With titles like THE SANDMAN and SWAMP THING, DC Comics’ “mature readers” imprint Vertigo helped revolutionize the moribund four-color industry in the early- to mid-1980s. Their reputation for groundbreaking, envelope-pushing titles continues to this day, and VERTIGO: FIRST OFFENSES is proof positive, aimed at attracting new readers.
At 168 pages and for a mere $4.99, FIRST OFFENSES reprints the premiere issues of five of its flagship titles, only two of which I had read before. Let’s take a look at each.
• THE INVISIBLES – Supposedly this is Grant Morrison’s epic tale of an underground movement fighting a “terrifying conspiracy.” But you wouldn’t know it from the first issue. I understand some stories are meant to be unfold over a string of issues, but the debut one shouldn’t leave you thinking, “Wha-huh?” The mere scraps of a story involve a no-good UK teen who sees visions of John Lennon, blows up his school, gets sent to a juvenile detention center and then is drafted by The Invisibles, who … well, I’m not sure who they are or what they do, because we don’t get that far. The script – which radically shifts into unexplained psychedelic mode at inopportune moments – is not the only problem; the underdeveloped, too-simplistic art is another.
• FABLES – Of the few current comics I look forward to reading in trade format, this is high atop that short list. Its concept is simple – fairy tale characters live among us, in their own segregated village in modern-day New York – but the smart storytelling is complex, which makes it so rich. Snow White’s the mayor of Fabletown, and Bigby Wolf (née Big Bad) is the gruff detective helping her investigate the disappearance (and apparent murder) of her sister, Rose Red. It’s funny, it’s bloody and it’s bloody good. The series didn’t really find its voice until the second story arc, but that in no way diminishes the quality of this starting point. It’s easy to see why Bill Willingham’s creation has been bestowed with multiple Eisner awards.
• PREACHER – I hadn’t heard much of Garth Ennis’ series about a wayward preacher turned into some supernatural anti-hero when possessed by a force escaped from the cosmos. At least that’s what I think it’s about. What surprised me was how gory it is. And I mean really gory. I don’t think the violence is there to mask a lack of story, because this seems like a start of a mid-American road-trip epic combining Sam Peckinpah with Neil Gaiman. But yet at the same time, I wasn’t so overly impressed to find out where it leads next.
• SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE – This is not Gaiman’s SANDMAN, but the original, Golden Age Sandman, aka Wesley Dodds, a meek, law-abiding citizen who dons a gas mask at night to help right his city’s wrongs in the 1930s. In the hands of Matt Wagner, this is rough-edged detective noir, and it’s flat-out terrific. In the first issue, he’s on the trail of a murderer known as The Tarantula; the sometimes-graphic mystery isn’t wrapped up, though, and you’ll want to follow it to its conclusion. In fact, you’ll want to follow the rest of Dodds’ shadowy exploits, so far collected in three extraordinary volumes. I’m disheartened to hear that sales of the SMT trades are anemic at best, as this is truly top-notch stuff.
• LUCIFER – Once Gaiman’s SANDMAN had finished its run, it resulted in a few spin-offs, one of which is Mike Carey’s LUCIFER. (To be honest, I don’t remember the character from SANDMAN at all, but then again, that was one huge body of work.) Lucifer lives in Hell, and here he’s summoned to earth because of an unseen force that’s granting people their every wish, unbeknownst to them. The story barely gets underway before the issue ends, but Scott Hampton’s painted art is something to see.
So the final score is two home runs, two singles and a foul. For the absurdly low price, such results are worth it. FIRST OFFENSES is a fine introduction to the Vertigo line, though not the only one; this summer’s similar FIRST TASTE afforded glimpses of Y: THE LAST MAN, 100 BULLETS, THE BOOKS OF MAGIK, SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING, TRANSMETROPOLITAN and DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING. If this approach results in the more worthy books (SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE, people!) finding an audience, more will be right with the world.
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