BURBANK, Calif.—Comic books still occasionally make the news, mostly in relation to what new movie featuring what superhero is about to come out, or is currently doing boffo box office. Yes, it's news that Black Panther is now the highest grossing superhero movie of all time, or that Wonder Woman broke a lot of barriers regarding how the movies deal with female superheroes—but for many comic book fans, that sort of news barely raises an eyebrow... much less a penis or clitoris.
But there's another side to the mainstream comic book industry, one clearly influenced by the rise of "underground" comics in the late 1960s, a time from which several titles are still being published today, though often in "memorial editions." But if it hadn't been for underground comics, it's likely that DC Entertainment's imprint Vertigo likely never would have existed—and now, Vertigo's relation to the "underground" is about to get even closer.
"To celebrate the imprint’s 25th anniversary, DC Entertainment is announcing a line-wide relaunch and rebrand of its venerable Vertigo publishing imprint," reads the opening of a DC press release, dutifully reworked on several websites including The Hollywood Reporter. "Helmed by executive editor Mark Doyle, Vertigo—now called DC Vertigo—will focus on modern, socially relevant and inventive stories that capture a whole range of genres. And potentially a whole range of readers."
But of the seven new titles to be released during the remainder of 2018 and the early months of 2019, the one that's most likely to be of interest to adult entertainment fans is Safe Sex, created by author/podcaster Tina Horn and drawn by Mike Dowling.
Since Safe Sex is one of the three comics that won't be seen until early 2019, the only information about it comes from DC itself, which describes the plot of the book as, "a dystopian thriller set in a future where the government regulates and controls sexual pleasure, leading to an underground resistance led by sex workers."
Hmmm ... "dystopian ... future"? Kinda sounds pretty much like what we're living through right now, doesn't it? Yeah, you can still shoot porn in some places, and sell it in many places (and over the internet when local stores are zoned out), but with assholes public figures like Rudy Giuliani saying shit like, "If you're a feminist and you support the porn industry, you should turn in your credentials," calling the adult industry a "slimy business" and deeming Stormy Daniels "uncredible" simply because she has sex on camera, not to mention the several states that have declared porn a "public health crisis" and new laws like FOSTA shutting sex workers out of doing business on the internet, we're probably not too far away from Horn's vision.
And Horn should know. She describes herself on her website as "a nonfiction writer and journalist whose work investigates sex work, queer identity, kink communities, and cultural criticism." She's also the author of two books,—Love Not Given Lightly, Profiles from the Edge of Sex: Porn Stars, Perverts, Femme Dommes, Rent Boys and Other Professional Lovers, and Sexting: The Grownup’s Little Book of Sex Tips for Getting Dirty Digitally—plus she's got a semi-regular podcast going, titled Why Are People Into That?, with some episode titles including "Polyamory," "Pleasure Chest: Self Love & Solo Sex on Valentine's Day"; and "Porno Edition: MacKenzie Peck & Leon: Pleasure Chest NYC." So sex is obviously of interest to her, and she's likely hung around adult venues enough that she has some idea of how sex workers could form an "underground resistance"—like they're doing right now in the wake of ongoing governmental repression!
But as much as we're looking forward to reading Safe Sex, DC Vertigo will be releasing a couple of other new books that caught our eye. First, there's Hex Wives, written by Ben Blacker (co-creator of The Thrilling Adventure Hour), with art by Mirka Andolfo (Wonder Woman; Shade, The Changing Girl), which will debut in October. A plot synopsis provided by DC reads, “'The women are too powerful. They must be tamed.' A malevolent conspiracy of men brainwashes a coven of witches to be subservient, suburban housewives. But it’s only a matter of time before the women remember their power ..."
And what "power" would that be? We can't help but think one component of it might come from below the waist.
Perhaps even more intriguing, though, is Second Coming, written by Mark Russel (God is Disappointed in You; The Flintstones) with art from Richard Pace (Imaginary Fiends). The synopsis, which should drive right wing religious ideologues crazy (not to mention Reuben Bolling, creator of the character God-Man), reads, "God sends Jesus to Earth in hopes that he will learn the family trade from Sun-Man, an all-powerful superhero, who is like the varsity quarterback son God never had. But, upon his return to Earth, Christ is appalled to discover what has become of his Gospel and vows to set the record right."
Wait; Sun-Man is "all-powerful"? Last we heard, "all-powerful" was reserved for God himself? But what particularly attracts us is the idea that "Christ is appalled to discover what has become of his Gospel and vows to set the record right." Of course, that's not surprising—but we can't wait for a couple of potential match-ups like "Christ vs. Pat Robertson" or "Christ vs. Tony Perkins."
And Second Coming might be even more interesting than we imagine. After all, among the books the Vertigo imprint has published in the past include V For Vendetta (another dystopia, this time hitting England); Lucifer, which was made into a Fox TV series, about the Devil coming to earth, opening a sexy nightclub and helping a police detective fight crime, sometimes using his supernatural powers to do it; and of course, Preacher, this one on AMC, which last season found the title character traveling to New Orleans in search of God—and finding Christ (sort of).
Yowzah!
