Vertigo Comics was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that did not fit the restrictions of DC's main line, thus allowing more creative freedom. Its titles consisted of company-owned comics set in the DC Universe, such as The Sandman and Hellblazer, and creator-owned works, such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man and Fables.
John Constantine is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine first appeared in Swamp Thing #37, and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben.
John Constantine, Hellblazer is an American contemporary horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introduced. Its central character is the streetwise English sorcerer and con man John Constantine, who was created by Alan Moore and Stephen R. Bissette, and first appeared as a supporting character in Swamp Thing #37, during that creative team's run on that title. Hellblazer had been published continuously since January 1988, and was Vertigo's longest-running title, the only remaining publication from the imprint's launch. In 2013, the series concluded with issue 300, and was replaced by Constantine, which returned the character to the mainstream DC Universe. The original series was revived in November 2019 for twelve issues as part of The Sandman Universe line of comics, under the DC Black Label brand. Well known for its extremely pessimistic tone and social/political commentary, the series has spawned a film adaptation, television show, novels, and multiple spin-offs and crossovers.
Peter Milligan is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including 2000 AD, Revolver, Eagle and A1, and helped launch the influential magazine Deadline. In the US, he is best known for his frequent contributions to DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, which include the revamped DC properties Shade, the Changing Man and Human Target, a four-year run on the imprint's premier title Hellblazer, and original series Enigma, The Extremist, Egypt and Greek Street, as well as the Marvel series X-Statix, co-created by Milligan and artist Mike Allred.
Mark Buckingham is a British comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Marvelman and Fables.
Brian Azzarello is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. Azzarello is best known for his numerous collaborations with artists Eduardo Risso and Lee Bermejo, his contributions to the Watchmen prequel project Before Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns sequel series DK III: The Master Race, as well as for his stints on the long-running Vertigo series Hellblazer and The New 52 relaunch of the Wonder Woman title.
Mark Simpson, known by the pen name Jock, is a Scottish cartoonist, best known for his work in 2000 AD, The Losers, and more recently Batman and Wolverine. He is also known for Wytches by Image Comics.
Andrew Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of the weekly anthology series 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on Adam Strange and Green Arrow for DC Comics as well as his creator-owned series The Losers and a run on Hellblazer for DC's Vertigo imprint, and for his stints on Thunderbolts and Daredevil at Marvel. Other credits include Gamekeeper for Virgin Comics, written by Diggle on the basis of a concept created by Guy Ritchie, a three-year run on Robert Kirkman's Thief of Thieves at Image, several short arcs written for IDW Publishing's Doctor Who series and two James Bond mini-series for Dynamite.
Goran Sudžuka is a Croatian comic book artist, known for his work on books such as Y: The Last Man, Hellblazer: Lady Constantine and Ghosted.
Sean Gordon Murphy is an American comic book creator known for work on books such as Joe the Barbarian with Grant Morrison, Chrononauts with Mark Millar, American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest and The Wake with Scott Snyder, Tokyo Ghost with Rick Remender, and the miniseries Punk Rock Jesus.
Travel Foreman is an American comic book artist.
Lee Bermejo is an American comic book writer and artist whose published work includes interior illustrations and cover art. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Brian Azzarello including Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, the Joker graphic novel, and Before Watchmen: Rorschach.
Dark Entries is a 2009 original graphic novel written by Ian Rankin. The author's earliest work in the comic field, it was one of two books to launch Vertigo's new sub-imprint Vertigo Crime, along with Brian Azzarello's Filthy Rich. Italian artist Werther Dell'Edera created the interior art and Lee Bermejo painted the cover for the book.
The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC cancelled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series in September 2011. Among the renumbered series were Action Comics and Detective Comics, which had retained their original numbering since the 1930s.
Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in Justice League Dark #1. The Justice League Dark team features some of the more supernatural characters in the DC Universe, handling mystical threats and situations deemed outside the scope of the traditional Justice League. Similarly to the Justice League title, the team features well-known characters such as John Constantine, Zatanna, Doctor Fate, and Wonder Woman while also bringing exposure to lesser-known supernatural characters.
"Trinity War" is an 11-issue comic book story arc first published in 2013 by DC Comics, featuring the fictional superhero teams the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark. The arc spans several titles, including Justice League, Justice League of America, Justice League Dark, Constantine, Trinity of Sin: Pandora and Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger. The story is an action-mystery that sees the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark clash, in order to solve the mystery of Pandora's Box. The event also introduces the Crime Syndicate and the reveal of Earth-3 to The New 52.
"Shoot" is a controversial American comic book story that was scheduled to appear in the 141st issue of the horror series Hellblazer in 1999, published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint. Written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning, "Shoot" follows a researcher who searches for the cause of school shootings; she eventually discovers that John Constantine, the magic-using protagonist of Hellblazer, was present at several massacres. Constantine explains to her that he has been looking into the phenomenon, and says it happens because the victims have lost the will to live.
