By Martijn Form  Hi Vertigolovers, On a regular basis, I get asked what Vertigo books I can recommend. This question is almost as hard to answer as "what's the meaning of life?" (And my answer to that question is that after 36 years of living on this planet, I haven't got a clue, other than that I'm older than Jesus was. Frightening thought, by the way. Maybe watching Monty Python's The Meaning of Life could give you a direction, and singing along will help quite a bit.) But what Vertigo books can I recommend? First of all, I don't know you. That's a major problem. To give you some good advice, I must know what makes you tic. How old are you? Which comics do you collect? What kind of novels do you read? What kind of movies do you watch? Are you married and how often do you have sexual intercourse? Maybe we have to study this mathematically, and break down Vertigo's massive catalogue into several categories to get a better understanding of the problem at hand. So allow me to recommend Vertigo books for Novice, Advanced, and Expert Vertigo Readers. When I think of novice readers, I think of people who have never read a Vertigo book--or maybe have never even held a comic book in their hands--but still love a good story. For this reader I will only pick stories that are in trade format because they are easy to find. To cover my own ass, the following list is random and can be criticized from every angle, but for the Novice reader, you have to start somewhere, right?  The Sandman: This series was written by Neil Gaiman, who is now the New York Times bestseller author of American Gods and Stardust. The freedom Gaiman got from Vertigo is tremendous; he could write about any thing, any place, from any time period. The best comparison I can think for The Sandman would be The Twilight Zone but in The Sandman all stories are the sum of a larger scheme. It's horror, fantasy and drama combined in a way that even Stephen King called Neil Gaiman "a master storyteller." The trades are excellent, but if you got the money, you should buy the Absolute editions.Fables: Where Hans Christian Andersen and The Brothers Grimm stopped, Bill Willingham took over. This is a saga on the scale of Lord of the Rings, about all those fairy tale characters we know and love, but in Fables they all live in one grand narrative, instead of playing out their parts in their own fairy tale like the original stories. Willingham's writing is sublime, and most of the art is done by Mark Buckingham who will suck you in, with his cheerful and highly entertaining drawings. This series is still ongoing with 75 issues so far, but don't let that scare you. Just start with the first trade Fables Vol 1: Legends in Exile and work your way through. It gets better and better, I promise you.  Y: The Last Man: I think this is the best post-apocalypse story ever written, not only in comic form, but novel or movie, you name it. This series contains one of the best first issues ever! It's deep, though provoking entertainment. Wow, did I say entertainment? No, it is sheer literature. Writer Brian K. Vaughan plays with words and dialogue like a good escape artist. It leaves you wondering: how does he do that? It's a multi-layered story that delves deeply in the psychology and philosophy of the human condition. One of my personal all-time favorite books. (Note: Image's Walking Dead is just as great, but this is a Vertigo column, right?)The Losers: This may be a odd choice, but I tried picking a book for every one's liking. This story about spies and conspiracies isn't as deep or thought-provoking as Y: The Last Man or The Sandman, it's still better entertainment than Hollywood can ever bring us. Yes, yes, I know The Losers is a movie is in the making, but you need to read the trades first; they will never capture Jock's gritty art on celluloid. Andy Diggle wrote a good story about brotherhood and betrayal, where every character has his/her own agenda. Five great trades that even hardcore gamers would enjoy. So are you ready for the Advanced Vertigo Reader's list? I won't elaborate as much about these books as I did for the "Novice" section because the "Advanced" reader is probably familiar with these books. Maybe the advance reader hasn't read all the issues, but at least he/she tried at least one or two. Am I right? If not, consider yourself a Novice reader. HAHA! The following list of books really opened my eyes about what comics can do and taught me a thing or two about great writing. Preacher: Reverend Jesse Custer is possessed by an angelic/demonic entity. Together with his ex-lover Tulip and a blood sucking Irish Vampire named Cassidy, they roam around the country looking for God because God has abandoned Heaven and Custer wants some answers. Preacher is a great saga, and I still believe this is Garth Ennis' best work. Ennis is good with a plot, but he is brilliant when it comes to language. It's harsh and foul, but it has meaning, not only to create the book's characters, but also to create the story itself. Just image what Pulp Fiction would be like with those stock Hollywood one-liner dialogues. Not much left to like, right? Preacher remains a story that I keep re-reading every once in a while.  The invisibles: It's hard to explain this book. It would be almost sufficient to tell you that this is a Grant Morrison book. Adding that this is an "offbeat" story would be redundant, yes? But let me use a quote from the grandmaster himself about The Invisibles: "It's the next stage in evolution of what I want to do with comics."A very strange and complex story that may be truly be for the Expert Vertigo reader. Transmetropolitan: To my mind there is a link between Preacher, The Invisibles and Transmetropolitan. In all three series the writers pushed the creative envelope to the extreme. Warren Ellis wrote a series to shock his readers. He kicked his readers in the balls to get them to think about freedom of speech and a government's attempt to control it. The Books of Magic: Before Harry Potter, there was Tim Hunter, a young boy destined to become the greatest magician on Earth. But before that day comes, he has a lot of trouble with girls. Neil Gaiman wrote the initial Tim Hunter story, but my advice is to start with The Books of Magic Vol.1: Bindings because writer John Ney Rieber nailed the Tim Hunter character on every level. Vertigo books are for mature readers, but this one is also great for 12 year olds. Harry Potter fans will love this series but in my humble opinion it's so much better than the Potter books. I will cherish the day when John Ney Rieber decides to do a Vertigo series again because he really is an unsung hero when it comes to comic book writing. Are you insane? You really want to label yourself an "Expert" Vertigo reader and have even LESS money in your walley!? Yes, I'm sorry to say that the following books are such great reads that they really HAVE to be in your Vertigo library. Here's a quick rundown. The Exterminators: This is a personal favorite of mine. Simon Oliver writes a terrific story about exterminators who have to save the world from giant cockroaches. I know it sounds like a B-movie, but believe me this series has quality written all over it: the plot, the dialogue and Tony Moore's art.  Testament: Douglas Rushkoff knows his Bible stories, and he weaves them into a bleak future world. Grant Morrison said about this series: "Rushkoff and (artist) Sharp unveil the new voice of dissent. Make no mistake, the greatest story ever told continues right here."I read this story with a Bible in close range to unravel the whole mystique of this multi-layered narrative. American Virgin: Religion and Sex! I'm still convinced that this is writer's Steven T. Seagle's best work. Unfortunately, disappointing sales forced Vertigo to cancel this series. Why the poor sales? Maybe readers tried out the first trade (American Virgin Vol. 1: Head) and didn't think it was a strong story. Well, I can appreciate that sentiment, but the second trade is so much better. There is so much controversial stuff in here that most readers aren't ready for. After you read all four trades, I'm confident you'll agree this is great material. DMZ: Brian Wood brings a warzone right into the heart of New York. Mayhem. Drama. Wonderful writing and excellent art by Riccardo Burchielli. Human survival in a torn apart America. Yes, what happened to books like Hellblazer, Lucifer, Swamp Thing and Shade The Changing Man. Well, the purpose of making these kinds of lists is nothing more than point you in the right direction. You don't want me holding your hand all the way, do you? There is so much great stuff to unravel in the fast Vertigo library that you should just go into your comic store and browse through some of the books mentioned in my Novice, Advanced or Expert lists. When you are ready for more, well…you know where to find me. In the meantime keep reading those Vertigo books. They can help you become a great human being. See you next week. |
