Of the eight debut Vertigo titles, half of them were the work of two authors. Neil Gaiman, who went on to become a "New York Times" best-selling novelist, came to prominence four years pre-Vertigo with the launch of "The Sandman" for DC Comics, a title that became the backbone of the initial Vertigo line-up. Gaiman's work on the first "The Books of Magic" miniseries (also released as a DC title, 1990–91) lay the groundwork for the long-running Vertigo Universe series of the same name, which featured young wizard Timothy Hunter.