Vertigo imprint. Berger was responsible for bringing names like Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano and Peter Milligan to DC. Berger placed the Brits on a variety of titles from DOOM PATROL, to SHADE THE CHANGING MAN, to HELLBLAZER. These titles, along with a few others (including Alan Moore’s SWAMP THING) would eventually form the core of the Vertigo imprint. What set these titles apart was that they were almost entirely for mature readers only.

ANIMAL MAN was one of the first Vertigo titles. He was also apparently afraid of mandrills.

In 1993, the big wigs at DC, including publisher Jenette Kahn and managing editor Dick Giordano, mandated that Berger take these titles and use them as the base of a new imprint that would “Help comics grow up.” And thus, Vertigo was born.

Gingers from space in coats made of insanity, these are the things Vertigo are made of.

Vertigo grew steadily over the next few years with a steady stream of titles in a variety of formats, from ongoing series like SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER, to mini-series like KID ETERNITY, to one-shots. The imprint was given a distinct trade dress to distinguish Vertigo from other DC books.

The strip on the side means “No Kids Allowed”

Two other things helped Vertigo grow over the next decade. One was a commitment to creator owned work, such as Y: THE LAST MAN, and 100 BULLETS. The other was that Vertigo was able to cherry-pick properties from defunct DC imprints and print them. Some examples of this are TRANSMETROPOLITAN, which started out under the Helix imprint, and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, which was printed under the Paradox Press imprint, but all reprints had the Vertigo tag attached to them.

Vertigo stole this man.

Vertigo has also experimented with several sub-imprints, such as Vertigo Pop! (focusing on pop culture) and Vertigo Verite (trying to capture the spirit of cinema verite), over the last 15 years, with varied results. The most recent sub-imprint is the newly formed Vertigo Crime imprint.

FILTHY RICH is the first title of the Vertigo Crime line. I’m guessing that woman is both filthy and rich.

Today Vertigo puts out about 20 titles a month, between graphic novels and regular books. Of the seven initial titles put out by the imprint, only HELLBLAZER is still ongoing, but new series such as DMZ and SCALPED are continuing the Vertigo tradition.

SCALPED. Despite appearances, this man does not have a head full of feathers.

Vertigo is an imprint with many strengths . With the impetus of the imprint being a rather vague “helping comics grow up”, the line can (and does) explore a wide variety of genres, from crime to horror to science fiction. And by carrying a mature reader label, creators have the freedom to tell their stories, not some watered-down kid-friendly version.

If this were a DC book, you’d never get to see breasts. What is SWAMP THING without breasts?

Another strength is that Vertigo does not have any distinct art style which means that each title can have an artist that best suits it, there is no need to have someone who fits the “house style”. From Chris Bachalo’s page-filling craziness to Edwardo Risso’s heavy blacks, each book gets the artist it needs, not the one the company wants.

This is Death. She’s Perky!

The importance that Vertigo places on creator owned work helps draw top level talent consistently. Vertigo also seems to maintain a good relationship with it’s creators, increasing the odds that they will continue to come back.

Anywhere else and this book would probably never get published.

For as great as Vertigo is, the imprint also has its flaws. With a mature readers tag, there is a somewhat limited base of readers that can be reached. If a book doesn’t sell, it doesn’t matter how great it is.

No matter how spectacular it is, a comic named LUCIFER is only gonna sell so many copies…

Also, while the lack of a particular art style keeps the books looking unique, many of the Vertigo books do not look very good. There have been a few series over the years that I have dropped (no, I will not name them) due to the lackluster art. The art styles are also rarely similar to what young readers get in their superhero books, so the change in styles could dissuade DC readers from becoming Vertigo readers.

What is going on here?

Vertigo is an imprint that has helped to change the landscape of comics. For all the shortcomings of the line (which aren’t really that many), the ability to expand the audience of comic book readers from mainly kids to anyone with eyes is huge. People may not like some of the comics that Vertigo has put out, but that is a part of the line’s beauty, there is something for everyone. Not to mention, some of the best comics that I have read in my life have come from vertigo. PREACHER, Y: THE LAST MAN, and 100 BULLETS are some of my all-time favorite series. I also think I can safely say that without Vertigo, there would be no Semantink today.

Thank you Vertigo, for the man with the dong-shaped head.

Thanks for stopping in all, and if you have a particular company/imprint/comic that you would like to see spotlighted (spotlit?), let me know.