The Sandman is finally out and the series took viewers into a surreal new universe that doesn't look like anything we've ever seen in a comic book project. Interestingly, there's a good reason why the Netflix series doesn't look like it belongs in the DC Universe. Neil Gaiman explained that although his graphic novels started out in DC, it has since created a universe that is completely its own.
Neil Gaiman recently spoke to Variety about the new Netflix series and he explained how it is different from other comic book shows.
"The Sandman itself started out in the DC Universe, the comic, and then it just sort of wound up wandering off into its own place," Gaiman said.
"Its world joined up more and more with our world and became less and less a world in which costumed crime fighters fly around and so on, which meant that by the time The Sandman finished, it had its own aesthetic which really wasn't the DC Universe anymore," he continued.
It's a poetic way to explain it but it is also reflected in the comic books' journey. The Sandman was originally published by DC Comics but it was later placed under DC's Vertigo imprint. When Vertigo was retired in 2020, reprints of the graphic novels have been published under DC's Black Label imprint. As the title was moved around, it also distanced itself from the main label and took on a universe that is unique.
The Sandman stars Tom Sturridge as Morpheus, the King of Dreams who is imprisoned by Roderick Burgess in an attempt to capture Death. The series follows Morpheus' attempts to rebuild The Dreaming after being imprisoned for a century.
All 10 episodes of The Sandman are now streaming on Netflix.
Related: The Sandman: Jenna Coleman Learned Latin to Play Joanna Constantine
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