Dreaming a dream again
Neil Gaiman is curating a new shared Sandman Universe for Vertigo Comics.
NEIL Gaiman is returning to the Sandman universe, almost 30 years after the first issue of The Sandman was released. This time, however, he won’t be writing, but rather, curating four new titles set in the Sandman universe.
The four new Vertigo series will be released after an introductory one-shot titled The Sandman Universe #1 on Aug 8.
“The Sandman Universe has always been very close and personal to me and I am thrilled to open up the world once again to an extremely talented group of writers and artists,” explains Gaiman on DC Comics’ website. “I get to see the joy in these brilliant people whom I’ve selected, as they get their chance to play in this world.”
Gaiman himself will be plotting The Sandman Universe #1 with art by Bilquis Everly; it’s written by Nalo Hopkinson, Kat Howard, Si Spurrier, and Dan Watters. All four writers were selected by Gaiman himself, and will handle writing duties on the four new titles, which are:
The Dreaming (Writer: Si Spurrier)
There is a place where gods are born and stories are spun. But 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, Matthew the Raven, and Dora, a monster without memories.
But while they struggle to restore the King to his throne, they face intrigues from 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 (Writer: Nalo Hopkinson)
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 belief to others, causing them to become guardians of the Gap that has appeared in the Dreaming.
Lucifer (Writer: Dan Watters)
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 in a bizarre prison with no memory of how he got there or why.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, a dying policeman believes his suffering may be a call to a divine mission – one that draws him towards revelations regarding the devil himself.
Books Of Magic (Writer: Kat Howard)
Timothy Hunter may be destined to become the most powerful magician in the universe, but he’s still a London teenager and having magical abilities complicates things more than it helps.
It’s not like he can use magic to pass his exams, stop being bullied, or convince his cute friend to date him.
And while Tim’s trying to live his life, there are cultists who want to kill him, believing his power will eventually corrupt and turn him into a merciless mage. And those are the good guys.
Luckily, his new substitute teacher is more than she appears, and may be able to help Tim discover the mystery behind the Books of Magic.