Entertainment Weekly published an exclusive story about four upcoming spin-offs set in the Sandman universe, plotted by Neil Gaiman while scripted by Nalo Hopkinson, Kat Howard, Si Spurrier, and Dan Watters. The article includes a short video with Neil Gaiman explaining his intentions, cover art for each of the spin-offs, and a short interview with Gaiman.
Here are some of the details:
I'm a huge fan of the Sandman universe despite being a latecomer to the series (I only started reading it a few years ago) so I'm very excited about this announcement. I haven't read any of the earlier non-Gaiman spin-offs aside from Mike Carey's Lucifer series (which I'm only partially through), having been told by a friend I trust that they're not really worth it. This time around seems like it'll be different with Gaiman's direct involvement, including deciding which writers to work on the stories.
Here are some of the details:
The Sandman Universe #1 will be plotted by Gaiman but written by Nalo Hopkinson, Kat Howard, Si Spurrier, and Dan Watters, with art by Bilquis Everly and a cover by Jae Lee. Each of those four writers will then go on to explore the special’s various threads in four new series. Hopkinson will write House of Whispers and explore how the voodoo deity Erzulie ended up in the Dreaming with her titular house. It might have something to do with a comatose woman named Latoya, whose girlfriend and sisters used the Book of Whispers to try and heal her. Now out of her coma, Latoya is suffering from the Cotard’s Delusion belief that she’s already dead, and is transmitting her belief to others, catalyzing them to become guardians of the gap that has opened in the Dreaming. Howard will write Books of Magic, which will follow up on Gaiman’s 1990 miniseries of the same name and explore Timothy Hunter’s magical education as he’s torn between two powerful destinies. Spurrier will write The Dreaming, which will follow The Sandman supporting characters like Lucien the librarian and Matthew the Raven as they navigate a Dreaming without Dream. Watters will write Lucifer, which finds the titular devil blind and destitute, trapped living in a small boarding house in a quiet town where no one can ever leave. Artists for the books have not been announced yet.
I'm a huge fan of the Sandman universe despite being a latecomer to the series (I only started reading it a few years ago) so I'm very excited about this announcement. I haven't read any of the earlier non-Gaiman spin-offs aside from Mike Carey's Lucifer series (which I'm only partially through), having been told by a friend I trust that they're not really worth it. This time around seems like it'll be different with Gaiman's direct involvement, including deciding which writers to work on the stories.
