Vertigo is celebrating of The Sandman‘s 30th anniversary with brand-new collected editions of Neil Gaiman’s seminal story. Following the announcement of a new Gaiman-curated imprint called the Sandman Universe, launching this August, Gaiman’s original series will be rereleased monthly beginning in October.
The anniversary editions will include special introductions from legendary creators including best-selling authors Patrick Rothfuss, Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer/producer Paul Dini, author/comedian/actor Patton Oswalt and more. Each collection will also feature new, original covers from the original Sandman cover artist, Dave McKean.
Gaiman’s new imprint will launch on August 8, 2018 with The Sandman Universe #1, followed by four new titles: The Dreaming, House of Whispers, Lucifer, and Books of Magic. For those who want to discover the origins of these new stories, they can start at the beginning with these anniversary editions.
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Noctures 30th Anniversary Edition collects issues #1-8, written by Gaiman with art by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, and Malcolm Jones III. It will also feature an introduction from Patrick Rothfuss, best-selling author of The Kingkiller Chronicles, and will be available in comics shops on October 24, and everywhere books are sold on October 30.
It’s Wednesday which means it’s new comic book day with new releases hitting shelves, both physical and digital, all across the world. This week we’ve got the Eternals!
Eternals collects issues #1-7 by Neil Gaiman, John Romita, Jr., Danny Miki, Tom Palmer, Tim Townsend, Jesse Delperdang, Klaus Janson, Matt Hollingsworth, Paul Mounts, Dean White, Todd Klein, Rick Berry, Sean Ryan, and Nick Lowe.
Get your copy in comic shops today and in book stores April 24. To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
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It’s new comic book day tomorrow. What’s everyone excited for? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.
Story and Words: Neil Gaiman
Script and Layouts: P. Craig Russell
Art: Scott Hampton
Colorist: Scott Hampton and Jennifer Anderson
Cover Artist: Glenn Fabry
Variant Cover Artist: David Mack
The comic book adaptation of American Gods, the Hugo, Bram Stoker, Locus, World Fantasy, and Nebula Award-winning novel and hit Starz television series by Neil Gaiman, returns with American Gods: My Ainsel #1.
The bizarre road trip across America continues as our heroes gather reinforcements for the imminent god war!
Shadow and Wednesday leave the House on the Rock and continue their journey across the country where they set up aliases, meet new gods, and prepare for war.
Eisner Award-winning creator Mark Buckingham is adapting four of New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman’s prose short stories for the upcoming graphic novel anthology Likely Stories, to be published as a hardcover original graphic novel by Dark Horse Books later this year. Buckingham will adapt and illustrate the stories “Looking for the Girl”, “Foreign Parts”, “Closing Time”, and “Feeders and Eaters.” These dark and imaginative tales feature an odd and subtly linked world of bizarre venereal diseases, a creepy old woman who feasts on raw meat, a man obsessed with a skin model from a magazine, and a story within a story about ghosts.
Likely Storieswas previously adapted for television, originally airing on Sky TV before airing on Shudder in 2016. For the graphic novel adaptation, Buckingham will be working from the source material—the original prose stories.
Likely Stories will retail for $17.99 when it goes on sale in comic shops on August 29 and in bookstores on September 11, 2018.
DC Entertainment has announced the creation of The Sandman Universe, a new Vertigo line of comic books curated by Neil Gaiman, conjuring epic storytelling, immersing readers into the evolving world of the Dreaming. The Sandman Universe begins with four new ongoing series, existing in a shared universe, building upon Gaiman’s New York Times best-selling series that lyrically weaved together stories of dreams and magic.
Each writer was hand-selected by Gaiman for the following series:
The Dreaming by Si Spurrier (2000AD, SUICIDE SQUAD)
House of Whispers by Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring, Midnight Robber, New Moon’s Arms)
Lucifer by Dan Watters (Limbo, Assassin’s Creed comic series)
Books of Magic by Kat Howard (Roses and Rot, An Unkindness of Magicians)
The new line will begin August 8, 2018 with The Sandman Universe #1, a one-shot story plotted by Gaiman and co-written by the four series writers. it features art by Bilquis Evely and a cover by Jae Lee.
Daniel, the lord of Dreams, has gone missing and it causes chaos in the kingdom of dreams…
A rift between worlds has opened, revealing a space beyond the Dreaming. Meanwhile, a book from Lucien’s
library of all the unwritten books ever dreamed is discovered by a group of children in the waking world.
Simultaneously, a new House appears—the House of Whispers—joining the Houses of Secret and Mystery in the Dreaming. Its proprietor is a fortune teller called Erzulie, whom the inhabitants of the Dreaming suspect may be responsible for all the strange goings on.
Elsewhere, Lucifer has fallen again, only this time he might be in a Hell of his own design.
And in London, a young boy named Timothy Hunter sleeps, in his dreams he becomes the world’s most powerful magician, but in his nightmares, he becomes the world’s worst villain, which future will become reality?
The Dreaming by Si Spurrier features promotional art by Yanick Paquette.
There is a place where gods are born and stories are spun. But twenty-three years after he was anointed as its master, Dream of the Endless has inexplicably abandoned the dreaming. His absence triggers a series of crimes and calamities which consume the lives of those already tangled in his fate, among them Lucien the librarian, Nuala of Faerie, and Dora, a monstress without memories. But while they struggle to restore the King to his throne, they face from intrigues within and conquest from without. As usurpers circle the defenceless domain and an impossible shadow awaits its own birth beside a rip in reality, the denizens of the dreaming play out their stories of loss and love, resignation and resistance.
House of Whispers by Nalo Hopkinson features promotional art by Sean Andrew Murray.
Latoya is in a coma. Her girlfriend enlists the help of Latoya’s two younger sisters. Using the Book of Whispers, they mistakenly steal the essence of Erzulie, a deity of voodoo mythology. The psychic blowback of the spell causes her house to crash into the Dreaming, beside the Houses of Secrets and Mystery and their custodians, Cain and Abel.
In the real world, the awakened young woman suffers a mystical form of Cotard’s Delusion—she believes she is already dead, and she’s transmitting her beliefs to others, causing them to become guardians of the Gap that has appeared in the Dreaming.
Lucifer by Dan Watters features promotional art by Goñi Montes.
A few years ago, the devil vanished. Some people say he died or simply ran away, while others believe he never existed at all. But we aren’t some people. No. This is the one true story of what happened to the Prince of Lies, the Bringer of Light—Lucifer, the blind, destitute old man, who lives in a small boarding house in a quiet little town, where nothing is quite what it seems and no one can leave. he’s trapped, you see? Trapped n a bizarre prison with no memory of how he got there or why. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, a policeman who may have brain cancer is tasked with a mission of divine importance: find and kill Lucifer.
Books of Magic by Kat Howard features promo art by Kai Carpenter.
Timothy Hunter is destined to become the most powerful magician in the universe, but that doesn’t mean he gets to cut class, skip exams, or is impervious to bullying by his mundane peers. After all, he’s still a London teenager and having magical abilities complicates things more than it helps. And while Tim’s trying to study and attract the cute girl in his class, there are cultists who want to kill him, believing his power will eventually corrupt him, turning him into a merciless mage. Luckily, the new substitute teacher for his school wants to mentor him and educate him in the magical arts so that he can discover the master behind the Books of Magic…
The Sandman Universe #1 will reintroduce the Sandman Universe and its characters, while establishing conflicts that will be examined in the monthly comic books., The Dreaming and House of Whispers will debut in September with Lucifer and Books of Magic hitting shelves in October.
Check out more concept work by Bilquis Evely below.
Vertigo is helmed by Executive Editor Mark Doyle, who returned to Vertigo last year after over-site of the Batman group of titles for DC, bringing a new editorial voice to the beloved imprint.
AfterShock Comics continues to push boundaries by presenting it’s very first anthology collection, Shock, featuring a slew of today’s top writers and artists. Presented in the European Album format (same as the recent Animosity: the Rise hardcover for LCSD), this handsome hardcover features the creative talents of Bill Willingham, Marguerite Bennett, Mike Carey, Jim Starlin, Michael Zulli, Charles Vess, Michael Gaydos, Andy Clarke, Andrew Robinson, Sarah Delaine, Phil Hester, Paul Jenkins, Neil Gaiman, Dalibor Talajic, Travis Moore, Brian Azzarello, Francesco Francavilla, Cullen Bunn, Marc Guggenheim, Frank Tieri, Brian Stelfreeze, and more! Cover art by John Cassaday!
From the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award nominated editor of the classic Negative Burn anthology series.
Many within the comics industry are taking a stand and speaking out against harassment and the continued protection of those who engage in it. One reason individuals don’t speak out is over fear that they will be blacklisted and not supported by publishers (and fans). So, along with our vocally supporting these creators we as a community need to also show we also have their back financially.
This isn’t a complete list so please add individuals missed in the comments below.
Kwanza Osajyefo is one of the creators behind the recently released in trade paperback Black. Not only is he outspoken but also a target for degenerate comic “fans” who only want to take us backwards. That hasn’t stopped him down from speaking out.
I get the hesitation to talk about it, I get the "will this adversely affect me?" thoughts, but that's absolutely zilch compared to what the people who spoke up have had sitting on their heads for years now.
Jennifer de Guzman has been one of the most outspoken individuals when it comes to harassment in the comics industry. She’s written for numerous comics (like Womanthology: Space) and prose as well as a journalist. Buy her stuff and hire her!
DC’s responses in stories about Eddie Berganza’s serial harassment and assaults in Buzzfeed, Hollywood Reporter, and Polygon, plus an on-background statement for a story on harassment I did for ComicsAlliance. So many unspecified policies, so little action. pic.twitter.com/6TpCLUtpM7
Jonathan H. Gray is an artist who has done work on Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe, Mega Man, as well as numerous work for Disney Comics.
I love waking up and checking twitter to find heaving dumpster fires of people on my doorstep. Comic “fans” really don’t like it when you speak truth to power & question poisonous narratives, I guess.
But reading the testimonials of people who were pushed out, had to leave, and thinking of the people who never had the chance to work there is heartbreaking.
Tamra Bonvillain is a colorist who has worked for DC, Marvel, Image and more on such titles as Doom Patrol, Wayward, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Uncanny Avengers, and more.
At DC Comics, An Editor Rose Through The Ranks Even After Being Accused Of Sexual Harassment https://t.co/vN6N88KV5d via @jtes
Not harassment or assault based, but I have been scared to straight up tell editors do NOT pair me up with so and so writer because they've wrote transphobic trash before, and it's almost happened more than once.
I just lucked into not accepting those jobs then finding out the writer later. But I never brought it up because I was afraid of being difficult, and just kind of hoped things would go ok.
Oh, wait Keith Giffen. Never forget Keith Giffen. He saw my work in a fanzine when I was 17 and we've been the best of friends and working together ever since.
This is true. Colleen called out respected male figures in comics and talked about specific incidents that had happened to her, and was attacked. It stunk then & stinks now. https://t.co/GD2O6McXnc
Tea Terry Blue is a digital project manager at King Features Syndicate, a co-editor of RAW Fanthology, and overall comic nerd. Go follow them since there’s tons of other folks speaking out too that Tea is spotlighting.
Ryan Ferrierhas written comics such as D4ve, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, WWE, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and more.
There is fear associated with spreading this info, but it's not about us. It's not about my/our prospects. We have to decide where we stand, which should be, immovably, alongside the victims.
Neil Gaiman tends to make the already fantastic into something even More. In Harlequin Valentine, he does it again, with a simple twist on a classic story. Spoilers ahead.
Harlequin Valentine has roots in the Italian Commedia dell’ arte tradition; a tradition still played upon and taught in theatre classes today. The Harlequin is a character from the Commedia with iterations backwards and forwards in literature: a version of the trickster archetype that is largely motivated by his unrequited love.
In Gaiman and Bolton’s version, however, the object of his affection takes over the role when she bests him by eating his heart, left pinned to her front door on a chilly Valentine’s day. Missy is nonplussed when she finds the heart on the door, proceeding to unpin it, store it in a plastic bag, and clean up the blood. Harlequin describes her actions with all the creepy over-observing of a stalker, obsessed with Missy as an object rather than an individual.
As Missy goes about her day, trying to solve the mystery of the heart, Harlequin follows, assigning the other men in her life to other Commedia stereotypes disdainfully. Gaiman’s tale and Bolton’s art work together to keep the story tight, Harlequin’s perspective hyper-focused on Missy as the day unfolds. Both Gaiman and Bolton bring an eerie sensibility to an otherwise light-hearted trope, without applying too heavy of a hand. The result is spell-binding.
My recommendation is this one is a buy! Now’s your chance to get a reissue of a now 16 year old book in a shiny new shell. If you already own it, however, no need to add another copy to the collection. All content included is from the original 2001 publication, including Gaiman’s clever essays on both Commedia, and Bolton’s artistic methods.
Story: Neil Gaiman Art: John Bolton Story: 8.5 Art: 9 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy, unless you’ve already got a copy!
Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Dark Horse has revealed the next installment in the Gaiman Library with A Study in Emerald! From multiple award- winning writer Neil Gaiman comes this graphic novel adaptation featuring art by Eisner award winning artist Rafael Albuquerque!
A Study in Emerald is a supernatural mystery set in the world of Sherlock Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. The heart-pounding tale features the brilliant detective and his faithful partner as they attempt to solve a horrific murder of cosmic proportions. The complex investigation takes the Baker Street investigators from the slums of Whitechapel all the way to the Queen’s Palace.
Rafael Scavone, co-founder of publisher Stout Club with Albuquerque and writer of Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Special #1, lends his compositional talent to Gaiman’s award-winning short story while Dave Stewart brings his gorgeous colorist skills to the faithful adaptation. The beautiful cover is also by Albuquerque.
A Study in Emerald will be available for purchase on June 20, 2018. The 80-page hardcover retails for $17.99.
It’s new comic book day tomorrow. What’s everyone excited for? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.
Neil Gaiman tends to make the already fantastic into something even More. In Harlequin Valentine, he does it again, with a simple twist on a classic story. Spoilers ahead.
