Verti Go-Go

For the past two weeks I've been trading e-mails and splitting pizza with C.L. Minou, aka transfeminist from BelowTheBelt. What happens when you put two geek bloggers from other sides of the country together and feed them curry caffeine? Why, they start working on a comic, of course! And then one of them gets the idea to just run with it like it was once owned by Margaret Cho and form their own label.

Voila! Cowgirl Astronaut Comics, the first queer trans feminist comic label (run by bloggers). I can now add "editor/creator of comic label" to my ever-growing list of things I will probably never get paid for no matter how passionate I am about it. Mama be so proud. I bring this up not because I think you care what it is that I do during my "me time", but because it is a convenient and awkwardly relevant segway to my topic for this article: my favorite comic label, Vertigo.

For those who either don't know what Vertigo is, or love explanations for explanation's sake, Vertigo is DC's "darker, more mature" imprint. While it's hyped and marketed as the gritty "No Kids Allowed!" answer to DC's more kid-friendly mainstream, it is home to some of the most artfully rendered and poignantly worded comics available. And they sort of started the "trade paperback" trend, which is what 90 percent of my comic collection consists of, so yeah, read as much bias into that as you want, you'll still be way off.

The future me who might have a job and some actual follow through would like her label to a template somewhat like Vertigo (sans the megacorporate connection): mature, socially relevant themes, gratuitous but fabulously drawn sex and violence, subversion of mainstream archetypes and tropes, and the occasional dabbling in absurdism. Gotta put that college learning to use somewhere.

Below is a modest list of my favorite Vertigo comics, all of which would appear on my "top ten comics OF ALL TIME. OF ALL TIME!"

Note that while worshipping/admiring Alan Moore than I already do would probably result in a "restrainingus orderus" curse cast upon me, Moore never actually penned anything for Vertigo, although his works are cited as helping necessitate the creation of Vertigo, and V For Vendetta was re-issued under the Vertigo name after Moore swore never to work for DC again. So, yeah, just in case you were curious.

And by no means should this list be construed as a "best". I don't do "bests" on anything. I rate things based on my own peculiar and admittedly random tastes. Sometimes I like things that suck and hate things that are beautiful. Try not to think about it. You, like the Netflix suggestion system before you, will lose your damn mind.

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My Mind Is At DoomWar With Itself

I treat Marvel the same way I treat a Republican friend who blogs; I'll see them at social functions and offer my (unwarranted) opinion on their projects and ideas, and although I might pretend to have read what they've written as a sign of tact and etiquette, the fact is stooping to read their nonsense would only drive me insane with rage, and I don't care how immature admitting that makes me.

I've seen all the movies, played all the video games, and even bought into that Heroclix trend that was all the rage (but quit after someone beat my entire team with just a Nimrod piece. Say what you will about Magic, but that kind of shenanigan wouldn't fly at their tournament). It's a decent product. I simply refuse to read their crossovers.

Because I fell for it once, with Civil War. We were promised an epic story of betrayal and injustice that would tear the Marvel universe apart. Instead we were treated to propaganda dressed in spandex onesies, with each writer having his own political axe to grind onto the readership's face. I don't need comic books to give me the 411 on socio-political issues. I have cable television and an inbox full of junk mail from the Green Party to do that for me.

On top of that, Civil War marked one of the first instances in comic history where the audience was told they had backed the wrong horse. When the majority of readers made it clear that they were taking the side of Captain America's resistance, Marvel went ahead and told us that we were supposed be rooting for Iron Man the whole time. You could read this one of two ways: either 1) Marvel was so embarrassed at their colossal failure that they only way they could save face was to make us look stupid by telling us that we "just didn't get it", or 2) Marvel has become so inept over time that they can no longer establish protagonist and antagonist, which is not only a fundamental element of comic books, but of ALL FICTION. Take your pick. Either way, it will end in tears.

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SuperQueeros for 9/30/2009

Today I'm starting a new weekly tradition: SuperQueeros! Each week I'll bring you a summary of which new comics are featuring LGBT(etc.) characters! Now, I'm no Kiden Nixon, so I may miss one or two. If you spot an omission, please let me know in the comments section and I'll correct it tout de suite!

This Week in Comics:

Gotham City Sirens #4 - Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn have always blipped my gaydar, and, though the wiki articles on Ivy and Harley don't specifically say they have an overtly romantic relationship, there's definitely been a lot of Sapphic speculation (especially on my part). What say you, betches? Are these two the Mystique and Destiny of the new century?

Justice Society of America #31 - So Obsidian was an egg. And, from what I can tell from the preview released by DC, he's now a mortally-wounded ex-egg under the knife in a building being rocked by a superhero brawl. Anyone reading this? Is our boi more than just a fetchingly-colored piece of furniture?

EDIT: I just picked up this title and can confirm that Obsidian is still, literally, a background character. "Egg-sidian" is sitting pretty under an incubator lamp, waiting for the JSA Flash to hatch him, while Mr. Terrific is under the knife. Either way, this is not a good issue for black people.

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