1993's Vertigo Jam Vol.1 #1 cover by cover artist Glenn Fabry. Source
Acclaimed Preacher cover artist Glenn Fabry painted this cover for Vertigo Jam #1 (1993) featuring a gathering of the original Vertigo crew of DC characters who had been re-envisioned by brilliant British writers in the 1980s and featured in long-running titles that were rebranded in 1993 under the Vertigo publishing imprint to help set them off from the more traditional DC superheroes.
In 1993 the revolution begun at DC Comics by Alan Moore a decade earlier and carried forward by the likes of Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison received its own identity, a publishing imprint for DC Comics geared toward a mature audience called Vertigo overseen by editor Karen Berger. The original Vertigo line-up consisted of a handful of existing titles, most of which began as brilliant modern takes on old DC characters initially written by one of those three British geniuses. By 1993, most of the titles were handled by successors to the original visions, although Gaiman was still writing The Sandman, which was the most popular Vertigo title. About six months after the launch of the new imprint, Vertigo put out its first anthology featuring short stories of multiple Vertigo features. Master cover artist Glenn Fabry, who would later paint every single Preacher cover for Vertigo, put together this brilliant cover bringing together all of the characters in a hip, urban environment that reflected the feel of the books themselves.
We see the Sandman AKA Dream of the Endless and Kid Eternity standing on the balcony. To their left is an illustration of the Golden Age Sandman, who was featured in Vertigo's late 1930's based Sandman Mystery Theater. Around the table sit John Constantine, Buddy (Animal Man) Baker and Shade the Changing Man. In the window of the flower store is Swamp Thing. Walking arm in arm are the Doom Patrol's Robot Man and Dorothy Spinner. Brother Power the Geek even appears in the background strolling under the 'Brew and Burger' sign. It's an interesting gathering of characters representing the entire range of DC history bookended by the the two versions of the Sandman. Here's some background on the characters in chronological order of their first appearances:
The Golden Age Sandman was one of the DC's first heroes. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #40 and New York World's Fair 1939. His retro adventures were told in the Vertigo title Sandman Mystery Theater. Kid Eternity was a Quality Comics hero who could temporarily raise the dead or bring fictional characters to life. He first appeared in Hit Comics #25 (1942). Grant Morrison revamped him for a mini-series, which led to an on-going Vertigo monthly. Robot Man was a member of the Doom Patrol, which first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 (1963). Grant Morrison took over a revival of the title in the late 80s and turned it on its head. Animal Man was a minor Silver Age hero who first appeared in Strange Adventures #180 (1965). Grant Morrison brought him back in the late 80s and made him the star of his own title for the first time, crafting some of the most memorable tales ever told about a superhero. Brother Power the Geek was created by Joe Simon, the co-creator of Captain America. He appeared in two issues of his own DC title in 1968. Neil Gaiman brought him back in a Swamp Thing story. Swamp Thing was famously created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson for a short story in House of Secrets #92 (1971), which told the tale of an early 20th century man transformed into a swamp monster. A modern take on the character began the following year in Swamp Thing #1 (1972). A decade later, Alan Moore turned the concept on its ear, basically inventing the type of comic book that Vertigo would be. Shade the Changing Man was created by Steve Ditko, the visionary co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, in 1977 and first appeared in Shade the Changing Man #1. British writer Peter Milligan revived him the early 1990s for a modern audience. John Constantine was created by Alan Moore in 1985 because his Saga of the Swamp Thing artists wanted to draw someone who looked like Sting. He turned out to be one of the most brilliant new characters introduced in the 1980s and was soon spun off into his own long-running title, Hellblazer. Dorothy Spinner is a girl who looks like an ape but can bring imaginary characters to life. She was created by Paul Kupperberg in Doom Patrol #14 (1988) just before Grant Morrison took over that title. Morrison found the idea inspiring and used Dorothy to great effect. The Sandman was invented by Neil Gaiman and first appeared in The Sandman #1 that was originally based around the Jack Kirby version of the Sandman from the mid-70s, a character who lived in dreams. Over the course of 75 issues, Gaiman and a series of artists made comic book history by turning the title into the most literate comic book ever published.
Glenn Fabry is the acclaimed cover artist best known for his work on every cover for Preacher and a memorable run of covers on Hellblazer.
