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The Dreaming (2018)
The Dreaming: Waking Hours
A new chapter in the Sandman saga begins with both familiar and new faces!
One of Dream's heaviest responsibilities is creating nightmares...and he thinks he may have built his next masterpiece in the form of Ruin. But Ruin will live up to his name, in ways that Dream could never expect and creating a spiral of consequences and messes to be cleaned. When Lindy dreams of Ruin—she somehow delivers him unto the waking world!
Has anyone checked on Puck lately? Oh no...it looks like he's found someone to stalk too. Sorceress Heather After will have to find a protector for herself...but is she prepared for the deal she'll have to strike once she finds the champion with the dangerous power she needs?
With a trip into the realm of Faerie too, you don't want to miss the collection of your dreams! The Dreaming: Waking Hours, collects The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1-12.
One of Dream's heaviest responsibilities is creating nightmares...and he thinks he may have built his next masterpiece in the form of Ruin. But Ruin will live up to his name, in ways that Dream could never expect and creating a spiral of consequences and messes to be cleaned. When Lindy dreams of Ruin—she somehow delivers him unto the waking world!
Has anyone checked on Puck lately? Oh no...it looks like he's found someone to stalk too. Sorceress Heather After will have to find a protector for herself...but is she prepared for the deal she'll have to strike once she finds the champion with the dangerous power she needs?
With a trip into the realm of Faerie too, you don't want to miss the collection of your dreams! The Dreaming: Waking Hours, collects The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1-12.
296 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2021
42 people are currently reading
459 people want to read
About the author
G. Willow Wilson
474 books3,321 followersHugo, World Fantasy and American Book Award-winning author of novels and comics, including THE BIRD KING, INVISIBLE KINGDOM, and ALIF THE UNSEEN. Co-creator of Ms Marvel. Honorary doctor of letters, Rutgers University. I accidentally started a dutch baby baking cult during quarantine. Not very active on here right now, but often found on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 19, 2022
How did I not know The Sandman Universe was still expanding??
Edited to add: Why is it so hard to find a list of what order to read this in? Thank God you can read this stuff out of order and still enjoy it.
Edited to add: Why is it so hard to find a list of what order to read this in? Thank God you can read this stuff out of order and still enjoy it.
December 6, 2021
Finally, a worthy successor to Neil Gaiman's Sandman. I love how Wilson incorporates pieces of the Sandman mythos while crafting a new story. The story does work without having read the original, but if you have read the original you will see some familiar characters that makes the story so much more. The story is about a nightmare looking for his love, a cherub seeking redemption and a sorceress looking to escape her past and make her own future.
Nick Robles's art is gorgeous. I hope he and G. Willow Wilson revisit the world of The Dreaming again one day.
Nick Robles's art is gorgeous. I hope he and G. Willow Wilson revisit the world of The Dreaming again one day.
December 5, 2021
A nice and tidy little fantasy with magic, suspense, and LGBTQIA+ love that succeeds despite some gaps and misses in the plot and an ending that felt a tad rushed. I wouldn't mind seeing G. Willow Wilson explore some other facets of the Sandman universe in the future.
November 19, 2021
Ruin is a nightmare with a crush on a human boy. Heather After is a sorceress with a tie to Dream's past. Jophiel is an angel that just wants a quiet life. These three, and the countless others in their orbit, are about to turn the Dreaming upside down.
I love the concept of the Dreaming, and the Endless, so anything that revisits them is always top of my list. G. Willow Wilson's whimsical story goes through a few phases, with the characters running through them and heading towards the conclusion rather than telling one big twelve issue story. It's effective, and makes the series feel longer than it is.
The characters are diverse and compelling, and they bounce off of each other well. The ideas introduced are explored in interesting ways, from surface level to a little more introspectively, which is exactly how dreams are meant to work.
The majority of the book is pencilled by Nick Robles, whose ethereal artwork is reminiscent of Bilquis Evely on the previous series. There are some fill-ins towards the middle like the incomparable Javier Rodriguez and Marguerite Sauvage, who both work perfectly for the Dreaming.
The swansong of the Sandman Universe is a wonderful entry into the Dreaming canon from start to finish.
I love the concept of the Dreaming, and the Endless, so anything that revisits them is always top of my list. G. Willow Wilson's whimsical story goes through a few phases, with the characters running through them and heading towards the conclusion rather than telling one big twelve issue story. It's effective, and makes the series feel longer than it is.
The characters are diverse and compelling, and they bounce off of each other well. The ideas introduced are explored in interesting ways, from surface level to a little more introspectively, which is exactly how dreams are meant to work.
The majority of the book is pencilled by Nick Robles, whose ethereal artwork is reminiscent of Bilquis Evely on the previous series. There are some fill-ins towards the middle like the incomparable Javier Rodriguez and Marguerite Sauvage, who both work perfectly for the Dreaming.
The swansong of the Sandman Universe is a wonderful entry into the Dreaming canon from start to finish.
April 23, 2022
The book I chose to read to celebrate San Jorge! 🌹
Okay, let's see. I really really loved that. "The bard and the bard" had me completely enthralled, I loved every second of it and it was a direct 5-star for me, I adored it. I didn't love the interlude, the change of style was a bit jarring although I was mostly worried that Nick Robles wasn't going to do any more episodes, but luckily he did! Although with some parts illustrated by M. K. Perker, which I really didn't like, I must admit (if Rodriguez's interlude had already brought me out, Perker's past sequences... buf, I don't want to be mean but they really made it hard for me to keep reading just because of how little I liked the artstyle). In any case: I loved the story, especially loved the characters, (they're diverse they have cool designs they're loveable they have depth, they're great). It should have handled better the deadname thing, definitely, I think every trans person on sight could see what the outcome of that encounter should have been, but I still thought the representation was great and warmed my heart ! My only other qualm with this story is that the ending lost me: I know there are parts about Dream and Heather's family and such that appear in other comics but, still, it did feel a bit rushed, specially in Ruin's arc. It should have explored it more slowly, and I would have also appreciated knowing more from the "dream boy". I wish this had an epilogue or a continuation of any kind, I'm a bit sad I didn't love the ending as much as I was shaping up to (this really was a 5-star graphic novel for me! I just wish it had wrapped up in a more satisfactory way...)
In any case, I would still recommend it greatly, specially the first part. Lindy and Ruin as main characters really worked for me, Lindy was a really grounding and relatable character for me, and I loved the Shakespearian thematic all throughout. Nick Robles' artstyle is beautiful, whimsical when it needs to, leaning on horror when it needs to, and in general stunning to see, I hope to read more from him in the future!
Okay, let's see. I really really loved that. "The bard and the bard" had me completely enthralled, I loved every second of it and it was a direct 5-star for me, I adored it. I didn't love the interlude, the change of style was a bit jarring although I was mostly worried that Nick Robles wasn't going to do any more episodes, but luckily he did! Although with some parts illustrated by M. K. Perker, which I really didn't like, I must admit (if Rodriguez's interlude had already brought me out, Perker's past sequences... buf, I don't want to be mean but they really made it hard for me to keep reading just because of how little I liked the artstyle). In any case: I loved the story, especially loved the characters, (they're diverse they have cool designs they're loveable they have depth, they're great). It should have handled better the deadname thing, definitely, I think every trans person on sight could see what the outcome of that encounter should have been, but I still thought the representation was great and warmed my heart ! My only other qualm with this story is that the ending lost me: I know there are parts about Dream and Heather's family and such that appear in other comics but, still, it did feel a bit rushed, specially in Ruin's arc. It should have explored it more slowly, and I would have also appreciated knowing more from the "dream boy". I wish this had an epilogue or a continuation of any kind, I'm a bit sad I didn't love the ending as much as I was shaping up to (this really was a 5-star graphic novel for me! I just wish it had wrapped up in a more satisfactory way...)
In any case, I would still recommend it greatly, specially the first part. Lindy and Ruin as main characters really worked for me, Lindy was a really grounding and relatable character for me, and I loved the Shakespearian thematic all throughout. Nick Robles' artstyle is beautiful, whimsical when it needs to, leaning on horror when it needs to, and in general stunning to see, I hope to read more from him in the future!
April 26, 2022
This is some of the best Sandman storytelling this side of Neil Gaiman himself. I really enjoyed this, especially the sections with the Shakespeare scholar stuck in the "Shakespeare Multiverse," and trying to figure out who was the "real" Shakespeare. The interactions between the characters--a living nightmare searching for the love of his life, an angel stuck on Earth and looking for a way back home, and an Internet sorcerer name Heather After--are fanciful and realistic all at once and the story, though it might be a bit of a trifle when all is said and done, is wonderful. And the art is outstanding throughout. If DC ever wants to try bringing the Sandman universe back again, they should definitely keep Wilson on retainer...
October 24, 2022
This is a wonderful book. There are two main storylines that intersect in the middle. Both of them are centered around Ruin, a nightmare (and beautiful androgynous Goth guy) newly made by Dream. His blunders cause problems. At the beginning, he inadvertently traps a young mother in a dream and has to figure out how get her out and take care of her baby until then. He teams up with a fallen angel and a young sorceress. They succeed several issues in, but the sorceress ends up indebted to a fae, and the three of them travel through Faerie in the rest of the issues.
There's a framework relating it to Dream and his realm. Dream made Ruin and is thus responsible for his blunders and their consequences. Lucien and Matthew the crow also make appearances. The story lines, the writing, and the artwork are all stellar. This is a wonderful addition to the Sandman series.
There's a framework relating it to Dream and his realm. Dream made Ruin and is thus responsible for his blunders and their consequences. Lucien and Matthew the crow also make appearances. The story lines, the writing, and the artwork are all stellar. This is a wonderful addition to the Sandman series.
July 23, 2024
Unexpectedly great reading! Loved!
November 28, 2024
Ma ei ole Sandmani universumi viimatiste lisandustega üldse kursis, aga hiljutisel koomiksiotsingul nägin, et üks mu lemmik-koomiksiautoreid G. Willow Wilson on sellesse sarja ühe osa kirjutanud ja küll see oli hea! Ruin (see on ta nimi) on täpselt sedasorti kurb poiss, kes mulle kirjanduses meeldib (tal on pealekauba nii ilusad silmad) ja teisedki tegutsesid toredalt. Kunstiliselt väga kaunis (v.a paar vahepeatükki, kus kunstnik vahetus).
February 17, 2022
I've enjoyed several of The Dreaming titles, but I don't think anyone has nailed the feel of Gaiman's original series as well as G. Willow Wilson does here. The 12-issue collection has two major storylines that are related (and a short two-issue interstitial story), and a vibrant cast of characters that feel like they were pulled from the original series, even the ones that aren't. Ruin, Jophiel, and Heather After all feel deep and nuanced, and while the first half's story is relatively low stakes, it doesn't feel like it. Lindy's "quest" is internally focused, but still manages to feel expansive and is absurd in the best possible ways. The second half is a more traditional quest and it delves deep into the Sandman mythology in surprising and very effective ways. The art does a great job of distinguishing the different environments and locales, and is gorgeous in just about all of them. There's just so much here, and it all is firing on all cylinders. I just finished reading Wilson's Invisible Kingdom series, and while I enjoyed her created world, the work she has done here is simply marvelous. Deftly interweaving the new and the old and making all of it work appears simple here, which is a testament to both the writer and the artist. Very highly recommended; I may have to get a physical copy of this to add to my Sandman Library.
March 15, 2022
‘Waking Hours’ successfully recreates the feel of the original Sandman series by Neil Gaiman, and also upends the conclusion of that series.
G. Willow Wilson has written a story brimming with intersectional complexity, but it is ultimately a simple one about pursuing and finding your dreams. The various characters (Ruin the Nightmare; Heather the Sorceress; Lindy the Shakespeare Scholar; Jophiel the exiled Angel ...) all have a dream they are trying to achieve.
In that sense the most tragic dream is that of ‘Dream’ the endless. The Dream in the original series created the Dream of this series in order to overcome his own stubborn and unyielding nature. Without giving too much away there is a sense that scheme might not have worked out.
If you liked the original Dream of the Endless series you should like this one. The artwork and the world building is stunning. It flaws are the flaws of the original series as well - overly complex plots that pick up interesting ideas and then frustratingly discard them (I would have loved to have seen more of the ‘who is the real Shakespeare?’ digression). However, for all of that it never feels derivative. Apparently there are not plans (yet) for a new series, but if they choose to go ahead there would certainly be plenty of places they could take it.
G. Willow Wilson has written a story brimming with intersectional complexity, but it is ultimately a simple one about pursuing and finding your dreams. The various characters (Ruin the Nightmare; Heather the Sorceress; Lindy the Shakespeare Scholar; Jophiel the exiled Angel ...) all have a dream they are trying to achieve.
In that sense the most tragic dream is that of ‘Dream’ the endless. The Dream in the original series created the Dream of this series in order to overcome his own stubborn and unyielding nature. Without giving too much away there is a sense that scheme might not have worked out.
If you liked the original Dream of the Endless series you should like this one. The artwork and the world building is stunning. It flaws are the flaws of the original series as well - overly complex plots that pick up interesting ideas and then frustratingly discard them (I would have loved to have seen more of the ‘who is the real Shakespeare?’ digression). However, for all of that it never feels derivative. Apparently there are not plans (yet) for a new series, but if they choose to go ahead there would certainly be plenty of places they could take it.
April 16, 2022
Better, more clearer storytelling than on Si Spurrier’s run on the ongoing series, but everything got resolved rather quickly without much impact. Heather After was the only character with the most development, whilst Ruin, a newly created nightmare from the Dreaming, had his whole motivation resting on finding his crush from a dream (that, and trying to be a “good nightmare”). There’s this guardian angel who’s fallen from disgrace and barely adds to the story. The artwork by Nick Robles was nice and it reminded me of Bilquis Evely’s from the ongoing series.
Overall, if this wasn’t a 12-issue limited series, it would’ve worked better as 2 trade volumes. If the series didn’t get cancelled, then maybe G. Willow Wilson could’ve developed the story and characters more. If there’s one more thing that I’ll add, it’s this, The Sandman Universe is an interesting sandbox to play in, but any ideas of continuing it feels like a losing battle with trying to pay respect with what’s come before and trying to tell new stories with new characters whilst pleasing both old and new fans alike.
Overall, if this wasn’t a 12-issue limited series, it would’ve worked better as 2 trade volumes. If the series didn’t get cancelled, then maybe G. Willow Wilson could’ve developed the story and characters more. If there’s one more thing that I’ll add, it’s this, The Sandman Universe is an interesting sandbox to play in, but any ideas of continuing it feels like a losing battle with trying to pay respect with what’s come before and trying to tell new stories with new characters whilst pleasing both old and new fans alike.
November 6, 2024
G. Willow Wilson has a pretty decent handle on Neil Gaiman’s intellectual properties in the Dreaming. She’s not as creative as Neil or as complex or as creepy or even as literary, despite her storyline that plays with the issue of Shakespeare’s authorship, but she’s trying. Unfortunately, Wilson’s characters here aren’t all that compelling. What she’s doing with the figure of Heather After (great-granddaughter of Roderick Burgess) has potential that is never quite realized. Boyfriend Todd feels like a toss off of Ken from the good old days, and the new figure of the nightmare Ruin really doesn’t do much for me. Also, the bright and cheery artwork that predominates here does a disservice to the storyline, although it’s always fun to see Robin Goodfellow causing big problems again.
March 24, 2022
Spurrier's Dreaming was a bit uneven. This new volume, while nicely respecting Spurrier's continuity, is much more of a piece with the Sandman Universe.
We get the story of a Nightmare trying to escape the Dreaming! Of a sorceress battling Puck! And a faerie promise that leads to changes in Fay!
We get great new characters and continuations of the story of the Sandman.
Overall, this is a strong volume with strong characters. I'm quite sad it also seems to mark the end of the Sandman Universe to date. (But perhaps there will be a season 3?)
We get the story of a Nightmare trying to escape the Dreaming! Of a sorceress battling Puck! And a faerie promise that leads to changes in Fay!
We get great new characters and continuations of the story of the Sandman.
Overall, this is a strong volume with strong characters. I'm quite sad it also seems to mark the end of the Sandman Universe to date. (But perhaps there will be a season 3?)
February 16, 2022
Sigo pegada con el Universo The Sandman, este cómic: " The Dreaming: Waking hours" (#1-#12) de WIllow Wilson, Robles y Rodríguez me gustó bastante, una mezcla de personajes nuevos con The Sandman, The Dreaming y Hellblazer en dos historias con final feliz. 💙
March 9, 2022
This was stretched out as a long, slow read for me, but once I got more into it, it felt quite true to the Sandman world. Wilson introduces new characters wonderfully and I'm interested to see more of them.
September 25, 2024
Rating: 4,5 stars
What a ride! I was not familiar with the Sandman Universe at all so this felt quite overwhelming at the beginning especially the first story.
A nightmare which also looks like a pretty young man doesn't want to be a nightmare and falls in love with a dreamer. He tries to escape dreamland, gets into a woman dreams and somehow the woman gets stuck in dreamland where she ends up with all the Shakespeare characters and needs to find out who the real one is. In real life she is a single mom who is studying Shakespeare and is struggling balancing her baby, work, studying and to take care of herself. Now the nightmare is taking care of her baby and trying to figuring out how to get her out and is calling an angel for help....
Honestly this all felt a little bit much and I enjoyed the stories afterwards a lot more which take place in the land of the elves and at this point I was also more familiar with the characters.
The art was absolute AMAZING! Great drawings, very creative use of space and panels and the coloring/choice of colors was also great.
What a ride! I was not familiar with the Sandman Universe at all so this felt quite overwhelming at the beginning especially the first story.
A nightmare which also looks like a pretty young man doesn't want to be a nightmare and falls in love with a dreamer. He tries to escape dreamland, gets into a woman dreams and somehow the woman gets stuck in dreamland where she ends up with all the Shakespeare characters and needs to find out who the real one is. In real life she is a single mom who is studying Shakespeare and is struggling balancing her baby, work, studying and to take care of herself. Now the nightmare is taking care of her baby and trying to figuring out how to get her out and is calling an angel for help....
Honestly this all felt a little bit much and I enjoyed the stories afterwards a lot more which take place in the land of the elves and at this point I was also more familiar with the characters.
The art was absolute AMAZING! Great drawings, very creative use of space and panels and the coloring/choice of colors was also great.
May 18, 2025
There’s a lot of story in this: the Shakespeare House, the archangel’s redemption, the nightmare Ruin’s quest to find his love, Heather After’s past (and squee confronting of Dream), and adventure in Fairie.
October 5, 2025
Decisamente meglio degli altri. Un po' lento, ma la lentezza viene ripagata con la parte finale piena di "azione". Inizialmente può sembrare un'opera sconclusionata ma non lo è! La parte finale la salva
March 16, 2022
This definitely does not live up to its predecessor.
June 17, 2023
I liked the debate over who wrote the plays of Shakespeare. The story of a nightmare figuring out who they are is well done.
June 15, 2023
This went under my radar at the time but I can see why it was cancelled after only 12 issues. There are two story arcs which both start off promisingly enough; the first, about Shakespeare's identity, has some good ideas and utilises characters old and new in an interesting story before ultimately copping out with a weak, sugar sweet ending. The second arc isn't as good and ends in a similarly saccharine way. The potential was there to add to the lore of the Dreaming, but weak endings and - dare I say it? - a propensity for fashionable, "PC" topics let it down. And I'm really not one of the "anti-woke" comics fans mob.
Read
October 24, 2023Excellent plot, amazing execution of original Sandman!
June 11, 2022
After a 3 Volume run that began with the restart of the whole Sandman Universe (in actual, a sequel to the original series by Neil Gaiman), we get this 12 issue, 3 part story, about a nightmare that Dream created called Ruin and the many things that surrounded him and his adventures.
Brief summaries:
- The Bard and the Bard - Ruin comes into being and immediately falls in love with the first guy he gave a nightmare to. In his panic to get back to him, he messes up in the dream of a scholar. The mistake has him fall into the real world and pushes her into The Dreaming right into an area surrounding her topic of study, William Shakespeare. Ruin enlists the help of an angel and a sorceress to get the woman out of The Dreaming and back to her baby, but causes all kinds of trouble on the way.
- Intermezzo - Heather, the sorceress who helped Ruin, has provoked the revenge of Puck. He comes while she is out and slashes her with a vorpal blade, which is a cursed cut. To help it heal, she makes a deal with Auberon: Healing her cut for her assistance in regaining his throne.
- The Faerie Queen - As Heather gets involved in Faerie politics, Jophiel the angel helps Ruin to find the guy. When Dream tries to break them up to put Ruin back to task, Heather reveals that she is the granddaughter of the sorcerer who had Dream captured back at the beginning of the Sandman story. Dream allows Ruin to be happy and be with the guy.
Overall, I still want the stories to go back to the Endless and the relationships between them, but what this title has been doing is good.
Recommend.
Brief summaries:
- The Bard and the Bard - Ruin comes into being and immediately falls in love with the first guy he gave a nightmare to. In his panic to get back to him, he messes up in the dream of a scholar. The mistake has him fall into the real world and pushes her into The Dreaming right into an area surrounding her topic of study, William Shakespeare. Ruin enlists the help of an angel and a sorceress to get the woman out of The Dreaming and back to her baby, but causes all kinds of trouble on the way.
- Intermezzo - Heather, the sorceress who helped Ruin, has provoked the revenge of Puck. He comes while she is out and slashes her with a vorpal blade, which is a cursed cut. To help it heal, she makes a deal with Auberon: Healing her cut for her assistance in regaining his throne.
- The Faerie Queen - As Heather gets involved in Faerie politics, Jophiel the angel helps Ruin to find the guy. When Dream tries to break them up to put Ruin back to task, Heather reveals that she is the granddaughter of the sorcerer who had Dream captured back at the beginning of the Sandman story. Dream allows Ruin to be happy and be with the guy.
Overall, I still want the stories to go back to the Endless and the relationships between them, but what this title has been doing is good.
Recommend.
January 24, 2024
I enjoyed this a good bit more than the Dreaming trilogy. A lot of it comes down to characters… the trilogy focused on characters I wasn’t that interested in (I’m still very meh on Dora) and Daniel-Dream was absent for much of it. In addition to gorgeous art, this standalone has a fun and emotional story and wonderful characters – a failed nightmare who just wants to find the human dreamer he fell in love with, a sorceress with family baggage and a tendency to piss off the wrong people, and the cranky cherub who tries to keep them grounded and unmurdered.
Ruin with his gentle emo ways and his quest to defy his own purpose was both unique and very on brand for this universe; and I loved that of all the issues Heather struggles with, being trans wasn’t one of them (I couldn’t help thinking of how Wanda was treated in A Game of You, and how this was such a lovely contrast). Honestly, they’re just adorbs and I’d love more stories about them.
Also, Dream actually features in this plot, and I really liked how he was written here – he’s grown into his power more and seems more comfortable with his wisdom and authority but he’s also still making mistakes, is capable of being surprised, and demonstrates a flexibility that Morpheus probably wouldn’t have been capable of.
Did I mention that the art is STUNNING. Just absolutely lush.
Really impressed with G. Willow Wilson’s work here; I need to hunt down some other stuff she’s done.
Ruin with his gentle emo ways and his quest to defy his own purpose was both unique and very on brand for this universe; and I loved that of all the issues Heather struggles with, being trans wasn’t one of them (I couldn’t help thinking of how Wanda was treated in A Game of You, and how this was such a lovely contrast). Honestly, they’re just adorbs and I’d love more stories about them.
Also, Dream actually features in this plot, and I really liked how he was written here – he’s grown into his power more and seems more comfortable with his wisdom and authority but he’s also still making mistakes, is capable of being surprised, and demonstrates a flexibility that Morpheus probably wouldn’t have been capable of.
Did I mention that the art is STUNNING. Just absolutely lush.
Really impressed with G. Willow Wilson’s work here; I need to hunt down some other stuff she’s done.
February 22, 2022
I let this one sit a bit, after I finished it, because I really enjoyed this TPB and wanted to think it over.
This book successfully re-creates one of the things that I loved about the Sandman book when I first discovered, them: It is a single story arc, but it tells many different stories, with a number of different characters, each of which is satisfying and interesting in their own right. The way in which the stories come together at the end is immensely satisfying.
I am not familiar with the author, I think, but I was impressed. One of our main characters is Lindy, a single mum struggling to finish her PhD on Shakespeare with an unsupportive mentor. One night, stuck in a recurring nightmare, she encounters a person.... though it is not a person, but a nightmare who wants to escape into the waking world. The stories are complex and interesting and I will not give them away but I was really impressed by the manner they ran together.
While The Dreaming series is, of course, derivative of the Sandman here it has it's own voice and I enjoyed it considerably. I quite liked the artwork, it was consistent where it needed to be, but managed to create separate spaces (such as in Lindy's dream, or the nightclub) with variable use of colour and, at time, pencilling.
Would read more.
This book successfully re-creates one of the things that I loved about the Sandman book when I first discovered, them: It is a single story arc, but it tells many different stories, with a number of different characters, each of which is satisfying and interesting in their own right. The way in which the stories come together at the end is immensely satisfying.
I am not familiar with the author, I think, but I was impressed. One of our main characters is Lindy, a single mum struggling to finish her PhD on Shakespeare with an unsupportive mentor. One night, stuck in a recurring nightmare, she encounters a person.... though it is not a person, but a nightmare who wants to escape into the waking world. The stories are complex and interesting and I will not give them away but I was really impressed by the manner they ran together.
While The Dreaming series is, of course, derivative of the Sandman here it has it's own voice and I enjoyed it considerably. I quite liked the artwork, it was consistent where it needed to be, but managed to create separate spaces (such as in Lindy's dream, or the nightclub) with variable use of colour and, at time, pencilling.
Would read more.
January 25, 2022
An absolutely amazing story that kind of proves that the biggest thing wrong with "Sandman" was Neil Gaiman at the helm (along with the main artists), because damn, this was really good, and beautiful. G. Willow Wilson kicks it out the park with an amazing cast and great writing, while Nick Robles' art is simply gorgeous (I spent a lot of time just staring at individual panels to admire his work, it's beautiful). I haven't had this much fun with something "Sandman"-related since reading "The Wake", and this was far more enjoyable than that. Quite honestly, the best of all the "Sandman" stories I've read. Funny, sweet, joyous, sad, with a lot of beautifully drawn characters (and some hot guys, too), wonderfully queer, and lacking the sexism that pervaded much of the original series.
The worst I can say about it is that I didn't really like Javier Rodriguez's art, but it were still better than most of volumes 1-9 of the original "Sandman" series, the manga, or most of "Overture", so it's okay.
Overall, loved it. A lot of familiar faces came back, and the new ones are really fun. Great story.
The worst I can say about it is that I didn't really like Javier Rodriguez's art, but it were still better than most of volumes 1-9 of the original "Sandman" series, the manga, or most of "Overture", so it's okay.
Overall, loved it. A lot of familiar faces came back, and the new ones are really fun. Great story.
Read
April 7, 2023A nightmare falls in love with a mortal; his escape to the waking world traps a Shakespeare scholar in the authorship controversy. Which in turn leaves the nightmare and an angelic acquaintance holding her baby, a plot thread that feels like a nod to another Gaiman story altogether. After an interlude whose Javier Rodriguez art is possibly even more magical than the high standards Robles and Perker set on the rest of it, the second half of the story concentrates on the aftermath of a civil war in Faerie, which in places feels a little too much like standard fantasy, a bit lacking in that true strangeness Gaiman always brought to the realm. But that aside, it's hard to put a finger on anything Wilson has done wrong here; at times I wondered if 12 issues was too many, elsewhere if it was too few. Sometimes I felt she was relying on too many appearances by established characters, other times that she was giving too much space to new ones. Essentially, I suspect it's just very hard to put together something so openly indebted to an original as towering as Sandman without it being doomed to feel overshadowed. Not a bad comic by any means, just one with a very hard act to follow.
March 11, 2024
Really great. I'd previously finished Dr. Lindy Morris' tale, and while the conclusion is straight fantasy (getting elevated to full professor because you successfully defend your PhD?!) it was a fun yarn. Ruin, Jophiel (the Heavenly Hosts are so fun), Heather After and Todd were terrific additions.
Heather, especially, was and is a great new character, and while I enjoyed her callback to how this whole thing started (indeed, ALL THE WAY BACK) if (SPOILER) the spell was originally designed to capture Death and got Morpheus on accident, why would it get him again, especially this time? Sorry, but I sometimes think a tad too hard about these things, haha.
Overall, a very fun series. Hoping to find out how John Constantine and Heather crossed paths at some point, maybe in the new, limited Constantine series that has just recently started, especially since it's in the US. And Ruin, while his story has concluded, definitely seems to have the makings of a good guest star, as does Dora, who needs to be in ALL OF THE THINGS.
Heather, especially, was and is a great new character, and while I enjoyed her callback to how this whole thing started (indeed, ALL THE WAY BACK) if (SPOILER) the spell was originally designed to capture Death and got Morpheus on accident, why would it get him again, especially this time? Sorry, but I sometimes think a tad too hard about these things, haha.
Overall, a very fun series. Hoping to find out how John Constantine and Heather crossed paths at some point, maybe in the new, limited Constantine series that has just recently started, especially since it's in the US. And Ruin, while his story has concluded, definitely seems to have the makings of a good guest star, as does Dora, who needs to be in ALL OF THE THINGS.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2022
Despite the fact that this is 12 issues in length, technically consisting of two 5-part stories and a 2-part linking piece in the middle, this moved along so seamlessly, and without unnecessary waffle, that it felt much shorter. The main tie that holds the two parts together is the story of a nightmare who escapes from the Dreaming to seek out the person whose dreams he haunted, but there's much more to it than that. A sorceress, a fallen angel, and a Shakesperean scholar (whose presence allows the series to riff on the meta-themes of storytelling that were key to Sandman) join more familiar characters in a story that moves from the Dreaming to the waking world and the realm of Faerie. This is a beautiful piece of writing that successfully stands alongside Gaiman's original, which is no mean feat. Lovely art, too, the style changing as the characters move realms or we revisit flashbacks.
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