DC Vertigo, also known as Vertigo Comics or simply Vertigo, is an imprint of the American comic book publisher DC Comics. Vertigo publishes comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that do not fit the restrictions of DC's main line. Its comics include company-owned series set in the DC Universe, such as The Sandman, Swamp Thing, and Hellblazer, and creator-owned works, such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man, and Fables.
Vertigo originated from DC's 1980s adult comic line, which began after DC stopped submitting The Saga of the Swamp Thing for approval by the Comics Code Authority. Following the success of two adult-oriented 1986 limited series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, DC's output of adult comics, edited by Karen Berger, grew. By 1992, DC's mature readers' line was editorially separate from its main line and Berger received permission to manage them under a separate imprint. Vertigo was launched in January 1993 with a mix of existing DC ongoing series and new series.