Books: First Offenses

Vertigo is an imprint of DC Comics, and they've had the good fortune to publish a passel of award-winning comics. Many have even made it to the silver screen, with decidedly mixed results ("Stardust," "Constantine"). A few of the debut issues from some of the more popular series are collected in "First Offenses," a trade paperback that I managed to wrangle from the comic book shop for a song.

All told, the volume contains the premieres of "The Invisibles," "Preacher," "Fables," "Sandman Mystery Theater," and "Lucifer." I had read some of these titles before, in passing, but never from the ground up. It's fascinating to see how things evolve over the long run of a comic book series, especially for a Johnny-Come-Lately like me.

My favorites are "Fables" for its cheeky reimagining of classic fairy tale characters, and "Preacher" for its to-the-hilt character portrayals (including the "Saint of Killers" a Man With No Name who is about as matter-of-fact deadly as they come). Apparently, Wil Wheaton approves.