The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country
Issues 1-3
Writer James Tynion IV
Artist Lisandro Estherren
Publisher DC Comics
The latest addition to DC’S Sandman line puts a new spin on one of the original comic’s most memorable villains: the nightmare Corinthian.
Flynn is an artist, but recently she’s been painting just one subject: a grotesque figure she calls the Smiling Man. She sees him everywhere she goes, tongues lapping grotesquely from his eye sockets. Flynn’s friends are concerned for her sanity, but she’s simply convinced that something weird is afoot, even before two demonic assassins force her to go on the run…
Casting the Corinthian as a quasi-detective figure trying to solve a cosmic mystery is a fun twist on a familiar baddy, and the human characters are all wellscripted. Art-wise this is a treat, too, with Lisandro Estherren’s pencils and Patricio Delpeche’s watercolours presenting a dank and dangerous real world, while an ever-shifting range of guest artists tackle the Dreaming.
Neil Gaiman’s work casts a long shadow, though. Mr Agony and Mr Ecstasy are formidable foes, but very similar to Neverwhere’s Croup and Vandemar. And while we’re promised this’ll be a road trip across contemporary America, the first three issues drag their heels. A solid start, but you suspect the best is yet to come.
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