Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, DC Comics | Tagged: shelly bond, vertigo

Shelly Bond Talks About Joining, Then Leaving, Vertigo & DC Comics

Shelly Bond talks about joining, then leaving, Vertigo and DC Comics in i-Doppelgänger on Kickstarter, now.

This is not a "tell-all". Shelly Bond is very clear about that. But it looks like it might be a "tell-some". A famed editor at DC Vertigo, for which she was executive editor from 2013 to 2016, working on titles such as Sandman, Shade, the Changing Man, Sandman Mystery Theatre,  iZombie, Terminal City, Heavy Liquid, Fables, Deadenders, Young Liars, Lucifer, and The Invisibles.

Titled i-DOPPELGäNGER and listed on Kickstarter, she says, "In December of 1992, I was Karen Berger's final editorial hire for VERTIGO, her highly-anticipated new imprint for DC Comics. In April of 2016, 22.5 years later, I was the last original VERTIGO editor to walk the plank. I've been documenting my edit-life in an Original Graphic Memoir trilogy that started with 2022's Filth and Grammar: The Comic Book Editor's (Secret) Handbook: 80% step-by-step process on making comics from pitch to print, 20% my life as an editorial ingenue working at DC/Vertigo in the '90s. 2023's Fast Times In Comic Book Editing: 20% editorial tips & tricks of the trade, 80% comics & prose love letter to living and working in the NYC comics scene in the '90s.It concludes here with i-DOPPELGäNGER: Portrait of the Comic Book Editor in the 21st Century charts my rise and crawl, jump and fall, up and down the corporate ladder to running a small press with Philip Bond, my favorite comic book artist/husband. IT'S ALSO LOADED WITH EDITING ADVICE on creating comics and avoiding the #1 True Editing Crime of All Time: The fear of finishing them. Each chapter of this 160-page OGN includes:

• A Timeline through the 21st Century with photos and illustrations, origin stories of comics edited, and lost treasures.
• SECRET HISTORIES of imprints I spearheaded including Minx, DC Comics' Original YA graphic novel line, Gerard Way's Young Animal, and Black Crown.
• CONFIRM/DENY, wherein favorite freelancers Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, David Tischman, Steven T. Seagle, Michael Allred, Gail Simone and more respond to ridiculous questions.
• REPEAT OFFENDERS! How to avoid blunders that pop up at every stage of making comics from deadline wrangling to overwritten art direction and printing errors.
• 4 CHAMBERS: A Follow My Lead Prompt to crack the code on structuring your big ideas.
• A SHORT COMIC featuring artwork by original Vertigo regulars including Mark Buckingham and David Hahn, and neo art stars Imogen Mangle and ArtbyLid!
• PLUS BONUS FEATURES:
• What to Expect When Expecting…To Be Fired
• Why Men Hate Women — Especially Women In Charge
• The Last Days of Disco 2000: My final days at VERTIGO

But as she reiterated, "NOTE: THIS IS NOT A TELL-ALL." Well, I guess Shelly Bond has to keep something for the follow up. "At its core, i-DOPPELGäNGER is
How to make better comic books and original graphic novels. How to make a better comic book industry, and How to chart your own path while remaining a respectable human–making urgent art so you can leave your mark on the history pages."

And with a proviso that is becoming more and more common, "There's a chance that i-DOPPELGäNGER will be affected by new tariffs that could be implemented when the Republican party takes over the US in January. If this is the case, I'll do my best to keep everyone informed in these unpredictable times."  So far that is $18,585 pledged against a $20,000 goal from 381… okay I've just made it 382 donors, with 15 days to go, And planning delivery for the summer…

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