It is strange to think that the incredibly influential Vertigo was discontinued in 2020, around the time DC launched the Black Label imprint, but it is back again. Although technically Vertigo rebooted in 2024 as James Tynion IV’s The Nice House by the Lake moved from DC Black Label to Vertigo, 2026 marks the year it gets its first new title in Bleeding Hearts.
Given the resurrection of Vertigo, it seems an excellent choice that Bleeding Hearts, the title to relaunch it, is about the undead. Written by Deniz Camp and illustrated by Stipan Morian, Bleeding Hearts walks the well trodden path of the zombie apocalypse. The twist here though is it is shown from the point of view of the zombies. While other zombie media, such as The Walking Dead, are keen to show that humanity are the real monsters, Bleeding Hearts #1 does the opposite as Camp demonstrates the humanity in the zombies.
Many years into the zombie takeover of the world, humanity is seemingly reduced to a handful of scattered survivors. The zombies however, dominate the planet and have formed loose societies. They talk, have names, entertainment, and complex thoughts. They might still have the hunger but there is more to these zombies than your usual run-of-the-mill undead.
“Yeah… Yeah. That was just a… a… a satirical performance I was doing. About the live ones.” – Poke
One of the most intriguing parts of the issue is the friendship between the two main protagonists – Mush and Poke. Poke is a bit of an oddball in the zombie community but Mush looks out for him. Poke had saved Mush from a fire and the two had remained friends ever since.
No doubt it is this relationship that will be the backbone of the comic as Camp has laid out some potential pitfalls for it in this first issue. Poke has been hiding something from Mush; he has a beating heart. This is obviously not normal for zombies and is only one reason Poke is different to the others. Where Mush is content, Poke is questioning of the world and their role in it.
“… Are we evil?” – Poke
All of the issue looks great. Stipan Morian is the perfect choice for this comic, able to blend violence and humour effortlessly, making the reader question what is funny and what should not be. A zombie eating human remains mimicking an advert with someone chowing down on stringy pizza is a great example of this. Morian and Camp have worked together before on 20th Century Men and have a great understanding. As too does colourist Matt Hollingsworth with Morian, as the restrained use of colours elevates the illustrations.
Camp has had quite the last few years, most notably with The Ultimates and Assorted Crisis Events, and it looks like he has the start of something exciting again here. The Ultimates in particular surprised many people with how political it was but Camp kept going with it. It is unlikely this will receive the same level of surprise but Bleeding Hearts does not look like it will shy away from saying a message. In a world where your people’s survival depends on the violent murder of others, how far will you go against the status quo?
Vertigo is back.
Pre-order Bleeding Hearts #1 (second printing – Nick Dragotta cover B) – Forbidden Planet UK
Pre-order Bleeding Hearts #2 (cover A) – Forbidden Planet UK
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