Vertigo Visions by
Vertigo Comics
hbk out April 00
Published by Titan Books
at £24.99
DC Comics/Titan Books have produced a number of high-quality art books based on comic book material over the past couple of years, and Vertigo Visions is a lovely addition to the line. Since 1993, Vertigo has been DC's prestige range of horror/dark
fantasy comics, built on the back of Sandman's success and incorporating some revisionist reworkings of traditional DC
characters (Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Phantom Stranger, etc.)
as well as original creations. The Vertigo line has been more miss
than hit over the years, though several original and engaging titles
have appeared. Vertigo Visions assembles some of the best artwork from the Vertigo imprint, culled not from the panels that
make up the comics themselves, but from cover art, special
"gallery" issues, and trading cards and other ephemera associated
with the line. Because so much attention is lavished on these
aspects of comics, the result is a very handsome volume that may
not, however, be entirely indicative of the general quality of Vertigo
art.
The work of most of the best names in comic book art is well-
represented in Vertigo Visions. Dave McKean, the biggest
talent in comics today, figures prominently, as do covers by Brian
Bolland (stunning covers from The Invisibles), Glen Fabry
(appropriately absurd covers from Preacher), and various works by the protean Duncan Fegredo, the enigmatic Ted McKeever, and
the always sumptuous Michael Zulli, just to name a few. A wide
mix of artistic styles is apparent, though painted work dominates.
Some of the contents is bog-standard fantasy art, but much of the
work is surprisingly delicate and highly imaginative. Not a lot of the
art in Vertigo Visions transcends the level of (very) well- crafted illustration - Charles Saatchi isn't going to be buying the originals anytime soon; is that a bad thing? - but it's a long way from hack work, and may well prove eye-opening to anyone who hasn't looked at comic books in recent years. Among the less-familiar work,
largely drawn from trading cards, are excellent paintings by Greg
Spalenka, graceful colour work by Teddy Kristiansen, and a single,
near-perfect rendering of the "Golden Age Sandman" by the great
comic strip artist Alex Toth. The moody, computer-enhanced
photographs of Gavin Wilson and Richard Bruning also deserve
special mention.
Even devotees of Vertigo are unlikely to have seen all of this art
before, and the art that is familiar can be better appreciated without
the various bits of cover typography and bar codes normally
attached. Vertigo Visions features minimal but thoughtful text by Alisa Kwitney, but this is a book, like most comics themselves, to be savoured for its images rather than its words.
(
Jay Russell
- one of the greatest talents the horror industry has produced for some time… (Black Tears))
