Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Universe continues to grow with The Dreaming #1. This issue focuses on Lucien who is a librarian in the Library of Dreams located in The Dreaming.

Sandman Universe: The Dreaming #1
Written by: Simon Spurrier
Art by: Bilquis Evely
Published by: DC Vertigo
Price: $3.99
Release Date: 09/05/2018

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Universe continues to grow with The Dreaming #1. This issue focuses on Lucien, who is a librarian in the Library of Dreams located in The Dreaming. If you aren’t familiar with the universe that Gaiman has created, The Dreaming is the realm where our dreams go and thrive when we are asleep. While the world is beautiful and incredible, things are not right. Ever since Sandman left, cracks have shown up in The Dreaming which could allow dark forces to attack. It’s now up to Lucien to protect that world…

The story by Simon Spurrier is pretty interesting and sets up the world and the incoming threat. The characters that he introduces are very unique and all have their place in The Dreaming. For the overall plot, though, I found myself often confused and had to re-read a lot so that I could follow what was going on. There is so much that is established that you have to take a step back and think about what is going on before you can proceed. I’m not saying that Spurrier isn’t a good writer, but I feel he is not right for this series in particular.

The art by Bilquis Evely is the strongest aspect of this book. Every panel looks gorgeous and seeing the world that Gaiman has established is something to behold. The backgrounds look great and the characters look like they all belong. Lucien looks like something out of a fairy tale. The supporting characters look weird and I love it. My favorite character that is shown in this book is Merv who has a giant pumpkin head. It’s so weird but it works so well. My favorite panel in this book comes towards the beginning where we see the library in the distance and a giant crack in the sky of The Dreaming. I definitely look forward to seeing more of Evely’s art.

This book isn’t perfect. As I stated earlier my biggest issue was the overall writing and story. I just found myself mostly confused by what was going on that I felt taken out of the story. The art is the best thing about this book, and I just feel that if you aren’t a fan of the world that Gaiman set up, The Dreaming will be hard to enjoy.

2.5 Pumpkinheads out of 5