How To Read The Sandman/Hellblazer/Vertigo Universe If You Just Want To Love It, 4: Life During Wartime

I wanted to love the Sandman TV series as much as I loved the books. I wanted gorgeous visuals, the intricate storytelling from the books, and the sense of wonder I've had whenever I've reread the stories. Many of my friends found that in the TV series. People whose opinions I respect were so thrilled to see this universe on TV that they gushed about it and had very little criticism. 

It was not for me.

I thought Morpheus was miscast. I found him utterly dull to watch. While Amazon threw a nation's economy at the tepid Game Of Thrones prequel, it looked like they gave the Sandman director a hundred bucks to spend on CGI and said "Good luck."

The episode "24/7" was a perfect modernization of the storyarc it was based on, and I think you could teach a class on how well it was constructed. I had hoped that would be a turning point for me. Alas, the rest of the series bored me. When I posted about it on social media, friends who loved the books as much as I had berated me for having bad taste or too high expectations. But my friends who hadn't read the books tended to agree, it wasn't fun to watch. It had a very high bar to reach for and it ended up beyong beyond the sound of its wingspan.

I was so disappointed that I stopped reading the Vertigo books for over a year, completely deflated. And that's not fair to the books or the people who enjoyed the TV series that would like to read more of the universe. Maybe some day I'll go back and rewatch the show and find a similar joy to that of my peers but, until then, I'm happy to return to reading the books I loved and sharing how I wish I had experienced them (you know, just the good stuff).

Season Four:
​Life During Wartime

1. Sandman Mystery Theater Book Two
(Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle, Guy Davis, Vince Locke)

We open this first Gaimanless season by following the sordid adventures of Wesley Dodds, the golden age Sandman. Running concurrently with Gaiman's series, this look at the human sleuth whose gas mask resembles the one stolen from Morpheus at the beginning of the first episode, takes place just after the American Depression. Our point-of-view character is Dodds's love interest, Dian, the daughter of a police woman who likes to party and solve her father cimes. Think of her as a more sexually adventurous Batgirl. There are a few things in this volume that haven't aged particularly well, but when it was published it was a solid examination of misogyny, class warfare, and racism in the 1930s with a very slight occult bent.

2. Lucifer Book Three
(Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston, David Hahn)

An Asgardian ship of fingernails, a pool flowing with the thoughts of Yahweh, a garden of human souls sewn into lanterns, the rise of gods of chaos, and a brief glimpse back into The Dreaming. There's a lot to love in this volume. I've said it before but it bears repeating: every word in this book seems a necessary part to reach its climax. No plot point is wasted, nor does Carey waste time getting from point to point. Storyarcs that most writers might draw out for twelve issues, Carey condenses to three or four, and it never feels forced. 

3. Hellblazer All His Engines
(Mike Carey, Leonardo Manco)

Just after his long run on the Hellblzer books, Carey put out this side story where Constantine and Chas head to America to stop ... the usual Hellblazer thing ... a demon has taken a step too far and has impacted the life of someone tangentially related to Constantine. And then Constantine must work with other demons to double cross the original demon but he's also got to double cross them or else ... sigh. So, while it's the same old same old Hellblazer plot, it's done deftly here with fantastically spooky art by Manco.

4. Hellblazer The Gift
(Mike Carey, Leonardo Manco)

As much as I wanted to love Mike Carey's run on Hellblazer, much of it was a build up to an apocalypse that mostly sat in the background while John Constantine's life was ruined in a bigger and more spectacular way than ever before. Until the next storyline where his life was ruined in a bigger and more spectacular way than ever before while an apocalypse happened in the very background. There's a wilting Swamp Thing storyline, and he even manages to make a "main character forgets all the trauma in his life and has to start over while being pursued by powerful demons" story pretty boring. BUT. Near the end of that amnesiac storyline, a demon offers to return everything to him in exchange for his services for a day. And during that day, he lives three lifetimes and has three separate, terrible children with three of his exes. This volume has his three aged up children from his demon-induced lifespans getting their revenge by ... checks notes ... ruining his life in a bigger and more spectacular way than ever before while society recovers from the apocalypse in the background. But this story has more character building than the previous arcs, and a better payoff.

5. Lucifer Book Four
(Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston, David Hahn)

Yes, every Lucifer book is in this chronology. Rereading it was a joy and a relief that it held up my memories. Every character seems to make an appearance as this is essentially just setting up the final volume. It never feels like filler, though, it's all building to a spectacular climax.

6. Sandman Mystery Theater  The Blackhawk And The Return Of The Scarlet Ghost
(Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle, Guy Davis, Matthew Smith, Richard Case, Daniel Torres)

This series has never been fully collected, which is a shame. Currently there's a compendium that contains the first half of the run but there's bee no release date for a second volume. Until then, this is the last set of issues that's been collected in trade form. Honestly, it's a perfectly fine ending. All of the Sandman Mystery Theater stories are wonderful 1930s noir with what one reviewer referred to as "Sergio Aragonés scribbles...without the silliness". It's art I usually wouldn't enjoy but is somehow perfect for this nostalgis based series. This volume, like the rest, has two excellent mysteries but it also features a brief journey through all of the different forms of Sandman, including Morpheus. It's a great callback, and it help leads to the final page of this volume which is a reveal. And if you're sad that there's no more Sandman Mystery Theater in this chronology given the reveal, don't worry. Wesley and Dian will be back next season in a completely different series.

7. Books Of Magic: Life During Wartime Book One
(Si Spencer, Dean Ormstrom)

This is the weakest episode of the season but it moves The Books Of Magic is a completely different direction that might come up later. Years have passed since we last saw Tim Hunter. In that time, he built a pocket dimension where he can be "a regular human". Apparently, this means swear, do drugs and fuck a lot. While he's off trying to be normal, John Constantine is overseeing a war between humans, demons, and faeries. I didn't love the series but I appreciated its evolution.

8. Lucifer Book Five
(Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Colleen Doran, Michael Wm Kaluta, John J Muth, Zander Cannon, Dean Ormstrom, Aaron Alexovich)

The Lucifer finale pulls no punches. There's no Game Of Thrones sped-up narrative racing to the conclusion, the pace is steady with logical twists spiraling throughout the journey. Every character gets their curtain call, and we even see some conversations with the previously absent Yahweh. It's impressive that this never feels overly preachy or too philosophical given its characters and subject matter.  It's a lovely way to end the season.