DC Comics re-brands itself means the end of Vertigo

Ahoy Captain Cats here and today is a sad day in comics as of last Friday in comic history will always be remembered as the day Vertigo comics is no more.

According to a press release that DC Comics released last Friday that in 2020 DC will re-brand itself by putting all of its current content into three different labels and for this to work, they have to close the doors on Vertigo. What DC want to do in 2020 is a new age rating system, which to me is a copy cut and paste of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB for short) rating system and here why I say this. The ESRB has a rating system of 4 categories, E, E10+, Teen, Mature 17+, and Adults Only 18+. DC Comics new rating system will have three categories, and they are as follow:

• DC Kids – will focus on readers from ages 8-12. Their main focus will be middle-grade readers.
• DC Comics – will focus on readers from ages 13 and up. This is where the current DC universe will be at.
• DC Black Label – will focus on content that is for ages 17 and up. This will replace Vertigo.

Now here is how both DC new system goes side by side with the ESRB system.

• DC Kids = E and E10+
• DC Comics = Teen
• DC Black Label = Mature 17+ and Adults Only 18+

Vertigo or Vertigo Comics as many of us will remember the brand by either or name, was founded back in 1993 and it was the alternative to mainstream comics such as DC and Marvel at the time. A lot of its stories were more graphic and had a lot of adult content that says Batman or Spider-Man had and they couldn’t do. If it wasn’t for Vertigo, we wouldn’t have great books such as The Sandman, Preacher, Y:The Last Man, Hellblazer, Izombie, Lucifer, Animal Man, Death: The High Cost of Living, Doom Patrol, The Saga of The Swamp Thing, Hex Wives, American Vampire, Astro City and Fables. Without Vertigo, we also wouldn’t have the second British Invasion in terms of writers, artist, and ideals, and also open the doors to many new writers and artist along the way.

I don’t know about all of you, but I will miss Vertigo, I will miss its stories, artwork and of course its unique charm on how they did this for so long.