Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing might like DMZ, but he knows what’s happening over in Fabletown as well. He’s all over the new Jack of Fables collection.
And as well he should be.
Thanks for Erick Schark of SomethingToBeDesired.com for the tip.
Let’s be honest here, Fables is the real flagship for Vertigo these days. That’s not to say I wouldn’t like to see some more great books from them. I’m also really enjoying Mike Carey’s Crossing Midnight. But back five or so years ago, it felt like there were 6 or 7 excellent books coming out from Vertigo every month. I miss those days. Maybe that’s because titles like Testament, American Virgin, The Exterminators, and even 100 Bullets, which I once loved, just aren’t resonating with me anymore.
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I very much enjoy this series. It’s one that I regularly look forward to, and I have devoured Fables in trade form. So, it’s not surprising to me that this is getting such press from the likes of BoingBoing.
I just recently got back into comics after a few year hiatus, and have little background in the Vertigo line. I do, however, pick up 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man, and DMZ in trade, and enjoy them very much. I think what Josh is touching on (maybe) is the whole idea that all of those titles used to seem so fresh and different, but after awhile, they lose their luster and only those truly amazing titles are here to stay. Kind of like any other just normal superhero/non-mature audience book. Also, I think we’ve seen a lot of the companies pick up on the demand of the mature books by starting their own lines and stuff. I don’t know. Am I off base with this? Thoughts?
I think I’m a bit disappointed in the direction Vertigo’s gone in, but I think that’s largely becase they don’t quite know where to go at the moment.
More disappointing is the almost non-existent push at Marvel to expand their Icon line. The Max line was basically a failure, as it only consisted of the old superhero books, but with curing and boobies.
Then below that, you get indy publishers who aren’t really doing regular monthly titles, like Top Shelf. They do all graphic novels, not issues. Then Oni does some good stuff, but they don’t have the production values of the Vertigo books.
I kinda miss 2000.
The Max line was basically a failure, as it only consisted of the old superhero books, but with curing and boobies.
Oy, it pains me to read that. That failure got me back into reading comics again for the first time in nearly a decade. To know if it was truly a failure, I’d have to know what they intended it to do, but I know what it succeeded in doing.
Though I do wish that MAX Howard the Duck series had never happened. At least to me.
I do agree that I’d love to see the Icon line flourish in a way it isn’t right now. I get the sense that Icon exists to “sweeten the pot” for creators looking to go Marvel-exclusive. Maybe the real problem is that none of those folks are coming up with solid creator-owned concepts.
I don’t want to seem like a noob or a fool here but the only MAX book that I pick is the Punisher, what other MAX books are there? I used to pick up Blade but I think they cancelled that years ago……. What other Marvel characters should get the MAX treatment? I think Wolverine would be perfect (cancel Origins and give us MAX)
Man, that Howard the Duck thing was bad.
I don’t even know what Max stuff is still out. I didn’t realize it was. The regular Punisher book is still Max?
At first there was the godawful Azzarello penned, Luke Cage book. Alias was a success, but it ended. There was a Nick Fury book, and Punisher Born, both by Garth Ennis I think.
I guess when I say it was a failure, I mean that it basically doesn’t matter now. It doesn’t mean anything to say something is a Marvel Max book. I didn’t even know it still existed. It could have been a place where mature themes ad adult concepts were played out, but that isn’t happening. I guess I feel a bit like it was abandoned, and didn’t live up to its potential.
I did forget to mention Image, who are probably printing great books for mature readers. Hell if I know what they are though. Other than Kirkman’s stuff.
I think in terms of Marvel’s involvement in more mature themed books, it seems that only Brian Michael Bendis’s books are among them. He’s one of the only ones that had a book in the MAX series (Alias) and one of the only two (I think) to have an ICON series book (Powers). Garth Ennis has been writing Punisher at a MAX level ever since he started it. I think Marvel started the whole MAX line just so they could continue to publish his books.
So, maybe what we’re really talking about here is that there aren’t really creators out there that write more mature themed books for Marvel, and that really Vertigo is struggling to find more things to continue it’s shine.
I think Josh, again, touched on something here. I wonder where Vertigo will be in the next two-three years. With Y ending in mere months and 100 Bullets seemingly coming to an end at issue 100, what titles are they going to have besides Fables? So far, I’m digging Scapled, but beyond that I have little interest.
Is anybody else reading something they think could move to the forefront of the Vertigo line?
Picked the Jack trade up this week and boy am I glad I did, thanks in part to Josh’s glowing review of #7 and my retailer (a huge Fables fan) saying I’d love this as well. Very fun story, the was very Buckingham-esque while still being it’s own style. To me, it felt like it could have easily been an interlude story in the main book, and I mean that in a good way. And since I’ve now decided I can’t wait 6 months for every new issue of Fables and started getting the floppies, I’m going to be doing the same with Jack of Fables now, too.
BTW, it may sound a bit odd, but am I the only one that really likes they way the paper smells on these trades?
You guys should to a trade pick of the month.
Ya the MAX line is dead, I looked into it, they only have some Supreme Power (something like that) spinoff, and Hell Storm (never heard of it)and The Punisher.
As a big fan of Marvel knights I wish they would have some more mature Marvel books…..
I also think you guys should have a trade of the month.
And I love the smell of “fresh” comics!!!!
Outside of the field interview stuff, the video show is more for things like trade recommendations. Some of the upcoming shows will focus on things like that.