If we’re talking about who has the title for best comic book publisher in the 2010’s, my easy quick answer goes to Image Comics. Image has delivered comic books at such a consistently high quality, from such talented creators, that it has earned its reputation for highest batting average in the game.
What newer comic book fans might not realize, is that Vertigo Comics was held in similarly high esteem for most of the 1990’s (the imprint officially launched in 1993) and into the 2000’s. Given that pristine legacy, there’s always a possibility that Vertigo could return to reclaim their crown at any point.
Below you’ll find a guide to all the best Vertigo Comics (of which there are many), organized into manageable sections. This list includes many must-reads for comic book fans, as well as some of my favorite comics of all time.
I) DC Comics Universe
A number of what are now considered Vertigo Comics actually launched as part of DC Comics proper, and their mature approach was later adopted by the Vertigo imprint. As such, Vertigo has the rare quality of “prestige” comics that very much fall within the Big 2 superhero universes.
Swamp Thing
The Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totelben is one of the most important comics published by either DC or Marvel, redefining what a “superhero” or “horror” comic could dream possible.
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Swamp Thing navigates the mid 1980’s and DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths
(complete with the requisite tie-in), and shares the heady artistic ambitions of Vertigo’s ethos. This is mandatory comic book reading for fans of DC, or the medium in general.
The full Moore run on Swamp Thing can be collected as follows:
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Two
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Three
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Four
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Five
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Six
Hellblazer
It’s worth noting that Vertigo’s longest running series of all time (over 300 issues) gets its start in Swamp Thing, where Alan Moore and company introduce British working class magician John Constantine.
So if you’ve read your Swamp Thing above, you’re prepared for Constantine’s ongoing adventures in Hellblazer, starting with writer Jamie Delano and Rick Veitch in 1988.
The below collections will take you through Jamie Delano’s original run, followed by the Garth Ennis run. You can find the remaining comics in the complete Hellblazer reading order.
John Constantine, Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins
Collects: Hellblazer #1 to #9, Swamp Thing #76 to #77
Hellblazer, Vol. 2: The Devil You Know
Collects: Hellblazer #10 to #13, Hellblazer Annual #1, The Horrorist #1 to #2
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 3: The Fear Machine
Collects: Hellblazer #14 to #22
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 4: The Family Man
Collects: Hellblazer #23 to #24, #28 to #31, #25 to #27, #32 to #33
John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 5: Dangerous Habits
Collects: Hellblazer #34 to #46
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 6: Bloodlines
Collects: Hellblazer #47 to #50, #52 to #55 and #59 to #61
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 7: Tainted Love
Collects: Hellblazer #62-71, Hellblazer Special #1, And Vertigo Jam #1
John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 8: Rake at the Gates of Hell
Collects: Hellblazer #78 to #83, Heartland one-shot
Continue with the complete Hellblazer reading order!
Doom Patrol
Grant Morrison’s late 1989 to 1993 run resurrecting DC’s Doom Patrol is gloriously weird and inventive, and makes infinite sense within what would later become the Vertigo aesthetic.
There’s a fantastic Doom Patrol Omnibus
Collects: Doom Patrol #19 to #63
Animal Man
Grant Morrison’s second DC Comic to get the retroactive Vertigo designation, Animal Man is a fascinating exploration of human/animal relationships, as well as the philosophical question of meeting your maker.
Animal Man has a similar collected approach to Doom Patrol, although when you can find the omnibus for under $50, it’s actually the most cost effective solution.
Collects: Animal Man #1 to #26
Sgt. Rock: Between Hell and a Hard Place
DC’s Sgt. Rock gets the 2000’s Vertigo treatment from Brian Azzarello and Joe Kuburt.
Madame Xanadu Vol. 2: Exodus Noir
Madame Xanadu Vol. 3: Broken House of Cards
Madame Xanadu Vol. 4: Extra Sensory
Matt Wagner teams up with Amy Reeder for the sorcery of Madame Xanadu. This series was successful enough that Madame Xanadu became a part of Justice League Dark during DC’s New 52.
II) Sandman Universe and Neil Gaiman’s Vertigo Comics
Neil Gaiman’s work on Sandman is my favorite Vertigo Comic (and my second favorite comic book series of all time). Gaiman, Mckean, and various artist’s work across the Sandman mythos is so consistently excellent, that it also spawned several similarly well-regarded comics, including Lucifer, which has since made its way to Fox on TV.
Sandman
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
The Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll’s House
The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country
The Sandman, Vol. 4: Season of Mists
The Sandman, Vol. 5: A Game of You
The Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections
The Sandman Vol. 7: Brief Lives
The Sandman Vol. 8: World’s End
Sandman Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
Sandman Universe
The Sandman: Overture Deluxe Edition
The Sandman Presents: The Furies
Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives
The Sandman Presents: Thessaly – Witch for Hire
The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales
Lucifer
Writer Mike Carey took the aftermath of Lucifer in Sandman: Seasons of Mist
I’m not one of them, but you’ll find readers who stand for Lucifer over Sandman, and it’s not that hard to understand why. After all, Lucifer did beat Sandman to the small screen!
Collects: Lucifer #1 to #75
Following the outstanding run from Mike Carey and Peter Gross, writer Holly Black has taken on a rebooted Lucifer series for Vertigo.
Collects: Lucifer #1 to #10
Neil Gaiman’s Vertigo Comics
Before Sandman, Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean delivered Black Orchid.
The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch
Adaption by Mike Carey.
III) Grant Morrison Vertigo Comics
We’ve already seen a fair amount of Grant Morrison’s impact on Vertigo, with his DC Comics work for Animal Man and Doom Patrol.
This being the incredibly prolific comic book icon Grant Morrison, there are plenty more comics to enjoy as part of his Vertigo output.
The Invisibles
Explaining the Invisibles is a bit like trying to explain Captain Beefheart and his Magical Band. Invisibles is pure Morrison, mainlained straight into the vein, and that can either result in your favorite comic book series ever, or a completely off-putting ball of confusion. The trick of course is to read for yourself and find out.
Collects: The Invisible #1 to #12, Absolute Vertigo #1
The Invisibles Book Two Deluxe Edition
Collects: The Invisibles #13-25 And A Story From Vertigo: Winter’s Edge 1
The Invisibles Book Three Deluxe Edition
The Invisibles Book Four Deluxe Edition
Collects: Invisibles Vol. 2 #1 to #22, Invisibles Vol. 3 #12 to #1
Additional Vertigo Comics from Grant Morrison
Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery
IV) Peter Milligan Vertigo Comics
When stacked up against Moore, Gaiman, and Morrison, writer Peter Milligan gets easily lost in the shuffle. This is a bit unfair, and overshadows his essential role in building a corner of Vertigo as one of the earliest founding writers on the imprint.
I mean, the guy wrote X-Statix
For those of you looking for deep cuts and comic books slightly off the familiar “best of” lists, look no further. Milligan’s work is deeply underrated, and the below comics remain some of the coolest lesser known series you can add to your library.
Shade the Changing Man
Shade the Changing Man Vol. 1: The American Scream
Shade, The Changing Man Vol. 2: Edge of Vision
Shade the Changing Man Vol. 3: Scream Time
Human Target
Human Target: Living in Amerika
Additional Vertigo Comics From Peter Milligan
V) Brian K. Vaughn Vertigo Comics
Vaughn is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful writers working in comics today, with a veritable murderer’s row of output, including the wildly popularly Saga
Vaughn’s comics claim to fame begins at Vertigo, though, with the excellent long-running series Y: The Last Man (one of my 20 favorite comics of all time), and the standalone graphic novel Pride of Baghdad.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan. Art by Niko Henrichon
Y: The Last Man
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Pia Guerra, Goran Sudžuka and Paul Chadwick
Collects: Y The Last Man #1 to #60
VI) Fables Universe
Fables is remarkable, both in scope and longevity. Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham transformed what could have been a conceptual curiousity into the longest running Vertigo comic book series, full of depth, emotion and a lived-in world.
The storybook characters of Fables prove such ample ground for comics that the Universe actually spawns spinoff series for 50 issue Vertigo runs, in Jack of Fables and Fairest.
You can find Comic Book Herald’s full Fables reading order here.
Fables The Deluxe Edition Book One
Collects: Fables #1 to #10, Prose Story #1
Fables The Deluxe Edition Book Two
Collects: Fables #11 to #18, Fables: The Last Castle, Fables: A Wolf in the Fold
Fables The Deluxe Edition Book Three
Collects: Fables #19 to #27
Fables The Deluxe Edition Book Four
Collects: Fables #28 to #33, Original graphic novel Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall
Fables The Deluxe Edition Book Five
Collects: Fables #34 to #45
See the remaining Fables comics.
The Unwritten/ The Unwritten: Apocalypse
For the most part, The Unwritten by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (the same creative team behind Vertigo’s Lucifer) is an entirely self-contained brilliant re-imaging of the Harry Potter ethos in modern times. Nonetheless, a later crossover with Fables (issues #50 to #55), and overlapping sensibilities lands Unwritten in this section of the guide.
Unwritten Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity
The Unwritten Vol. 2: Inside Man
The Unwritten Vol. 3: Dead Man’s Knock
The Unwritten Vol. 4: Leviathan
The Unwritten Vol. 5: On to Genesis
The Unwritten Vol. 6: Tommy Taylor and the War of Words
The Unwritten, Vol. 7: The Wound
The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the Ship that Sank Twice
The Unwritten: Orpheus in the Underworld
The Unwritten Vol. 9: The Unwritten Fables
The Unwritten Vol. 10: War Stories
Collects: The Unwritten Apocalypse #1 to #5
The Unwritten Vol. 11: Apocalypse
VII) Vertigo Crime
From 2009 to 2011 Vertigo published a series of sub-sub-imprint titles under “Vertigo Crime.” If you’re a fan of crime fiction, you can check out the below comics:
The following original graphic novels have been published under the Vertigo Crime imprint (in order of publication):
Filthy Rich by Brian Azzarello
Dark Entries by Ian Rankin
The Chill by Jason Starr
The Bronx Kill by Peter Milligan
Area 10 by Christos N. Gage
The Executor by Jon Evans
Fogtown by Andersen Gabrych
A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina
Rat Catcher by Andy Diggle
Noche Roja by Simon Oliver
99 Days by Matteo Casali
Cowboys by Gary Philips
Return to Perdition by Max Allan Collins
VIII) Astro City
Kurt Busiek’s love letter to superheroes, and willingness to to explore every corner of their universe, bounced around publishers before finding its way to Vertigo.
Astro City is very much like George R.R. Martin’s anthology collections, Wild Cards
Astro City: Life in the Big City
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City: The Tarnished Angel
Astro City Vol. 5: Local Heroes
Astro City: The Dark Age Book One
Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two
Astro City: Through Open Doors
Astro City Vol. 12: Lovers Quarrel
Astro City Vol. 13: Honor Guard
IX) Vertigo Comics – Best of the Rest
I’ve ordered the below Vertigo Comics according to where they stand on my list of favorite comics of all time.
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Steve Dillon
When I first read the opening arc to Preacher, I felt let down. What’s all the hype about this series? There was a clear compelling concept, and groundwork for great characters from Ennis and Dillon, but the cheap shockstick of some of the violence felt lazy and uninteresting a few decades after publication.
When I made it back to Preacher, committed to finish the series with an impending TV series on the way, it was like the heavenly skies parted. Taken in its entirety, Ennis and Dillon crafted nothing short of a masterpiece, a funny, scathing, insightful satire of America and religion. Preacher is now one of my 20 favorite comic books of all time, and I can’t recommend it highly enough!
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Jeff Lemire with Matt Kindt
Lemire’s Sweet Tooth runs incredibly far on a fairly simple concept, with post-apocalyptic animal-human hybrids just trying to survive. Lemire accomplishes this with trademark poignancy, somehow able to build deep connections to all his characters in the span of a few short issues.
Writer: Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba
Daytripper is the kind of graphic novel that you find yourself saying “Oh, damn that’s a smart idea” within two issues. It’s also the kind of life-affirming, relentlessly authentic storytelling that keeps you in perpetual fear of the next tearjerking moment, even as you’re laughing along.
Jason Aaron and R. M. Guera put together one of Vertigo’s last instant classics, with their excellent ongoing Scalped detailing Native American life and crime from 2007 to 2012.
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: David Lloyd
I have an admittedly weird relationship with V for Vendetta. The graphic novel from Moore and Lloyd is clearly stunning, influential craftsmanship but… I saw the movie first. There was no suspense in the plot for me by the time I read it! So yes, I recommend it, but not nearly as highly as many other Alan Moore comics.
Writer: Chris Roberson
Artist: Michael Allred
I was pretty shocked to read iZombie after watching (and loving) the first few seasons of the TV show. The comic book is completely different. Honestly, if they weren’t named the same thing it would be genuinely difficult to map one to the other.
As such, iZombie is a fun conceptual romp from Roberson and Allred, with far more supernatural elements than the TV show. Given that Allred is one of my favorite comic book artists, iZombie is also a joy to behold.
Ran for 10 years, from 1999 to 2009, from writer Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.
X) Vertigo Comics – Bestest of the Restest
Below you’ll find additional Vertigo Comics that are not currently ranked on my favorite comics of all time. In most cases, this means I haven’t finished the series yet, but want to!
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Darick Robertson
Writer: Tom King
Before it was a moderately disappointing movie, The Losers was a solid concept from writer Andy Diggle and artist extraordinaire Jock (who have also worked together on Green Arrow: Year One
DMZ, from Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli, had an impressively long run from 2005 to 2011.
Writer: Steven T. Seagle
Artists: Becky Cloonan, Ryan Kelly
Writer: Brian Wood
Artists: Davide Gianfelice, Ryan Kelly, Leandro Fernández
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artists: Alberto Ponticelli and Pat Masioni
American Vampire
Writers: Scott Snyder (with Stephen King)
Artists: Rafael Albuquerque
FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics
by Simon Oliver and Robbi Rodriguez
Writer: David Wojnarowicz
Writer: Paul Pope
Writer: J.M. Dematteis
Writer: Kyle Baker
Writer: Seagle
Writer: Darren Aronofsky
Artist: Kent Williams
Writer: Paul Pope
Writer: Ed Brubaker
There you have it – the best Vertigo Comics of all time! Have suggestions that you think you should make the list? Do what feels right to you in the comments.
I just want to thank you for your wonderful work on this site. Reading comics is not my favorite pastime but I love reading some now and then and without this site I would have been completely lost in this unknown world, so thank you very much for writing and sharing for free such a great and huge amount of work. Greetings from Brazil!
Gawd, imagine a Vertigo Unlimited. I would hit that so hard. When I fell out of love with comics in the 90’s, Sandman and Transmetropolitan were the two titles that kept me going to the shop each month, up until they finished. So much other stuff you’ve listed here that I wish I’d read.
Would be a huge hit for sure.
Have you checked out Hoopla at all? They actually have a nice Vertigo selection – my review here: https://www.comicbookherald.com/hoopla-digital-comics-app-review/