#endoflife

Fans of bold storytelling and boundary-pushing comics have reason to celebrate: DC Vertigo is officially back! First announced at New York Comic Con this past October, the legendary imprint returns this February with a powerhouse slate of new titles—one debut every week—crafted by a lineup that blends acclaimed veterans with some of the most exciting rising voices in the industry. This revival isn’t just a nostalgic nod to Vertigo’s past; it’s a full-scale reinvention, designed to recapture the imprint’s legacy of fearless, prestige-level comics while shaping an entirely new era of genre-bending tales.

The 2025 launch lineup alone signals just how ambitious this return really is. The imprint kicks off with a fresh arc of James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno’s Eisner-winning horror masterpiece, The Nice House by the Sea, reestablishing Vertigo’s pedigree for atmospheric, character-driven terror. From there, readers are thrust into Bleeding Hearts #1, a visceral and strangely heartfelt zombie saga from Deniz Camp and Stipan Morian. The month continues with End of Life #1, where Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh unleash their darkly comedic sensibilities on the story of a dysfunctional assassin spiraling into chaos. Rounding out the initial wave is The Peril of the Brutal Dark #1, a supernatural noir set in the 1940s that pits a hardboiled private eye against powers far beyond human understanding, courtesy of rising stars Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips.

And the momentum doesn’t stop there. DC Vertigo has already teased a stacked lineup rolling out through 2026, including new stories from icons like Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Ram V, Darick Robertson, Mariko Tamaki, and more. If this first wave is any indication, Vertigo’s return isn’t just a comeback—it’s a statement. The next great era of adult-driven, genre-challenging comics begins now.

Check out the off solicitations below!

THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA #7 — On Sale 2/4/26

Written by James Tynion IV Art and cover by Álvaro Martínez Bueno Variant covers by Max Fiumara, Javier Rodriguez, Cliff Chiang Connecting variant cover by Álvaro Martínez Bueno $3.99 US | 40 pages | Variants $4.99 US (card stock) James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno return to the apocalypse! The residents of the House on the Lake and the House by the Sea were both told the same thing: that they were the only humans who survived a global apocalypse. But while Walter, the mysterious and seemingly all‑powerful alien master of the Lake House, chose to save the people he'd grown fond of, the Sea House was assembled by another of his species, Max—and she chose the most brilliant and competitive humans. They've just learned their only path to survival is to kill every one of the loveable losers in the Lake House...and they know exactly how do it. And what's worse? Someone in the Lake House has agreed to help them... The Nice House saga has collected multiple Eisner Awards and the prestigious Best New Series prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, and now is the time to get on board as the action kicks into high gear and the horrors in its pages grow even more grotesque!  

BLEEDING HEARTS #1 — On Sale 2/11/26 Written by Deniz Camp Art and cover by Stipan Morian Variant covers by Jae Lee, Nick Dragotta, Chris Bachalo Connecting variant cover by Álvaro Martínez Bueno Foil variant cover by Stipan Morian $3.99 US | 40 pages | Variants $4.99 US (card stock) The red‑hot writer of Absolute Martian Manhunter, Deniz Camp, re‑teams with breakout artist Stipan Morian to unleash Vertigo's first new #1! The zombies won—and ten years after the fall of humanity, they're the dominant form of life (or not‑life) on Earth. They've developed their own cultural practices, their own language, their own society. Mouse‑Pokes‑Golf‑Ball‑Through‑Hole‑In‑Head ("Poke" for short) is a beloved member of his community, and with his brother‑in‑arm Mush, he's happy to shamble along through the only world he can remember...until the day his heart mysteriously starts beating again. And in a blink, the first humans he sees have stopped looking like food and have started looking like...friends...? The team behind 20th Century Men, the bold mission statement that launched writer Deniz Camp and artist Stipan Morian to the next level of the comics industry, has reunited to bring you a world ruled by ruthless kill‑or‑be‑killed logic, pitted against the demands of a single beating, bleeding, emotional heart!  

END OF LIFE #1 — On Sale 2/18/26 Written by Kyle Starks Art by Steve Pugh Cover by Gerald Parel Variant covers by Seba Fiumara, Rafa Sandoval, Dave Johnson Connecting variant cover by Álvaro Martínez Bueno Foil variant cover by Gerard Parel $3.99 US | 40 pages | Variants $4.99 US (card stock) Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh take on a hitman in trouble! Professional hitman Eddie Stallion has messed up. He's accidentally robbed the Raven, a high‑ranking boss of the international cabal of assassins the Menagerie, of which Eddie is a member...or he was. Now with a price on his head, Eddie chooses to hide in the one place everyone knows he'd never go...the small midwestern town of Pluto, home of his estranged father and known hard‑ass George Stallion. Looking for safe harbor, Eddie instead finds his resentful father dying of cancer, old friends looking to collect that bounty, Menagerie assassins who have wandered into town, a cancelled newspaper comic‑strip creator turned local crime lord, and oh yeah, his childhood first love, too. Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh, the team behind Peacemaker Tries Hard!, present the story of a man‑child assassin with some very grown‑up problems. As Eddie grows more attached to the people of Pluto, he'll have to step in to solve those problems the only way a hitman knows how!  

I wonder if the exhaustion is linked to the sadness. That wasn’t in the self help books or on the Google results when I researched what to expect when your mum is dying. I read all about the changes in breathing, the change in skin tone, changes in eating and drinking and sleeping habits. Change, change, change. I close my eyes and wish it would all stay the same. Even in this moment where she’s the worst she’s ever been and I feel like I’m made up of 50% worry and 50% grief, she’s here.

I’ve poured my heart out on these very notes pages more times than I can count… screamed about my hurt from the rooftops. I cried about everything and now none of it seems worth it. In all that time, I never once doubted my strength or ability to carry mountains on my back. I thought that’s what I was doing. But this has taken me down, day by day, minute by minute. I feel this physically slice through my heart 700 times a day and my legs go so weak that I have to sit down and I never know which will be the time I don’t make it back up again.

I just downloaded The Carpenters because she listened to it when I was growing up and I know even now that it will take me years to press play. But if life is all about those little threads and invisible strings then mum, I want spider strength to tie me to you forever and ever and ever. I want to see your face in real life, I want your smiles and your sarcasm and your sharp tongue to be the reality instead of the waking up in the middle of the night with your sadness haunting my dreams. I want it all to be over so badly that I’ll never stop feeling guilty for wishing time to move faster when you have so little of it left. And if we had a thousand or a million seconds to go, I know it would never be enough.

Te ne sei andato così,

All’improvviso,

In quel giorno d’autunno dove tutto sembrava

Insolito.

Il vento fortissimo, la pioggia violenta,

E tu sei volato via

Ci hai lasciati tutti increduli,

Tremanti.

“Com’è possibile?”

Già com’è possibile che

proprio tu

ci hai abbandonato così al dolore,

Fatico ancora a crederci,

Forse non voglio neanche crederci.

Mi ripeto che stavi bene,

che

Probabilmente non ti sei neanche accorto

che la tua vita stava finendo.

La morte ti ha strappato via

Infondo è quello che succede a tutti

Il destino bastardo gioca con i fili dei suoi burattini,

Ma non doveva succedere a te,

non adesso

Non così.

No.

Ma tu te ne sei andato via così

All’improvviso

Extract:

“ ‘Tim, you have to tell your mom where we are going,’ Ramie insisted.

‘You tell her,’ I nervously quipped back.

Ramie rarely pulled this card, but this time it just came out: ‘She's your mom. You have to tell her.’ She was right – we could not just push Mom through the doors of a ‘pot shop’ without fair warning. Turning down the music and turning up the volume of my voice so she could hear in the back, I said, ‘Mom, we’re going to a marijuana shop in Boulder to get you something for your pain. Okay?’ 

A strong voice emerged over the faint reggae rhythms: ‘Oh no we’re not,’ she said. Ramie whispered, ‘Semantics, Tim, semantics. She is okay with ‘cannabis,’ not ‘marijuana’.’ She raised her voice and said, ‘Norma, remember when we talked the other day about the cannabis cream for your leg?’ 

‘Yes, sure,’ she replied. Ramie reassured her, saying, ‘That’s where we’re going, to see if we can get some of that cream for you.’