Jeff Lemire made a name for himself with his indie comics, most notably his Essex County trilogy, before doing work for DC and Vertigo. Here’s a splash page from his Vertigo series, Sweet Tooth, issue #24:
I read the first issue of this series, but found it too decompressed for my tastes, although I may give it another try in trade form, if I can get them from the library. I am, however, really digging his work as a writer on Animal Man.
“Sweet Tooth” definitely started very very slow, which is an almost unforgivable flaw these days. It does read significantly better in trade form, and after around issue 6 Lemire’s pacing improves significantly. It’s a great series and well worth a read.
Where Lemire really shines, I think, is in his independent, graphic novel work. The complete “Essex County” is absolutely fantastic, and I am really looking forward to his “Underwater Welder” coming from Top Shelf later this year.
Yeah, I need to read Essex County. I did read his Vertigo graphic novel “The Nobody,” which I found light on story/characterization, but heavy on atmosphere. Not great, but also not bad.