Dr. Vertigo

In this highly anticipated graphic novel with echoes of The Exorcist, two psychiatrists battle for a depressed housewife's soul … or is it her mind? Spanish Catholic Alice Lopes is an anguished housewife in her 30s. Her husband, Luciano, cheats and supplies her with booze and pills to keep her quiet. But when she has a complete mental breakdown, Dr. Trauman weaponizes religion and psychiatry to exploit her. Will Dr. Vertigo, who can interact with Alice's tortured mindscape with his unusual powers, save Alice? Better yet, will Alice be able to save herself? Originally serialized in 1988 in El Vibora, a Spanish countercultural comics magazine that emerged from the long shadow of Franco's regime, Martí's black and white artwork, both crisp and lush, perfectly tells Alice's tale in the just-the-facts-ma'am narration of a mid-century procedural coupled with the kind of gleeful sacrilege you'd expect from The Exorcist. When news broke that Martí's ultra-profane, ultraviolent satire The Cabbie was finally going to be published in its complete form in English in 2025, readers rejoiced, but some lamented that Martí's award-winning graphic novel, Dr. Vertigo—a favorite among Marti fans —was still unavailable in English: that is, until now!