The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House #4: How It Goes

James Tynion IV has carved a nice little corner into the Sandman Universe. By now, his contributions have been the most consistent with the Sandman Universe imprint which is a good thing, because Tynion certainly knows how to write horror and fantasy. The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House continues to do an excellent job weaving established characters with new ones created by Tynion. Even characters from Tynion’s previous series feel like mainstays and naturally integrated into the larger universe. Readers can look at The Sandman Universe as a separate entity from Neil Gaiman’s original run, but Tynion’s contributions are worthy of this body of work. 

Prior to The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House #4, readers may have read The Sandman Universe Special: Thessaly #1 from the beginning of the month. It isn’t necessary reading but does add another layer to Thesaly’s involvement in everything and just what she is capable of. Despite how powerful she is, The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House #4 gives the sense that nobody really knows what is going on, even Dream. There is a fun little moment where Max asks Madison how she can process everything that is happening. Her response essentially is, “That’s just how it goes” and not to overthink or fight things. This is funny because just a few issues ago she was in the same place as Max. 

Lisandro Estherren’s art is the star of the series. His art is perfect for a series that bends the lines between dreaming and the waking world. The variety of art styles from the original series was one of the reasons why it is so good. There really wasn’t anything like it on shelves, and the same goes for Estherren’s art. Patricio Delpeche’s colors are absolutely gorgeous and add another layer to what makes the art so effective. Every single page is worth lingering on to take in the visuals. Estherren does some really interesting things with the foreground and proportions.