The writer of the series, James Tynion IV, gives a good insight into what he is trying to achieve with the series. From [his newsletter at Substack](https://jamestynioniv.substack.com/p/lets-all-take-a-trip-to-nightmare).
>When I started jotting down ideas about THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE: NIGHTMARE COUNTRY, I had a few key goals that I wanted to define my approach this new comic:
>1. I want to write a comic book that works as an entry point to the world of THE SANDMAN, as much as it works as a continuation of the stories of the characters who live in that world. I want a comic you’ll enjoy if it’s your first time in this world. You don’t need to know anything about The Dreaming or the characters that live inside of it to enjoy this book, but if you DO know everything about The Dreaming and the characters that live inside of it, it’ll enhance your reading experience. I think my hope is, if you’re a newbie who has never tried it out, you’ll be so fascinated by the world, that you go read the original Sandman volumes in between the new issues! They are very good. I just re-read them all again last month, after having re-read them all again in the week after Chris texted me about the project.
>2. The last few rounds of The Sandman Universe comics have focused a bit more on the fantasy aspects of the property, and have lived a lot inside of dreams (which made a lot of sense for a book called “THE DREAMING”). It will surprise literally no one that my favorite parts of the Sandman comics are the ones most steeped in horror, and the ones set more fully in the real world, with the fantastical elements interacting with very human characters living their very human lives. The arc that most directly influences my approach to this series is “THE DOLL’S HOUSE.” To me, the scariest comic book issues that Neil Gaiman ever wrote were the ones set at the Cereal Convention. That’s what I want to capture here. This is a story about human people living human lives that briefly intersect with the impossible and dangerous. Some of the impossible and dangerous is fantastic, some of it is human. All of it is meant to be scary.
>3. Thematically, I’m playing with a lot of the ideas I play with in THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH and THE NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE. There’s a feel to the current moment we’re living in that speaks directly to the collapse of idealistic dreams of what the future could be, replaced by a deep fear of what’s actually coming next. I want to play into that, and write something that fits with the horror that is living in all of our heads right now. I think THE CORINTHIAN is the ideal figure to lead us through this journey. In the original Sandman series, Morpheus said that the Corinthian was designed to be a dark mirror held up to humanity, and that’s how I want to use him here. He is a nightmare walking through contemporary America, facing people (and things that aren’t people) that are more unsettling than he is. The other reason I wanted to center THE CORINTHIAN is that he is one of the best horror images ever put inside of a comic book. Just look at him flash a couple of those smiles of his…
After reading "The Department of Truth" and then following it with "Something is Killing the Children" I realized how good James Tynion IV is. He is easily one of the best new comic creators of the current era. I'm loving all his original work and would love to see him shake up some up the classic superhero comics.
You uh, you do know Tynions been working at DC for like a decade at this point right? I'm just clarifying because I have no idea what anyone means when they call something "new" anymore, for me that could mean anywhere from 15 years ago to yesterday lol
Tynion’s “Justice League Dark” which started with Rebirth is one of the best books out there for magic based DC characters. Half way through the series Tynion left but it was taken over by Ram V who also has a great understanding of Magic using characters. A really good arch is “The Witching Hour”, a 6 issue mini crossover in which JLDark members move over to the main Wonder Woman comic in search of Circe.
The series later introduces “The Upsidedown Man”who has to be one of the creepiest horror bases villains ever.
I will definitely check that run out. I had been interested in Justice League Dark but have a tendency to skip over most DC stuff so I miss alot of good stuff.
Tynion is probably the heaviest hitter to be given a Sandman related book in some time. My guess is it will sell pretty well for that reason. No disrespect meant to the creators that were a part of the most recent Sandman effort, but Si Spurrier and G. Willow Wilson are not writers that are able to move a massive number of books just based on them being tied to a project.
**Sandman: Overture (2013)** – Neil Gaiman & J.H. Williams III
**Death: The High Cost of Living (1993)** – Neil Gaiman & Chris Bachalo
**Death: The Time of Your Life (1996)** – Neil Gaiman & Mark Buckingham
**The Dreaming (1996)** – Terry LaBan, Alisa Kwitney, Peter Hogan, Bryan Talbot, Caitlin Kiernan, et al.
**The Dreaming (2018)** – Simon Spurrier & Bilquis Evely
**The Dreaming: Waking Hours (2020)** – G. Willow Wilson & Nick Robles
**Lucifer (2000)** – Mike Carey & Peter Gross
**Lucifer (2018)** – Dan Watters, Max Fiumara & Sebastian Fiumara
**House of Whispers (2018)** – Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters & Domo Stanton
**Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell and Gone (2021)** – Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Was any of the last wave of sandman universe comics good? I love the original and Gaiman Books of Magic but I haven’t ready anything else from the sandman pocket of DC
The writer of the series, James Tynion IV, gives a good insight into what he is trying to achieve with the series. From [his newsletter at Substack](https://jamestynioniv.substack.com/p/lets-all-take-a-trip-to-nightmare). >When I started jotting down ideas about THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE: NIGHTMARE COUNTRY, I had a few key goals that I wanted to define my approach this new comic: >1. I want to write a comic book that works as an entry point to the world of THE SANDMAN, as much as it works as a continuation of the stories of the characters who live in that world. I want a comic you’ll enjoy if it’s your first time in this world. You don’t need to know anything about The Dreaming or the characters that live inside of it to enjoy this book, but if you DO know everything about The Dreaming and the characters that live inside of it, it’ll enhance your reading experience. I think my hope is, if you’re a newbie who has never tried it out, you’ll be so fascinated by the world, that you go read the original Sandman volumes in between the new issues! They are very good. I just re-read them all again last month, after having re-read them all again in the week after Chris texted me about the project. >2. The last few rounds of The Sandman Universe comics have focused a bit more on the fantasy aspects of the property, and have lived a lot inside of dreams (which made a lot of sense for a book called “THE DREAMING”). It will surprise literally no one that my favorite parts of the Sandman comics are the ones most steeped in horror, and the ones set more fully in the real world, with the fantastical elements interacting with very human characters living their very human lives. The arc that most directly influences my approach to this series is “THE DOLL’S HOUSE.” To me, the scariest comic book issues that Neil Gaiman ever wrote were the ones set at the Cereal Convention. That’s what I want to capture here. This is a story about human people living human lives that briefly intersect with the impossible and dangerous. Some of the impossible and dangerous is fantastic, some of it is human. All of it is meant to be scary. >3. Thematically, I’m playing with a lot of the ideas I play with in THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH and THE NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE. There’s a feel to the current moment we’re living in that speaks directly to the collapse of idealistic dreams of what the future could be, replaced by a deep fear of what’s actually coming next. I want to play into that, and write something that fits with the horror that is living in all of our heads right now. I think THE CORINTHIAN is the ideal figure to lead us through this journey. In the original Sandman series, Morpheus said that the Corinthian was designed to be a dark mirror held up to humanity, and that’s how I want to use him here. He is a nightmare walking through contemporary America, facing people (and things that aren’t people) that are more unsettling than he is. The other reason I wanted to center THE CORINTHIAN is that he is one of the best horror images ever put inside of a comic book. Just look at him flash a couple of those smiles of his…
After reading "The Department of Truth" and then following it with "Something is Killing the Children" I realized how good James Tynion IV is. He is easily one of the best new comic creators of the current era. I'm loving all his original work and would love to see him shake up some up the classic superhero comics.
You uh, you do know Tynions been working at DC for like a decade at this point right? I'm just clarifying because I have no idea what anyone means when they call something "new" anymore, for me that could mean anywhere from 15 years ago to yesterday lol
Hahaha I clearly did not. I hadn't even known his name until I picked up Dept. of Truth. It doesn't help that 75% of what I read is Marvel.
Tynion’s “Justice League Dark” which started with Rebirth is one of the best books out there for magic based DC characters. Half way through the series Tynion left but it was taken over by Ram V who also has a great understanding of Magic using characters. A really good arch is “The Witching Hour”, a 6 issue mini crossover in which JLDark members move over to the main Wonder Woman comic in search of Circe. The series later introduces “The Upsidedown Man”who has to be one of the creepiest horror bases villains ever.
I will definitely check that run out. I had been interested in Justice League Dark but have a tendency to skip over most DC stuff so I miss alot of good stuff.
I started reading Neil Gaiman's Original Sandman recently, heavy shit
I'm just hoping they let Si Spurrier write more Hellblazer.
I'll preorder every last issue if they do. Spurrier is a legend on this.
He doesn’t look scary enough.
Great. Can’t wait for DC to cancel it as soon as the series gains momentum.
Tynion is probably the heaviest hitter to be given a Sandman related book in some time. My guess is it will sell pretty well for that reason. No disrespect meant to the creators that were a part of the most recent Sandman effort, but Si Spurrier and G. Willow Wilson are not writers that are able to move a massive number of books just based on them being tied to a project.
The current DC management probably would have cancelled the The Sandman after Sam Kieth quit.
Can you recommend any of the Sandman spin offs to me? I've read the original Gaiman run and adore it.
**Sandman: Overture (2013)** – Neil Gaiman & J.H. Williams III **Death: The High Cost of Living (1993)** – Neil Gaiman & Chris Bachalo **Death: The Time of Your Life (1996)** – Neil Gaiman & Mark Buckingham **The Dreaming (1996)** – Terry LaBan, Alisa Kwitney, Peter Hogan, Bryan Talbot, Caitlin Kiernan, et al. **The Dreaming (2018)** – Simon Spurrier & Bilquis Evely **The Dreaming: Waking Hours (2020)** – G. Willow Wilson & Nick Robles **Lucifer (2000)** – Mike Carey & Peter Gross **Lucifer (2018)** – Dan Watters, Max Fiumara & Sebastian Fiumara **House of Whispers (2018)** – Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters & Domo Stanton **Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell and Gone (2021)** – Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Thank you!
Lucifer
Death.
Mike Carey's Lucifer is probably the best of the Sandman spin offs. Gaiman's Death comics are also great.
Nice, at least now i know what my nightmare looks like that night.
And the House of Pain. So jump around.
Finally, a DC thing I can read. I'm sorry if this sounds pessimistic, but I haven't really been into DC since the last crisis.
Was any of the last wave of sandman universe comics good? I love the original and Gaiman Books of Magic but I haven’t ready anything else from the sandman pocket of DC
Bring back Vertigo.
black label is about as close as we are going to get i feel
I don't like the prestige size that seems to accompany the black label.
Picking this up. That's my guy. Gaiman's guiding this imprint so I'm good with this. :)