Thursday, July 8th, 2010
By Alex Segura
There are some characters that connect so strongly with readers that they take on a life of their own, becoming more than just ink on a page. Like modern fables and folklore, comics create strange and exciting worlds and landscapes for readers to visit and experience, and they populate these worlds with characters so well-defined, it’s as if we’d known them forever.
Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN is one such work. An epic, 75-issue opus that was both genre-bending and trend-setting during its original release and to this day, it, like WATCHMEN and a number of series, is what many point to when discussing comics as high art. It’s not a stretch to call it a masterpiece.
But why are we talking about SANDMAN on the DCU blog, you ask?
For those unfamiliar with the character at the center of the cover – and shame on you if you don’t know who that is – that’s Death, sister to Dream of the Endless and one of the most enduring characters introduced during Gaiman’s 75-issue SANDMAN series. Beautifully presented by ACTION COMICS cover artist David Finch, the cover begs the question – what is Death doing in ACTION COMICS?
Though the worlds of the Sandman and the DC superheroes have bled into one another from time to time, ACTION COMICS #894 marks a unique moment for not only Death, but the star of ACTION – Lex Luthor. Luthor, as fans of the series know, is in the midst of a storyline that takes him on a winding and dangerous quest for power – a quest that will bring the megalomaniacal villain into close proximity with characters in and beyond the far reaches of the DC Universe.
We touched base with writer Paul Cornell who, along with artist Pete Woods, are the team entrusted with the task of chronicling this special issue. Take it away, Paul:
“Death appearing in Action Comics was my own mad idea, the extreme case of putting Luthor up against characters he’s not used to dealing with.
“I’m very pleased that, after I ran the idea by him, Neil Gaiman approved me using Death in this issue. He’s been very supportive. It’s so interesting to see her back in the DC Universe. Though Vertigo readers can rest assured that the character, and the way she’s used, will be true to the spirit of what has gone before.”
ACTION COMICS #894 hits in October.
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Tags: action comics, david finch, lex luthor, paul cornell, pete woods
35 Responses to “The cover to ACTION COMICS #894 will surprise you”
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Whaaaaat????
Death in the DC Universe??? I want to read it NOW!!!!
OOOOO man looks like action will be a much better book then Superman who would have guessed LEx Luthor would have been an interesting topic on its own
Definitely looking forward to this - and happy to hear that not only was approval requested from Neil Gaiman, but that it was given. Good show!
I hear the sound of heads exploding…
CBR.com posted an interview and broke this story earlier today…the article was quickly removed from the site!
About time the characters were returned to DCU proper.
This is the best titles DC’s putting out right now, I’m very excited about it!
This is awesome news! Gaiman’s early Sandman stuff featured a great deal of DCU stuff so I am very glad to see them back again. Last time I remember seeing any of the Endless in a mainline DC book was right before Infinite Crisis when Daniel saved his parents in JSA.
I remember back in the day there was that rumor that Superman was going to meet Death in Adventures #500 but that it was quashed… looks like Lex is going to beat the Man Of Steel to the punch!
To be completely pedantic, in almost all instances (including this one) questions are raised, not begged.
Since Superman is not the centre piece of Action Comics title I would suggest that his presence is represented by Clark Kent. This book will require the “”Superman effect”". No one will buy a comic about Lex Luthor or the other supporting cast for long. Even high profile surprise by “”Death”" from the Sandman universe will have a long lasting effect (although this is a wellcomed one). Good luck.
cool! Love it
I honestly can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a comic book.
And props to Cornell for having the respect to ask Gaiman for his ok on it.
This looks awesome!!!
And here I thought it was going to be Poison Ivy.
The floor. My jaw is on it.
Good work. I am surprised. Certainly going to pick this up.
fantastic! its great you want to make other comics appeal to the whiny emo kids who love cutting themselves!
lame.
Here I am trying to save some money and DC just has to do something completely awesome and I must have it.
What
WHAT
To paraphrse: “C’mon, Johnny DC. Tear down that wall!” Now that Bruce Wayne is (almost) back, I would love to see him interact with Swamp Thing, John Constantine, and the Endless. Who amongst you wouldn’t gladly lay down his or her $3.99 to read a 22-page conversation between Delirium and the Joker? One big, happy family, that’s what I say. My two cents.
@Kinravip: I would GLADLY be broke just to buy those issues with Constantine and Swamp Thing in the DCU.
Jeez. You’d think DC could afford a message board that’d let me go in and edit the typo outta my last comment (hint, hint)…
Does anyone think death looks a bit like a teenage Donna Troy?
Wow. I will have to buy an issue of the Luthor arc after all.
Wait, two issues. Superboy’s new solo book is being set up in a co-feature in the August “Action,” isn’t it?
Well, that won’t destroy the beer budget. And maybe we’ll get to hear Death’s thoughts on all that Nekron/Blackest Night hoo-hah.
I might own a total of 10 Vertigo comics. I don’t follow that line. I know I’m probably missing out on a lot of great stories, but I’m just a DC comics guy through and through. I have been sampling other titles a little bit more on the Comixology application on my iPhone - downloading free books to sample and see if I can get into the stories or not. But, honestly this doesn’t thrill me much. I hope it doesn’t go too Xanadu on us readers.
@heffison Effin yeah man. I’d love to see Death mention Nekron. I read only a few of Sandman’s issues. Guess I’ve got some things to catch up.
@themanwoaname: That was a touch tasteless don’t you think?
So, that Rich Jonston punk was right after all, DCU is taking back their characters.
And, since Action 890 (alongside B&R 13) was best DCU issue in half year, it’s great to see that at least one of returning characters ended up in the great series (but now I’m shudder with horror in waiting of inevitable appearance of Swampy in that Krul’s Green Arrow mediocracy).
@Gorbonuv
Totally. Agree with you 100% man! B&R #13 and Action #890 were both mind blowing! It looks like Paul Cornell may quickly become one of my favorite writers. The story was so engaging and creepy!
After the disappointment of Brightest Day, Green Arrow, Justice League, Justice Society & the dull Wonder Woman reboot, it’s nice to know there will be another book with solid & surprising storytelling like B&R!
Other great books this week worth mentioning are Doom Patrol #12 & Jonah Hex #56. Both great & fun!
@themanwoaname Really? Emo cutters? Totally the dumbest statement I’ve heard from anyone, ever on this blog.
Oooooo! Maybe I will buy this with the money I am saving by taking a Wonder Woman hiatus… lol… sounds like an interesting storyline for Lex.
… very , very glad to see characters from Vertigo interacting from the current DCU…Grant Morrison also did it using Daniel - the new Sandman- for a JLA story-arc -that was really cool…
I ALSO miss sometimes the tone of the pre-Vertigo era in the DCU books, even if such titles as ‘Secret Six’ could come close by, and I’m really convinced that some characters as Kid Eternity, Black Orchid or Enigma ( yes ) could really be a bless for them…
I hope I don’t need to have read previous action comic issues to follow this one, I’m surprised nobody thought of this before its an awesome idea
Dr Dee in sandman was an awesome conclusion to the first volume, what’s it going to be like with the shoe on the other foot
the black racer is far cooler than this crap.
And no one takes your opinion seriously.
If Death can be seen with Lex then I want John Constantine to appear on Zatanna, even as small cameo role. Heck, I’d settle for (not so) little Timmy Hunter to show up.