Beginning this October, DC Comics will be launching a new series of reprints under the label DC Comics Presents. Each of these colossal issues will reprint hard to find material themed around particular characters, creators, or story arcs. Each of these issues pack a hefty 96 pages, but the large size comes with an equally large price tag of $7.99. Even more interesting, however, is that Vertigo will be following suit with a series called Vertigo Resurrected. Their first choice? Warren Ellis’ unpublished Hellblazer story, “Shoot.”
Vertigo has a long history of publishing thought provoking stories that resonate whether they’re horror, crime, war, western, fantasy, urban memoir, science fiction or reality based.
So why not dig through the archives and bring some of them back? Welcome to VERTIGO RESURRECTED — a series of one-shots and specials geared to do just that—embrace history and stories that connect with the present day activities of our favorite protagonists, antagonists and creators.
“Shoot,” Warren Ellis’s much-talked about, but never published, HELLBLAZER story involving schoolyard killings leads this mega-sized VERTIGO RESURRECTION special.
Also included are rarely seen tales exploring the disturbing depths of horror, war, romance and science fiction by Brian Azzarello, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis and artists Jim Lee, Phil Jimenez, Bernie Wrightson, and others. Cover by Tim Bradstreet.
VERTIGO RESURRECTED #1 On Sale October 20 / 96 pages / $7.99
If you’re a Warren Ellis fan, like most of us here at Multiversity are, you’ve probably heard the story behind the unreleased “Shoot,” but for those who haven’t, it goes something this (straight from Mr. Ellis himself):
Years ago, I wrote a brief run on the DC Vertigo horror comic JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER. Brief, because I wrote a horror story therein called SHOOT. SHOOT was about schoolyard slayings in the United States. It was completed before Columbine happened, but scheduled to appear not long after. The regime at DC Comics at the time decided that it could not be released in its completed form. I refused to go along with the changes they wanted to make. They decided not to publish the book at all. I quit.
I remember that, at the time, someone telling me that the stance was that Paul Levitz would not release the book so long as he was running DC.
It never occurred to me that a new regime would feel differently.
I, for one, am very excited to finally read this arc. What do you readers think of these new reprint collections and of “Shoot” finally being published?
