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dee-is-for-lots-of-things · 2 years

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An Unnecessarily Comprehensive Sandman Reading Order

Having now read EVERY comic that I could find based on, using characters from, or tying in with @neil-gaiman‘s Sandman series, I thought I should provide what is, as far as i can tell, the definitive list of everything Sandman, in roughly the order of publication, and also what I thought of them. Warning: there’s a lot of it (over 580 issues in two and a half months).

Sandman (1989) #1-28 [Neil Gaiman] (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

Obviously we start at the beginning (I hear it’s a very good place to start) with the first 3 main arcs of Sandman plus some single issue stories. This is where the series really leans into the horror side of “dark fantasy,” and I for one love it. Idk, there’s not really much to say here. This is a Sandman blog, we all love this series here, or at least like it enough to talk about it. Go reread this stuff. It’s fuckin good.

The Books of Magic (1990) #1-4 [Neil Gaiman] (x)

The original Books of Magic series is essentially a guided tour of the DC universe’s magic side. Each issue focuses on a specific part of the universe, most of which are callbacks to comics that, I promise, you do not need to have read. The main three reasons to include this is: a) it’s fun, b) Tim as a character gets his own series which becomes part of the Sandman Universe relaunch, and c) it’s a nice place to learn a bunch of DC magic stuff which might show up later without having to drag yourself through the wiki and or read a thousand other comics. Then again this list is over 570 comics long, so maybe that second part’s not much of an issue here.

Sandman (1989) #29-31, Special #1, #32-50 [Neil Gaiman] (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

This begins with the Distant Mirrors collection (rather than placing them in the Fables & Reflections TP) and runs all the way to the end of Brief Lives and the Ramadan issue (essentially the end of Distant Mirrors, albeit two years later). Brief Lives and A Game of You are still my favourite Sandman collections, the best examples of what I call “human Sandman,” focused on dreamers and their lives and all that, and “Endless Sandman,” focused on the affairs of Dream and his funky family.

Death: The High Cost of Living #1-3 [Neil Gaiman]

The first Death spinoff! It’s based on the one-day-as-a-human thing she does, it’s a lot of fun, and other side characters from Sandman make an appearance! Look, we all know these are good. I don’t have as much to say about them as I do about the obscure comics from the early 2000s that it feels like only I read.

The Children’s Crusade: The Children’s Crusade #1, Black Orchid Annual #1, Animal Man Annual #1, Swamp Thing Annual #7, Doom Patrol Annual #2, Arcana (The Books of Magic) Annual #1, The Children’s Crusade #2 [Neil Gaiman, Nick Foreman, Jamie Delano, Nancy A. Collins, Rachel Pollack, John Ney Rieber, Alisa Kwitney] (x)

This is a crossover between all the big Vertigo titles, focused on the children of each series. Don’t worry about what’s actually going on in the individual series the annuals are from, but the overall plot (by Neil Gaiman) focuses on what the Dead Boy Detectives (Charles and Edwin from Sandman #25) have been up to since escaping Death. They get more very good spinoff content later on, and apparently they’re getting a tv show soon which should be fun.

Death Talks About Life [Neil Gaiman] (x)

This is the short AIDS educational comic. John Constantine has a banana. I like it, I think it deserves a place in this list. Apparently Neil Gaiman almost got arrested for it which is some king shit honestly.

The Spectre (1992) #19-22 [John Ostrander]

This is a very meh arc of a Spectre series that I have not read anything else of. But Lucien is in it briefly so I did read this bit. And in my opinion? Completionism was not worth this boring comic.

Sandman (1989) #51-75 [Neil Gaiman] (x) (x) (x)

The big finale! Worlds’ End and The Wake bookend the massive 12 issue The Kindly Ones arc, so I think keeping all of them together makes a certain amount of sense.

The Books of Magic (1994) #1-20 [John Ney Rieber] (x)

The start of the proper Books of Magic ongoing series (this series being one of my favourite things I’ve read for this) expands nicely on what we know about Tim from the Neil Gaiman miniseries. A lot of plotlines also get picked up from the Children’s Crusade event, and stuff from there is explained and expanded upon. Look, I love this series so much and I think that, while what the Sandman Universe reboot did with it was entertaining, this is still much better.

Sandman: Midnight Theatre [Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner]

This explores the golden age Sandman, Westley Dodds, and also gives a look at Dream in captivity. The actual Sandman content isn’t a huge part of it, mostly focusing on character that are presumably a part of Vertigo’s Sandman Mystery Theatre series of which this is technically a spinoff. Still, it’s enjoyable, the art is nice, and we get a nice look at the Order of Ancient Mysteries that we don’t really see in Sandman.

Death: The Time of Your Life #1-3 [Neil Gaiman]

Death spinoff 2! This one focuses completely on Hazel and Foxglove after A Game of You and The High Cost of Living, and is less about Death herself (although this isn’t the Death spinoff with the least Death in it. We’ll get there).

The Books of Magic (1994) #21-32, Annual #1, #33-38 [John Ney Rieber] (x)

More of a transitionary period in the series, Molly gets sent off on her own subplot while Tim wanders aimlessly around America for a bit. The America stuff can get confusing and disjointed and doesn’t quite fit into a compelling coherent narrative, but Molly’s plotline more than makes up for it

The Dreaming (1996) #1-16 [Terry LaBan, Peter Hogan, Alisa Kwitney, Bryan Talbot, Jeff Nicholson] (x)

While the best bits of this series are yet to come, there are some good stories in this first, more loosely connected section. That being said, the first 3-issue arc in particular isn’t exactly a perfect example of what the strengths of this series will be, and really it’s just treading water waiting for a writer to come along with a good overall vision for the series. Don’t worry, that’ll come.

The Books of Faerie #1-3 [Bronwyn Carlton]

This seems like a fairly standard telling of an origin story, but it actually ends up providing insights into Tim’s actual true parentage which was left entirely up in the air in the issue of Books of Magic that this picks up from. Which is nice, because I was kinda confused.

The Dreaming (1996) #17-25 [Caitlin R Kiernan, Al Davison, Peter Hogan]

This is really where this series starts to show what it’s gonna be good at. The arc that begins in #17 is the first to be written by Caitlin R. Kiernan, and introduces characters, concepts, and themes which will become very important when they eventually take over writing the series, as well as just being really fucking good.

Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #1 [Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R Kiernan, John Ney Rieber]

These winter specials are always something of a mixed bag. For what’s relevant here, Neil Gaiman offers a Desire-based story which is confusing and vague and has little to do with Sandman aside from featuring an Endless, the Books of Magic segment is just a short and inconsequential adventure for Tim, and Caitlin R Kiernan clealy shines when they provide a Cain and Abel short which is both a fair bit of fun and establishes concepts and themes which will become very relevant for some of their later writing.

The Books of Magic (1994) Annual #2, #39-50 [John Ney Rieber]

It’s time for a big ol’ finale for the John Ney Rieber run on this series! A whole bunch of characters return! Excitement! Action! Magic! Chocolate! A surprise twist involving a character from very early on in Sandman! What more could you want, really?

Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold #1-3 [Alisa Kwitney]

This is essentially a series of historical stories that loosely connect to one character who is somewhat linked to Destiny. It’s good, even if the stuff about a huge plague in the 21st century is a weird read now, and the individual issues are also pretty long. Don’t go in expecting a spinoff starring Destiny or providing insights into how all his shit works. The story is rather built around him, like a lot of Sandman around Dream, or the next-but-one item on this list around Death, and if you take it with that in mind you’ll enjoy it more than if you expect something it’s not.

The Dreaming (1996) #26, Special #1, #27-34 [Caitlin R Kiernan, Len Wein, Peter Hogan]

The Many Mansions arc, beginning with #27, is the first section of The Dreaming that’s felt like it’s really shaken up the status quo, and has taken big risks with the characters in service of the story. One of the main strengths of the series, in my opinion, is the fact that it allows what were simple running jokes, exaggerated horror hosts, or side characters to Dream’s angst a time to shine, both in the sense that they get the spotlight, but also that they are allowed to change, grow, and don’t end up in the same role as the series continues.

The Girl Who Would Be Death #1-4 [Caitlin R Kiernan]

This is a spinoff of The Dreaming and ties in with characters that Caitlin R Kiernan has already established, as well as establishing a few more, rather than being a sequel to Gaiman’s previous Death series. As with much of their writing in this universe, it’s got a brilliant atmosphere and fascinating characters. Also, it’s now canon that Death was at least one lesbian’s gay awakening which I think is the most realistic thing that’s ever been shown in any Sandman comic.

Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #2 [Neil Gaiman, Peter Gross, Caitlin R Kiernan]

The Sandman segment in this one is much stronger in my opinion, pulling on threads that are hinted at and explaining things from Sandman to give a good look at Death as an actual character. The Books of Magic story is the same sort of thing as the previous years, just a nice inconsequential short story with Tim. Again, though, Kiernan’s The Dreaming story is the best of the ones that I bothered to read, setting up things for the future and also providing some down-time to acknowledge the way that the status quo has shifted.

Sandman Presents: Lucifer: The Morningstar Option #1-3 [Mike Carey]

The beginning of another major spinoff line! This one’s fun, and also the start of the Sandman Presents collection of miniseries that came out from 1999-2004. Its plot also sets up the events of Mike Carey’s subsequent Lucifer series, so read this is you want the start of that to make any sense at all.

The Books of Magic (1994) #51-56, Annual #3, #57-63 [Peter Gross, Peter Hogan] (x) (x)

Idrk what to say here, I’ve already talked at length about how much I love this series. The exploration of private school culture is interesting even if it doesn’t last, and the multiversal implications of the Other are also very fun. That being said, sometimes the Peter Gross run does feel like it’s repeating what happened earlier (awful things happen to Tim’s dad, Tim gives away his magic, an imposter Tim takes his place, idk).

Sandman Presents: Love Street #1-3 [Peter Hogan]

I have no idea if this miniseries contradicts any of John Constantine’s established backstory from Hellblazer but personally, I really enjoyed this one. It finds a way to involve itself in the Sandman universe that justifies its Sandman Presents title, even if the fact that it’s a Hellblazer book could have been more clear. It’s also good to see more of the dreaming during Dream’s absence, and show what the dreams themselves actually did then.

The Books of Faerie: Molly’s Story #1-4 [John Ney Rieber]

IF you can get past the fact that this series has the ugliest art out of any comic I’ve read, the story here is really neat and it’s always nice to see Molly back, and any exploration of Faerie is usually enjoyable. Just, give yourself a second to get used to the art. Molly really doesn’t look like herself.

The Dreaming (1996) #35-43 [Caitlin R Kiernan] (x)

The culmination of Echo’s story has a big ol’ pile of transgenderism, and despite what certain other sandman blogs will tell you, the ending of Fox and Hounds is not just a repeat of The Wake and really, I don’t know how one might come to that conclusion. For one thing, it’s not the end, nor is it as grand in scope, and for another, it scratches my brain in a particular way because, on a more meta level, the ending grapples with how the concept for The Dreaming differs from the concept of Sandman, and how that difference impacts the story and the characters.

The Books of Magic (1994) #64-67 [Peter Gross]

While I know that part of the whole point of this series is that Tim can’t really settle down anywhere for long, this little home he makes in these issues is by far my favourite and I wish it had lasted longer than the Peter Gross run on the series. Also, this is where I started my “hey Tim... you ain’t cis” crusade and I need everyone to know that this child is very very queer.

Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #3 [Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R Kiernan, Peter Gross]

Another weird Desire story that I’m not too fond of from Neil, and Kiernan’s Dreaming segment is nice enough, but my favourite is the absolute pure fluff of the Books of Magic part, which crosses over with Sandman again and also seems designed to make me ship Mary and Joh as hard as humanly possible and, believe me, I do.

The Books of Magic (1994) #68-75 [Peter Gross] (x) (x)

Another big finale, and this one actually represents more of an end of an era than #50 did. Gross ties it back in with the very beginning and resolves a bunch of loose plot threads, as well as giving cameos to a bunch of characters from the John Ney Rieber issues so that The Names of Magic can transition to a different sort of story. It’s just a shame that we have to ditch the entire recurring cast again. Ah well.

The Dreaming (1996) #44-49 [Caitlin R Kiernan]

This is just the Trinket arc which resolves, or at least brings back, most of the loose ends to do with faerie, with Cluracan and the Nemesis and Nuala returning, and also brings back everyone’s favourite transphobic witch.

Sandman Presents: Petrefax #1-4 [Mike Carey]

Look, word of warning, there are a lot of slurs used here by a writer who evidently does not know that’s a slur for romani people. Gritting my teeth and putting that aside, when this series actually gives Petrefax something to do that’s relevant to his skills it’s quite fun. But that only happens a couple of times in the whole series, a significant proportion of it is just fantasy worldbuilding I really don’t care about, and also did I mention they keep saying a slur? Because they do.

Lucifer (2000) #1-13 [Mike Carey]

I wasn’t immediately a fan of this series, but once it starts building out its recurring cast and gets into the characters a bit more, this is really fun. I was 100% sold by #4.

The Dreaming (1996) #50-60 [Caitlin R Kiernan, Bill Willingham] (x) (x)

Another series draws to a close, and while the last arc could have maybe done with another issue just to give it a little more time to flesh things out and provide a satisfying conclusion for every character, this series is so good, if you don’t mind it the fact that it all basically gets erased from contuniuty by the time of the Sandman Universe publishing line (I guess due to the New 52 or some other DC relaunch, or at least that’s the excuse that I expect they used) I would absolutely recommend it as a followup to Sandman, especially if you don’t want the shift to modern comic styles that the other option leaves you with.

The Names of Magic #1-5 [Dylan Horrocks]

Since Books of Magic #75 ended with Tim proclaiming that he finally knew who he was, was free from his destiny, and wasn’t going to be looking for someone to lead him, and now he was meeting his future on his own terms, having his first move be “ask for help” and then have him shoved in the direction of school by a bunch of more established adult characters seems kinda antithetical the the whole point of that last series. Still, this sets up the next series neatly and isn’t too annoying to get through.

Sandman Presents: Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of DREAM [Bill Willingham] (x)

This book is one long extended James Bond joke. I do not care about James Bond. What’s going on? Why should I care? Why did the woman have sex with a pumpkin man? Help.

Lucifer (2000) #14-32 [Mike Carey]

Ahhh, now we get to the good shit. The Lucifer series reaches its first Big Event Where A Bunch Of Shit Goes Down in the Paradiso, Purgatorio, and Inferno arcs. I don’t know enough theology to tell you if most of this comes from Jewish or Christian teachings but it’s interesting and probably at least slightly heretical so I’m down.

The Little Endless Storybook [Jill Thompson]

This is cute. No other reason needs to be provided. Read it, it’s cute. (Also if you can find a copy I imagine it is a much better experience if you have a physical copy)

Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives #1-4 [Ed Brubaker]

If slightly frustrating with its actual detective side, this is a fun series that explores the boys and how their ghost powers actually work, and I look forward to what the next writer decides to do with them (and apparently they’re getting a show!! fuck yeah) (also uhhhh more like gayboy detectives amiright gamerz?)

Hunter: The Age of Magic #1-11 [Dylan Horrocks] (x)

It seems the little nosedive Tim’s story took in Names of Magic was only a short one, because right out of the gate Age of Magic is fantastic. The timeskip is slightly disconcerting, but it means we can skip all the “Tim learns magic” “Tim fucks another girl” “Tim discovers things” stages of his schooling and just have him finish and leave as quickly as possible, after using the setting to establish all that it needs to, and Tim can be free to do his own thing rather than being stuck in a “misadventures at the magic school“ style story.

Sandman Presents: The Corinthian #1-3 [Darko Macan]

This one’s mostly atmosphere, but it’s good atmosphere. It’s nice to see a little of the original Corinthian (rather than the rebooted version from The Dreaming) and how exactly he went bad, and what he was doing while Morpheus was imprisoned. Apparently elements of this (with the Corinthian’s experience in WW1) will be involved in the show, which is good because I can point at the screen and go “ooh! ooh! I know this one!” while my dad’s trying to watch, which is always fun.

Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad #1-4 [Bill Willingham]

I really wish I could like the Thessaly spinoffs. I love the character (despite her being claimed by TERFs apparently) and I wish we got more of her history, more of her being ruthless and cold and calculating, I’d especially love it if we explored how her normal life functions and how she does magic, but no, instead we get comedy hijinks with Fetch, the most annoying character to be introduced so far. Also the art is by Shawn McManus who is by far my least favourite Sandman artist and the only thing I actively dislike about A Game of You.

Lucifer: Nirvana [Mike Carey]

This is one of those fancy graphic novels with painted art and so on, but all that achieves is making it harder for me to focus on the story really. Tethys the Raven shows up which is neat. At least The Dreaming is still canon at this point.

Hunter: The Age of Magic #12-25 [Dylan Horrocks] (x) (x)

Big wrap-up of everything established from Names onwards, and a good end to the series, even if bringing back Molly again starts to get slightly tiresome (just let her live her life away from Tim. She’d be fine).

Sandman Presents: The Furies [Mike Carey]

Some of the Sandman Presents stories are spinoffs, or stories that happen to be set in the universe, but this really does feel like somewhere between a sequel and an epilogue to The Kindly Ones, giving Lyta more resolution than she got in the few pages she showed up in during The Wake. The “fancy graphic novel” problems I mentioned with Nirvana do make it a bit annoying to read, but it’s a good and interesting look at a character who got slightly left behind by the story once she’d succeeded in killing Dream off.

Hellblazer: Lady Constantine #1-4 [Andy Diggle]

I’m sure there’s parallels and references that I don’t get because I’ve only read the first few dozen Hellblazer comics, but this was really fun! Johanna is such a fun character and I loved her dynamic with her kid even if I knew they were gonna snuff it the minute they showed up.

Lucifer (2000) #33-40 [Mike Carey]

The Naglfar arc is my favourite sort of comic arc: every recurring character thrown together on a mission and forced to get along. Also, shit goes down with god and while I’m not gonna pretend to know what the precedent is for all this in the Tanakh or in the christian Bible, I’m enjoying whatever is happening immensely.

Sandman Presents: Bast #1-3 [Caitlin R Kiernan]

This is Caitlin R Kiernan’s last offering to Sandman, and it’s also one of their best. The exploration of Bast as a character and how the death of gods actually works is really good, honestly just read it, I’m not sure what else to say except it’s a shame this is the last comic of theirs in this universe.

Death: At Death’s Door [Jill Thompson] (x)

This one’s just a fun look behind the scenes of Season of Mists with Death, Delirium, and Despair dealing with all the dead that have just turned up. The style is so fun, I love the vibes, and also anything that gives Delirium a lot to do is an instant favourite.

Sandman: Endless Nights [Neil Gaiman]

The first of Neil’s followups, and while some of the more abstract or disconnected stories like Desire and Despair’s feel like they’re just there to fill space and give a chapter to every Endless, the (small) through-line of Delirium’s grief is really nicely done, and, again, this captures the consequences of and provides a followup to the ending of Sandman in more depth than The Wake did

Lucifer (2000) #41-49 [Mike Carey]

This part of the series splits its time, mostly focusing on Elaine and Mona’s fates, along with the rest of the supporting cast, while Lucifer does important overall plot things with the angels. I’m not complaining, though, this series has such a good cast of characters and I’d happily read a spinoff with any of them.

Sandman Presents: Thessaly: Witch For Hire #1-4 [Bill Willingham]

Reaching the end of the Sandman Presents series and this is how the original line of spinoffs ends. Not with a bang, but with an aimless and annoying whimper that really isn’t doing any of the things I want this character to be (except murderous. I do enjoy when she kills people). But I think Bill Willingham is somewhat allergic to writing a story with a dark tone that isn’t filled with constant jokes. Like, yes, having comic relief is important in every story lest it become grimdark edgy nonsense, but I would rather see Thessaly at her most fucked up and evil without a ghost trapped in a mirror doing a Funny Bit every other page. Maybe that’s just me, though.

Lucifer (2000) #50-61 [Mike Carey]

Reaching the endgame of the series, and almost every element that was set up gets involved in the last few dozen issues. Not sure what to say, this shit’s just really fucking good. Go read it!

Dead Boy Detectives (2005) [Jill Thompson]

If your detective story ends with the detectives putting together the clues to solve the mystery and publicly confronting the villain and then the villain explains that actually it was all innocent misunderstandings and they’re not guilty at all, I think maybe you shouldn’t be writing detective stories. Also all the crossdressing jokes got old very fast. This is by far the worst of all of these, and there’s some bad shit on this list at points.

Lucifer (2000) #62-75 [Mike Carey] (x)

The gert massive finale of this fantastic series really doesn’t disappoint. Characters get their arcs resolved in a mostly satisfactory manner, it does what DC did a few decades earlier in Crisis On Infinite Earths with resolving a multiverse in a much neater and less confusing way, and we learn that the god of the DC/Vertigo universe looks like the stereotype of a tory civil servant from the 1970s.

Madame Xanadu (2008) #6 [Matt Wagner]

The way Death is used in this is really interesting. For one thing, according to Death the whole “i give you a __” ritual is just set dressing for the intent which summons the Endless, so either Burgess did something really wrong or Death can tell when it’s a trap and tell when someone just wants a chat (and Dream is too stupid to tell and was also understandably destracted in 1916).

The Brave and the Bold (2007) #1-12 [Mark Waid]

The "Lords of Luck” arc, if kinda confusing, is interesting and brings in the Destiny elements in a cool way, even if the way they write Supergirl is sometimes uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gross. The “Book of Destiny” arc, by contrast, is just a series of tangentially linked stories and some of the most generic superhero comic stuff I’ve ever read, and the Book itself is only an afterthought in #12. Also, they gave Destiny the fancy Desire font instead of the harsh bold italics. Come on guys.

Action Comics (1938) #894 [Paul Cornell]

Another standalone Death issue within a broader series I have no interest in reading. She’s fun here too, and I always enjoy someone making Lex Luthor have a little bit of an existential crisis. This also seems to be the first significant appearance of Death outside Vertigo since the imprint began, as TBATB is for Destiny and Metal is for Dream.

Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1-4 [Neil Gaiman]

The story that Neil Gaiman accidentally trolled a bunch of academics in a tiny afterward to this story is very funny to me. I read the comic version rather than prose, I’m sure the prose is also very good because (shocking) Neil Gaiman happens to be a good writer.

House of Mystery Halloween Annual #1 [Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham]

Not much here innit just a fun merv story. If I wasn’t going for 100% I would not have even brought this up.

Dead Boy Detectives (2014) #1-12 [Toby Litt, Mark Buckingham] (x)

This is THE Dead Boy Detectives series, it’s the best by far because, amazingly, if you let your detective characters do detective work, the story is more engaging! Also, the series introduces a fantastic supporting cast, and actually delves into Charles and Edwin’s characters and all their masses of trauma from, y’know, being murdered. Also got me excited about the tv show they’re apparently making. Please let it be like this series and not like the shitearse Jill Thompson one. Please.

Sandman: Overture #1-6 [Neil Gaiman]

I have no idea why the reading list on the back of my copy lists this before Preludes and Nocturnes. Like yeah it’s a prequel technically, but if you hadn’t read Sandman before, reading it first would be a very bad idea since it hinges on lore from the series and also spoils the ending if you didn’t know what happened. If you have actually read Sandman though, yeah it’s fucking good idk what to say. It slaps.

Lucifer (2016) #1-19 [Holly Black, Richard Kadrey]

Honestly, I would have enjoyed this regardless of the writing because it has my favourite artist from my favourite Marvel series, Loki: Agent of Asgard (go read it. do it.), but the writing is also fantastic. It’s the perfect example of a followup that on the whole respects the original series, the themes established, and where the characters were left, before bringing things back into the fold in a realistic way to do something new with them, instead of just resetting continuity so that you don’t have to deal with somebody else’s recurring cast, *ahem*, the entire Sandman Universe reboot you do good things but you could leave some of this in canon, *ahem*. (Speaking of The Dreaming, the inclusion of Matthew makes this the first concrete confirmation that the 1996 series isn’t canon any more, which did make me a bit sad). Well worth a read if you’re a fan of the original!

Dark Nights: Metal #1-6 [Scott Snyder] (x)

It’s your usual boring comic book crossover event. Dream shows up and it sort of sets up the Sandman Universe series, but mostly this is about the usual multiverse bollocks that DC always does. "Batmanium” did make me laugh, though.

Sandman Universe #1 [Neil Gaiman, Simon Spurrier, Kate Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters] (x)

Plenty of setup here, but since I have no idea where any of it’s going I think I’ll just... Let my reviews of the series themselves do the work here instead.

The Dreaming (2018) #1-12 [Simon Spurrier] (x)

The issues with the start of this series are a lot more complicated than just “bad writer” or “incorrect characterisation”. In some cases the old characters are spot on, and the new characters are all fantastic, but something about the way Merv and Lucien develop in the first few issues feels a little forced. This series could have absolutely benefited from what the original Dreaming had - short story arcs focusing on specific parts of or people in the Dreaming that slowly, slowly come together to form a larger whole - and just slowed down the breakdown of Lucien and whatever they were going for with Merv enough that we get a good sense of where it comes from. Instead (probably more due to editorial rushing and a need to get the Big Threat of the first arc in the picture by the end of #2 to appease convention in modern comic storytelling, than the intentions of the writer), the political commentary and character progressions end up a bit hurried and I’m left with a feeling of “Yes logically I get how we got here, but like... how did we get here?”.

All of that being said, once it manages to get into the swing of things, this series is honestly a worthy successor to the original, even if I’m still annoyed about it replacing the original continuity entirely. The way that other Sandman characters are slowly brought in is really nicely done, and the development of the central mystery is intriguing and develops at a perfect rate to give answers, but also keep my interest going.

House of Whispers #1-12 [Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters]

Now this feels like Sandman. I love the characters, both human and godly, and the Ananse storyline makes me fall victim to my greatest weakness once again: stories that are about stories, that acknowledge that they’re stories, that twist the narrative of the tale it’s spinning and in doing so acknowledge the consequences of the characters existing in a world defined by narrative conflict. That’s my shit! Also I think it’s really cool that a comic published by one of the big two comic companies has a nonbinary character that uses neopronouns who also defines zirself as queer. Ze are iconic.

Lucifer (2018) #1-13 [Dan Watters]

The style and tone of this is very different to the other two Lucifer comics, and it exists outside of the continuity established by them (hence Lucifer having no scar, Remiel and Duma still ruling hell, Mazikeen’s dialogue takes a while to get used to, etc). Instead of being about the end of the universe and Lucifer’s attempts to get out from Yahweh’s rule while also saving the world surrounded by a huge supporting cast of characters we sympathise with instead of him, this series makes Lucifer pathetic in the best way. It’s much more introspective, and focuses on Lucifer, his ex-lover Sycorax, and their son Caliban, and how their relationships evolve. Also, the art is by far the best out of any of these Sandman Unvierse comics.

Books of Magic (2018) #1-13 [Kat Howard]

Again, a very different take on the same character. I’m not sure I like this one as much as Lucifer though. The focus is on the Cold Flame and Rose from the original Neil Gaiman series, although some elements from the Rieber/Gross series make it through, in particular some interesting things are being done with Tim’s dad. This is fun enough, and I’m interested to see where it goes, but I still much prefer the style of the original.

The Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer [Simon Spurrier]

This one-shot spins out of the 1990 Books of Magic miniseries, and explores what the fuck was actually going on in that potential future they showed. I’m sure it also ties into various bits of Hellblazer but, as already mentioned, I haven’t read more than a couple dozen issues of that series yet and it still made sense.

The Dreaming (2018) #13-20 [Simon Spurrier] (x)

The finale to this series is so good! Like I said earlier, the way that the mystery is slowly revealed works so well, and bringing all the threads together slowly is so satisfying when a writer can do it well. Also, the things it does with Lucien as the narrator in a meta sense is very fun.

House of Whispers #13-22 [Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters]

The way that this series builds its characters and worlds is so good, the balance between the human and godly characters especially. I’m also a big fan of how weird-looking the Corinthian is, I think some artists forget to draw him like a nightmare who’s slightly out of sync with reality in a “he looks creepy as fuck sometimes” kinda way.

Lucifer (2018) #14-24 [Dan Watters]

Word of warning: you will need to find the 3rd TPB collection if you want to read the actual conclusion of the Wild Hunt arc, because #19 was never published and the next collection was #20-24. I think it had something to do with covid, idk. Putting that aside, the art here is great and I love the way Lucifer works in this series. Probably the best of the initial four Sandman Universe lines.

Books of Magic (2018) #14-23 [Kat Howard, David Barnett]

The second half is much better than the first (as it seems is the case with a lot of these) , and the finale arc pulls in a few other Sandman related characters which are all fun (even if they don’t always make sense entirely). It’s still nowhere near as good as the original Rieber/Gross series, but it’s fun in its own way.

John Constantine: Hellblazer (2020) #1-12 [Simon Spurrier] (x)

I have not read enough Hellblazer to compare it to what came before, but this is an absolutely fantastic series. The tone is brilliantly managed, the supporting cast is endearing, John’s arc is engaging, and the series knows when to be funny, when to be brutal, when to be horrific, when to be tragic, when to be political, and when to force me to look at a drawing of Boris Fucking Johnson.

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1-12 [G. Willow Wilson] (x)

This is the most Sandman-feeling SU series, and I mean that in a good way. We get a good amount of seeing Daniel in action, the cast of new characters are all fun, and it feels like a good followup to The Dreaming without stepping on its toes - it uses the new characters as a natural part of the universe, and utilises the plotlines left hanging in a good way. My only real problem with it is a problem I have with a lot of comic series that only run for a dozen issues - the wrapup is a bit rushed to fit it all into one issue, we don’t really get time for the characters to settle into their endings before it’s over.

Locke & Key/Sandman #1-2 [Joe Hill]

The first three-quarters of this are very fun, but it does get a bit boring once they go to hell. Lucifer feels out of character, and I do not have any idea what the normal Locke & Key series is about, so there’s no way for me to be invested in these characters. The stuff that actually takes place in the Dreaming itself is fun, though, and I like the look into Fawney Rig during Sandman #1. Also, it’s always very funny to see a series have to write itself around continuity and go “hey hang on, why don’t the various dreams go rescue Dream?” While we don’t get a satisfactory answer to that, it’s not really what they were focusing on anyway so I have no reason to get angry about it like some people might.

Nightmare Country #1-? [James Tynion IV]

This series is only four issues in at the moment so I can’t say anything conclusive, but it’s got some great creepy shit in it (some of it reminds me of Caitlin R Kiernan’s work with the Corinthian in the original Dreaming) and I was convinced enough by it to pre-order the next two issues, which I look forward to reading!

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I’m probably meant to put a conclusion paragraph here but my English teacher would probably agree when I say I’m kinda crap at them. The best long series to spring from Sandman are Lucifer and Books of Magic, Caitlin R Kiernan was the best writer on The Dreaming, and Waking Hours is probably the best of the Sandman Universe books but you’re absolutely in safe hands with any of them. The Sandman Presents comics are good for the most part, but the quality varies wildly. Every time there’s a non-Vertigo series which involves Sandman characters it’s probably not worth it. Don’t bother with the Dead Boy Detectives graphic novel, read the Litt/Buckingham series instead. And most importantly, don’t tell me that I forgot that one 2008 (?) House of Mystery series. I did indeed forget it, but to be fair I didn’t know it existed until I saw a copy in the library the other day and I cannot be bothered reading it now.

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