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| Perfect-bound comic, n.pag. Published 1995 Borrowed from the library Read February 2011 |
Written by Neil Gaiman
Plotted by Matt Wagner
Story by Wagner and Gaiman
Painted by Teddy Kristiansen
Lettered by Todd Klein
There was a time when Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and Wagner and Seagle's Sandman Mystery Theatre were running alongside one another, so it must have seemed logical to cross the two series over. But despite an appearance by Dream (one of many mainstream DCU appearances in SMT of late), this is definitely a Sandman Mystery Theatre tale, albeit one filtered through a Neil Gaiman style. With Dian gone to England to find herself, Wesley eventually pursues a mystery there, and the two have a number of confrontations while solving a mystery and then reconciling. The mystery is a bit thin, and the reconciliation comes out of nowhere, but I enjoyed the story all the same. It just oozed atmosphere, partially because of Gaiman's dreamlike writing, but mostly because of Teddy Kristiansen's amazing artwork. He's the first artist who's not Guy Davis to do successful work on Sandman Mystery Theatre, and I really liked the story as a result. He is the only other person to get Wesley's dashing-but-awkward, young-but-pudgy appearance just right, and the way he does Wesley's glasses was especially great. Sometimes Wesley was as impenetrable as his disguise.
What really bothered me, though, was the Wesley referred to "the Sandman" as a different person throughout the story. Which is a neat idea, but Dian claims it's something he always does-- when he's never done it in Sandman Mystery Theatre ever! Nor does he do it again, to my knowledge. A weird little inconsistency.
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