(W) Si Spurrier, Nalo Hopkinson, Kat Howard, Dan Watters (A) Bilquis Evely, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Tom Fowler, Max Fiumara, Sebastian Fiumara (CA) Jae Lee
From the mind of New York Times #1 bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a new world filled with dreams, nightmares and wonderful characters living together in a shared universe for a new story unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
A rift between worlds has opened, revealing a space beyond the Dreaming. Meanwhile, a book from Lucien’s library is discovered by a group of children in the waking world where it should not exist. Lucien calls for Matthew the Raven to seek out their master, Daniel, Lord of Dreams.
As Matthew flies across the Waking World and others, he finds a young boy named Timothy Hunter who, in his dreams, has become the world’s most powerful magician-but in his nightmares he is the world’s greatest villain. A new House has appeared in the realm of the Dreaming: the House of Whispers, with its proprietor, a fortune-teller called Erzulie. And elsewhere, Lucifer has fallen again, only this time he might be trapped in a Hell of his own design.
Spiraling out of this special issue will be four all-new series set in the Sandman Universe. It all starts here!
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!
Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
Paul
Top Pick: Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel) – FINALLY! Fantastic Four was the first comic book I ever read and it ignited my passion for comic books. I collected this title for years and was crushed when it was cancelled. I am beyond excited that Marvel’s first family is coming back and I can’t wait to read their new adventures.
Brett
Top Pick: The Sandman Universe #1 (Vertigo/DC Comics) – This is it, the return of the classic comic universe! I can’t say I ever read the originals, but I’m fascinated to see what this new entry is like and the new series spinning out of this universe.
Black Badge #1 (BOOM! Studios) – Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins alone are draws for this new series.
Farmhand #2 (Image Comics) – The first issue was weird in all the right ways where a farm now grows human parts. Funny in so many ways, this is one that’s just strange enough to keep us intrigued.
Hot Lunch Special #1 (AfterShock Comics) – I couldn’t tell you a single thing about what this series is about. I just know writer Eliot Rahal is writing it and since he consistently entertains me, I’m excited to check it out.
Long Live Pro Wrestling #0 (Scout Comics) – Wrestling in comics is becoming a big thing again and this one sounds unique as it follows a former wrestler turned talk show host which sounds like it could stand out.
Mech Cadet Yu #11 (BOOM! Studios) – I love this seres of kids piloting giant mechs fighting off aliens. This isn’t the issue to start but I will constantly recommend this series.
Oblivion Song by Kirman and De Felici #6 (Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics) – This sci-fi series stands out not for the concept/aliens, but the focus on the impact of a catastrophic event. There’s an exploration of PTSD and trauma that’s subtle (and some times not so much) but something we just don’t see in comics much today.
Outpost Zero #2 (Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics) – The first issue was the tense build up of a disaster film. A little mix of a lot of concepts, the center of it all is key, grown up kids who are experiencing it all in their own way. An interesting enough first issue I’m excited to check out the second.
Transformers: Lost Light #22/Transformers: Optimus Prime #22/Transformers: Unicron #3 (IDW Publishing) – The three series come together to deal with the threat that us Unicron. While some are a bit behind the main story, they’re all important in their own way and the bigger picture that’s happening is amazing. This is years of storyline finally converging to one big event and who knows what will happen when it’s all over.
Joe
Top Pick: Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel) – The first family of comics is back! It’s long overdue, I mean even DC formed The Terrifics in their absence with a different but in the same mold as our science loving explorers. So pumped to see what Slott and company has in store.
The Sandman Universe #1 (Vertigo/DC Comics) – Another classic and beloved series returns this week. I have high hopes for this book and the four ongoing series it will kick off. It’s Gaiman’s world, we just play in it!
Plastic Man #3 (DC Comics) – While I wish this was an ongoing, I am still looking forward to every issue. It’s such ridiculous fun and mystery.
Superman #2 (DC Comics) – Let’s see what Bendis and company has in store as these issues pile up. I enjoyed both starts to this and Action, and am hopeful the momentum continues. Great start so far.
The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (Marvel) – Spencer and Ottley have done a great job with the first two issues, and I am loving the story with The Lizard, and the school. I can’t wait as the rogues gallery grows, because to me, much like Batman, that’s when Spidey is at its best.
We are just a few weeks away from the relaunch of DC Vertigo, and today marks the first look at story pages from The Sandman Universe #1, available on 8/8/18!
Join us as we return to the Dreaming, a world filled with dreams and nightmares, with wonderful characters living together in this fantastical shared universe. From the mind of New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, welcome to the sequel to the iconic series The Sandman, with new writers and artists, a new house and so much more.
The Sandman Universe #1includes story by Neil Gaiman, written by Si Spurrier, Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters, and Kat Howard, with art by Bilquis Evely, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Max Fiumara, Seba Fiumara, and Tom Fowler, and colors by Mat Lopes, lettering by Simon Bowland and cover by Jae Lee. Spiraling out of this exciting, oversized issue will be four new series beginning in September with The Dreaming and House of Whispers, followed by Lucifer and Books of Magic in October.
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)
Bilquis Evely
Neil Gaiman
Si Spurrier
Dan Watters
Nalo Hopkinson
Kat Howard
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.
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!
