When DC launched the Vertigo imprint in 1993, it wasn’t just a branding exercise but a rebellion bearing a corporate logo. Under the leadership of editor Karen Berger, it became the home for unapologetically adult comics; creator-owned and bearing a “mature audiences” label, Vertigo provided the creative freedom to explore the dark, explicit world beyond the mainstream confines of the Comics Code Authority as well as the backing of a major publisher. Known for subversive, genre-bending titles that didn’t just push boundaries but rejected them outright, the imprint introduced deeply imperfect protagonists grappling with a literary blend of existentialism, deconstruction, and morality, and created a platform for urban fantasy, crime noir, speculative dystopia, and social satire.
After being shuttered during the DC consolidation, Vertigo was revived earlier this year with a new 10-title slate, marking a new chapter for an imprint that proved the value of comics in popular culture beyond the traditional superhero paradigm. Its legacy also continues beyond the page, as the complex, character-driven narratives that are its specialty make it a one-of-a-kind goldmine for adaptations; on the big screen, cult classic Constantine, critical darling A History of Violence, and the eternally prescient V for Vendetta all have roots as Vertigo releases. It’s the long-form medium of television that’s become a second home to many of its most beloved titles, though, as each of these outstanding Vertigo comics evolved into new worlds in incredible series, all of which should be both read and watched.
1
‘Doom Patrol’
First appearing as “the world’s strangest heroes!” in the Silver Age’s My Greatest Adventure #80, the most beloved Doom Patrol iteration is by far the one that led to its integration into Vertigo: Grant Morrison‘s surreal, darkly comedic, extraordinarily philosophical run. Centered on a group of misfit heroes who view their strange abilities more as curses than gifts, each member survived a horrific accident or trauma and gained their powers due to the life-saving intervention of their leader, the brilliant, manipulative Chief, Dr. Niles Caulder. The Doom Patrol bands together as a found family to fight through their deeply personal struggles, learn to be resilient in the face of pain and loss, and combat a constant parade of reality-bending threats, bizarre villains, and absurd cults.
Doom Patrol captures the eccentric heart of the comics and its characters, channeling it into a heavily serialized drama that first aired on DC Universe before moving to HBO Max. Centered on Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser) as Robotman, the robot with a human brain; Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer) as Negative Man, seeped in radiation and fused with an energy spirit; Rita Farr (April Bowlby) as Elasti-Woman, who can stretch and change in size; Vic Stone (Jovian Wade) as Cyborg, half man and half machine; and Kay Challis (Diane Guerrero), as Jane, one of 64 alternate personalities, and the sole character to take a larger role than she did in the comics; it’s a truly captivating series that brings even more life to an incredibly vivid comic, one that may never be matched in its charm and grace.
2
‘Preacher’
The tough-talking, hard-drinking, unexpectedly moral former criminal Jesse Custer is the title character in Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon‘s Preacher, who tries to break from his recent life on the run as well as his violent childhood by becoming a reverend. But after merging with a supernatural entity known as Genesis – who might be more powerful than God, which led God to flee heaven – he sets out on a cross-country road trip alongside ex-girlfriend Tulip O’Hare and Irish vampire Cassidy to find God and demand an explanation. An absolutely wild 66-issue journey that sees them face off with angels, demons, religious extremists, serial killers, and supernatural beings, Jesse finds himself tackling a much larger crisis of faith and autonomy when he finally learns the reason for God’s disappearance.
Preacher was adapted for AMC by Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen, who retained the broader premise and the gist of its characters – effectively forming a loose framework for the series – but restructured the sequencing, backstory, and most notably, set the entire first season in the town that was fled early on in the comics. Instead of the source material’s pulpy, over-the-top irreverence, the show employs a softer, more surreal kind of dark humor better suited to its slow-burn pace. Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga, and Joseph Gilgun star as the three leads of the road-tripping neo-western, bringing unbelievable on-screen chemistry to a love triangle for the ages in what’s ultimately a deeply bingeable show that does justice to the comics but creates something distinctly new.
3
‘The Sandman’
Neil Gaiman is a living legend, and The Sandman is often considered his magnum opus, a 75-issue series blending global mythology, horror, and fantasy to create not just an incredibly readable comic but a work of literary art. After being captured by a mortal occultist and held prisoner for decades, Dream, the immortal ruler of the realm of sleep, dreams, and nightmares – also known as Morpheus – finally escapes, but must retrieve a set of stolen magical items before he can restore his kingdom to its former glory. In a journey that takes him between realms and timelines, meeting gods, historical figures, and mythological icons, he is forced to face not only the consequences of his past actions but also his eccentric, dysfunctional siblings, who also represent universal forces as part of The Endless.
David S. Goyer, Allen Heinberg, and Gaiman himself created The Sandman for Netflix, presenting a faithful adaptation that follows the source material across its two seasons, with Dream (Tom Sturridge) escaping imprisonment and setting off on his quest to restore the Dreaming alongside allies Lucienne the librarian (Vivienne Acheampong), Matthew the Raven (Patton Oswalt), and occult detective Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman). A visually stunning, heady, and emotionally charged adaptation, it used special effects and phenomenal set design to bring to life a world so incredibly complex it’s difficult to summarize, and the serialized, live-action format captures the spirit of the comics better than almost any other adaptation in recent memory.
4
‘Lucifer’
It’s impossible to talk about The Sandman without also addressing its spin-off series, Lucifer, whose 75-issue run centers on its supporting character Lucifer Morningstar, who was tired of running hell after ten billion years and, frustrated with God’s predetermined plan for his future, exited to set off on a self-determined life. Mike Carey‘s series picks up after Lucifer moves to Earth and begins running a piano bar in LA, attempting to live out his retirement entirely free from God’s manipulations; after his quest is repeatedly complicated by angels, demons, gods, and even humans, he ultimately seeks to create an entirely new universe to cut ties with God and prove free will. A cosmic horror story that’s steeped in gothic noir, it tackles the biggest questions of divine intervention, destiny, and the nature of creation.
Lucifer picks up from where it starts in Carey’s series, but takes a turn: while running his nightclub on Earth, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) meets detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) and, finding her to be the only person immune to his charms, soon finds himself as a consultant to the LAPD full-time. The show’s first three seasons aired on Fox, and only a month after being canceled, a fan campaign led Netflix to revive it for three more; the Fox era leaned on the backstory to build a buddy-cop procedural, whereas the Netflix era let in a little more blood, sex, and celestial mythology. It’s by no means a faithful adaptation, but there are a few nods to its origins that hit real hard, and, as a bonus, you also get to see a long-lived iteration of Satan undertake a rigorous course of much-needed therapy.
5
‘Sweet Tooth’
Set in a post-apocalyptic world after a viral pandemic decimated humanity, Jeff Lemire‘s Sweet Tooth centers on Gus, a young boy with deer-like antlers who was raised in complete isolation, who is forced to emerge from his home after his father’s death. Gus learns all children are now being born as animal-human hybrids but are hunted by ordinary people after falling in with former football player turned hardened drifter Jepperd, and the pair embark on a journey across a devastated America to a preserve set up to protect children like him. A deeply imaginative series that tackles everything from innocence and betrayal, found versus born family, to the fear of the unknown, it builds to a page-turning climax on the origins of the apocalypse that will leave you thinking about it for days to come.
The three seasons of Netflix’s Sweet Tooth were developed by Jim Mickle, co-showrun by Beth Schwartz, and produced by Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey. Unlike its bleakly set, often grim, sometimes violent source material, the adaptation takes a brighter, family-friendly approach to the story, recasting many of its more chilling details to frame the series as a fairy tale descendant of kids’ movies from the 80s and 90s. Starring Christian Convery and Nonso Anozie as Gus and Jepperd, the show was narrated by James Brolin and an ensemble cast including Adeel Akhtar, Stephanie LaVie Owen, Will Forte, and Dania Ramirez; it carved out a very different existence and an entirely separate legacy amongst a younger generation than the adult-focused comic series.
6
‘iZombie’
The high-functioning zombie at the heart of Chris Roberson and Michael Allred‘s iZombie is Gwen Dylan, who’s attempting a normal life in her twenties by working as a gravedigger, which gives her easy access to the human brains she must eat once a month to avoid regressing into a messy stereotype. But every time she eats, she temporarily gains the deceased person’s memories, inevitably sending her on a mission to end their unfinished business and deliver peace from beyond the grave, alongside a ghost from the 60s named Ellie and a shapeshifting were-terrier named Scott. What starts as a detective story gradually evolves into a much larger cosmic battle over humanity, pitting her squarely against a multi-eyed, tentacled Lovecraftian entity to prevent an apocalypse.
Veronica Mars legends Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright created iZombie for The CW, using the comics as a loose framework but largely inventing a new world for the murder-of-the-week series. Liv Moore (Rose McIver) is a medical examiner who taps the morgue for food, using the memories she acquires to assist a detective in ongoing cases. Focused on crime-solving, relationships, and the larger zombie outbreak, and stripping out the more fantastical elements of the comics, the cult-favorite series featured Rahul Kohli, Malcolm Goodwin, Aly Michalka, and David Anders and shares a premise with its source material, but separates from its comic roots to provide a unique entry point into a very, very crowded zombie television universe.