The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House #2: Do Nightmares Dream?

The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House and its predecessor The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country, occupy an exciting space at DC and the Black Label imprint. Much like James Tynion IV’s other DC Black Label series, The Nice House on the Lake, there seems to be a lot of trust in Tynion and his ideas. While The Nice House on the Lake is an original creation, The Sandman Universe is far from it and has decades of material to draw from. Something that is appreciated about the revived Sandman Universe line is that no one has attempted to replicate the original series. With previous Sandman Universe books, writers seemed to find their corners of the universe and work from there, but Tynion dives right into the world and puts great care into what he contributes. What is remarkable is Tynion’s use of familiar characters and new ones. The new ones feel entirely organic to the world, and the established characters feel as if they continued living their lives all these years, and this is where Tynion has found them.

The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House #2 finds Max at the King of Pain club visiting Kells. The opening pages are haunting and beautiful, with some incredible art by Patricio Delpeche. Such an exciting use of color paired with perspective and shadow creates a sense of haunting beauty and doomed love that Max feels. Besides Max, the issue also continues the Corinthian’s quest to find The Smiling Man with the help of Madison, who is now a cat. There are obvious connections between Max and Madison. For one, they both see The Smiling Man. But then there is the connection between Max’s job’s involvement in the film production surrounding Madison’s death. Finally, there’s the connection of Kells being linked to both people. There are many moving pieces to a puzzle that someone wants the Corinthian to solve. Eventually, the Corinthian makes his way to the club. If you thought the opening pages were hauntingly gorgeous, the closing pages are also. If the club lets you live your wildest dreams, what do nightmares dream of?

Everything about this book, whether the writing, lettering, or art, draws the reader into the story’s dark and dreamlike atmosphere. Bowland’s lettering adds depth and intrigue to the report, finding an effective balance between grounded reality and the eerie and dreamlike surrealism of Patricio Delpeche’s art. Little details like Madison’s speech balloon tails add an excellent element to the story. Delpeche’s art is truly outstanding and has such a unique style that perfectly complements the feel of The Sandman Universe. Such an interesting use of color paired with perspective and shadow creates a sense of haunting beauty.