A new player enters the game.
Creative Staff:
Story: James Tynion IV
Art: Lisandro Estherren, Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
Demon club the King of Pain offers the Corinthian a chance to indulge his most murderous tendencies, and the walking nightmare finds himself ravenous after years of guarded restraint. And though the first taste is free, what starts as a snack quickly escalates to a feast, and there will no doubt be hell to pay. Are the club’s offerings enough to keep the Corinthian satisfied? Or will blood spill across the streets of San Francisco just as the immortal witch Thessaly enters the fray, seeking to satiate a hunger of her own?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Sandman Universe realm of properties have been going on for a few years now but I’m definitely a lapsed reader when it comes to them. This series comes from writer James Tynion IV as he continues to work well with DC. I’ve enjoyed a number of his works over the years and how he plays to the darker side of what you can do with some of DC’s characters. They’re joined by Lisandro Estherren and Patricio Delpche on the art side of things. The artwork and color design definitely captures the whole Sandman Universe look quite well with distinctive designs, some strong layouts, and a very appealing flow to how it’s all presented. It’s easy to connect with but malleable enough in a way with the characters that you can pull at different parts of them.
Events in this issue are interesting but they also take an odd turn at the end that makes me a bit wary. What we mostly get to see here is that Max is coping with the situation as best as he can. Finding a talking cat in his place when he got back didn’t freak him out as much as she thought it might and he’s eventually on board to figuring things out as he gets more of her past and the connection to Kells. It’s not complicated but presented a little bit convoluted, especially in monthly form, but with the way that Max is all-in when it comes to Kells it’s no surprise that he’s willing to go the distance here. And as he says, with the things that he’s overheard at work from the billionaires that stroll through there, a talking cat that was a person that was murdered isn’t the strangest thing in his life
Where this issue interested me is in seeing how the Corinthian is doing. They’re struggling with being among people and denying their nature but continuing to adhere to the deal made with Morpheus. Lucien visits this time around and certainly has a distastes for what’s going on in this deal and makes it clear that failure to follow the rules will lead to an unmaking. Seeing the Corinthian keeping its nature under control is a lot of fun to watch play out because you keep expecting them to break, but they’re doing well to focus on the mission and ensuring that Max will do what’s needed. Of course, bigger things are at play as well and they’re being manipulated too as a new trap is sprung by the end of the issue, which the solicitation reveals in its summary.
In Summary:
The addition of Thessaly at the end isn’t a surprise, obviously, and I’m glad to see them back in action again. What makes me a bit wary is that they’re getting a spinoff issue next and we’ll get a skip month for this series so we can come back together and move forward with the storyline with that knowledge. I’m not sure why it isn’t just getting slotted within this run itself if it’s going to be integral to understanding what they’ve been up to. Either way, this installment here is pretty solid and I’m interested to see more of what’s unfolding and how badly it’s going to go because of the players involved. Any scene involving Kells just feels heartbreaking at this point and I imagine it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics
Release Date: May 9th, 2023
MSRP: $3.99
