This week, DC’s Vertigo imprint delivered to shops worldwide a free comic full of samples for four upcoming series: Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child, The New Deadwardians, Saucer Country and the long anticipated Fables spin-off, Fairest. As big proponents of the Vertigo imprint, naturally we had to take the time to discuss the offerings in this free peek at what 2012 has in store for the seminal imprint.
Take a look behind the cut as myself and Gilbert Short take a peak inside the book in a new installment of Multiversity’s dialogue reviews (formerly known as “Battle Reviews”), and be sure to grab a free copy of the sampler at your local shop if you haven’t done so already.
The State of the (Vertigo) Union
Matthew Meylikhov: So Gil, I think to start us off we should establish something: what do you love about Vertigo?
Gilbert Short: I love the fact it gives indie creators a more mainstream audience for their books. Vertigo publishes or has published some of the best comics out there, and companies like this one or Image makes sure I find more than superhero books on my bookshelf. How do you feel about DC’s Indie wing?
MM: God, I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a cynic, but I think that Vertigo is the only thing DC has ever consistently done right. Sure, there have been a few series I can’t say I particularly cared for, and I don’t read everything Vertigo puts on the shelves, but you hit the nail on the head there: Vertigo is the side of DC Comics and their parent company that consistently does comics “right”. No reboots, no dicey (and usually appalling) decisions of interior content — just great comics by talented individuals.
GS: Exactly.
MM: What Vertigo books do you currently find yourself into?
GS: Well, off hand, I’m just now starting DMZ and kicking myself for not getting into that sooner. I’m also catching up slowly with The Unwritten. I’ll be honest that most of my creator-owned books come from Image right now. I’m scared to ask you, because I know you read EVERYTHING.
MM: Ha! Well, I read American Vampire in trade, Fables, iZombie, Northlanders (RIP), Scalped in trade, Spaceman, Sweet Tooth, the Unwritten and, truth be told, I pre-ordered Fairest and Saucer Country without even reading this preview just from faith in the creative teams. I guess the only current Vertigo title I don’t read is … Hellblazer.
GS: Dang, I forgot about Scalped to be honest. That’s one I read in trade as well.
MM: Scalped is one of those books that I came to late in the game, and I’m kicking myself for not being there from the start. But, since I came so late to it, I don’t want to start picking the book up in single issues if only because I don’t see the point in breaking up my trade collection for it. It’s a FANTASTIC series, and one that I adore though.
GS: I’m the same with you on Scalped. I love it to death, but after reading the first 6 or so volumes in trade, there was no reason to switch to singles. As for American Vampire, I picked that up initially, but had to drop it due to budgetary constraints. However, seeing as how I think Snyder is KILLING IT in the DCnU, I may have to go back and catch up.
MM: It’s quite good, and it was very nice to see Sean Murphy’s spin-off book with Snyder collected in the third volume. A two for one deal! But same with me for American Vampire, really — though I initially skipped it because “ugh, vampires.” I then came to it in trade when (fellow MC staff writer Josh) Mocle gave me his copy of the book. I actually have it signed by Mocle, believe it or not!
GS: How does it feel to have a book that’s worth less than nothing now? (Kidding Josh. Maybe.)
Continued belowMM: Oh, it feels absolutely WONDERFUL. I can’t wait to sell it on eBay and have to pay the buyer to take it off my hands!
Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child
MM: Diving straight into the preview book, we start with Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, Denys Cowan and John Floyd, which is described as a “dose of True Blood mixed with Treme and a journey into the heart of voodoo mythology.” I remember there being a preview of this series back in one of the two Vertigo anthologies released last year, but what was your take of this series preview, Gil?
GS: I really liked the art. It reminded me of a mix between Leinil Yu and Sean Murphy, now that I think about it. I thought it did a great job of drawing everyone in to the book, with a killer hook at the end of the teaser, but I did have a few problems with some of the lead-up into it. It felt…. murky, at best. It was a strange transition in my mind to go from walking through a cemetary to then suddenly astral project into someone’s past without any sort of reason.
I’m also a little over the idea of stories set in New Orleans with connections to voodoo. I get that it’s ingrained in the culture down there, but there’s got to be more to New Orleans than Voodoo and Mardi Gras.
I think I’ll check out the full issue before I make a final judgment, but for right now, I’m on the fence. What did you think of it?
MM: I can only vaguely remember the installment contained in (I believe) the second Vertigo anthology, but I remember at the time thinking that it wasn’t very good. In reading this, though, I actually found myself enjoying it a lot more. I would actually say the art is similar to American Vampire‘s Rafael Albuquerque, but it’s great either way, with absolutely wonderful colors that really nail the mystical tone well. I also like that it almost immediately eschews traditional storytelling format with a great splash page centered around Dominique’s face, and I’d be interested to see if there’s more like it within the full thing.
However, I can’t say I’m really pulled in by the story. I’m sort of intrigued by where it could be going, but at the same time there isn’t anything about it that really calls my name. It’s not bad, it’s just not … well, it’s not better than anything else.
You said that you liked the story, or at least the hook. What worked for you?
GS: Anything with ninja stars or something like them gets me interested. What can I say, I’m a sucker for violence.
MM: Ninjas! I don’t think I’ve ever seen ninjas dress so garishly!
GS: There were thorwing stars! That’s all I meant, you goon!
MM: Can I be honest about something? If there’s one thing that I really don’t care for in terms of the series already, it’s the title. I hope that doesn’t make me sound shallow, but it’s a bit much. It isn’t really catchy at all, and I feel a brand new series like this should have a title that’s a bit more punchy.
GS: Yeah, it’s a bit much. It’s hard to brand, which is something I was discussing today at my shop. Someone mentioned that Shadowpact was a better name for Justice League Dark, but we all agreed that JLD has a better brand name in the mainstream. But while that’s true for that book, this book definirely needs something more streamlined. Even if they streamlined it to simply Voodoo Child, it would be much more memorable, even if people say, “what’s that comic that’s also a Stevie Ray Vaughan song?”
MM: Hey, that’s an instant talking point! But I like that analogy. Honestly, I couldn’t come up with a better title for the book; maybe just Voodoo Child would be better, but its hard to say. And again, this is a weird thing to have a complaint about, out of everything the title currently offers, but it never the less comes up.
Continued belowGS: It’s pretty much certain this will be shortened to Voodoo Child anyway, like how Uncanny X-Men is more or less known as “Uncanny” implicitly while there’s also Uncanny X-Force. It’s buzzier.
MM: Oh, sure. In talking about it in the future, I doubt the full name will get used, no offense to Ms. Laveau. So with all that in mind, in terms of our regular 1-10 rating system, what would you give Voodoo Child?
GS: I’ll give it a 6. A Browser for sure.
MM: I’d say a 6 is fairly accurate, however I don’t think I’ll be picking up the first issue when it comes out unless I hear absolutely amazing things about it.
GS: Yep. I’ll most likely be looking through it for the art anyway. Great stuff. (And the possibility of more Voodoo Ninja Stars.)
The New Deadwardians
MM: Moving on, we have the New Deadwardians, by Dan Abnett and I.N.J. Culbard, a “detective story set in an alternate-history England” featuring vampire aristocrats against the zombie working class, no jokes intended. Gil, what’s your take?
GS: This one I really liked, but I’m a sucker for vampires and zombies. Even the main character had a certain Sherlock-ian quality to him, which reminded me of that Wildstorm book from a couple years ago. So the premise totally has me hooked from the outset. Then the art, while it’s less detailed than Voodoo Child, was something that pulled me in because of how the gore was presented. It was a little like Mike Allred in X-Statix, albeit subdued.
In the end, I dug the hook once again, but this one was more interesting than VC in my opinion. I wonder how he’ll find that cure. After I finished, I looked at who the writer was and I was unsurprised it was Abnett, considering how much I liked it.
MM: See, I am the EXACT opposite! I really disliked it. It was kind of like what I imagine Downton Abbey would be like if it was produced for the Twilight-era instead of something from Masterpiece Theater. I mean, I know everyone at the site (and off the site) makes fun of me for being an anglophile, and perhaps it is really off balance that I dislike something that is so British, but this comic didn’t do it for me at all. Not in the written aspect, not in the art… nothing.
GS: WHOA! What was I just saying about you being the worst Brit ever?
MM: Haha, I believe in our pre-chat chat you called me a “poor excuse for a wannabe Brit” because I prefer coffee over tea.
GS: Tsk tsk tsk.
MM: Of course, if it helps, in my head I hear David Mitchell’s voice reading my half of the conversation.
GS: I bet you like Twilight more than Harry Potter, too.
MM: I don’t particularly care for either!
GS: Why do you think it didn’t resonate with you? I mean, it is so British, after all.
MM: I generally like aera-appropriate dialogue, but a lot of the dialogue between the servants and the main character didn’t feel natural. I get that there is an aspect of humor to it, but it felt forced.
I also don’t particularly care for the angle, using vampires and zombies for class associations yet not entirely doing anything with either. It just wasn’t particularly interesting for me. If this is supposed to grab my attention, it couldn’t have been more by the books: man wakes up, man shoots zombie, man comforts woman — Ok. And?
Granted, this is six pages of a twenty page issue in an eight issue series. I could be way off the cuff, but at first taste, this was rather unenjoyable — and I usually like Dan Abnett! AND BRITISH THINGS!
GS: Actually if there’s one thing that rubbed me the wrong way it was the dialogue. It felt forced.
MM: It felt very forced. I maintain that it was done for humorous intent, but it was just a bit grating for me. And I’m saying this as an American who watches 10 O’Clock Live. (Editor’s note: it is, to an extent the British equivalent to The Daily Show, which I really have no purpose in watching.)
Continued belowGS: I felt like everyone talked like Kelly from Misfits, and only Lauren Socha can really pull off the cockney accent, gov’nar. (Editor’s note again: Kelly’s accent isn’t cockney, but don’t tell Gil.)
MM: Oi! Get rid o’ those fokin’ zombaehs, will ye’? And lehts get ourselves some bronch.
GS: WOT DA FOK IS BRONCH.
MM: So what would you give this in terms of a rating?
GS: I’ll give it 7 Zombies out of 10. Yourself?
MM: I’ll give it 3 bronches out of 10, because I guess the art was alright.
Saucer Country
MM: Next we have Saucer Country, the (at least to me) highly anticipated series from Paul “Doctor Who” Cornell and Ryan “Local” Kelly! It’s a book about the Mexican-American Governor of New Mexica, Arcadia Alvaredo, running for president, but she also happens to be an alien abductee! And now she has to become president “to expose the truth – and maybe, to save the world.” Gil! Thoughts?
GS: I love Cornell and Kelly, but this one bored me to tears. It was like The West Wing with aliens, and it didn’t really do a great service to either. I really dug the art, thankfully, but instead of the cool idea of a politician getting kidnapped by alien, that was almost swept under the rug for a campaign meeting. Why do I care about a campaign meeting in a teaser for a book called Saucer Country?
MM: Before I mention my thoughts, you bring up The West Wing. Now, I’m a HUGE fan of Aaron Sorkin, so I must ask — did you like The West Wing?
MM: I have watched the first two seasons, but not beyond that. I want to watch the rest desperately, though. I love Aaron Sorkin a lot, and I even dug Studio 60. I think I’m the only one who did, but I do. Sports Night is another favorite.
MM: I too enjoy Studio 60, so no worries there. Given your affection for dramas like The West Wing, why DON’T you care about a campaign meeting in a teaser for a book called Saucer Country? The book is about Alvaredo running for president, and campaign meetings are a big part of that.
GS: It felt like the aliens were taking a back seat to the politics, and while I enjoy politics, I think if there were a better balance than a shadow on one panel, I’d like it more.
MM: See, I think you have the same reaction to Saucer Country as I did to the New Deadwardians. This is a six page teaser for the series, so obviously there’s only so much they can get in there, and this is presumably the first six pages of the book, so obviously we’re just sort of cut off in the middle of a scene. So the idea here is to give just a taste, and assumedly the big alien moments will be found in the actual issue of the book.
GS: That’s definitely a possiblity for sure. I will say that I enjoyed the fact her campaign manager was Clint Eastwood.
MM: If the advertisements at this year’s superbowl taught us anything, it is that Clint Eastwood is good in everything.
Now, I’m about to shock you a bit (maybe).
GS: I’m grounding myself right now.
MM: I know I just played devil’s advocate here, but I actually didn’t love the teaser. I, like you, love the creative team, but I didn’t think the teaser was a great showing of what this series can be capable of. Don’t get me wrong, though — I have absolute and utmost faith in Cornell and Kelly, and I believe I already mentioned that I’ve pre-ordered the first (and second) issue and have no plans to cancel that. All things considered, though, a better preview could’ve been assembled I think. These six pages and the written bit before it essentially say to me, “Look, there is going to be a part where it gets really good. For now, you’re just going to have to settle for it being pretty good.”
Continued belowGS: Oh, for sure. I wasn’t a big fan of the preview, but based on the creative team, I’ll definitely check it out. I just wasn’t overly impressed with the preview itself
MM: Again, 100% honest — put Kelly or Cornell on a book, you’re guaranteeing my purchase of it. They’re two creators I trust absolutely implicitly, no questions asked.
GS: Agreed.
MM: In general, what do you think could have been done here to make the teaser more intriguing to you? Less human drama, more alien probes?
GS: Possibly more of a connection between both? I feel like there is one, just not one in the preview. The hook wasn’t as evident as The Deadwardians, which made that easier to get drawn into.
MM: So really its just the lack of a sci-fi hook, then.
GS: Yeah, that sounds about right. I may like political stories, but I love sci-fi.
MM: So in terms of ratings, what are we looking at here?
GS: 9 for the team and the potential of it being great, but a 5 for the preview itself. Maybe split the difference and call it a 7.
MM: I’d give it 7 Flying Saucers out of 10 as well. Love the art, intrigued by the writing, but not overly impressed with the teaser. I’ll read the crap out of the first issue when it comes out, but this could’ve been a better example of the book this title will surely be when finally released.
Fairest
With the final installment of the sampler, we have the long awaited and highly anticipated Fairest, a Fables spin-off series written by Bill Willingham with art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning. Fairest is a spotlight book of sorts, and will be telling character-based stories in an arc by arc fashion focusing on the lovely ladies of Fables, with covers by Adam Hughes. Gil, you’re a Fables fan, am I right? What are your thoughts on the first sample of Fairest?
GS: To be honest, I came into this with trepidation. I love Fables as a whole, but after issue #75, I feel the book meandered for a while and I mostly lost interest. Mr. Dark was no Adversary, and I ended up not caring anymore until I just took it out of my pull to read the trades instead. Unfortunately, I haven’t picked those up. But I still remember how much I loved how Willingham wrote the princesses and that got me excited for the title. Couple that with the fanTAStic Jiminez art and I’m hooked all over again. I especially liked the addition of what looked like Aladdin? Am I wrong on that? Well, it says Jonah, but he struck me as Aladdin instead.
MM: Aladdin has been in the comics before, actually, but yes, he refers to himself as Jonah, although the only fable-related Jonah I can think of is the one involving a fish.
I loved the sample, though. I feel like this was the only one that worked really well. It was definitely in the more classic Fables style, similar to the one-off stories Willingham has told in the books before, and it had a great cliff hanger. I love Jimenez’s art, I love Fables, I’m in. I’m all in.
GS: Yeah, same. I think we can agree this was the best of the lot, and the one we’re most likely to both enjoy when it comes out. I think the most impressive part of the teaser was how they somehow made Jiminez’s art MORE refined and polished. It looked better than anything I’d ever seen by him, and he was already a great artist.
MM: Very true. Really, the only discussion point I think we have for this sampler is — do you think this will be good for anyone who doesn’t already read Fables?
GS: I think so. It doesn’t seem to have much of a connection to that story other than the same characters, and i don’t think it leads into that book in any way, being in the past and all.
MM: Are they all in the past? I thought they were in continuity all over the place, not strictly the past.
GS: Well, in the teaser it says the “secret histories” so I’m assuming as much. Probably not all at the same point in the past, but in the past nonetheless.
MM: Oh, alright. I must’ve missed that bit. That’s a great point, though. It’s not every day that you get a spin-off series that you really can read without any ostensible knowledge of the “main” title. A lot of books sort of try to play that angle up, but very few achieve it (I can think of but one off the top of my head). I think’s a smart move to craft a book like Fairest, which is easily accessible to anyone with the slightest knowledge of fairy tales as well as anyone who likes great art.
GS: It has that in spades. Plus imp penis. If you’re into that sorta thing.
MM: I think that’s a great segue to the final rating. What are you giving it?
GS: 8 imp penises out of ten!
MM: I like that. I will give it 8.5 imp penises out of ten, just to one up you.
Final Thoughts<
MM: So, looking at the entire sampler, how are you feeling about it? Do you like that it exists? Are you going to pick up any of the titles that you may not have tried out before? Have your opinions on any books been changed at all?
GS: I do. I think it’s a better way of drawing people in that charging $6 for what was pretty much the same thing, MARVEL. (Even if my shop only charged me $3 for it.)
MM: A not so coy reference to Marvel’s Point One. But see, the difference between this and that is that a) Point One had more stories and b) those stories were exclusive to that particular comic. This is a free copy of pages that you will later have to pay for, and ultimately at $2.99 per title you’re looking at $11.96!
GS: But I paid for stories I ultimately have no interest in down the road, and with this, I got a teaser for books I may want down the road. I left this teaser much more satisfied than with Point One. Or rather, I left this teaser wanting more, whereas Point One was left wanting.
MM: So it’s better to let people get a free taste of milk the company cow has to offer, rather than give people more milk for a cost that they just may not like?
GS: I’ll co-sign with that. I felt like I wasted my money, even if it was half price.
MM: I don’t think I had nearly as negative an experience as you did, as I actually enjoyed Point One to a degree. But to each his own. I think the whole thing is a bit apples and oranges for me, but they do have similar intentions, so I’ll give you that.
GS: More like Oranges and Tangelos, in my opinion.
MM: I do love the idea of a free sampler of this kind, though. When DC launched the New 52, they gave out a free sampler that I think was absolutely rubbish, with just a collection of information you can find anywhere on the internet pasted over a picture of the cover. With this, while the previews will assuredly pop online at some point, you get a much more interesting experience with the whole endeavor, and I can say that I am at least somewhat interested in a book I didn’t think I would be previously — so mission accomplished.
GS: Exactly.
MM: Any last thoughts?
GS: Not really much about the stories themselves, other than the fact I’d like to see more of these from more companies. Especially for smaller books. Not to harp on Marvel too much, but I think if I had known sooner about how books like Ghost Rider or X-23 were like, I might be picking them up, and they wouldn’t be canceled. DC is a little better at it with their previews in the back (most recently with Batman Noel), but I think it should be more common to tease books like this, whether it’s in the back of a top tier books like Justice League or X-Men.
Continued belowMM: Not to egg you on too much, but what about online previews? Marvel puts out stuff for their titles fairly in advance these days.
GS: The internet has a short attention span, no?
MM: I suppose, but fair is fair — the options are there. You just have to be a bit less lazy and, you know, seek them out.
GS: Why should I have to look for something to buy. Shouldn’t they be, I don’t know, selling it?
MM: They are! Online! Through comic sites! (Like us!)
GS: Well, I’m sure that any book from Marvel or DC likely gets more readers than even the biggest comic sites. It doesn’t cost them a whole lot to promote these books, or they wouldn’t be giving them out for free or double shipping them. Isn’t the point of selling getting as many readers as possible? Do we not find a way to make our brand as visible as possible for online readers? People don’t like putting out effort when spending their money. They want to be courted. I mean, for example, I had no interest in reading Ghost Rider until it was too late because the NAME Ghost Rider bored me. But then I found out it was different and interesting! Too late!
MM: I think that’s a case by case basis thing, not something we can probably reach an easy middle ground. I think, in our current climate, part of what we need to do as comic fans is be pro-active — seek out titles, recommend them, talk about them. Part of that is, personally, going online and looking around on my own, without anyone coming to me about it. It’s a conversation/debate/argument I’ve found myself in many times, but comic fans are sometimes fairly lazy, and comic companies like Marvel and DC in turn treat us as such, which results in a lot of spoon-fed stories and reboots because they feel like they need to earn our interest. I don’t think they need to earn my interest, I just think they need to do something interesting.
GS: Well, a preview like this was interesting, no?
MM: Generally speaking, I like the idea of putting out teaser books like this. I don’t know if it is ultimately cost effective, and it’ll be interesting to see how well these titles do in their respective months and if there’s any surge created by putting out the sampler. I’m definitely intrigued to see if the gamble of paying to put a preview in shops themselves works, as opposed to putting the previews online and having websites do free advertising (like this article) for them.
GS: I see where you’re coming from, but regardless of the climate, when you’re selling something, you have to REALLY sell it. I do think comic fans are lazy — hell, I’M lazy. But I also think that comic companies are lazy with regards to selling their product, and that’s from the perspective of someone who has done mostly selling in his “real life” career, even if it is from a retail standpoint. People will look for the flashy hot item, but you have to really TRY to get them to look at that hidden gem they never knew they couldn’t live without. This preview is a step in the right direction in my opinion, and so was Point One, even if I had to pay for it. And heck, free advertising online is great too. We do a fair amount ourselves, but I don’t see why they can’t do both.
MM: I can certainly agree to that.
Matthew’s Aggregate Final Score: 6.1
Gil’s Aggregate Final Score: 7
