will dennis

DC Entertainment Announces Vertigo Editorial Promotions

Wed, 12/19/2012 - 9:00am | Pamela Mullin

Shelly Bond has been promoted to Executive Editor of the Vertigo imprint for DC Entertainment. Joining Bond in her new leadership role are Will Dennis, who has been promoted to Group Editor, Vertigo and Mark Doyle who has been promoted to Editor, Vertigo. All three staffers have spent years under the guidance of outgoing SVP & Executive Editor Karen Berger, creating a continuity in editorial experience.

“I've been incredibly lucky to have worked for many years with these three smart and talented editors. Shelly has been by my side since the beginning of Vertigo, so I couldn't be happier about passing the baton to her,” Berger said. “She brings so much creativity, passion and professionalism to everything she edits with special note to the wildly successful FABLES, which she launched and has overseen for over 10 years. Will is a highly regarded story editor of many critically acclaimed series including 100 BULLETS, DMZ and SCALPED and has procured many European and South American artists for our titles. Mark has a great eye for new writing talent, and his avid interest in up-to-the-minute fiction has been a real asset to the line. I look forward to reading many great comics and graphic novels from these three for many years to come. Vertigo is in the best of hands.”

Bond began her career at Vertigo in 1993 as Assistant Editor. Her unique pop culture sensibility and love of all things British – plus a knack for discovering new, uncompromising and inspired talent – helped launch some of the most beloved Vertigo series and OGNs, including FABLES, FAIREST, THE INVISIBLES, LUCIFER, HEAVY LIQUID, SLOTH, iZOMBIE, AMERICAN VIRGIN, DEADENDERS, HOUSE OF SECRETS, YOUNG LIARS, THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS and DEATH: AT DEATH'S DOOR. The list of talented creators Bond has worked with over the years is equally long and impressive, including Michael Allred, Mark Buckingham, Mike Carey, Howard Chaykin, Becky Cloonan, Neil Gaiman, Peter Gross, Gilbert Hernandez, James Jean, Phil Jimenez, Peter Milligan, Grant Morrison, Paul Pope, Steven T. Seagle, Jill Thompson, Bill Willingham and many more.

Before DC, Bond was a video/film editor and talent agent. She also served as the editor for THE ELEMENTALS – a comic book by Willingham. The friendship and working relationship continues to this day, as FABLES celebrates 10 years of publication.

"It’s been a great privilege, both personally and professionally, to work with Karen Berger since Vertigo’s inception,” says Bond. "I look forward to honoring her legacy by continuing to push the imprint to arresting new heights ably abetted by a fiercely talented editorial team. Expect nothing but the deft storytelling, incomparable artistry and the bravado that has made Vertigo an industry leader."

(Photo of Shelly Bond)

Dennis has had a long and critically-acclaimed editorial career at Vertigo and DC Comics, which saw him form long-lasting relationships with some of the most renowned creators in comics, including Jason Aaron, Brian Azzarello, Lee Bermejo, R.M. Guera, Jim Lee, Denise Mina, Eduardo Risso, Brian K. Vaughan, Brian Wood and the legendary Joe Kubert. Dennis has edited a number of award-winning ongoing series and special projects for the imprint, such as 100 BULLETS, SPACEMAN, SCALPED, THE LOSERS, PRIDE OF BAGHDAD, DONG XOAI: VIETNAM 1965, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, NORTHLANDERS and DMZ to name a few. Additionally, Dennis has edited many best-selling projects outside of Vertigo, including the JOKER graphic novel, Azzarello and Lee's SUPERMAN: FOR TOMORROW and the current BEFORE WATCHMEN mini-series.

A lifelong fan of crime fiction and music, Dennis began his career at Vertigo as Assistant Editor. Prior to Vertigo, Dennis worked at a boutique music and film publicity agency. One of his first jobs was at his local comic shop after college. Dennis points to his current gig as "the best job I've ever had." While he's worked with some of the best and brightest talent the comic book industry has to offer, Dennis says few come close to the experience of working with one of comics all-time greats, writer/artist Joe Kubert, describing it as "a dream come true."

Doyle began his career at Vertigo as Assistant Editor in 2006. Always on the lookout for new talent, he launched Scott Snyder’s first ongoing comic book series AMERICAN VAMPIRE with Stephen King and award winning artist Rafael Albuquerque in 2010. He has worked on such titles as SWEET TOOTH, THE NEW DEADWARDIANS, NORTHLANDERS, THE EXTERMINATORS and AMERICAN SPLENDOR by Harvey Pekar and currently assists on the current BEFORE WATCHMEN mini-series.

Tags:

vertigo, DC Entertainment, shelly bond, will dennis, mark doyle

Will Dennis' RECOMMENDED VERTIGO SUMMER READING

Thu, 07/05/2012 - 3:00am | Pamela Mullin

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, Will Dennis gives us his summer reading pick.

Tags:

will dennis, vertigo, Y: The Last Man, dmz, brian wood, riccardo burchielli, brian k. vaughan

Editor Will Dennis and THE BIG BUNNY

Thu, 05/10/2012 - 7:00am | Pamela Mullin

BIG BUNNY

Awhile back, we blogged about RYAN KELLY’S covers for SAUCER COUNTRY and how a bunch of them came out of his initial concept sketches. But issue #3 is a totally different beast...literally.

Sometimes you never know what a cover artist will react to in a script...what will inspire them to come up with an arresting image that will make a cool cover. In the case of SAUCER COUNTRY #3, it was BUNNIES. Yeah...not the most “Vertigo” thing ever to grace a cover, but who doesn’t love bunnies? Ryan wasn’t totally sure it would work but I thought it would cus it was just not what people would expect...and used my pink camo boxer shorts as an example. For those who don’t know the story: years ago, Jock had done a cover of THE LOSERS for me using camo as the background and we were all a little under-whelmed by it (no pun intended!). But then I suggested why not use PINK as I owned a pair of pink camo boxer shorts at the time. I sent him a jpeg of my shorts (no...I wasn’t sexting Jock) and the rest is history.

So hopefully this bunny will be Ryan’s pink camo boxer shorts cover. Check it out in-stores May 16th!

Tags:

saucer country, paul cornell, ryan kelly, will dennis

Will Dennis talks about the reality of SHOOTERS

Thu, 04/12/2012 - 6:00am | Pamela Mullin

A lot of comics are pure fantasy. They live in the crazed imagination of comic writers and artists and, while they can be very powerful, there’s not a lot of real life consequence to them.

Not so with SHOOTERS, a brand-new original graphic novel from Vertigo that’s in-stores April 18th. It’s a gripping tale that (unfortunately) has a lot of basis in reality. Written by Eric Trautmann and Brandon Jerwa and illustrated by Eisner-Award winning artist, Steve Lieber, it tells the story of one military contractor as he struggles to survive both the war in Iraq and the homefront in America. It’s a subject close to the heart of Eric and I’ll let his words speak for him.

An excerpt from his introduction about his brother-in-law, Dave:

Dave's unit was not scheduled to return to Iraq any time soon, and—after some initial rest, he embarked on an aggressive program of physical and martial fitness: exercise, running, pistol work.

After honing himself into the best shape he'd been in years, he hired on with a private military company, Blackwater, determined to go back to Iraq as soon as possible. Why? we asked him. His wife, Cindy, supported him but clearly had some trepidation, and Gabrielle fretted about it from time to time. His answer was typical: "My work there isn't done yet."

Dave's occasional letters home were filled with stories about how he'd connected with the locals, particularly the children he met. He spoke at length about working to improve things at the ground level -- building schools, repairing infrastructure, and so on. (No doubt, this appealed to him from his civilian profession as a master carpenter and contractor.) Often, his team would be called upon to supply medical assistance to locals in crisis; leave it to Dave to have a story about an emergency field amputation that was both horrifying and hysterically funny.

Why'd he go back? Dave's work just wasn't done yet, you see.

Peace (someday),

Will Dennis

Tags:

shooters, eric trautmann, brandon jerwa, steve lieber, will dennis

DC ENTERTAINMENT TO SHOWCASE “BEFORE WATCHMEN,” DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 AND VERTIGO AT KAPOW!

Wed, 04/04/2012 - 10:46am | Official Press ...

DC ENTERTAINMENT TO SHOWCASE “BEFORE WATCHMEN,” DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 AND VERTIGO AT KAPOW!

Leading Entertainment Company Will Bring Top Executives and Talent to UK Convention

DC Entertainment announced its plans today to bring some of the company’s top executives and creators to Kapow! to discuss the year’s highly anticipated BEFORE WATCHMEN comic book event, the record-breaking initiative that took the industry by storm this past September, DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, and the four new series from acclaimed adult imprint, Vertigo. On hand to discuss all things DC Entertainment will be Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, Vertigo Senior Editor and BEFORE WATCHMEN series editor, Will Dennis, Senior Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne, and a roster of major talent including Scott Snyder, Peter Milligan, Paul Cornell and Ian Churchill. This event, which takes place May 19-20, will be occurring only a small number of weeks before the release of the inaugural issues of BEFORE WATCHMEN on June 2nd.

DC ALL ACCESS - SPECIAL EDITION

Panelists: Dan DiDio, Bob Wayne, Will Dennis, Scott Snyder, Peter Milligan, Paul Cornell

Don’t miss this panel about the sure-to-be most talked about project of 2012, BEFORE WATCHMEN! Join DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, Editor Will Dennis, and Senior Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne as they talk about this next game-changing event. They’ll also join writers Scott Snyder (AMERICAN VAMPIRE), Peter Milligan (HELLBLAZER) and Paul Cornell (SAUCER COUNTRY) to share the latest news on all your favorite Vertigo titles and discuss details about the new wave of Vertigo! No comics fan will want to miss this!

DC COMICS – THE NEW 52

Panelists: Dan DiDio, Bob Wayne, Scott Snyder, Peter Milligan, Paul Cornell, Ian Churchill

DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 is the industry’s most talked about industry-shattering event of the last year. Although the landscape has changed, we’re not done making news! Come by and be a part of history as DCE Co-Publisher Dan DiDio and Senior Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne discuss the books that are shaping the dawn of this new era along with some of the major talent writing and illustrating these titles, including Scott Snyder (BATMAN, SWAMP THING), Peter Milligan (RED LANTERNS), Paul Cornell (STORMWATCH) and Ian Churchill (THE RAVAGERS).

Tags:

Kapow, Before Watchmen, DC Comics-The New 52, vertigo, dan didio, bob wayne, will dennis, scott snyder, peter milligan, paul cornell, ian churchill

Editor Will Dennis talks about THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS ________

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 6:00am | Pamela Mullin

Most series I’ve developed over the years at Vertigo don’t come with an artist attached. Vertigo has always been a writer-driven imprint so usually the writer and editor will get the idea polished to the point that it’s a “go” and then start trying to find the right person to draw it. But that was not the case with THE NEW DEADWARDIANS...

When Dan Abnett sent me his apologetic pitch (see Tuesday’s blog post!), he said there was already an artist attached to it. He said his name was I.N.J. CULBARD and described him as the bastard son of Herge, the artist of TINTIN. I’m ashamed to say I’d never heard of I.N.J....especially since the TINTIN connection would be close to my heart as everyone is always making fun of me for looking like TINTIN (or more like his dad!).

Anyway, after I saw his samples I was totally sold. I.N.J. is a fantastic artist and a super cool guy. We’ve had long talks about our mutual interests and about having kids obsessed with STAR WARS. I’m glad Dan brought him on board.

Check out THE NEW DEADWARDIANS #1 that’s on sale now and see the below original sketch of our detective – then called DEKAY, now called GEORGE SUTTLE.

And no, I.N.J. is not his real first name. His real name is ________.

Will Dennis

Tags:

the new deadwardians, dan abnett, will dennis, i.n.j. culbard

Editor Will Dennis talks THE NEW DEADWARDIANS--The Pitch

Tue, 03/27/2012 - 6:00am | Pamela Mullin

THE PITCH:

As I told you during SAUCER COUNTRY #1 week (not too late to pick that issue up!), all projects start with a pitch. Now some writers want to do the Hollywood two-minute pitch version, some write quick emails, some hand you elaborate documents in fancy folders – there’s no end to the ways that writers will try to get your attention. But there is one thing that all pitches have in common and it’s that the writers always try to make you see that “you’ve never read anything like this before.” I can’t really blame them (and sometimes they’re right!) because if they don’t believe the idea is brilliant then how can they hope to convince me? It makes perfect sense and it’s always part of the pitch.

Well...almost always.

See, when Dan Abnett first emailed me his pitch on THE NEW DEADWARDIANS, he started with an apology. Yeah...that’s not a typo. He literally said he was SORRY that he was pitching me another zombie/vampire story. I think his exact words were, “I promised myself I’d never do this!”...What a salesman, right?

But oddly enough, it really got my attention. It was just so refreshingly honest and upfront. And the idea was so cool to me that I couldn’t say ‘NO’. He’d taken what felt like a pretty oversold genre and breathed some fresh life into it. Maybe it didn’t hurt that I was fast becoming a huge fan of DOWNTON ABBEY and had always loved a good vampire tale. Whatever the reason, it was all in the pitch and by the time I was done reading it, I was totally sold.

So sometimes it pays to come at life from a completely different direction. I’m very glad Dan Abnett had the guts to do it and I hope you’ll check out THE NEW DEADWARDIANS #1 on sale tomorrow!

Will Dennis

(Below is a heavily redacted version of Dan’s original pitch. No spoilers! Note especially the name change of our hero, GEORGE SUTTLE. These things happen.)

THE NEW DEADWARDIANS (A Seance Fiction)

Written by Dan Abnett

Art by I.N.J. Culbard

This is a story about zombies and vampires, but don’t reject it wholesale on those grounds. It’s essentially a Victorian Gothic detective story set in an alternate history England, circa 1900. It’s Downton Abbey (hugely popular British period drama) meets THE WALKING DEAD. I imagine it having quite a formal, serious style, like From Hell as drawn by Herge. With an emphasis on the Victorian/Gothic/Literary aspects and less on the whole Vampires vs. Zombies thing...which has worked to great success with books such as PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.

Here’s the premise:

In a world where everybody is either a vampire of a zombie, someone is actually killing people. The central character, a police detective named INSPECTOR DEKAY tries to track down the murderer. In doing so, he explores the nature of this alternate England for the benefit of the reader, and exposes a few darker-than-dark secrets.

What he reveals is this:

when Prince Albert died in 1861, Victoria was grief stricken soREDACTED!!!!!!

It worked...kinda.

REDACTED!!!!!!

Zombies are EVERYWHERE, eating the living, making more zombies. The zombies are known as THE RESTLESS.

REDACTED!!!!!!

British Society undertook elective vampirism and, by becoming undead, became invisible to the zombie masses. Vampires are known as THE YOUNG.

REDACTED!!!!!!

Other cultural details:

Some men are slave to the passion of vampiric cravings, and secretly visit Bloodhouses or Thirsty shops, where underclass women are procured for their lusts.

Vampirism is an upper-class thing. Many lower class people didn’t get the chance to become Young.

REDACTED!!!!!!

People who aren’t Young or Restless are called BRIGHT.

REDACTED!!!!!!

Vampirism is an antidote to the Restless Curse. If a bitten human gets a shot of vampire bloodREDACTED!!!!!!

Anyway, our hero (the only traditional homicide detective left at Scotland Yard because actual murder happens so rarely), is called in because an eminent gentleman, a Young, has been murdered. And he has not been killed by any of the conventional “three methods” (silver bullets, a stake through the heart, decapitation). One of the undead has been made actually dead.

DeKay’s investigations take him toREDACTED!!!!!!

Tags:

the new deadwardians, dan abnett, will dennis, i.n.j. culbard

Will Dennis Talks SAUCER COUNTRY Covers

Mon, 03/19/2012 - 9:00am | Alex Nagorski

THE COVER:

It’s a bit of an unwritten rule around VERTIGO that the interior artist doesn’t do the cover art. Some of it is a tradition that goes back to SANDMAN, some of it’s a time management thing, and some of it’s that often artists who are great at interiors aren’t always so great at the single image needed for a cover. It’s two totally different parts of the brain for an artist and not everyone can pull it off.

So we set out with the same approach to SAUCER COUNTRY...trying hard to think of someone cool to do the covers. We approached a couple of artists but it just wasn’t coming together. Ryan Kelly was pretty sure he was NOT the right guy for the job. But, as so often happens in life, fate stepped in...

We needed something to show at New York Comicon last fall and we were running out of time. So I asked Ryan to throw together a “promo image”. A promo image is basically a teaser image that we could show at the panel when we announced the book. Ryan sent a bunch of sketches for this and behold, they were AWESOME. So much cool thinking and energy...I felt right away that he should stop worrying about it and start doing the covers. He fought me on it saying, “There must be someone better for this!”...He lost that fight and got the job. Ha Ha!

So here’s the original sketches he sent and one of the final covers...With any luck we’ll be able to squeeze some more good ones out of Ryan!

-- Will Dennis

Tags:

saucer country, ryan kelly, will dennis

From The Editor's Desk: SAUCER COUNTRY--The Future

Fri, 03/16/2012 - 7:00am | Pamela Mullin

THE FUTURE:

SILVER SPACE LADY. GREYS. ZETA RETICULA. MEN IN BLACK. BARNEY & BETTY HILL. MISSING TIME. PHANTOM AIRSHIPS. PROJECT BLUEBIRD. AREA 51. ROSWELL.

If these terms mean something to you already, then SAUCER COUNTRY is the book for you. If they don’t, then SAUCER COUNTRY is STILL the book for you!

Because apart from being a political thriller set during a crazy Presidential season (something we’re all familiar with by now), SAUCER COUNTRY is going to be a deep exploration of the mythologies surrounding UFOs and how they’re all intertwined with the history (and mythology) of America. It’s about the lies and truths we tell ourselves...and the narratives that spring out of them. It’s about the power of the bully pulpit but also about the power of faith. Not necessarily a religious faith (although that will likely come up in time) but faith in our leaders and the faith we have in our shared experiences both as Americans and also as humans beings.

Paul Cornell has said that he’s been writing this book in one form or another his entire life. I believe him and I can’t wait to see what he and artist Ryan Kelly come up with – I have faith that it will be fascinating, thought provoking and totally entertaining. I hope that you will choose to make the journey with us.

Thanks for you continued support of VERTIGO and keep watching the skies!

Will Dennis

Tags:

saucer country, will dennis, paul cornell, ryan kelly

Will Dennis Talks SAUCER COUNTRY Artist Ryan Kelly

Thu, 03/15/2012 - 1:24pm | Alex Nagorski

Sometimes a series comes with an artist attached to it but, in my experience at Vertigo, that’s pretty rare. Usually I have to work closely with the writer to get an idea of how they see the series in terms of the art – the look, style, and tone of it. I have my own ideas often but it’s always a back-and-forth since the writer is the one who has the pictures in his/her head.

In the case of SAUCER COUNTRY, Paul and I had some long talks about the overall “feel” of the book and knew we needed someone who was very naturalistic in style who could handle a lot of the “acting” that would be crucial to this series. Almost immediately, I thought of RYAN KELLY.

Having worked with him before on DMZ and NORTHLANDERS I knew he was incredibly versatile and creative and knowing well his work on NEW YORK FIVE and Local, he was amazing at tackling real characters (especially women) struggling with real issues.

I sent Paul some samples of his recent work and he totally flipped for it! So we called Ryan and asked for a few character sketches based on very broad strokes. He nailed them and as it happens, he’s a total alien conspiracy geek himself. As soon as we started riffing on Whitley Strieber minutiae, I knew we had our man!

Here are some of his first character sketches and thumbnails of the first script pages. Be sure to check out SAUCER COUNTRY #1, on sale now!

Peace & elbow grease,
Will Dennis