It’s official. After a whopping 25 year absence, comic fans are able to go to their favourite comic store TODAY and get a brand new Sandman comic. The Sandman: Overture #1 is now available to the public. For those that haven’t been following this new, six issue, bi-monthly series is being written by series creator Neil Gaiman, who went from promising comic book writer with the original Sandman series to best selling novelist as he branched out from his comic roots to dabble in any kind of narrative form available, including an upcoming game. This latest work, Overture answers some long standing questions of Sandman fans, in particular. As Gaiman himself says,“People have often asked me what happened to Morpheus to make it possible for him to be captured in THE SANDMAN #1. And now they get to find out. And finding out, they get to learn secrets of the Endless that I’ve kept to myself for 25 years. Family secrets. And I should warn you: one of the Endless dies on page five.”
Overture is selling for US$ 4.99 and US$ 5.99 for a “combo pack edition.” It features art by J.H. Williams III, most notable for a recent run on Batwoman. If you’re a fan of The Sandman, then you now have two options; run to the store NOW and get your copy, then endure the torturous bi-monthly wait for the remaining five issues. Or, if you’re made of sterner stuff, patiently sit out until the inevitable gorgeous hardcover compilation or less expensive trade paperback editions hit the shelves a year from now. One thing is clear though; anyone that considers themselves a fan of unusual, mature, literary storytelling in comics owes it to themselves to check out anything that Neil Gaiman writes, especially when its something with the legacy of The Sandman.
