Demo the Demo

By Martijn Form

Hi Vertigolovers,

Today it’s all about "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly." The Ugly is easy because that’s me, haha. So let’s start with "The Bad," meaning the bad news.

This week another Vertigo series ends. I'm talking about Crossing Midnight by Mike Carey and Jim Fern, which ends with issue #19:

"War. That's what the Haras' simple wish for a safely born child has led to. Now, with destruction at every turn, the last battle is between Kai, Toshi and Aratsu, but how many of their newfound allies will die before their conflict reaches its bloody conclusion?"

I have to be honest: I read every Vertigo book, but this one I dropped after 6 issues. It's strange that I dropped it because I'm a big fan of Mike Carey, especially his work on Hellblazer, and I'm rediscovering his Lucifer saga.

Crossing Midnight though didn't do it for me. It always saddens me when a Vertigo comic series gets cancelled, although I prefer the term "concluded." I wrote several reviews of Crossing Midnight, but I couldn't get past the weak coloring and Jim Fern's art. Even reading it in trade didn’t made my day. I have no clue what was going on with the coloring, but somehow it doesn't print well. My single issue copies look differently than both Crossing Midnight Vol. 1: Cut Here and Vertigo: First Cut. The shading and tone are different. Fern's art is too sterile for my taste. If you look at the preview art of Madame Xanadu with its detailed fantasy art by Amy Reeder Hadley, it's a different ballgame. I think Crossing Midnight would have been much better, at least for me, with more detailed art and different coloring. But pick up the first trade and you be the judge.

So as one fantasy book (Crossing Midnight) leaves the stage, another (Madame Xanadu) enters front and center this week. I can't wait to pick up my copy.

The second piece good news is that the Demo trade arrives in stores this week. Demo is written by Brian Wood with the amazing art of Becky Cloonan. I have hyped Cloonan before because she is one of the best independent artists out there, let alone the best female artist.

Demo consists of twelve stand alone stories, connected only by the theme of normal folks discovering that they have super powers in one way or another. The series and the trade were first published by AIT PLANET LAR, and got some good reviews and critical acclaim. I think it's a smart move by Vertigo to decide to publish Demo in a new trade version because AIT PLANET LAR's trade version was smaller in dimension, and Vertigo will publish it in the usual comic book format. About the new version Brian Wood said on his website:

- will be full-size, to fix some funky stuff that happened when Becky's ziptones were shrunk down
- funky lettering will be fixed
- paper quality will be higher
- possibly the original 12 covers will be included

Brian Wood is a man of his word. Usually that is a good thing, but in this case I would have liked that he wasn't because I would have loved to see the extras in this trade. Let me explain that a bit. The original Demo monthlies contained some nice extras, like sketches and Wood's notes, material that also appeared in Brian Wood's Local. Brian Wood said back then that these extras were meant for the fans who buy the monthlies. Therefore, they would never be reprinted in the trade. I think he is sticking to his words. Good for him. Too bad for us.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to read anything by Brian Wood, this book is a great example of his writing genius.




So that’s it for this week!

What?

You want more Vertigo?

You want more great literature to get you high?

You got it! Let's look at some of the solicitations for Vertigo books coming out in September. All the books that are coming out in that month are worth a column by themselves, but that would overload your (and my) brain cells. So I picked several amazing titles that are more than worth your hard earned money.

100 Bullets #95
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso
Cover by Dave Johnson
The countdown to the series finale blazes on! With five issues left to go, all Hell is breaking loose as Lono finally chooses a side and makes one key player wish they never got into the underworld business.
On sale September 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

No, I don't want this! I just can't handle the fact that this brilliant series is coming to an end. I demand a hundred more issues. Dear Brian Azzarello, why did you have to tell us that 100 Bullets will end with hundred issues. Damn you! The writing is so brilliant, and you and Eduardo Risso are still the best creative team in my book. Every single issue of 100 Bullets is at least worth 4 bullets, so I can’t wait for issue #95.

Greatest Hits #1
Written by David Tischman
Art and Cover by Glenn Fabry
Variant cover by Ethan Van Sciver
Meet the Mates! They're the greatest super team of all time, straight out of England and into our hearts: Crusader, The Solicitor, Vizier and Zipper.
But who are the heroes behind the mania? How did they meet? And what’s next for The Mates? You’ll find out in this fab 6-issue miniseries written by David Tischman (Bite Club ) with art by Glenn Fabry (Neverwhere, Preacher, and Hellblazer) that pulls back the curtain to reveal the men behind the masks.
Greatest Hits looks at The Mates, from their humble 1960s beginnings, through the drug-fueled 1970s, and into the techno '80s, the grungy '90s, and to the present day. This is The Mates from the height of their glory to the depths of excess, as filmed by a struggling Hollywood director – one with his own dark ties to the team.
On sale September 17 • 1 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

I can't wait to see Glenn Fabry's art in a whole comic book, and not just a good cover. My mouth waters at the idea of Greatest Hits, and when I get some preview art for this series, you will be the first to see it here at the "Vertigo Spotlight."

The Absolute Sandman Vol. 4 HC
Written by Neil Gaiman
Art by Marc Hempel, D’Israeli, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston, Teddy Kristiansen, Richard Case, Michael Zulli, Jon J Muth and Kevin Nowlan
Cover by Dave McKean
This final volume includes behind-the-scenes extras plus issues #57-75 and a story from Vertigo Jam #1. Don't miss the end of what Playboy called "a modern myth, as well as a précis on why the stories we tell matter so much."
Advance-solicited; on sale November 5 • 608 pg, FC, $99.00 US

Some folks who write me about the column think that I get my comics for free and don't buy them in my local comic store. Well, I'm a hard core Vertigo fan. I buy all the books that Vertigo publishes. Most of them in monthlies, and some in trades, but I have been buying all the Vertigo series for decades now. The week of November 5 will be a hard one for me, food wise. The Absolute Sandman Vol. 4 HC is a must-have for me, even though I will be financially set back by this. So a week of only bread and water will be the best solution.

Crossing Midnight Vol. 3: The Sword in the Soul TP
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Jim Fern, Gabriel Hernandez, Matteo Guerrero & J.H. Williams III Cover by J.H. Williams III
Toshi and Kai lead the kami armies into battle, but it may take more to determine the fate of the twins. This final volume collects issues #13-19 of the series Publishers Weekly called “solid, entertaining and brilliantly executed.”
Advance-solicited; on sale October 8 • 168 pg, FC, $14.99 US

Hellblazer: The Family Man TP
Written by Jamie Delano and Dick Foreman
Art by Ron Tiner, Kevin Walker, Mark Buckingham, Sean Phillips, Steve Pugh, Dean Motter and Mark Pennington
Cover by Kent Williams
Collecting Hellblazer #23-24 and #28-33, this collection features one of the creepiest stories from fan-favorite Hellblazer writer Jamie Delano! A twist of fate sends John Constantine into the path of a serial killer known as the Family Man, whose bloody actions force the con man mage to make a shattering choice in their final showdown.
Advance-solicited; on sale October 22 • 208 pg, FC, $19.99 US

Northlanders Vol. 1: Sven The Returned TP
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Davide Gianfelice
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
In this first volume collecting Northlanders #1-8, DMZ writer Brian Wood stabs Viking lore in the face with a fresh take on what it means to be a warrior. Meet Sven, an exiled Viking prince who must return to the desolate lands of his birth to reclaim his vast inheritance upon the death of his father. See why Entertainment Weekly calls it "a well-researched, richly realized world that illuminates politics and culture without getting bogged down in history-book stuff."
Advance-solicited; on sale October 1 • 200 pg, FC, $9.99 US

Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm TP
Written by Percy Carey
Art and cover by Ronald Wimberly
Underground hip-hop icon Percy “MF Grimm” Carey tells the true story of his life in the game – from dizzying heights to heartbreaking losses – in this raw, brutally honest graphic novel memoir.
In Sentences, Carey chronicles his life in the sometimes glamourous, often violent, world of hip-hop. From the first time he picked up a microphone at a bloc party to the day he lost the use of his legs to gang violence and back around to his reincarnation and rise to the top of his game as a Hip-Hop Grand Master, no questions are left unanswered and no apologies are made, resulting in a truly moving graphic novel National Public Radio called "powerful" and Time Magazine labeled as "a top 10 best graphic novel of 2007."
Advance-solicited; on sale October 1 • 6.875” x 9” • 128 pg, B&W, $14.99 US

Un-Men Vol. 2: Children of Paradox TP
Written by John Whalen
Art by Mike Hawthorne
Cover by Tomer Hanuka
Explore what it means to be a freak in a society filled with gawkers in this final collection featuring issues #6-13 of the chilling series. When the albino government agent known as Kilcrop investigates a mysterious illness infecting the town of Aberrance, he winds up facing temptations he never could have imagined.
Advance-solicited; on sale October 1 • 192 pg, FC, $19.99 US

Some cool trades coming out, don't you think? I got them all in monthlies, and I think they are all highly entertaining, especially Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm. That is a great book that will blow you away.

That's it for this week. See you next week. And remember: A Vertigo book a day, keeps the doctor away.

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