Neil Gaiman Talks Sandman Overture

Sandman Overture
Sandman Overture

In this exclusive Con Away From Con video recorded at San Diego Comic-Con 2013, internationally acclaimed author Neil Gaiman and artist J.H. Williams III discuss The Sandman: Overture, the eagerly awaited new miniseries that marks the author’s return to the iconic fantasy series.

The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel and Michael Zulli, lettering by Todd Klein, and covers by Dave McKean.  It ran for 75 issues from January 1989 until March 1996. Gaiman’s contract stipulated that the series would end when he left it.

Sandman #1
Sandman #1

Sandman actually debuted before Vertigo became an imprint at DC Comics, but was retroactively included via many trade and hardcover editions after joining the imprint in 1993. Just as it led the way for the imprint’s success then, executive editor Shelly Bond who finds it “liberating” to announce these titles and DC Comics hope it will lead the way for a new wave of Vertigo series coming this fall.

The Sandman: Overture will debut on October 30, 2013. The series will run in alternating months with “Special Edition” versions of each issue in the off-months, showing sketches and commentary. A special “translucent word balloon” invented by letterer Todd Klein will be used in the Special Edition versions to show off more of Williams III’s artwork.

“The most peculiar thing for me about returning to ‘Sandman’ is how familiar it all feels,” Gaiman told the Times. “When I was writing Sandman from 1987 to 1996, I never had the feeling at any point that approximately 50 million people were looking over my shoulder scrutinizing ever word.”

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