The Sandman Prequel: Five Things We Know

DC Entertainment shocked comic book fans at the Vertigo panel at Comic-Con with the surprise announcement that Neil Gaiman would be returning to do a new Sandman series. Neil Gaiman wasn't actually at Comic-Con, so he made his announcement via a recorded video. Details on the new Sandman series were sparse, but there are couple things that were revealed. Here are five things we know about the new Sandman series so far. It's A Prequel – One thing that Neil Gaiman did reveal about the storyline is that it will be set before the events of The Sandman #1. Gaiman said, "When I finished writing The Sandman, there was one tale still untold. The story of what had happened to Morpheus to allow him to be so easily captured in The Sandman No. 1, and why he was returned from far away, exhausted beyond imagining, and dressed for war." Sandman Will Have A Great Artist – J.H. Williams III is a great match as an artist for the type of stories that Gaiman is likely to write. His artwork on Batwoman has been one of the best things about the New 52. In fact, DC Comics could not have found a better artist to team with Gaiman on this project. There's No Official Title, But It Could Be Sandman: Year Zero – In his Sandman announcement, Neil Gaiman said the series did not have an announced title yet. However, in an interview with Comic Book Resources, DC Comics co-publisher Dan Didio referred to the series as Sandman: Year Zero. Could that be the official name of the series? It's Going To Be A Miniseries – As much as we would like to see Neil Gaiman return to comic books for an ongoing series, he's quite a busy man, so the new Sandman series will be a mini-series. In a way, this could actually be better because it allows Gaiman to plot out a clear beginning, middle, and end. It will also make for a great trade paperback collection. The Series Premieres In 2013 – The year 2013 is the 25th anniversary of Sandman, and that fact is one of the reasons why Neil Gaiman felt it would be the perfect time to release a new Sandman series. There was no official word on exactly when in 2013 it would be released. However, in an interview with Comic Book Resources, Dan Didio indicated it should be out by this time next year, which would make for a perfect panel at next year's Comic-Con.