Karen Berger's RECOMMENDED VERTIGO SUMMER READING

 

Summer’s here and with it we’re releasing our summer reading list! Each day this week, we’ll give you a new recommendation from a different VERTIGO editor.   


But don’t worry, we won’t be making you read books without pictures and there's no book report due at the end.  Instead, we’ll be giving you the perfect comic to read at the beach, on a road trip or however you spend your summer.  


Today, we’re starting off with VERTIGO’s editor-in-chief, Karen Berger!

 

 

 

UNKNOWN SOLDIER #24 preview

“An engrossing and viscerally powerful journey. . . . If you're not paying attention through all the fireworks, it's almost easy to forget you're reading a brilliant, meticulously constructed human drama." --IGN

Two men sit at a table. One is a WWII veteran, a highly placed secret agent known only by the code name Unknown Soldier. The other is a psychologically deconstructed ghost named Moses Lwanga. In UNKNOWN SOLDIER #24, one will tell the other his story – and the course of their lives will be changed forever.

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NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE SWEEPSTAKES

If you haven't read the graphic novel yet, now's your chance!

Win a copy of NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE written by Josh Dysart with art by Cliff Chiang!

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To enter please tell us about your favorite NEIL YOUNG song or character from the GREENDALE album and why.

Please post you answer it today's post titled NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE SWEEPSTAKES.

10 winners will be chosen at random from all eligible entrants. Contest ends July 16th, 2010. For more info, please see Official Rules below.

Good Luck!

Official Rules:

1. TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY. One entry per person. To enter, comment on the Vertigo: Graphic Content blog entry entitled NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE SWEEPSTAKES (about your favorite NEIL YOUNG song or character from the GREENDALE album and why.) no later than 11:59PM on 07/16/2010. Entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Sponsor is not responsible for illegible, inaccurate, or incomplete entries or for any failures, malfunctions, omissions or defects in entry transmission. Use of any device or computer software to automate the entry process is prohibited. By participating in this Sweepstakes, each entrant accepts the conditions stated in these Official Rules, agrees that the Sponsor has the sole right to decide all matters and disputes arising from this Sweepstakes and that Sponsor’s decision is final and binding, warrants that he or she is eligible to participate in this Sweepstakes, and agrees to release Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, agencies and affiliates, and all of their respective employees, officers, directors and agents from any and all liability, loss or damages arising in connection with participation in this Sweepstakes including, but not limited to, the awarding, receipt and/or use or misuse of any prize. By participating, entrants also agree that Sponsor may contact them from time to time for market research. Participation in Sponsor’s market research will not be required and will not increase odds of winning this Sweepstakes. Use of all personal data submitted by entrants will be subject to DC Comics’ privacy policy available at http://dccomics.com/about/?action=privacy. Subject to DC Comics’ Privacy Policy, Eentrants grant Sponsor the right to use their names and any information provided in their entry forms, in any medium of communication, including print, Internet, radio and/or television and for any purpose, including advertising, promotional or other purposes, by Sponsor or its affiliates, without additional compensation.

2. ELIGIBILTY: Sweepstakes open to legal U.S. residents only who are at least eighteen (18) years of age as of 07/16/2010. Employees of DC Comics, Warner Bros. and Time Warner and their families are not eligible.

3. PRIZES: Ten (10) winners will be selected from a random drawing of all eligible entries to be conducted on or about 07/19/2010. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received. Winners will be notified by blog post, on or before 11:59 p.m. (EST) 07/19/2010. Each winner will receive one copy of Vertigo/DC Comics’ novel, NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE (approximate retail value $19.99 for total approximate retail value of $199.99). The prizes are non-transferable, non-negotiable and not redeemable for cash, credit or merchandise. The winners may be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility, release of liability/publicity release (where legal) within ten (10) days of notification attempt. If any prize becomes unavailable for any reason, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable value. If any prize is not claimed or if an affidavit is not received within ten (10) days of the date notification of the prize has been given or if a winning entrant is found to be ineligible, alternative winners will be selected on same basis as original winners. If a minor is selected as a winner, Sponsor may award the prize in the name of a parent or legal guardian. Winners are responsible for any applicable taxes.

For a list of the prize winners, please check the blog post entitled NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE Winners on 07/19/2010. If you are a winner please email pamela.mullin@dccomics.com with your full name, age, physical mailing address, email address and phone number. Your prize will be sent out within one week or, if necessary, within one week of the receipt of the signed affidavit. Entrants must use their own names. Only entries with valid phone numbers and email addresses are eligible.

4. SPONSOR: Sweepstakes is sponsored by Vertigo/DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

5. GOVERNING LAW: Sweepstakes rules and conduct shall be governed and enforced pursuant to New York law, excluding choice of law provisions. Any and all legal actions or claims arising in connection with this Sweepstakes must be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction within the United States. Federal and state regulations apply. Void where prohibited and subject to all Federal, State, and local laws.

Cliff Chiang discusses the art of NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE

I love the challenge of storytelling. You know, really digging in, getting your hands dirty with the narrative, trying to figure out what the readers need from a scene. It's hard to pick just a few pages out of 153 as my favorites, but I'd have to say that I had the most fun (and trouble) with Sun's protest scene. It's the climax of the story, where Sun finally finds the courage to speak out to the community and realizes that her voice can make a difference. It's also her last showdown with the sinister Stranger.

One of the things I love most about Josh's script is its sincere, human quality. This scene was no exception, but something kept tugging at me. As originally written, the scene consisted solely of Sun's passionate speech to the crowd. I worried that it wasn't visual enough, and early on debated with Josh about bringing in some more of the supernatural elements we'd woven into the book. He was adamantly against it: "Superpowers cannot save the day." And Josh was right. This was above all a book about moving ordinary people to act. In the weeks leading up to drawing those pages, I kept revisiting Josh's argument in my head, until I called him one more time to talk about it. We'd left Sun's "dream" encounters with the monstrous Goat-Man unfinished; what if I found a way to work that into the scene, as a symbolic representation of her speech? Or, in cruder comic book terms, what if they had a battle on the astral plane? (Ha, nerd!) Josh nervously agreed, and I dove back into the script, tweaking and condensing, not sure myself if it would actually work. Could I have my cake and eat it too?

Miraculously, it DID work, and both Josh and our editor Karen wholeheartedly approved of the changes. I'm proud of how it turned out, but above all I'm grateful for the generous collaborative spirit that allowed me the freedom to question and reimagine the script. That's a rare quality, but that spirit permeated the entire project and it's what made Greendale such a wonderful creative experience for me.

Cliff

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Vertigo Graphic Connection

It’s been an eventful week here at Vertigo.

BOING BOING gave SWEET TOOTH Vol. 1 a rave review saying, “Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth Vol. 1: Out of the Woods is a great post-apocalyptic graphic novel in the tradition of The Walking Dead and Y: The Last Man, featuring likable innocents walking a blasted, ruined America, helped and hindered by good people gone bad, and bad people gone worse.”

And as for NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE, in case you missed it:

THE NEW YORK TIMES ran an amazing feature on the front of the Arts Section with quotes from Young, Dysart and Chiang

THE SEATTLE TIMES and MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL ran a Nationally syndicated review from SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

WIRED ran a feature with 3 exclusive pages of art

LARGEHEARTED BOY posted a playlist, AMERICAN SONGWRITER featured the book

And AM NEW YORK and LA WEEKLY featured pieces with Chiang

Happy reading and have a wonderful weekend all!

And for those of you in NYC, I hope to see you tonight at Rocketship as we celebrate GREENDALE with artist Cliff Chiang.

From the Editor's Desk: Karen Berger talks NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE

If someone told me when I first started working here, that I'd someday be working with Neil Young, I would have flipped out! Well, I haven't lost my mind yet :) but I AM over the moon to be publishing our adaptation of NEIL YOUNG'S acclaimed GREENDALE album.

Neil approached us over four years ago with the idea of taking his acclaimed concept album and realizing it as a graphic novel. The original album was conceived as a musical novel of sorts, a 10-song rock opera that tells the story of the restless characters in the sleepy, seaside California town of Greendale, with a teenage girl, Sun Green, at its center. It has also been a live rock opera, a film that Neil directed as ‘Bernard Shakey’, which would lead to a companion book, plus an off-Broadway musical.

Joshua Dysart was the first writer who leapt to mind to handle the writing. Josh's sheer talent and sensibility as a writer and his longtime political activism made him perfect for this book, and growing up on Neil Young's music certainly made him a slam dunk. Neil immediately responded to Josh's first thoughts on the adaptation and a great collaborative process between the two of them followed. And, while I always knew that Josh would do a great job, I was wowed by his ability to convey this rambling rock and roll feeling to the graphic novel form and to create an atmosphere that felt very much like Neil's music. With his stellar work on UNKNOWN SOLDIER, Josh has jumped into that special class of a true craftsman who can move you with his words while conveying a passionate message.

Trying to find the right artist wasn't anywhere as easy. I had sent Neil samples of many different artists but he had a particular look in mind and wasn’t satisfied. But then he saw Cliff Chiang's art and immediately fell in love with it. Not surprising, as Cliff's clean, modern style has an organic, natural feel to it. He is a fluid and accessible storyteller, which worked perfectly to transform this rich family saga into a graphic novel. There is something about his work on GREENDALE that takes his art to another level. His wonderful ability to capture the details and nuances of a very large cast of characters, while impressing us with the towering and majestic landscapes, made him the perfect choice (You were right to wait, Neil!).

And I can't say enough about the incomparable colorist Dave Stewart. His glorious sun-washed palette was key in making this story complete, always in concert with Cliff’s art, never competing with it. His artistry is an integral part of this book. As always, the one and only Todd Klein provided the impeccable lettering. And Neil himself offers a special intro to this amazing graphic novel.

Josh and Cliff have done some terrific interviews so please make sure to check them out, so you can read in their own words so much cool behind the scenes info that went into the creation of this book. (NEWSARAMA feature with Josh, NEWSARAMA feature with Cliff, CBR feature with Josh.)

And, as a special treat, here are Cliff's sample pages that got him the job!

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NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE, in all its incarnations, speaks to the power of environmental, social and personal responsibility that each and every one of us living on this planet shares. With what's going on in the world today, especially with the horrendous Gulf oil spill, this book couldn't be timelier. But ultimately, this is a great story with incredible art, so whether you're a fan of Neil Young or you just want to lose yourself in a mysterious, haunting and hopeful tale, GREENDALE will definitely take you there. (And have I told you? I love this book!!)

HUFFINGTON POST and others preview NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE

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Check out the Featured Blog Post with exclusive 13 page preview on the Front Page, in the Entertainment Hub, and the Books Hub at THE HUFFINGTON POST. The last 2 pages of the preview call our attention to many current and topical issues, including war, the energy crisis, and oil drilling.

Previews have also appeared at TIME/TECHLAND, AOL’s COMICS ALLIANCE, and NEWSARAMA which also featured an interview with Josh Dysart, along with BIG SHINY ROBOT.

You can also read a review on SUNDANCE CHANNEL's SUNFILTERED and Io9 includes a mention.

Enjoy!
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NEIL YOUNG’S GREENDALE: Take a look inside

Some stories are so personal and so important that we cannot let them go. Time passes, details are embellished, and the narrative shifts to accommodate a new audience. But the heart of the story, what is most private and profound, remains unchanged: we create our own mythologies.

Neil Young’s ambitious story GREENDALE began as a concept album, was performed as a live rock opera and adapted into a film; today it will be available as a graphic novel in comic book stores and next Tuesday everywhere books are sold. What remains unchanged about GREENDALE in its many incarnations is that it remains Neil Young’s singular vision of environmental, political and personal responsibility. Focusing on a small Southern California town, Greendale is the story of Sun Green, a teenage girl with preternatural connections to nature.

Welcome to NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE:

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