The Dreaming: Waking Hours #6: The Shoe Fits

The Dreaming: Waking Hours along with the rest of the Sandman Universe titles have large shoes to fill. The Dreaming: Waking Hours #6 has those shoes looking pretty comfortable. The issue has the specific feeling of a Sandman issue, but uniquely its own. The Dreaming: Waking Hours feels that it is adding to the Sandman Universe with staying power. If you are still not sure if you should pick up this issue, let me tell you some of its selling points: a happening nightclub, fishnet tops, a demon on the dance floor, Constantine, and Matthew and Goldie. The pages showing the club scene were some of the most gorgeous panels I have seen in some time, definitely this year. I never knew I needed cosmic Kirby style art in a club setting until today.

A fairly fast-paced issue, its urgency and potential danger keep a foot in reality which makes this issue a turn pager that seems finished too soon. The true magic of a Sandman title happens outside of the Dreaming, in my opinion. The best storylines entangle the living world with the horrors of the unknown, and issue #6 certainly hits the mark. When Heather is at the hospital after being cut by Puck on the dance floor, it really seems that there isn’t a way out of the situation. Of course, Heather calls probably the one person that can get out of any situation, John Constantine. Even then, the worry in Constantine’s voice reminded me that maybe this isn’t going to end well. However, Heather is able to summon some help to protect her, and I was very surprised and happy to see it was Matthew and Goldie. Matthew seems the be the one constant in all of the Sandman Universe titles, after all, he is Daniel’s eyes and ears.