The Sandman Universe is a line of American comic books published by DC Comics, which is owned by Skydance Corporation, under its imprints DC Vertigo and DC Black Label. The line launched to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (1989–1996) and Vertigo's 25th anniversary. The Sandman Universe began in August 2018, with a titular one-shot, which was followed by four ongoing series—House of Whispers, Lucifer, Books of Magic, and The Dreaming. Each comic is overseen by Gaiman but written by new creative teams.
Conception and development The Sandman Universe celebrates the 30th anniversary of DC Comics' The Sandman and the 25th anniversary of the launch of the DC Vertigo imprint. The line was conceived and is overseen by the series' creator, Neil Gaiman, but produced by new creative teams. The Sandman Universe expands The Sandmans part of the DC Universe using new characters and concepts. The line was announced by Entertainment Weekly in March 2018 and was accompanied by a trailer featuring Gaiman. It launched with the one-shot The Sandman Universe #1 on August 8, 2018, with the other series following on later dates.
When asked why he returned to The Sandman, Gaiman said he began to feel guilty that almost no one had been able to return to the series since its conclusion and liked the idea of reviving it, as well as letting new writers play with his "toys". Gaiman assembled the writing team for the line with the Vertigo editorial team. Both parties suggested writers who they thought would be good for new Sandman stories. Samples by writers were then read by Gaiman, who decided whether or not they were proficient. Choosing writers also involved deciding which comic suited which writer best. Gaiman cited Nalo Hopkinson's science fiction work as an influence for assigning her to House of Whispers. Gaiman chose Kat Howard, who he has worked with for several years, to reboot The Books of Magic because of her handling of magic in her stories, and Dan Watters to write Lucifer because he was up to the challenge of recreating the character.
Titles The Sandman Universe began with a titular one-shot released in August 2018. It picks up after the events of DC's 2017–2018 Dark Nights: Metal crossover event. Dream has disappeared since the conclusion of Metal, leading to chaos in his homeland of the Dreaming. Each Sandman Universe series follows a story thread introduced in the one-shot.
TitleIssuesWriter(s)Artist(s)Publication dateFormatYear OneThe Sandman Universe#1Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, Dan WattersBilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike Stanton, Max Fiumara, Sebastian FiumaraOne-shotThe Dreaming#1–20Simon SpurrierBilquis Evely – Monthly ongoingHouse of Whispers#1–22Nalo Hopkinson, Dan WattersDominike Stanton – Monthly ongoingLucifer#1–24Dan WattersMax Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara – Monthly ongoingBooks of Magic#1–23Kat Howard, David BarnettTom Fowler – Monthly ongoingYear TwoThe Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer#1Simon SpurrierMarcio TakaraOne-shotJohn Constantine, Hellblazer#1–12Aaron Campbell – Monthly ongoingYear ThreeThe Dreaming: Waking Hours#1–12G. Willow WilsonNick Robles – Limited seriesLocke & Key: Hell & Gone#0–2Joe HillGabriel Rodriguez – Limited seriesYear FourNightmare Country#1–6James Tynion IVLisandro Estherren – Limited SeriesDead Boy Detectives#1–6Pornsak PichetshoteJeff Stokley – Limited Series Year FiveNightmare Country: The Glass House#1–6James Tynion IVLisandro Estherren – December 26, 2023 Limited SeriesThe Sandman Universe Special: Thessaly#1Maria Llovet, Reiko MurakamiAugust 1, 2023One-shotYear SixJohn Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America#1–11Simon SpurrierAaron Campbell – December 2024 Limited Series
Collected editions Title Material collected Format Publication date ISBNThe Dreaming Vol. 1: Pathways and EmanationsThe Dreaming #1–6; The Sandman Universe #1TP Vol. 2: Empty ShellsThe Dreaming #7–12 Vol. 3: One Magical MovementThe Dreaming #13–20 House of Whispers Vol. 1: The Power Divided House of Whispers #1–6; The Sandman Universe #1TP Vol. 2: AnanseHouse of Whispers #7–12Vol. 3: Watching the WatchersHouse of Whispers #13–22 Lucifer Vol. 1: The Infernal ComedyLucifer #1–6; The Sandman Universe #1TPVol. 2: The Divine TragedyLucifer #7–13Vol. 3: The Wild HuntLucifer #14–19Vol. 4: The Devil at HeartLucifer #20–24 Books of Magic Vol. 1: Moveable Type Books of Magic #1–6; The Sandman Universe #1TP Vol. 2: Second QuartoBooks of Magic #7–13Vol. 3: Dwelling in PossibilityBooks of Magic #14–23 John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 1: Marks of Woe The Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer #1; John Constantine, Hellblazer #1–6; Books of Magic #14TP Vol. 2: The Best Version of You John Constantine, Hellblazer #7–12 The Dreaming: Waking Hours The Dreaming: Waking Hours TP The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1–12TP Locke & Key: Hell & Gone Locke & Key: The Golden Age Small World #1; Guide to the Know Keys #1; "Face the Music"; ...In Pale Battalions Go... #1–3; Hell & Gone #1–2HC Nightmare Country Vol. 1 Nightmare Country #1–6TP Dead Boy Detectives Vol. 1 Dead Boy Detectives #1–6TP
Reception According to the review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, the line has an average rating of 8.9/10 based on 20 reviews.
References
Further reading
External links Official press release from DC Comics