Category: vortex
Into the Vortex Redux
(October 16, 2020)Vortex (1982) #1-15 Stig’s Inferno (1984) #1-5 Mister X (1984) #1-14 Those Annoying Post Bros. (1985) #1-18 Kelvin Mace (1985) #1-2 Kaptain Keen and Kompany (1986) #1-6 Yummy Fur (1986) #1-24 Savage Henry (1987) #1-13 Bloodlines (1987) #1-4 Ken Steacy’s Summer Rerun (1987) Paradax! (1987) #1-2 Transit (1987) #1-5 Black Kiss (1988) #1-12 Mister X … Continue reading Into the Vortex Redux
V2018: Hellmington
(October 15, 2020)Vortex (2018) by Justin Hewitt-Drakulic (as Jay Drakulic), Alex Lee Williams and others Hellmington. Justin Hewitt-Drakulic. 2018. ⚁ [two minutes pass] Well! Perhaps I should just get all the films Vortex has produced? Wolfcop was a barrel of laughs, and this starts off really well. [twenty minutes pass] Or… perhaps not? This is like a … Continue reading V2018: Hellmington
V2014: WolfCop
(October 14, 2020)Vortex (2014) by Lowell Dean and others “What’s this then? A MOVIE?!?! BUT THIS IS A COMICS BLOG!” Once again, dear reader, I can read your mind. But you see, after Vortex Comics stopped publishing comics, they… Well, I don’t quite know what they did at first, but they ended up as an independent movie … Continue reading V2014: WolfCop
V1991: Nocturnal Emissions
(October 13, 2020)Nocturnal Emissions (1991) #1-4 by Fiona Smyth Welcome back to the blog that covers all your NASCAR sports racing comics needs. Today we’re… we’re… HANG ON! THESE AREN”T SPORTS COMICS! Yes, Vortex had one last hurrah in the midst of all the NASCAR comics they suddenly started selling: Fiona Smyth’s Nocturnal Emissions, and if there’s … Continue reading V1991: Nocturnal Emissions
V1991: NASCAR Adventures
(October 12, 2020)NASCAR Adventures (1991) #1-8 by a bunch of people Welcome back to the sports blog! We’re all sports, all the time. Today we have NASCAR Adventures, the companion title to Legends of NASCAR, and the way to tell them apart is that one is called “NASCAR Adventures” and the other is called “Legends of NASCAR”. … Continue reading V1991: NASCAR Adventures
V1991: The Nascubs Adventures
(October 11, 2020)The Nascubs Adventures (1991) #1 by Andrew Trull and J. C. Caskey Uhm… this is a sports blog about Vortex Comics, right? But is this comic published by Vortex? There’s nothing really indicating that anywhere, and I got this comic from somebody who included it in my NASCAR order. Some people think that it’s by … Continue reading V1991: The Nascubs Adventures
V1991: Legends of NASCAR Christmas Special
(October 10, 2020)Legends of NASCAR Christmas Special (1991) by a bunch of people Here on the Sports Blog, we continue looking at Vortex’ NASCAR series, and this time it’s an Xmas special. Let’s read the first three pages together: Well, that’s kinda cute, isn’t it? These drivers are helping santa. Well whaddayouknow! *slaps thighs* But that’s just … Continue reading V1991: Legends of NASCAR Christmas Special
V1991: Daytona Special No. 1: The Daytona 500 Story
(October 9, 2020)Daytona Special No. 1: The Daytona 500 Story (1991) #1 by Nat and JJ Gertler and Herb Trimpe and others OK, we continue traipsing through the Latter Days of Vortex. Let’s read the first three pages of this special: The Gertlers wrote one of the best issues of the Legends of NASCAR series (that’s not … Continue reading V1991: Daytona Special No. 1: The Daytona 500 Story
V1991: The Legends of NASCAR
(October 8, 2020)The Legends of NASCAR (1991) #1-13 by a whole bunch of people “WHAT THE FUCK!” Yes, if you’ve been reading this blog series from the start (and if you have… why?), that’s what you’re saying now. “WHAT THE FUCK! I CAME HERE FOR YUMMY FUR AND OTHER COMICS ABOUT PENIS MUTILATION! WHAT”S THIS SPORTS SHIT!” … Continue reading V1991: The Legends of NASCAR
V1990: S’Not for Kids
(October 7, 2020)S’Not for Kids (1990) #1, S’Not for Kids (1991) #1 by Matso and a bunch of other people I bought the first issue of this at the time, but didn’t know there was a Vortex connection. And perhaps there isn’t? No publisher listed. Assumed to be Vortex due to Vortex being the publisher of S’not … Continue reading V1990: S’Not for Kids
V1990: Mister X Special
(October 6, 2020)Mister X Special (1990) #1 by Pete Milligan, Brett Ewins and others This is billed as “Special no. 1”, which probably means that there was a bunch of Mister X specials planned, but this one was the only one published. It’s a 24-page black and white book, but with cardboard covers, and what was probably … Continue reading V1990: Mister X Special
V1990: Badlands
(October 5, 2020)Badlands (1990) #1 by Steven Grant, Vincent Giarrano and others So this is the second ambitious series Vortex launched early in 1990, and like Doc Chaos, it’s also 32-page (well, 28-page), has shiny paper, colour, and lasted one issue. “A Red Fist Production”. Well, the design here isn’t up to Vortex’ usual standards… Anyway, let’s … Continue reading V1990: Badlands
V1990: Doc Chaos: The Strange Attractor
(October 4, 2020)This blog post is part of the Into the Vortex series. Doc Chaos: The Strange Attractor (1990) #1 by David Thorpe and Stephen Sampson Based on the name alone (“Doc Chaos”), I assumed that might be a book by Peter Milligan or somebody like that. If there are anybody like that. I mean… Freakwave… Paradax… … Continue reading V1990: Doc Chaos: The Strange Attractor
V1989: Mister X
(October 3, 2020)Mister X (1989) #1-13 by Jeffrey Morgan, D’Israeli, Ken Holewczynski, Shane Oakley and others So this is the second Mister X series, and shopping the issues I didn’t have was an er interesting experience. Most of these covers don’t have an issue number, and you have to read the often-minuscule indicia printed on the inside … Continue reading V1989: Mister X
V1988: Black Kiss
(September 26, 2020)Black Kiss (1988) #1-12 by Howard Chaykin Howard Chaykin was a hugely influential comics storytelling innovator in the 80s. We were all quite impressed by American Flagg, right? All those little insets and the cacophony. Re-reading it the other year, I was struck by how little substance Flagg had: It’s a fun read, but it’s … Continue reading V1988: Black Kiss
V1987: Transit
(September 16, 2020)Transit (1987) #1-5 by Ted McKeever As a teenager, McKeever’s artwork fascinated me. All my doodles turned into McKeever faces, replete with way too many teeth. Lou Stathis, the editor, writes an introduction to the series. I think he’s going for punk smart aleck, but he lands at hard-sell card salesman with delusions of grandeur. … Continue reading V1987: Transit
V1987: Paradax!
(September 15, 2020)Paradax! (1987) #1-2 by Peter Milligan, Brendan McCarthy and others These are the people that did Johnny Nemo and Strange Days at Eclipse, right? And one of the characters in the latter series was Paradax… So let’s read the first four pages: Wow! That’s a lot. An explosion of colour and silliness, and also (of … Continue reading V1987: Paradax!
V1987: Ken Steacy’s Summer Rerun
(September 14, 2020)Ken Steacy’s Summer Rerun (1987) by Ken Steacy So what’s this then? That looks very familiar… From the Vortex anthology, I guess? Yes. Oh, it’s all from the Vortex anthology? Which I read the other week. Well, that’s a disappointment. The introduction at the back explains that, indeed, it’s from the Vortex anthology. But that … Continue reading V1987: Ken Steacy’s Summer Rerun
V1987: Bloodlines
(September 13, 2020)Bloodlines (1987) #1-4 by Rob Walton I know, this is a blog series about Vortex, but this series started at Aircel, before moving to… Blackburn Videos + Comics (!!!)… before moving to Vortex. 1 issue at Aircel, 2 issues at the video store, and 4 issues at Vortex, so you’d expect 8 issues at the … Continue reading V1987: Bloodlines
V1987: Savage Henry
(September 12, 2020)Savage Henry (1987) #1-13 by Matt Howarth This series is a spin-off from Those Annoying Post Bros, and is, if I remember correctly, less concerned with atrocities and more fun? At least that’s what I’ve gleaned over the years — I’ve been picking up an issue here and an issue there, but I’ve never read … Continue reading V1987: Savage Henry
V1986: Yummy Fur
(September 8, 2020)Yummy Fur (1986) #1-24, Ed the Happy Clown: The Definitive Ed Book (1992) by Chester Brown *gasp* In this blog series, today we’ve come to Vortex’ second claim to fame: Chester Brown’s Yummy Fur. This was at the height of the black and white boom, and you could publish anything (as long as it was … Continue reading V1986: Yummy Fur
V1986: Kaptain Keen and Kompany
(September 6, 2020)Kaptain Keen and Kompany (1986) #1-6 by Bill White and Gary Fields This is one of the Vortex series that’s most unfamiliar to me. I think I picked up one issue over the years, but I’m reading the rest for the first time today. And why is that, if I was such a Vortex fanboy … Continue reading V1986: Kaptain Keen and Kompany
V1985: Kelvin Mace
(September 5, 2020)Kelvin Mace (1985) #1-2 by Klaus Schönefeld, Ty Templeton and others Ty Templeton introduced Schönefeld in Stig’s Inferno as a young guy mainly working in the commercial illustration business, and was therefore swimming in money… But after the Templeton lured Schönefeld back to the comics business, and they collaborated on several things, and Schönefeld also … Continue reading V1985: Kelvin Mace
V1985: Those Annoying Post Bros.
(September 3, 2020)Those Annoying Post Bros. (1985) #1-18 by Matt Howarth and others As a teenager, I read first few issues of this series, but found the nihilistic over-the-top violence off-putting, so I stopped buying it. I have, however, continued to pick up issues now and then, and over the years I seem to have accrued a … Continue reading V1985: Those Annoying Post Bros.
V1984: Mister X
(September 2, 2020)Mister X (1984) #1-14 by Dean Motter, Jaime & Mario & Jaime Hernandez, Seth, and a whole bunch of other people Mister X is an interesting book: Not really for the contents, which are uneven, but for its publishing history. Well… Its history of… not being published. In 1982 (I think it was), Vortex announced … Continue reading V1984: Mister X
V1984: Stig’s Inferno
(September 1, 2020)Stig’s Inferno (1984) #1-5 by Ty Templeton and others Oh, I wrote about this over at the Eclipse blog, so I’m not going to repeat myself here. But it’s a lot of fun. One of my favourite comics as a teenager. This blog post is part of the Into the Vortex series.
V1982: Vortex
(September 1, 2020)Vortex (1982) #1-15 edited by Bill Marks and others Hi! Welcome to the blog series where I (re-)read all the comics Vortex has published. I have mixed feelings about setting out on this er “venture”, because… some of the comics I’ve read so many times (as a teenager) (I’m speaking of Yummy Fur) that I’m … Continue reading V1982: Vortex
Into the Vortex
(September 1, 2020)Often when I’m walking down the street, people will stop me and ask me “Lars, what’s the best mid-80s alternative American comics publisher?” To which I’ll respond by thwapping them over their heads with my backpack, which doubles as an assault weapon. But upon arriving home to my humble garret, I’ll frequently start pondering the … Continue reading Into the Vortex