Vertigo Comics
Vertigo was an imprint of DC Comics that began publication in 1993. Spearheaded by editor Karen Berger, all DC Comics titles bearing the Vertigo logo catered to not only more mature readers, but more sophisticated writers and artists as well. Several of DC's existing titles such as Animal Man (Volume 1); Doom Patrol (Volume 2); Hellblazer (Volume 1); Sandman (Volume 2); Shade, the Changing Man (Volume 2); and Swamp Thing (Volume 2) immigrated to the Vertigo camp while fresh new titles and limited series were likewise added to the growing Vertigo roster. Collected versions of many Pre-Vertigo titles now bear the Vertigo stamp even though they were originally published under the standard DC Comics banner.
Each issue of a Vertigo comic bears the suggested for mature readers disclaimer, and typically contains adult-oriented material including nudity and profanity. Thematically the stories tend to revolve around supernatural or crime-noir based storytelling themes, and have little in common with the brighter, more animated super-hero venues.
While many Vertigo titles take place within the proper continuity of the greater DC Universe, there are many more which exist in their own singular continuity, separate not only from the DCU, but from other Vertigo titles as well. Garth Ennis' award winning series, Preacher (Volume 1), for example, does not share continuity with any other DC or Vertigo title with the exception of its own spin-off titles. Many titles published by DC before Vertigo was founded were reprinted under the Vertigo name, such as V for Vendetta (Volume 1). Vertigo saw its first movie in 2005, named Constantine, based on the comic series Hellblazer (Volume 1). Later that year, A History of Violence was released to theaters, and in 2006, V for Vendetta was released.
In 2011, with the introduction of Pandora, both Vertigo and Wildstorm were treated as separate universes which would be merging with the main DC universe, in contrast to having crossovers before.
In 2020, Vertigo was discontinued.
Vertigo Comics Media
Panel of Vertigo comics creators at San Diego ComicCon 2007.
