Just How Old Is Jack Horner, Anyway?
By Martijn Form
Well, that was an interesting week for me. I BBQ’ed my cpu and motherboard, bought a new computer that had major bugs in its motherboard, and finally bought a new cpu and motherboard for my old computer, only to find out that they don’t fit the PC case. But enough excuses, this is a Vertigo column, not some FAQ computer nerd column.
Apologies, but with all my computer problems, I could only provide you with this tardy, short (and somewhat different) column. Vertigo had a hell of a good streak the last few weeks. Some beautiful comics were released, which brings us to our
Vertigo: First Cut contest:
Last week we ran a lovely contest in this column. I asked one simple question for someone to receive a free copy of Vertigo's First Cut, a trade book chock full of Vertigo's best number one issues from the last two years.
It also provided a hell of a great preview for a new Vertigo series titled Air; here's the solicitation description of the first issue:
AIR #1
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art and cover by M.K. Perker
Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a change in our flight plan. You may have heard of a group called the Etesian Front — vigilantes dedicated to taking the skies back from terrorism. Sounds like a noble cause, right? But there's more to them than meets the eye. They're after someone I know. Someone who is either an average frequent flier — or a terrorist. And he's got a secret. Something that will change the way we fly — and the way we see technology — forever.
To find him, we've altered course. We're en route to a country that doesn't exist on any maps. Only one person knows how to get us there: me.
My name is Blythe, and I'll be your stewardess today. So buckle your seatbelts — this will be the flight of your life.
This extra-sized debut issue features the series’ regular cover price of $2.99 US.
On sale August 20 • 40 pg, FC, $2.99 US
More pages, same price! That's what I like!
This new series sounds and looks amazing, judging from the preview art provided in Vertigo: First Cut. Reading the Air preview provided me with the same great feeling I had when I picked up the first issue of Y: The Last Man. I have to confess that I only bought the First Cut trade for the Air preview because I already own the rest of included stories.
But before I keep babbling and forget the most important thing, let me announce the winner from last week's contest! The question I asked was: "In the Jack of Fables comic book how old is Jack?" As the judge and the jury for the most creative and accurate answer, I determined the winner to be…
Rob Tevis.
Congratulations Rob, hope you will do me the pleasure of putting First Cut on your coffee table for some weeks. Then whenever company comes over, you get to serve them more than milk and cookies. Trust me: your guests will love you for it.
Here is Rob Tevis's wonderful, in-depth answer:
"Any Bible scholar will tell you that in the Gospel of John (written circa 70 AD), there is a fellow named 'the disciple that Jesus loved.' His name is never given, just that phrase. Is it coincidental that this is in a book with the title the Gospel of 'John' (you know, as in Wicked John, who has been trying to downplay Jack's involvement in all things since the beginning)?
Also: Jack's last name is Horner. 'Horner' has its roots from evangelists. John's Revelation has a picture of trumpets (or horns) being blown when the God's judgment is meted out. This means that Jack's last name even has Bible roots.
So here is my theory: Jesus was 33 when he died in 29 AD. Jack would have been the Disciple at the cross whom he loved. He is charming! Jack was a teen at the time - around 17. So I think that Jack was born in 12 AD. This makes him 1,996 years old!
Someone might ask: if Jack was around Jesus, then why did he turn out to be such a scoundrel? Maybe Judas Iscariot was framed by our beloved (anti?) hero. He may have even been a scoundrel back then!
This goes with the theory that Jack is older than America (since most of the Jack stories come from the Old Countries) and gives him enough time to spread his stories around the English speaking world.
So that is my guess - Jack Horner is 1,996 years old."
I couldn't have said it better. Haha. Thank you for the history lesson, Rob. You see, dear readers, we Vertigo lovers learn something new everyday.
That's it for this week, but since my draconian editor won't allow me to post a column this short, below are some Vertigo solicitations that have recently been announced. Have a great week!
Martijn Form
P.S. I can't wait for the Y: The Last Man hardcover book coming out in October!
CAIRO SC
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art and cover by M.K. Perker
The original graphic novel by breakout talent G. Willow Wilson, a Cairo-based journalist, with art by renowned illustrator M.K. Perker, is now available in trade paperback! The creative team behind the new monthly series Air brings together ancient and modern Middle East with a Vertigo twist. A stolen hookah, a spiritual underworld and a genie on the run change the lives of five strangers forever in this modern fable set on the streets of the Middle East's largest metropolis.
This magical-realism thriller interweaves the fates of a drug runner, a down-on-his-luck journalist, an American expatriate, a young activist and an Israeli soldier as they race through bustling present-day Cairo to find an artifact of unimaginable power, one protected by a dignified jinn and sought by a wrathful gangster-magician. But the vastness of Africa's legendary City of Victory extends into a spiritual realm – the Undernile – and even darker powers lurk there…
Don't miss the incredible graphic novel Publishers Weekly called "lush and energetic...a beautiful book," and The Los Angeles Times Book Review praised as "lyrically beautiful."
Advance-solicited; on sale September 24 • 6.875” x 9”
160 pg, B&W, $17.99 US100 BULLETS VOL. 12: DIRTY TP
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso
Cover by Dave Johnson
In this volume collecting issues #84-88 of the award-winning series, more members of The Trust fall, and one family head reaches out to a semi-retired Minuteman for help and protection. But with blood in the water and Graves and his soldiers making a final push for total control, will this old-timer be able to stop the massacre?
Advance-solicited; on sale September 17 • 128 pg, FC, $12.99 USFABLES: COVERS BY JAMES JEAN HC
Written by James Jean
Foreword by Bill Willingham
Art and cover by James Jean
Now, for the first time, the exquisite Fables covers by James Jean, winner of multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards, whose diverse clients include Prada and Pepsi, are collected in one extraordinary volume!
Perfect for any art-book library or Fables completist, this volume includes never-before-seen sketch material, along with insightful commentary and remarkable insights into Jean’s creative process. Also included is a afterword by celebrated Fables writer/creator Bill Willingham.
Designed and annotated by the artist, this deluxe, oversized hardcover includes ten vellum sleeve inserts, an embossed case and other fine art details that make Fables: Covers by James Jeanas elegant and unique as the Fables covers themselves.
Advance-solicited; on sale October 29 • 8.625” x 11.625”
208 pg, FC, $39.99 USARMY@LOVE: THE ART OF WAR #1
Written by Rick Veitch
Art and cover by Rick Veitch & Gary Erskine
What’s the matter, bunky? Quagmire in the Middle East got you down? Economy in the toilet? Closest thing you’ve got to a social life these days is your MySpace page? Then have we got the miniseries for you!
Laugh your troubles away with Army@Love: The Art of War, as Season Two of the wildly acclaimed satire by Rick Veitch (Swamp Thing) and Gary Erskine (The Filth) follows the raucous misadventures of a group of U.S. soldiers fighting the war that modern marketing says is winnable.
This 6-issue miniseries provides the perfect entree into the comic book that Entertainment Weekly called "amazingly racy and ruthless," and that Variety said is "full of the kind of wild ideas that comics used to do all the time." It's more over-the-top sex, mayhem and human comedy that boingboing.net described as "the kind of funny we need a lot more of if we're to keep from laughing ourselves into the grave."
On sale August 6 • 1 of 6, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
LOVELESS VOL. 3: BLACKWATER FALLS TP
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Danijel Zezelj and Werther Dell’Edera
Cover by Marcelo Frusin
In this final volume collecting issues #13-24 of the acclaimed series, the mysterious secret of Blackwater Falls comes into focus when Ruth finally confronts her tragic past. Retailers: This item is resolicited. All previous orders are cancelled.
Advance-solicited; on sale September 10 • 288 pg, FC, $19.99 USSCALPED VOL. 3: DEAD MOTHERS TP
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by R.M. Guera and John Paul Leon
Cover by Dave Johnson
In this third volume of the acclaimed series, collecting issues #12-18, undercover FBI agent Dashiell Bad Horse’s home reservation wakes up the morning after the opening of the Crazy Horse Casino to find that two women have been murdered during the night. It's up to Dash to find the killers and, in the process, come to grips with his relationship with his own mother.
Advance-solicited; on sale October 1 • 168 pg, FC, $17.99 USY: THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION BOOK 1 HC
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Pia Guerra & Jose Marzan, Jr.
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
The first ten issues of the award-winning series written by Brian K. Vaughan (Ex Machina, Lost) are collected in an oversized hardcover with a new cover! Don't miss the amazing SF epic that Stephen King called "The best graphic novel I've ever read."
Advance-solicited; on sale October 15 • 256 pg, FC, $29.99 US 7.0625” x 10.875”Got a comment or question about this Soapbox?
Leave at message at the Vertigo Spotlightes Message Board.
