Sandman Universe#1 and Unnatural#2 reviews

Ahoy Me Mateys Captain Cats here! Last week we had two excellent books that came out to much of my delight; Sandman Universe and Unnatural. I had to buy both of them due to I wanted to enjoy my time reading them, and also my local comic book store was almost sold out of each book. So today I’ll be reviewing not one but both books. Lets start of with the grand return to the universe that pave the way for Vertigo back in 1989.

Sandman Universe#1

This stand-alone issue is more of a ‘one-shot,’ and I don’t mind it at all. This issue set up what is going on within its universe and four other books that will continue next month. Here are the following titles with a summary:

• House of Whispers- This is a new house that will join both the house of Mystery and Secrets. A group of girls summons a voodoo deity and steal its essence and the result they show up in the Dreaming.
• The Books of Magic-A mage by the name of Timothy Hunter can’t make up his mind to use his magic for either good or evil.
• The Dreaming- Lucien the librarian, Matthew the Raven, and Nuala of Faerie are searching for Dream while at the same time Dream’s kingdom is falling into darkness.
• Lucifer- Lucifer Morningstar is trap inside of a body of an old man in a town where no one can leave and is being hunted by someone who wants him dead.

The great thing about Sandman Universe is that they found a perfect way to introduce the readers to each of these books within this issue. They took a page from the old Sandman by having each book has it’s own look, feel, and vibe to them and make a difference regarding who is doing both the writing and artwork. One moment you will be in Dream’s kingdom, the next moment you will be I a beautiful dream of an old lady enjoying her time. Each different part in the issues have one thing in common, that is Matthew the Raven. You will see Matthew in every story and see it from either his or someone else point of view, especially when we are introduced to Lucifer. What I love about this issue is the last few pages with Matthew and Lucien the librarian, how they talk to each other about what has happened and the last page made it clear that it’s only the beginning.

Each book has its team of writers and artist and lets them interpret this new universe to not only to their liking but also allow the readers to invest into this new universe as well. This is a great ideal and way for anyone who read any of the old Sandman books or someone who hasn’t read any of the old books and side stories to get into this and remember what made Sandman such a remarkable series in comic book history.

Unnatural#2

Mirka Andolfo’s Unnatural is a delight to read and possibly one of my favorite series of this year. After the fantastic first issue left off, we see a couple being sentenced to five years in a rehabilitation center to “fix” their problem. Outside of the courthouse we see protester and news camera and such, then we see Leslie watching the whole thing on her table feeling unhappy. Her best friend Trish into Leslie bedroom and they both have a serious talk about her love life due to her age. We also get to see a glimpse of Leslie childhood in a mini-flashback, we get to see both her parents and they look loving and normal until at night where Leslie see something that left a horrible scar in her life. Soon after we see Leslie get dropoff to the Real Love offices, we see Trish in her little world at work and also trying to help out Leslie. Here we meet Miss Weigold, an elder panda lady who owns a bookstore and maybe has the key to help out Leslie and her “dreams”. This is where the series shine, the real-life drama, and situations that can happen in our day as well. Mirka writing and artwork bring this series to life, and I can not wait for issue#3! If you do get a chance, go pick up both issue 1&2 of Unnatural before issue 3 comes out next month.

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