For their first publisher spotlight of 2016, Andy and Derek focus on the new wave of titles from Vertigo, those being launched between October and December of last year. As you might expect, this is an extra long episode of the podcast because the guys discuss twelve new series, and some of them already with three and four issues released. These include:
The Twilight Children, by Gilbert Hernandez and Darwyn Cooke
Survivors' Club, by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen, and Ryan Kelly
Clean Room, by Gail Simone and Jon Davis-Hunt
Art Ops, by Shaun Simon and Michael Allred
Unfollow, by Rob Williams and Mike Dowling
Slash and Burn, by Si Spencer, Max Dunbar, and Ande Parks
Red Thorn, by David Baillie and Meghan Hetrick
Jacked, by Eric Kripke and John Higgins
Sheriff of Babylon, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads
New Romancer, by Peter Milligan and Brett Parson
Last Gang in Town, by Simon Oliver and Rufus Dayglo
Lucifer, by Holly Black and Lee Garbett
Both Derek and Andy enjoy almost all of these titles, but there are a few that really stand out for them -- and they spend a disproportionate time discussing -- including The Twilight Children, Unfollow, Jacked, and Sheriff of Babylon. They also use their analysis of Lucifer to segue into a brief coverage of The Sandman: Overture, Deluxe Edition. The first of that six-issues miniseries was part of the guys' earlier Vertigo spotlight back in November 2013, and a central component of that publisher's previous wave of new titles, but the collected edition was just released late last year. Although it had an unusually long incubation period, The Sandman: Overture does help Andy and Derek juxtapose Vertigo's two big release efforts, leading them into a discussion of possible new directions the publisher may be going.
