Vertigo Comics Is Dead... Long Live DC Vertigo

Press Release

DC Entertainment is celebrating 25 years of graphic storytelling with a line-wide relaunch and rebranding, returning to where it all began with DC Vertigo. Following the news of a Neil Gaiman-curated Sandman Universe imprint, DC Vertigo will continue to expand its slate with seven new series from bold voices across various entertainment backgrounds including novels, games, television, comics and more.

The relaunch is helmed by Mark Doyle, who returned to DC Vertigo last year after oversight of the Batman group of titles for DC. Under his leadership, DC Vertigo editorial is rededicating its focus to creating modern, socially relevant, high-concept, inventive stories appealing to readers of all genres.

DC Vertigo has curated seven new comic books giving writers and artists the creative freedom to tell their most imaginative stories. Kicking off the next 25 years of DC Vertigo, four monthly series will launch this fall/winter, while the remaining titles will follow in early 2019. The lineup includes:

• BORDER TOWN from writer Eric M. Esquivel (Adventure Time, Starburns Presents) with art and covers by Ramon Villalobos (Nighthawk, America) will debut in September

When a crack in the border between worlds releases an army of monsters from Mexican folklore into the small town of Devil’s Fork, Arizona, the residents blame the ensuing weirdness—the shared nightmares, the otherworldly radio transmissions, the mysterious goat mutilations—on “God-dang illegals.” With racial tensions supernaturally charged, it’s up to new kid in town Frank Dominguez and a motley crew of high school misfits to discover what’s REALLY going on.

• HEX WIVES from writer Ben Blacker (co-creator of The Thrilling Adventure Hour) with art by Mirka Andolfo (WONDER WOMAN, SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL) will debut in October

“The women are too powerful. They must be tamed.” A malevolent conspiracy of men brainwashes a coven of witches to be subservient, suburban housewives. But it’s only a matter of time before the women remember their power...

• AMERICAN CARNAGE from writer Bryan Hill (TITANS show set to launch on the DC-branded digital service, MICHAEL CRAY) with art by Leandro Fernandez (THE NAMES, The Punisher Max) will debut in November

In this thrilling crime saga, disgraced FBI agent Richard Wright, who is biracial but can pass for white, goes undercover in a white supremacist group believed to be responsible for the death of a fellow agent.

• GODDESS MODE from writer Zoë Quinn (Crash Override, featured in People’s 25 Women Who Are Changing the World and Forbes’ 30 Under 30) with art by Robbi Rodriguez (Spider-Gwen, FBP: FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS) will debut in December

In a near future where all of humanity’s needs are administered by a godlike A.I., it’s one young woman’s horrible job to do tech support on it. But when Cassandra finds herself violently drawn into a hidden and deadly digital world beneath our own, she discovers a group of super-powered women and horrific monsters locked in a secret war for the cheat codes to reality.

• HIGH LEVEL from writer Rob Sheridan (former art director for Nine Inch Nails, co-creator of the Year Zero alternate reality game) with art by Barnaby Bagenda (THE OMEGA MEN, GREEN LANTERNS) will debut in 2019

Hundreds of years after the world ended and human society was rebuilt from scratch, a self-interested smuggler with a price on her head is forced to traverse a new continent of danger and mystery to deliver a child messiah to High Level, a mythical city at the top of the world from which no one has ever returned.

• SAFE SEX from writer Tina Horn (host/producer of Why Are People Into That? podcast, writer/journalist/lecturer in sexual education and activism) and artist Mike Dowling (UNFOLLOW, 2000 AD) will debut in 2019

A dystopian sci-fi thriller about a ragtag team of sex workers fighting for the freedom to love in a world where sexual pleasure is monitored, regulated and policed by the government.

• SECOND COMING from writer Mark Russell (God Is Disappointed in You, THE FLINTSTONES) with art by Richard Pace (IMAGINARY FIENDS) will debut in 2019

God sends Jesus to Earth in hopes that he will learn the family trade from Sun-Man, an all-powerful superhero, who is like the varsity quarterback son God never had. But, upon his return to Earth, Christ is appalled to discover what has become of his Gospel and vows to set the record right. 

“It’s time to rebuild DC Vertigo,” explains Doyle. “We’re returning to our roots by spotlighting the most exciting new voices in comics, as well as bringing new voices to comics. From the corners of television, games, music, activism, podcasting, comics and more, all of our creators are passionate and have something to say. These sophisticated stories have amazing new characters and vast worlds to explore. That’s what it has always been about for me—new stories, new voices, new possibilities. We’re creating a new generation of DC Vertigo classics for readers of all genres.”

Prior to being named DC Vertigo’s Executive Editor, Doyle began his career in comics at Vertigo in 2006. He went on to oversee the Batman family of titles, where he edited Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s New York Times best-selling run on BATMAN. He also led the charge in crafting Gotham-based series with varying tones such as GOTHAM ACADEMY, BATGIRL, GRAYSON and more. Doyle returns to launch DC Vertigo with a passion to bring the imprint back to the forefront of graphic storytelling.