While Netflix fans are anxiously awaiting season two of the hit The Sandman series, DC Comics has not gone quietly into that goodnight of sweet dreams and horrific nightmares.
On the contrary, the comic book publisher has been releasing some great Sandman-themed titles over the years, all based on characters, places and themes from the seminal and award-winning Neil Gaiman-penned original series. That title ran for seventy-five fan-favourite monthly issues between 1989 and 1996.
Still, DC’s efforts to feed a hungry Sandman audience are especially true since the Netflix series dropped in the late summer of last year. And they’ve been focusing on one terrifying character in particular.
If you haven’t read any Sandman, do so now. You’ve been missing out. If you have been a reader or you were an excited viewer of the recent Netflix series, then you’ll recognize the nightmarish visage of the Corinthian. He’s the one with the Machiavellian grin and the teeth for eyes – a nightmare escapee made real, with an insatiable appetite for murder. He was perfectly cast in the Netflix program and deliciously played by actor, Boyd Holbrook.
Last year, DC Comics, under their mature-readers Black Label imprint, released the Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country miniseries by acclaimed horror writer James Tynion IV and artist Lisandro Estherren. Starring the Corinthian, the series was a hit and, along with the standout performance of Holbrook, brought new <a-hem> eyes and fans to the deeply disturbing serial-killing character.
So much so, that a new chapter in the Corinthian’s travels begins today with Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country: The Glass House #1.
The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country: The Glass House is a six-part monthly miniseries, once again written by multiple Eisner Award winner, James Tynion IV (The Nice House On The Lake, Department of Truth, Something Is Killing the Children, Detective Comics), alongside the lushly angular and altogether frightening art of Lisandro Estherren (Redneck). Again, DC Comics has opted to publish the title under that Black Label banner, so you know it’s not a story for the young or squeamish.
The Corinthian has once again been let loose from The Dreaming, this time on the modern-day horror landscape that is Silicon Valley. Amidst the real-life (and also hellish) demons in the C-Suite of tech start-ups, hedge fund companies and venture capitalists, the Corinthian is on the hunt for the Smiling Man. Along his bloody path, he’ll cross into the world of other known Sandman characters like Ken, the ex-boyfriend of Barbie, who is living large in the Bay area. Mayhem, plenty of frights and, inevitably, death are sure to follow.
The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country: The Glass House is a tale of the now – a modern fable of the American Dream. It’s a nightmare story of money, power, title, influence and office.
And of course, blood and eyeballs.
Satiate your appetite for horror and tide yourself over until season two of The Sandman Netflix series starts up. Make the run to your local comic book shop and pick up Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country: The Glass House #1 today!
