So, I'm writing this while sitting on jury duty in King's County (that's Brooklyn to those who don't know!) Supreme Court. I just got called to the empanelling room and the lawyers are trying to find us a room to do the "voir dire" ...we've been wandering through this antique building for twenty minutes and everyone is well pissed off. Not the best start for the attorneys or their clients. I'm struck by how suddenly real it is...these guys who've been through years of training, probably spent hundreds of hours preparing for this case, spent tens of thousands getting law degrees, spent thousands on nice suits, leather bags, slick shoes and they are stuck carrying a little wooden jury card holder that looks like something I made in woodshop in 8th grade jiggling the handles of locked doors. This then is really where the rubber meets the road. After all the prep, hype, drama, fear, etc, it basically comes down to a bunch of pissed off people who can't find the right empty conference room. What's this got to do with Vertigo comics? Not much, other then to say that at some point you've got to get down to what really matters. You've got to look past what you've seen online, what you've read in Previews, what I'm telling you on this blog, what you’re EXPECTING... and just judge a work on its own merits. On how it makes you feel. On what (if anything) it says to YOU. You know it when it's there...and when it isn't. Listen to that inner voice as you approach all of our new Vertigo offerings this year (and any titles you're already reading!) Everything else is just shoe polish and fancy briefcases. Peace & elbow grease, Will Dennis