The series, announced (fittingly) on the stroke of midnight last night, is created by Voodoo Heart writer Snyder with a second story running throughout the first five issues written by King in his first all-new comic work on characters he's created. Tracing an alternate history of an America populated by vampires, the series will launch in March next year.

Look for an interview with Snyder about the series later this week.

Scott Snyder and Stephen King to write a new horror comic book series, American Vampire [Graphic Content]

The first project for DC's Vertigo imprint by Lemire, known for his indie series Tales From Essex County, The Nobody brings a quieter, less cynical sensibility to the line. This is the comic equivalent to a Bright Eyes record, with all the beauty and annoyance that that comparison suggests; there's a wonderful willingness to recognize stillness and melancholy at play in this book, but that's almost rendered toothless at times by what seems, at times, like a willful refusal to do the same to the darker side of human nature in anything beyond cartoony strokes that lack convinction... For all the danger hinted at throughout, moments that should come across as terrifying and alien instead seem weightless and dishonest.

(The plot of the book, although this isn't necessarily the most plot-driven book, is that Griffen, a man covered head to toe in bandages, arrives in the small town of Large Mouth and keeps himself to himself, much to the consternation of the townsfolk. When a series of crimes occur after his arrival, he becomes the main suspect, which leads to a confrontation with the failed experiments in his past as well as the local authorities.)

There's a lot to recommend in The Nobody; Lemire manages to perfectly conjure a feeling of bleak disconnection that perfectly matches his lead character's sensibility, transcending the intentionally-pulp nature of the plot (reinforced by the chapter breaks, which use pulp magazine and comic cover cliches to illustrate the story about to unfold). The ambiguous nature of the ending adds to this, allowing for both a straight-forward and an allegorical reading depending on the reader's taste, and bringing a greater weight to something that otherwise would be in danger of disappearing through its own introverted nature (Again, something that fits with the lead).

Lemire's art, scratchy and awkward in the best ways, may be the star of the book. It's simple enough to keep the reader's attention but detailed in all the right ways, especially the flashback/inkwash sequences and the evocative way he portrays the characters' environment (It's all about the negative space, especially the way Lemire shows the town of Large Mouth in the winter). There's something in particular about his characters - skew-wiff, imperfect and familiar - that keeps you engaged even when the writing threatens to lose itself in its own preciousness.

This is science fiction almost by accident; it's really a story about people after the science fiction, about what happens once the credits have rolled and everyone's left the theater. Whether it's a success in doing so, I'm still not sure. The Nobody is definitely an interesting book, and one worth reading, but days later, I'm still conflicted about whether or not it was actually a good one.

The Nobody is released July 8th in comic stores.

The new monthly series, debuting this week with a specially-priced $1 launch issue, follows Tommy Taylor, real-life inspiration of a series of popular kids' books about a boy wizard realizing his own destiny with the help of his trusted friends... but while the Potter similarities are overt, the real story of The Unwritten is something much more complex than any of JK Rowling's uber-successful novels, asking whether Taylor really is the inspiration for the character or, whether it's the other way around.

Ignore the Da Vinci Code reference from the official solicitation for the debut issue; this series' conspiracy is much more interesting, and less likely to feature Tom Hanks in a movie version.

The Unwritten #1 is released on Wednesday.

First up was new monthly The Unwritten, by the Lucifer team of Mike Carey and Peter Gross - both spoke animatedly about this series, which explores both the power and the danger of fiction. Unwritten will follow boy Tom, who has never managed to escape the shadow of his author father. Based on the real-life Christopher Robin from A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh, Tom is also a character in his father's fantasy books; everywhere he goes, people know him only as Tommy the wizard. When someone asks him to explain his true identity at a convention, Tom realizes he actually has no idea who he is, and so begins a journey of personal discovery ... and a battle with a shadowy conspiracy who might prove to Tom that he is more fiction than fact. Unwritten's first 32-page issue will be $1.00, and is out in May.

The new ten-issue series Daytripper is the first and longest English language work by creators (and artists of Casanova) Fabio Moon and Gabriel Bá, and it takes place in Brazil. Its hero is a lowly obituary writer who dreams of higher callings, yet finds himself overshadowed by his renowned Brazilian author daddy. There's a lovely element of magical realism, too, teased Berger.

New monthly Greek Street is Peter Milligan's angsty, dark take on visceral ancient literature. Milligan set classic Greek tragedies in the modern-day location of London's SoHo, which as he told it is the home of "the lowlifes, the gangsters, the brothels." When young orphan Eddie escapes the children's home, he goes to find his mother - and subsequently sleeps with and murders her. He runs away to Greek Street, and a bloodline of tragedy follows him. His first 32-page story will be in an oversized issue that appears this summer, and is again just $1.00.

Jeff Lemire also has a new graphic novel, The Nobody, which will appear in hardcover in May. It's essentially the story of The Invisible Man, updated to a small fishing village in Maine. Berger said it will be in 2-color and will cost $20.

Next up is the intriguing Luna Park, a time-travelling historical crime thriller. How's that for genre-bending? It follows a Russian gangster who goes back in time to Coney Island, and also journeys through Russia. Luna Park, written by Kevin Baker and drawn by Danijel Zezelj, will be out in November.

Berger was specifically excited to reveal Vertigo's new original graphic novels, which all center around the theme of travel or immigration - racial identity, and how that fits in with a larger human message. The first one she announced, Gone to Amerikay, is written by Stagger Lee's Derek McCulloch and has art by Vertigo favorite Colleen Doran. Amerikay is a sweeping historical drama that follows three generations of an Irish family. They're just starting it now, though, so no word on when that will be released.

Cuba: One Story is the graphic novel that actually made Berger cry. It's the fiction-tinged memoir of Inverna Valesquez, who has never before written comics. "Inverna has been my second mother for 25 years," confessed artist Dean Haspiel. "She told me many stories of her time in Cuba — she was in Castro's army, she was a surgeon, ... I pushed her to purge, to write her story. I was so thrown by what she wrote that I said, 'Karen, I have to have a meeting with you!' I brought Inverna in, and she spoke for one and a half hours. By the end of it, Karen had tears in her eyes. This is my most personal collaboration." Cuba comes out next year, and will also be in 2-color for a "different look," according to Berger.

Finally, Berger presented a quirky-looking travelogue by indie artist Sarah Glidden. How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less is the true story of a Jewish girl's birthright tour through her native country - the twist is that Glidden was raised in a left-wing, pro-Palestinian family in America. She went on the tour to challenge her own viewpoint a little, and ended up experiencing a complete emotional and spiritual awakening about the nature of humanity. Editor Jonathan Vankin clearly loved it; he says that while it's meaningful and serious, it's also undeniably clever and funny. That'll be out within the next year.

Finally, it was time for an update on Fables. Bill Willingham couldn't be at the con, but he sent this letter, which editor Shelly Bond read aloud (with no small amount of indignance):

Karen - Don't let Shelly give all the great Fables crossover secrets away at the panel. You know how nervous she gets speaking in public ... and how she has to hit the bottle for four or five belts beforehand! Definitely don't let her reveal that Jack will be sneaking back into the Fables book, or that Snow and Bigby will be exiled to Jack's book. And we definitely don't want her to blab about the new Jack Frost and his relation to our current Jack, or what happens when Jack ends up babysitting Bigby and Snow's cubs. Basically, Karen, don't let Shelly say anything!

That was followed by the exciting news of the first Fables prose novel, Peter & Max, for which Berger displayed a working cover image featuring two pipers. Steve Leialoha will provide illustrations. Unfortunately, Berger revealed, those rumors of an ABC TV series are about to die down - "that's not happening right now," she said, "but maybe someday."

Vertigo's pushing monthlies for all their worth - Berger would like you to know that if you have ever considered buying issues as they come out instead of waiting for the trade collections, this is the time to do it! And they've also placed a high priority on original graphic novels with a politically relevant bent: Promising stuff, surely, from the best cerebral comics publisher out there.

Talking to /Film, Caruso said that Warner Bros, the new owners of the rights to Brian K. Vaughan's Vertigo series about the death of the male gender and what happens afterwards, is very excited about the potential of the concept:

What happened is New Line [which optioned the comic] is now part of Warner Bros, and Warner Bros is now really high on the project. And Carl Ellsworth will probably be handing in a script to Warner Bros/New Line [real soon]... Warner Bros keeps saying ‘We need movies for 2010′ I’m like ‘We’re the movie!’

And, as we've reported before, Shia LeBeouf is still on track to play sole male survivor Yorick Brown:

I was talking to Shia [LaBeouf] about this yesterday when we were looping him, because he really wants to do it as well, I would like to prep this movie in October, and start shooting it by January... [Shia] wants to do it, I want to do it. I think we just need to worry about him being exhausted, so I told him, if I prep it in the fall and we start in January, that’s a nice big break.

As much as I may not be convinced by Shia in general, I have to admit that I think that he might work in the role, and find myself hoping that this project doesn't disappear into development hell as soon as we get our first adapted-from-a-comic bomb.

DJ Caruso’s Y: The Last Man in Summer 2010? [/Film]

For all Vaughan's other failings - improbably named characters and pop-culture-heavy dialogue, anyone? - he's certainly a writer who knows how to do attention-grabbing openings, and the couple of surprises he throws into the first few pages (Flying cars! Clones!) certainly count as some of the more unexpected moments of the series. Happily, though, they're just there to provide an introduction to a future in which eighty-something year-old Yorick Brown is locked in a straitjacket, just as he was when we first met him years earlier.

Despite using the elder, melancholy, Brown's flashbacks as a device to show us what happened to the main characters of the story - they all die, for the most part, although Beth and Hero both find love - the issue manages to avoid being a downer in part because of its upbeat final scenes (which you knew were coming as much as you didn't think Vaughan would actually go for it), and because Vaughan didn't wuss out in his final steps. There is no magic turnaround resurrection of the male species, no "it was all a dream" headfuckery. Life continues on, different, but with the survivors trying to rebuild their lives as best they can. Unusually for a popular comic series, the end comes exactly as the creators (Vaughan is joined here by series co-creator, artist Pia Guerra) intended, quietly and surprisingly gracefully.

If - as USA Today's Pop Candy blog suggested - the series is to be adapted into a trilogy of movies, here's hoping that they manage an ending as successful as this one. Now, of course, let's wait and see what Vaughan has planned for the conclusion of his other long-form series, Ex Machina...

Good-bye to Y I: Brian K. Vaughan, I, Good-bye to Y II: Brian K. Vaughan, II [Newsarama.com]