Superstar cover painter, Simon Bisley has been cranking out gorgeous covers on HELLBLAZER, most recently on #256, 257, and 258. Well, along with the covers, he is also the interior illustrator of the upcoming issues #259 and #260! His style combines a unique realism with a graffiti edge. Just what you would expect from the drummer in a death metal band named Kaotika.
Check out these incredible pages from #259:
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Blame The Killer Inside Me.
It’s spring of 1991 -- well, really winter since I was living in Ithaca, NY where it’s warm likes two weeks out of the year -- there was a big recession on, a war in Iraq, I was only working part-time (some things never change, right? jk) and I’m standing in an independent bookstore and this scary-ass face is staring back at me. It’s the cover to The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson. Never heard of him. But loved the jacket design (Day-Glo orange stripes with black type and a creepy black lizard on it) and so I picked it up.
Now, I’d read my share of Chandler, Hammett, Conan Doyle and even James M. Cain, and considered myself a mystery fan...but this book was CRIME. This was a twisted book about a deputy sheriff who had some serious problems. I read half the book standing in the store and the rest that afternoon. I read it again the next day and knew I needed more...
And holy hell, there was more...Willeford, Goodis, Williams, MacDonald, Himes and on and on. It was grimy, sexy, visceral, mind-blowing work and I felt like a poseur cuz I’d never heard of any of them. But I trusted whoever these Vintage Black Lizard geniuses were and I was never the same. The one time in my life when you really could judge a book by its cover.
Which brings us to VERTIGO CRIME...where we’re trying to capture that same flavor. A line of books by some of today’s best crime writers – IAN RANKIN, BRIAN AZZARELLO, JASON STARR, PETER MILLIGAN, CHRISTOS GAGE, DENISE MINA, MAX ALLAN COLLINS and many more – that we believe can proudly sit alongside the best “regular” crime fiction out there.
The first two – DARK ENTRIES by Rankin & Dell’Edera and FILTHY RICH by Azzarello & Santos – drop today in comic shops and next Tuesday in bookstores. They’ve got eye-popping covers (from Lee Bermejo of JOKER fame) and I really hope you’ll take a taste.
Cuz who knows...maybe in twenty years, you’ll be blogging about how VERTIGO CRIME changed your life forever.
God help you.
will dennis
On Tuesday you discussed your favorite works by Peter Milligan. Now, here are the covers to some of his upcoming titles.
SHADE THE CHANGING MAN Vol. 1:
SHADE THE CHANGING MAN Vol. 2 :
GREEK STREET #4:
And HELLBLAZER #260:
Peter Milligan, one of the founding writers of Vertigo, is a busy man. He has captivated us with numerous works over the years including, HUMAN TARGET (soon to be a Fox TV show), SKREEMER, ENIGMA, and SHADE THE CHANGING MAN (Vol. 1: The American Scream will be re-issued in paperback and, for the first time, issues 7-13 will be collected in Vol. 2: Edge of Vision, both to be published in November). Since January, starting with issue #250 Milligan has been the series writer on HELLBLAZER and now, his new ongoing series GREEK STREET is the talk of the town.
With such an accomplished list of work I'm sure it's difficult to chose just one, but tell us, which is your favorite Peter Milligan title and why? Please discuss.
What better place for a Halloween party than the HOUSE OF MYSTERY? And guess what? You’re all invited.
This October we’re publishing our first ever Halloween Annual. This special 48-page book will contain a framing story by the regular HOM creative team, writer Matthew Sturges and artists Luca Rossi and Jose Marzan Jr. However, it will also included short stories from HELLBLAZER by Peter Milligan, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini and MADAME XANADU by Matt Wagner, Amy Reeder Hadley and Richard Friend as well as a special MERV PUMPKINHEAD tale (the first in over 8 years!) by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham and Kevin Nowlan.
What? That’s not enough?
You’ll also be treated to a yarn spotlighting a new monthly series!
Come back this afternoon for the second major part of this announcement.
Lot’s happened this week. Here's a roundup of those not to be missed.
LARGEHEARTED BOY posts Jeff Lemire's fantastic music playlist for THE NOBODY. In his introduction Jeff writes, “I've always preferred sad songs. They don't make me sad, they just make me "feel more." Now, that's something I can totally relate to. Check it out!
CBR and NEWSARAMA review THE NOBODY.
BLOG@NEWSARAMA and AINT IT COOL NEWS review GREEK STREET #1.
IGN reviews THE UNWRITTEN #3 giving it a rating of 9/10.
MTV/Splashpage talks with Brian Azzarello about the end of 100 BULLETS.
And as a special treat, here are a few of Jeff Lemire's early cover sketches for THE NOBODY.
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Have a great weekend!
Just days away from publication and GREEK STREET has people (well, not just any people, some of the most renowned names in comic history) yelling its praises from the US and across the pond from London. Ah, London, the setting of GREEK STREET and all its glorious inhabitants.
“Sex, death, ambition, revenge and a reminder that some stories are too true and too dangerous to ever die. GREEK STREET crackles with Promethean fire.” —Grant Morrison
“A mind-bending mashup of ancient myth and modern mayhem!” —Dave Gibbons, artist of WATCHMEN
"A new monthly from the man who brought us Skin, Skreemer and Bad Company? Count me in!" —Garth Ennis, writer of PREACHER
"A spellbinding blend of modern crime and classical tragedy, GREEK STREET sparkles with wit, style and energy, yet is as brutal and unrelenting as the mythical Furies themselves. I can't get enough of it." —Cliff Chiang
And for those of us looking forward to shouting TGIF! we have this toast to GREEK STREET by Lee Bermejo, artist of the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller, JOKER:
“Milligan & Gianfelice mix delicious elixir with GREEK STREET. With a combination of totally unique characters, challenging themes, and a complex, multi-layered narrative, you've got one hell of a stiff drink. It's aged well, with the smooth taste of Greek tragedy mixed with the tart bite of urban noir. But don't just down it...SIP it. Let the flavors sink in and then go back for some more.”
Check out the character bios at MYSPACE
THE BRONX KILL by Peter Milligan and artist James Romberger
Awesome, right?
Yesterday, Karen Berger talked about Peter Milligan’s addictive new series GREEK STREET. Peter is also writing HELLBLAZER and this month’s issue #256 not only kicks off a new arc but a new creative team.
We’ll be rolling out interior art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini later this summer. But for now, the focus is on fan-favorite cover artist Simon Bisley and his dynamic painting style. For his first cover, “Biz” depicts Constantine walking down a dark and stormy London street that looks so ominous that you can’t help but wonder what’s in store.
Below you can peruse some cover sketches, the final painting, and final cover for issue #256.
Now, to reveal the painted cover of issue #259 and three concept sketches.
Have a great weekend and don’t forget to check out more GRAPHIC CONTENT next week!
Millison and Morrigan. Morrison and Milligan. However you say it, those bizarre boys are at it again, and all is right with my world. Whenever these guys write for Vertigo, everyone stops and listens because these two most insanely talented, too smart for our own good know what gutsy, passionate stories are all about. They hold the big V record for writing the most creator-owned series for Vertigo, and certainly the most diverse and out-there.
Besides the return of SEAGUY (my personal favorite superhero), and the upcoming final storyline in the trilogy, Grant has been locked away writing JOE THE BARBARIAN, a new series that will forever change your view of childhood with Sean Murphy doing phenomenal art. We'll be announcing its release date in the next couple of months. As for Peter, when he's not writing HELLBLAZER, he's been crafting GREEK STREET, an intense saga of epic proportion that has everyone up at the office perched on the edge of the seat waiting for the next script to arrive. The unforgettable cast of characters are now just appearing in a special preview in many of our monthly titles. GREEK STREET is more than a funky street in London; it’s where tales of forbidden love, murder, deadly prophecies and urban magic play out. It's got a real HBO feel, where you know that what you’re experiencing is storytelling and drama at the top of its game, and sometimes gets a bit too hot to handle. Like in the below art with Sandy, a rich girl plagued with visions that portend the unspeakable. Davide Gianfelice’s art gets us going in that visceral way, like all those Italian artists know how to do so well…Gotta love it…and I know you will.
