Vertigo Holiday Shopping ListBy Martijn Form
Hi Vertigolovers,
Vertigo provided me with their solicitations for the month of December, and new trades that will be in stores in January. There are loads of great things for us in store, just follow my lead, and let me guide through this massive list.
The first new monthly, which I'm pretty jazzed up about is Haunted Tank. I'm pretty jazzed up about it, not because I'm a great fan of the DC version of Haunted Tank, but more so to see what Vertigo can do with this concept. I must confess that the only thing I read by writer Frank Marraffini is his The Dark Goodbye trilogy, a manga sized graphic novel published by Tokyopop. The Dark Goodbye is a detective story in the great tradition of Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spilliane, but coated heavily with H.P. Lovecraftian-like horror. The premise is quite interesting, but the overall quality of the book disappointed me a bit. I think it lacked a strong plot, but it does have some memorable scenes, and the dialogue is lovely too.
The art by Drew Rausch is just splendid. That I didn't totally absorb The Dark Goodbye has probably more to do with the fact that I don't like Manga, especially the strict booksize Manga format. Yes, for me size does matter.
British artist Henry Flint is maybe best known for his work for magazines like 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine. I happened to see his name for the first time in Death Blow, where he provided some inking, but maybe you know him from penciling the recent DC title The Omega Men.
To make a long story short, two new names are being added to the Vertigo Family. So let's give them a warm welcome, and make this a sold-out issue.
Haunted Tank #1
 Written by Frank Marraffino
Art by Henry Flint
Cover A by Joe Kubert
Cover B by Henry Flint
The Haunted Tank is back in action, but this time it's an M1 Abrams in modern-day Iraq! African American tank commander Jamal Stuart has his 21st century war ride in full battle rattle and is ready for anything anything except the whistling-Dixie combat guru ghost who shows up uninvited!
Of course, this isn't the first time the spirit of Confederate Civil War General J.E.B. Stuart has helped guide a tank. In times of war he makes himself available to assist his descendants in battle. Jamal Stuart, meet your forefather! It's the newest chapter in the legacy of a long-time DC icon from writer Frank Marraffino (The Dark Goodbye) and artist Henry Flint (Omega Men).
On sale December 3 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US MATURE READERS
The other comic that is a must have is Hellblazer #250. Just look at the list of writers and artists attached to this issue! Jamie Delano is back at Vertigo, hell yeah! This is a great issue to bring to a comiccon to cover it with some nice autographs, don't you think? After this issue Simon Oliver will be the regular writer of Hellblazer. The only thing I can say about that is: Bring it on.
Hellblazer #250
 Written by Brian Azzarello, Jamie Delano, Dave Gibbons, China Miιville and Peter Milligan
Art by Eddie Campbell, Rafael Grampα, David Lloyd, Giuseppe Camuncoli and others
Cover by Lee Bermejo
Happy Christmas and happy 250th issue! An all-star creative cast leaves five new holiday tales under the tree in this oversized holiday special. See what the season has in store for the always-naughty, never-nice John Constantine. It's the most wonderful time of the year! Right?
On sale December 17 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US MATURE READERS
Below you will find the complete list of other monthlies that will hit the comic store in December. I think this big list is just so much food for the imagination that every book is on my pull list with the exception of Army@Love and Jack of Fables, which I read in trade format. Seeing the solicitation for 100 Bullets saddens me because that means there are only two issues remaining of this excellent series.
The Sandman: The Dream Hunters #2
Story by Neil Gaiman
Adaptation and art by P. Craig Russell
Cover by Yuko Shimizu
Variant cover by Mike Mignola
On sale December 3 32 pg, FC $2.99 US
100 Bullets #98
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso
Cover by Dave Johnson
On sale December 10 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Air #5
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art and cover by M.K. Perker
On sale December 17 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Fables #79
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Mark Buckingham, Andrew Pepoy and Peter Gross
Cover by James Jean
On sale December 7 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Army@Love: The Art of War #5
Written by Rick Veitch
Art by Rick Veitch & Gary Erskine
Cover by Rick Veitch
On sale December 3 5 of 6 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Jack of Fables #29
Written by Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham
Art by Tony Akins & Josι Marzan
Cover by Brian Bolland
On sale December 31 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
DMZ #37
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli
Cover by John Paul Leon
On sale December 10 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Greatest Hits #4
Written by David Tischman
Art by Glenn Fabry & Gary Erskine
Cover by Glenn Fabry
On sale December 24 4 of 6 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
House of Mystery #8
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Luca Rossi and Henry Flint
Cover by Glenn Fabry
On sale December 10 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Madame Xanadu #7
Written by Matt Wagner
Art and cover by Amy Reeder Hadley & Richard Friend
On sale December 31 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Northlanders #13
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Ryan Kelly
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
On sale December 31 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Unknown Soldier #3
Written by Joshua Dysart
Art by Alberto Ponticelli
Cover by Igor Kordey
On sale December 24 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Scalped #24
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by R.M. Guera
Cover by Jock
On sale December 24 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Young Liars #10
Written by David Lapham
Art and cover by David Lapham
On sale December 10 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Let's now look what Vertigo has in store for us, trade wise.
Saga of the Swamp Thing seems like a really sweet book. It's Alan Moore and Stephen Bissette, which means it's a damn safe bet that I'm buying the book. And in this day and age, with the whole Stock Market and financial crisis, a safe bet is a welcome gift. I already got this book in softcover, so I will decide on the spot if I'm going to buy the hard cover.
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One HC
 Written by Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette, Dan Day and John Totleben
Cover by Stephen Bissett and John Totleben
Writer Alan Moore's seminal horror series is now published in hardcover for the very first time including the never-before-reprinted Saga of the Swamp Thing #20, in which Moore wraps up the previous storyline and sets the stage for the groundbreaking tales that were to come. Collecting Saga of the Swamp Thing #20-27, this first volume features the stories that put Moore on the comics map in the 1980s, thanks to his unique narrative style and deconstructive storytelling. Created by a freak accident, Swamp Thing believed he was once scientist Alec Holland--but when he discoveres his true nature, it shatters his universe and sends him on a path of discovery and adventure.
Featuring the art of Stephen Bissette and John Totleben, this groundbreaking work features mind-blowing, genre-defying stories starring the rich, complex character that Neil Gaiman called "The No. 1 New Classic Monster" in Entertainment Weekly.
Advance solicited; on sale February 11 208 pg, FC $24.99 US
Next up is American Splendor. If you missed the initial four issue Vertigo mini-series, this is your chance to pick it up. I can highly recommend this strange, but wonderfully warm book. Harvey Pekar always puts a smile on my face with his stories about basically nothing. It's a welcome change from all those horror, fantasy and gritty books Vertigo provides us. And just look at the list of artists; they had a field day with Pekar's unusual way of scripting a book.
American Splendor: Another Dollar TP
 Written by Harvey Pekar
Cover by Dean Haspiel
Art by Darwyn Cooke, David Lapham, Chris Weston, Dean Haspiel, Ty Templeton, Darick Robertson and others
More moving moments from the life of the essential everyman! Harvey Pekar returns with the second Vertigo volume of his American Splendor series. Harvey moves into his senior years and finds that he may be able to cope after all.
Advance-solicited; on sale January 7 136 pg, FC, $14.99 US
The House of Mystery is here, and that calls for some champagne. Only $9.99 for five marvelous issues, so there isn't any reason for not picking this up. If you like Fables or The Sandman, you will love this story by Matthew Sturges. Damn, I sound like a salesman, don't I?
House of Mystery Vol. 1: Room and Boredom TP
 Written by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham
Art by Luca Rossi, Ross Campbell, Sean Murphy, Zachary Baldus, Steve Rolston and Jill Thompson
Cover by Sam Weber
"This is the next Vertigo pillar to watch!" Wizard
Welcome to the House of Mystery! Filled with peculiar, otherworldly characters from all walks of life, this series from Matthew Sturges (Jack of Fables) and Bill Willingham (Fables) focuses on five people trapped in the reality-warping House of Mystery, a supernatural bar where tales are the legal tender and only the finest storytellers are patrons! But how and why they're stuck inside is all just a little piece of the puzzle in this first volume, which collects issues #1-5 of the all-new acclaimed series and special bonus material.
Advance solicited; on sale January 14 128 pg, FC $9.99 US
The next trade, I seem to have missed when it was published in Vertigo Pop. I went through my long boxes and couldn't find it, which is pretty strange. So this is my chance to complete my Vertigo collection.
This is what Jonathan Vankin said about his comic back in 2002: "Girls, gangsters, guns, sex, drugs, seaweed burgers, mayonnaise pizzas, pachinko, kidnapping, rioting, a man who wears a human skull as a codpiece -- all the elements that today's market demands.
If Seth's art doesn't grab you, well, I don't know what to say. You just don't like comics, that's all."
Hear, hear.
Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights TP
 Written by Jonathan Vankin
Art by Seth Fisher and Giuseppe Camuncoli & Shawn Martinbrough
Cover by Seth Fisher and Giuseppe Camuncoli
Two tragicomic tales of cultures in collision. When Americans venture abroad, they find that their assumptions about everyday life don't fit in a backpack. Collecting eight issues of the critically heralded VERTIGO POP!, written by Jonathan Vankin and featuring Eisner-nominated art by Seth Fisher (Green Lantern: Willworld) as well as Giuseppe Camuncoli and Shawn Martinbrough (Bangkok), Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights presents a journey to the far side of the world where Americans learn that they may be neither ugly nor innocent, but they still have everything to lose.
Advance-solicited; on sale January 21 192 pg, FC, $19.99 US
Well I hope you had as much fun with the column as I did because (again) there are some great Vertigo books on the horizon. I, for one already scribbled down some new books in my little notebook that I'm sure as hell going to order.
Vertigo is like a virus which you can't get out of your system. You carry it with you your whole life. The only medication available for this reader's friendly virus is reading more and more Vertigo books, till one day your head explodes with all that food for thought.
See you next column.
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