Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, NYCC | Tagged: Barnaby Bagenda, Ben Blacker, books of magic, Dan Watters, dc comics, goddess mode, hex wives, high level, jock, kat howard, lucifer, Max Fiumara, mike dowling, new york comic con, NYCC, nycc 18, nycc 2018, nycc18, Rico Renzi, rob sheridan, Robbi Rodriguez, safe sex, sandman universe, Sebastian Fiumara, tina horn, vertigo, vertigo nycc, zoe quinn

Vertigo's Goddess Mode, Hex Wives, Lucifer, High Level and Safe Sex Previewed at NYCC Panel

Written by Amanda Gurall

DC Vertigo is celebrating 25 years of edgy, adult comic content with some great new releases and more new Sandman comics as we go into 2019. NYCC welcomed Ben Blacker (Hex Wives), Zoe Quinn (Goddess Mode), Dan Watters (Lucifer), Tina Horn (Safe Sex), Kat Howard (Books of Magic), Rob Sheridan (High Level) and Executive Editor of the Vertigo imprint Mark Doyle. 

Dan Watters discussed his inspiration for the Lucifer story, specifically the character Decker who has a lot of anger and will act as a POV character taking us into this world. If you had to live in the Sandman Universe but knew nothing about magic and it suddenly starts opening up to you, it could actually be quite a nightmare.  Lucifer will also be vulnerable to ageing and decay as his body starts to literally fall apart. The story will push the horror element further starting October 17th.

We took a look at Kat Howard's Books of Magic which is the story of a young high school aged magician who will either end up as the world's greatest magician, or he may end up destroying the world. Howard wanted a good balance between his larger battles and every day teenage angst. Available October 24th.

Hex Wives is a drama written by Ben Blacker about witches that are brainwashed by the men in power to be Stepford Wives which stemmed from Blacker channeling his anger about current events. "Over the course of the story arch they find out they are witches being held against their will by these men who fear them and therefore try to control them. Get it?" Blacker added. Available on Halloween.

Zoe Quinn presented her comic, Goddess Mode which is about a near future where humanity's needs are tended to by a godlike AI. Cassandra was described in the original script as a "trash goblin protagonist" who discovers the dark underside of this world, opening her up to magic, super powered women and monsters. Goddess Mode will be available on December 12th.

High Level is created by Art Director Rob Sherridan so we can expect great design for this post-post-apocalyptic world. Hundreds of years after the fall of society the 1% lives in a walled city called High Level and the rest of the population lives in the outlands, scavenging old tech. High Level will be released in February 2019.

Tina Horn is a sex podcaster and activist who has joined Vertigo with her debut comic Safe Sex about a dystopian future where sex is highly regulated by the government and sex rebels called the "The Dirty Mind" must fight it. Horn thanked Vertigo for encouraging representation in these personal character driven new titles. She promises some thrills,chills and mutilation in early 2019.

At the beginning of this panel Mark Doyle asked why comics? Bringing together these writers from other disciplines and media and asking them to create a comic, something some of them have never done before is a risky move. Doyle said," These writers – they are all here because this is a story they feel they need to tell and that is really exciting." One thing comics does better than any other media is metaphor, an idea added by Ben Blacker at the end of the panel. "If Superman were just Superman going around saving people it would get old pretty fast. I think we are all sort of grabbing onto that and Vertigo has given us the opportunity to tell these stories as only comics can."

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