THE SANDMAN OVERTURE #1

Certainly this is the biggest release in comicdom in quite awhile, no? I was pondering what the last release was that could be thought of as just as big as this and thought of the Watchmen prequels...but those didn't have the original artist or writer...so what else is as big? I suppose DC's "new 52" reboot...but that wasn't just one book. But why even argue or contemplate it; the fact is, Neil Gaiman is back writing Sandman, his most famous creation, which ran 75 issues from 1989 to 1996 (and ran a bit longer through spin-offs not written by Gaiman). Neil Gaiman isn't really mainstream famous, but he's famous to readers and indie-rock listeners and film buffs. I admit that I've only read the first Sandman trade, which collected issues 1 to 8. It was very good, albeit apparently not good enough for me to continue. The story is, basically, about the king of dreams. In this six-issue mini-series, we find out how Sandman got captured in the very first issue. So, yes, it's a prequel. It's also...terrible. The art, by Batwoman artist JH Williams 3rd, is dreamy, interesting, and different. It's good but not as amazing as some of his Batwoman art. The book is hard to put a handle on. What IS going on? It's certainly not compelling but it is confusing. Oh, well...perhaps Gaiman should've learned from the awful Star Wars prequels. Sometimes you just shouldn't go back. *1/2

VELVET #1

A female James Bond...has it been done before? Probably. I just can't think of a book or film that comes to mind. I never saw JJ Abram's Alias TV show...that might have been similar. But here's a new female spy comic book from writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting. Brubaker, as you know, did a stellar run writing Captain America recently. While the broughaha was that he killed Steve Rogers, what he also did was make it a great book people talked about for the first time in decades. He quit Marvel to focus on his creator-owned book which was probably a good thing since his Winter Soldier book was barely compelling and his heart didn't seem into it. Fatale, his Satanic/monsters/crime mash-up book for Image, has been gang-busters, though, so he definitely is still a terrific writer when he cares. , though, so far is paint-by-numbers stuff. The art by Epting is top-notch and it's intriguing but not all-together great. Velvet is a spy in the 70's who ends up being falsely accused of being a villain and she must go on the run and apparently find out who's double-crossing her. It's a decent first issue but not something that screams originality or something that'd make you dying to get your hands on #2. **