|
VERTIGO
VISIONS
A
flawed but beautiful "art book" collecting some of Vertigo's best
covers.
 Text
by: Alisa Kwitney
Artists: Various
Book Published by Titan Books 2000 (US publication by Watson-Guptill)
£24.99/$29.95
Reviewed
by Antony Johnston
If there's one thing DC's Vertigo imprint can always be relied
upon for, it's good covers. Not all of them are hits, of course,
but the line has a rich history of good, innovative covers which
differentiate it from the musclebound wrestling and posturing
which many publishers happily churn out.
This coffee table-sized hardback, with sporadic text by Alisa
Kwitney (herself a former Vertigo editor), goes beyond the SANDMAN:
DUST COVERS book which appeared a few years ago. Whereas that
book exclusively highlighted Dave McKean's excellent cover work
on the series, VERTIGO VISIONS is of much wider interest,
celebrating the whole range of covers and a few pieces of trading
card and promotional art.
| "Don't almost all of Vertigo's
titles qualify for "Cult Favourites" anyway?" |
The book is divided into sections, somewhat arbitrary and occasionally
misleading, but useful in enabling Kwitney to tie certain comics
together under banners such as "Cornerstones" (SANDMAN, SWAMP
THING, HELLBLAZER) and "Skewed Reality" (FINALS, PREACHER,
UNKNOWN SOLDIER). Some of these distinctions must have caused
dilemma - GANGLAND in "Skewed Reality"? KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND
in "Metafiction"? And don't almost all of Vertigo's titles qualify
for "Cult Favourites" anyway?
The text is often over-complimentary, reading like a "proper"
art critique, and suffers accordingly from the associated over-analysis
(The most prominent example being a Timothy Hunter trading card,
where Kwitney posits a subtext according to Tim's direction of
gaze - even when he is quite clearly not looking where she imagines
at all). The occasional factual mistake also creeps in, such as
implying Alan Moore to be the author of TRANSMETROPOLITAN,
or confusing the 2000AD spin-off REVOLVER with 2000AD
itself.
This is all rather harsh criticism, however. In fairness to Kwitney,
trying to write a hundred words each on dozens of comic covers
must have been an unenviable task, hence her frequent foray into
anecdote or trivia (Duncan Fegredo often goes over his paintings
with coloured pencils to finish them, apparently. Interesting,
but hardly earth-shattering).
| "Anyone who has picked up a Vertigo
comic on the strength of its cover will want this book." |
But let's be honest; no-one's going to buy this for the words.
What's important here is the art, and the editors have done a
sterling job in choosing some of the best and most memorable covers
from Vertigo's short but chequered history: from Charles Vess
and Michael Zulli's otherworldly renditions of SWAMP THING,
through the inexhaustible McKean's SANDMAN and Brian Bolland's
seemingly effortless INVISIBLES, to the grotesquery of
Glenn Fabry's PREACHER.
It's all here, and anyone who has ever picked up a Vertigo comic
on the strength of its cover - or just appreciates the amount
of work and distinction that goes into them - will want this book.
Recommended
(with reservations: no story here, but plenty of excellent art).
Antony
Johnston is a regular contributor to PopImage.
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