This Wednesday, DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint will publish The Dreaming #2. The flagship title of DC Vertigo’s Sandman Universe imprint, which sees new stories told in the familiar but ever-expanding land of Dream, The Dreaming follows denizens of the primordial realm both old and new as they grapple with the disappearance and apparent abdication of their lord, Morpheus. In the present power vacuum, the librarian and keeper of stories, Lucien, has assumed command of the Dreaming, but not everyone is happy with his leadership. Especially Merv Pumpkinhead.

Check out the Beat’s exclusive preview of The Dreaming #2 after the jump.

Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Mat Lopes
Letterer: Simon Bowland

Merv Pumpkinhead ain’t happy.

Sure, Merv Pumpkinhead doesn’t exactly radiate happy at the best of times, but now? Right now a bunch of blank-faced strangers from between realities are taking local jobs; foreign criminals are profiteering at the realm’s expense; and the VIPs seem more interested in themselves than getting back to the “good old days.”

The Dreaming used to be somewhere a vegetable-headed guy could be proud to call home, y’know?

Fact is, Merv Pumpkinhead’s been pushed too far. It’s time for change. Right at the top.


4 COMMENTS

  1. Love this. I’m actually interested now in Merv Pumkinhead’s place in the world and what is in immediate store for him. Good work in a short space.

  2. I have serious misgivings about this. Mervyn is a blue collar worker and a loud mouth but to literally make him ranting about “make The dreaming great again” and anti-immigration as a heavy-handed allegory for trump supporters is really annoying. I’m tired of the heavy handed politics from DC and Marvel. I want a good story. The Elvira: MIstress of The Dark comics from Dynamite should NOT be more enjoyable than The Sandman Universe.

  3. Cool reading, Amanda. Made me reread. I’m still happy going into those themes you point out, but I do enjoy it more not going concretely into the allegory. Fortunately, for me, Spurrier enlivens characters, I find, and that creates little spaces which I find completely interesting. Can totally see your point though, and of the turn-off nature an allegory that you just can’t miss can be.

  4. Wow. Big shocker. More ‘subtle’ references to American politics. I used to read comics to get away from the world. Even when they had social messages (Gaiman and Morrison have both had messages in their various books) they weren’t beating anyone over the head with it. Now, I find myself still reading the same comics, because I want to get away from the world for a half-hour. That’s kind of always been the point. If I want politics, I’ll read a YouTube comments section.

Comments are closed.