DC COMICS – @DCComics @vertigo_comics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Nalo Hopkinson
ART: Dominike “Domo” Stanton
COLORS: John Rauch
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
EDITOR: Molly Mahan
CURATOR: Neil Gaiman
COVER: Sean Andrew Murray
VARIANT COVER: Bill Sienkiewicz
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2018)
“Suggested for Mature Readers”
The Sandman created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth
“Broken Telephone”
The Sandman Universe is a new line of comic books inspired by the dark fantasy comic books that Neil Gaiman wrote for DC Comics, in particular The Sandman (1989-1996) and The Books of Magic (1990-1991). Neil Gaiman acts as a curator of the line, which currently includes four titles, The Dreaming, Books of Magic, Lucifer, and the subject of this review, House of Whispers.
House of Whispers is written by Nalo Hopkinson; drawn by Dominike “Domo” Stanton; colored by John Rauch; and lettered by Deron Bennett. The series focuses on a tragic goddess who grants the wishes and counsels the souls of those who visit her in their dreams.
House of Whispers #1 (“Broken Telephone”) opens just outside a houseboat known as the House of Dahomey. Uncle Monday of the Brotherhood of Teeth has come to visit the owner the houseboat, the goddess Erzulie Fréda. This is also where souls of Voodoo followers go when they sleep. They travel to Erzulie's houseboat where they can beseech the flirtatious and tragic Erzulie to grant them their hearts’ desires or where they can ask her to counsel them on their futures and fortunes.
From her perch in the bayou, Erzulie sees four human girls open a mysterious and magical journal. This little book is filled with whispers and rumors that, if they spread, could cause a pandemic unlike any the Earth has seen. Erzulie must discover the whereabouts of and then stop the conniver behind this plot, Erzulie's nephew, Shakpana.
We have Neil Gaiman to thank for bringing writer Nalo Hopkinson into The Sandman Universe fold. Left to its own devices, DC Comics would not have chosen Hopkinson. In twenty-five years of publishing hundreds of comic books and graphic novels, only a handful have been written by African-Americans, black writers, or writers of African descent.
What Hopkinson offers in this first issue is a dazzling array of colorful sequences, sparkling story elements, and fabulous characters. Reading this comic book is like experiencing an African or African-American folk music festival full of fierce beats and infectious rhythms.
Artist Dominike “Domo” Stanton offers imaginative compositions that yield a style of graphical storytelling that is bursting with magic. My eyes greedily took in every corner of the Domo's panels and observed every line for secrets. John Rauch's colors enrich Domo's illustrations and even accentuate the eccentric to make this comic book truly a unique visual treat.
Deron Bennett's clever lettering pretends to be a rhythm section, but when I pay attention, I see Bennett's fonts giving Hopkinson and Domo's story that extra whatever it needs or even taking the lead in conveying the story. Also, Sean Andrew Murray's gorgeous cover art makes this comic book hard to ignore on a store shelf.
I won't lie and say House of Whispers #1 is perfect. Sometimes, it is so busy being different that the story gets lost in its House of Dahomey house party shenanigans. Still, this may be the best of The Sandman Universe's debut quartet.
8 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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