DC Comics is expanding The Sandman Universe with a new six-issue series by Pornsak Pichetshote, and Jeff Stokely called The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives. Launching its first issue on December 27th, the series features color artist Miquel Muerto and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
“The genius of Sandman is how seamlessly it fits different genres, histories, and folklores together, something that definitely inspired Jeff and I for Dead Boy Detectives,” said Pichetshote. “As a Thai-American, I grew up around all this wonderful Thai folklore that’s never made it to American pop culture, so by introducing some of my favorite Neil Gaiman characters to the truly terrifying and bizarre world of Thai ghosts, we will give horror and Sandman fans something new.”
So what’s The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives about?
Edwin and Charles are hired to find a missing Thai-American girl named Jai, only for her to turn up dead. Except not. Because Jai, along with her two friends Tanya and Melvin, are all ghosts like Edwin and Charles. Except not. Each child is Thai, with power unlike anything Edwin and Charles have ever seen before, and they all died in LA at different times over the past fifty years! And perilously close by to the boys’ adventure, Thessaly the witch finds herself held hostage by dangerous magics—both a threat to her life and an insult to her ego that simply will not go unanswered…
“This is definitely a horror book,” continued Pichetshote, “as the boys discover Thai black magic’s getting more powerful in Los Angeles (the home of the largest Thai population outside Thailand), and it might even be changing the rules governing ghosts. All this, while Charles and Edwin, two ghost detectives, are secretly craving changes themselves—in a coming-of-age story starring two boys who can’t grow up.”
The series will feature a main cover by Nimit Malavia with variant covers by Alex Eckman-Lawn, Tyler Crook, Filipe Andrade (1:25), and Yoshitaka Amano (not shown).
There’s currently one other Sandman series, Nightmare Country, written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Lisandro Estherren with a guest artist each month.
Check out a few of the covers and some interior pages below.
For more on this news, read the official press release below.
Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine have been detectives for decades—and dead best friends even longer. But their investigation into a Thai American girl’s disappearance from her Los Angeles home puts them on a collision course with new and terrifying ghosts straight from Thai folklore that could give even a dead boy nightmares! Eisner Award-winning writer Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian, Infidel) is joined by Eisner Award-nominated artist Jeff Stokely to take the Dead Boys to the scariest place of all: the heart of Hollywood!
The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives kicks off on December 27th with a bloodthirsty krasue—a floating, severed head whose internal organs trail beneath it—and amps up the mysteries and horrors from there!
“The genius of Sandman is how seamlessly it fits different genres, histories, and folklores together, something that definitely inspired Jeff and I for Dead Boy Detectives,” said Pichetshote. “As a Thai-American, I grew up around all this wonderful Thai folklore that’s never made it to American pop culture, so by introducing some of my favorite Neil Gaiman characters to the truly terrifying and bizarre world of Thai ghosts, we will give horror and Sandman fans something new.”
In Pichetshote and Stokely’s new six-issue comic book miniseries, Edwin and Charles are hired to find a missing Thai-American girl named Jai, only for her to turn up dead. Except not. Because Jai, along with her two friends Tanya and Melvin, are all ghosts like Edwin and Charles. Except not. Each child is Thai, with power unlike anything Edwin and Charles have ever seen before, and they all died in LA at different times over the past fifty years! And perilously close by to the boys’ adventure, Thessaly the witch finds herself held hostage by dangerous magics—both a threat to her life and an insult to her ego that simply will not go unanswered…
“This is definitely a horror book,” continued Pichetshote, “as the boys discover Thai black magic’s getting more powerful in Los Angeles (the home of the largest Thai population outside Thailand), and it might even be changing the rules governing ghosts. All this, while Charles and Edwin, two ghost detectives, are secretly craving changes themselves—in a coming-of-age story starring two boys who can’t grow up.”
The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #1, written by Pornsak Pichetshote with art by Jeff Stokely, colors by Miquel Muerto, letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and a cover by Nimit Malavia, arrives wherever comic books are sold on December 27, 2022, and carries DC’s Black Label descriptor, identifying the content as appropriate for readers ages 17+. The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #1 will also feature variant covers by Alex Eckman-Lawn, Tyler Crook, Filipe Andrade (1:25) and Yoshitaka Amano (1:50).
THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE: DEAD BOY DETECTIVES #1
Written by PORNSAK PICHETSHOTE
Art by JEFF STOKELY
Cover by NIMIT MALAVIA
Variant cover by ALEX ECKMAN-LAWN
Variant cover by TYLER CROOK
1:25 variant cover by FILIPE ANDRADE
1:50 variant cover by YOSHITAKA AMANO
$3.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 6 |
Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 12/27/22The Sandman Universe grows as two of its most beloved characters return to the spotlight! Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine have been detectives for decades—and dead best friends even longer. But their investigation into a Thai American girl’s disappearance from her Los Angeles home puts them on a collision course with new and terrifying ghosts that could give even a dead boy nightmares—including a bloodthirsty krasue. Even scarier than the ghosts? Though neither wants to admit it, the boys might be growing apart. And perilously close by to the boys’ adventure, Thessaly the witch finds herself held hostage by dangerous magics—both a threat to her life and an insult to her ego that simply will not go unanswered…
Eisner Award-winning writer Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian, Infidel) is joined by celebrated artist Jeff Stokely to take the Dead Boys to the scariest place of all: the heart of Hollywood!
For the latest news on the World’s Greatest Super Heroes, visit the all-new DC website, www.dc.com, and follow @DCComics and @thedcnation on social media. The DC UNIVERSE INFINITE digital subscription service includes an impressive collection of classic and recently released comics featuring DC super heroes; for more information and a free trial (where applicable), visit the website at www.dcuniverseinfinite.com. DC UNIVERSE INFINITE is not intended for children and is not available in all countries.
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