A TOUCH OF VERTIGO

by Charlie Gage

Behind the big red "S" and the big black bat at DC Comics sits VERTIGO Comics. Vertigo is a line of comics labeled for "Mature Readers," because of its adult themes, sci-fi, horror and occult titles. When the Vertigo line spun off from DC in the early '90's what it intended was a place for comic fans to find complex and in-depth pieces of fiction told in comic book form. Not only did they accomplish this (Vertigo is one of the most critically acclaimed line of comic books today), but they also, by chance, became the best place to find well written original gay and lesbian characters in comics. Nearly every Vertigo title has had either a gay character or had one gay story.

Some of the best of these characters came from the mind of award winning writer Neil Gaiman and creator of the critically acclaimed series THE SANDMAN. Sandman tells the tales of The Lord of Dreams and his effect on the lives of those moral and immortal. The story arc "A Game of You," (SANDMAN#32-37) deals with one woman's magical dream world coming to life and engulfing her and her friend in a battle to save the mystical dreamland.

That's on the surface, but the underlying theme deals with personal perception and identity. Here we meet Wanda, the tough but alone transsexual, and the female couple Hazel & Foxglove. Gaiman reunites us with Hazel & Foxglove years later in the three issue series DEATH: The Time of Your Life. Where Sandman's older sister Death meets up with the girls in a story dealing with the struggle between love, fame, music, and mortality.

The circa 1940's title SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE, follows Wesley Dodds, the golden age Sandman (no relation to the Lord of Dreams mentioned above), as he unfolds tales of crime and mystery. In the story arc "Phantom of the Fair," a leather wearing serial killer that has been targeting gay men murders Wesley's long time gay friend. The causes Wesley to don his trademark fedora and gas mask as the Sandman, and hunt down the Phantom.

In Grant Morrison's British based intrigue, magic, and espionage comic THE INVISIBLES, the Brazilian shaman and glamorous transvestite Lord Fanny fill the gay quotient. The story goes, in the small native Brazilian tribe Fanny came from their most powerful magical shaman were female. Before birth Fanny was determined to take the roll of the next shaman upon entering adulthood. But when Fanny was born as a man it messed up the plans. His parents, determined to see their child be the next shaman, raised him as a girl. They were able to trick the gods into believing he was a she, so Fanny received "her" magic powers.

ENIGMA, written by Peter Milligan, is a 8 issue series dealing with the complex tale of a man, the comic book super-hero he worshipped as a child come to life, an alien being, a superpowered man who grew up in a well eating lizards, and the act of discovering yourself and accepting your sexuality. (I know that sounds confusing but if I told you anymore it would ruin the story.)

The list of Vertigo queers goes on: The surreal series SHADE: The Changing Man, had an underlying love triangle between Shade, Kathy and the bi-sexual Lenny (a woman); In ANIMAL MAN#65 Myra and Maxine (and older lesbian couple) join the cast of the magical "life web" powered drama; and the 10 part series CHIAROSCURO tells the life story of Leonardo da Vinci through the eyes of Salai his beautiful boy companion.

But probably Vertigo's most ambitious gay story is SEVEN MILES A SECOND. This 60 page one-shot published in 1996, chronicling the life of controversial artist and writer David Wojnarowicz. Taken from Wojnarowicz's own writing and illustrated by James Romberger the work is equally gripping and disturbing. The media praised it. Jonathan Napack of the New York Observer said SEVEN MILES A SECOND "portrays, in tableaux alternately visionary and gruesome, Wojnarowicz's adolescence as a hustler ..... and his death from AIDS." While Elizabeth Hess of The Village Voice said it "is destined to become one of the major autobiographical works from the decade." This book is one of the times that a comic book transcends super-heroes in tights saving the world to a strong piece of fiction with definite social relevance.

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© Charlie Gage 1998