Sandman Special Edition #1 is the set up of the lead character in the current Netflix show! This is a free giveaway at comic book stores, “Sleep of the Just” is by Neil Gaiman with the art team of Sam Keith, penciller, and Mike Dringenberg, inker. Keith is the artist and creator of The Maxx. Dringenberg is best known for his Sandman artwork. This is a reprint of Sandman #1 (1989), but with a cover from the Netflix Sandman series. It started streaming ten episodes on August 5th. Gaiman is the executive producer of the show. The Netflix series follows the comic book titles until the fifth episode “Passengers” and also issue 7, “Sound and Fury” missing. The first eight issues of the comic book are collected in the trade paperback, The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes. The sixth issue is when Mike Dringenberg took over pencilling duties. It is followed by The Doll House which put the series into contained storylines. A facisimile edition of the first issue with the incredible Dave McKean cover will be on August 16th for $3.99.
The story begins in 1916, Wych Cross, England. It is a town in East Sussex. There we see a manor house with leafless trees even though this is on June 6th. A driver wakes up his well-to-do passenger with top hat and glasses. He approaches the house with the demon-faced door knocker. There is a icy greeting, something out of a horror movie, and the man introduces himself as Dr. John Hathaway. The doctor asks for Mr. Burgess and is led by the butler to the study. He is met by the sinister face of Roderick Burgess, also bald, in a room with a strange window bringing in the sunlight. The artwork is dark and slightly twisted, something out of an EC Comic like Dr. Hathaway admits that Edmund, his son, was lost in the war. He has brought the book, the Magdalene Grimoire, one of the secret occult books right out of H.P. Lovecraft. Burgess says death will be stopped by the books ritual. This turns to four days later when we get a series of panels showing a number of dreams across the world including Unity Kinkaid.
She dreams a dark man with eyes like “twin star.” Finally, the dream of Roderick Burgess, who dreams of power and death. He says that midnight is the time as his son, Alex, carries a candelabra. They walk down steps as Alex calls his father magus, another name for sorcerer, and Roderick says that Aleister looks down on him, as in Aleister Crowley, known as an occultist. There is a group of men in hooded robes in the room with a circle. It is noted that Roderick is trying to capture death! He starts his summoning noting the objects like a witch’s spell, Alex stares at the ritual. They finish with “Here in the darkness” as we finally see the arrival of the dark figure in a strange, long helmet like an insect and cape. The entity collapses with gem necklace and a pouch. This of course is not Death, but Dream, Morpheus of the Endless! The consequences of trapping one of the Endless, that passes to Alex containing him in the circle, has changed the world. A strange, Lovecraft-esque story with touches of horror to introduce our lead character. Something so powerful as an Endless, patterns and ideas like Dream. Sandman Special Edition #1 touches on dark and beautiful worlds and memorable figures including his sister and the rest of the Endless.
Five Dreamstones out of Five!
#Sandman, #NeilGaiman, #SamKeith, #MikeDringenberg, #Morpheus, #TheEndless, #JohnHathaway, #RoderickBurgess, #AlexBurgess, #UnityKincaid
No comments:
Post a Comment