DC/Vertigo





[Starman | The Books of Magic | Hellblazer | Preacher | Hitman | Transmetropolitan ]



Starman

Starman

In one form or another, Starman has existed in the DC universe for decades. In this newest incarnation, Jack Knight, son of Ted Knight the original Starman, takes the mantle. But Jack is not your average superhero. Trading in Starman's red tights for a leather jacket, this Starman gets as much a thrill out of collecting antiques as he does doing the whole "fight for justice bit". Expertly written by James Robinson, with the amazing and stylistic artistic talents of Tony Harris and Wade Von Grawbadger, this is one of the best produced comicbooks around. With fantasitc dialogue and believeable characters, this is one excellent book. As an in-house advertsiement once said of this title: Cool.

Vist A very well done Starman page here. It's got plenty of information on the series, and nice graphics.
The Unofficial Starman Homepage Among other items, it also offer's a VRML version of this site.


Books of Magic


What if you were fourteen years old and had the potential to become the greatest mage of your time? That's exactly the problem Tim Hunter has, and every time he tries to solve his problem, he keeps getting more of them. For all its fantastical trappings, The Books of Magic is really a coming of age story, as Tim tries to have an average adolescence under anything but average circumstances.
Written by John Ney Reiber, this title stands aside Starman as one of the best written titles currently being published. It's an intelligently written comic, with characvters endearing and mavolent (sometimes both). Most importantly, the characters in books, where mortal or magical, are all too human.

Surburban Mythos, The Books of Magic homepage. Information on on the series and cover art, as well as interviews with Rieber.
The Annotated Books of Magic. This site is about the original miniseries, written by Neil Gaiman, that introduced Tim. It does not have plot synopsis, so unless you are familiar with the story, you may not find this site too interesting.



Hellblazer

John Constantine

John Constantine, Hellblazer. For most of his life, John's delt with magic, and sometimes it's hard to tell which has caused more problems in his life: magic, or himself. Constantine's days are filled with fighting cults, dealing with demons, vampires, even the Devil himself. Though he's lived to tell the tale, he's never done so unscathed. But don't be fooled, Constantine is a master magus. Isn't he? As Constantine himself once said to the Lord of Vampires: "You think I'm a man of mystery trying to be an average Joe, right? Hasn't it ever occured to you that it might be the other way 'round?" Who is John Constantine, really. Is he just trying to get through the day, or is he really a manipulative bastard of a magician? Judge for yourself. . . .

Rake at the Gates of Hell. This site has a wonderful synopsis on Constantine's life, and some nice graphics.
Hellblazer Home Page. Nice place with text information obout the punk bank Constantine was in during the late '70s and a fictional(?) patient report during John's time in Ravenscar.
Another Hellblazer homepage. Another site with a synopsis of John's more interesting capers, and some images.



Preacher

Jessie In the begining, Reverend Jessie Custer walked into his church, addressed his congregation and literally told them to f**k off. Then Genesis, the offspring of an angel and a demon, shot into his chruch and blew up the whole town. Not only did Jesse survive the conflagration (having merged with Genesis), but he also aquired The Word of God. If he tells you to do something, then you do it. Then on the second day, things really got interesting. . . .
CassidyJoined by his girlfriend, Tulip, and the vampire, Cassidy, Jesse and his friends have hit the road on a quest for God. Literally. Because it seems the Almighty has taken a leave of absence from Heaven, and things Up There aren't going smoothly. Jesse plans to make Him accountable. But while Jesse and Co. search for God, they're also persued by the Saint of Killers, sent by the angels left in charge to bring back Genesis. To make matters worse, he's also wanted by the Grail--a secret organization dedicated to preserving the bloodline of the Son of God. (Oh, you didn't know he had children?)
Preacher is one gloriously bloody, graphic, hilarious, blasphemously brilliant piece of work. This title is not for those who are offended easily; in fact, this title is not for those who are offended mildly. Writer Garth Ennis leaves nothing sacred in this comic. And the equally talented Steve Dillion has no problem drawing whatever sick situation Garth puts his protagonists in. (Just read the Hunters storyline to see what I mean!)But if you do have an open mind, a strong stomach, and a desire to read one of the most intelligently written comics made today, then this is for you.

TulipThe Unofficial Preacher's Homepage. Beautiful site with nice graphics, plot summary, and other information.
The Preacher's Divinity. Another nice site with cover artwork.



Don't let all the gore and violence fool you. What makes this series work best has nothing to do with Tommy Monaghan's occupation. What writer Garth Ennis (him again!)and artist John McCrea do here is tell the story about a guy trying to do his best under some pretty bad circumstances (that's where the gore and violence comes in. :)
Those that have read this series from the start may have noticed that Tommy's powers--X-ray vision and telepathy--have taken a backseat over the last year's worth of stories. that's because the real strength of this series lies in Ennis's ability to weave crafty stories about friendship, honor, and responsibility. Of course, there's also a hefty dose of gun fights, humour and the occasional bartending demon, just to make keep things interesting.

No, Tommy's not your average super-hero/vigilante. It is one of the best written comics on the market. Here's a few sites highlighting what makes Hitman so good.

This Ain't No Justice League.Very nice site with tommy's origin, a few choice pictures, and even a Hitman Overpower card for you Overpower fans.
The Shanear Page's Hitman Site. You'll find cover scans and synopsis of every issue of the series, not to mention Tommy's early apperances in The Demon as well as a Hitman chat room and mailing list.


Imagine your a writer, only your tired of writing about The City. So you decive to f**k it all and go live in the mountains. Then you discover that The City you hate so much is the only place you can write. Welcome to the world of Spider Jerusalem, forced to return to The City to write his last two books. And he'll make everyone regret the day he had to come back to do it.
A wonderfully perverse and funny satire of the modern world, Spider takes on all the problems of society--bigotry, religion, politics, human beings--and laughs like a maniac on LSD (becuase he is a maniac on LSD, and every other drug for that matter)as he rips it all the shreds. Don't let his fierce sense of morality fool you, Spider is a right proper bastard. the perfect personification of the very City he hates. Who else could be better qualified to expose the City for what it is?
Written by the master of the true and twisted, Warren Ellis, and drawn Darik Robertson--think Shawn McManus on steroids--Transmetropolitan is trully a comic for the new millenum. Here's a few choice sites that recognize this:

The Transmet Feed. A great place to familiarize yourself with the characters and stories of the series. Plus info on the series, creator bios, a quote section, and more.
DC Comic's Transmetropolitan section. It's located in the Helix section, the imprint where the series started before moving to the Vertigo imprint. a brief synopsis of the first few issues and selections from spider's column, "I Hate It Here."
Paupin Grove. This site is no longer maintained--it may not even stay onlne--but it does have some nice info on the series.
Smoke Damage. Warren Ellis has his own homepage. Be afraid. Be very afraid.


To paraphrase Roger Waters: "What shall you do now?"

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