Dead Boy Detectives Omnibus

Dead Boy Detectives #1-4+

by Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner (Illustrator), Mark Buckingham (Illustrator)

Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland are no different than most boys. They love adventure, games, and spending time outdoors. They’re curious about girls, curious about life, and particularly curious when it comes to mysteries. You see, Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland happen to be two of the best detectives in England.

Note that we didn’t say living in England. That’s because Edwin and Charles aren’t living in England. In fact, they’re not living at all.



Collects The Dead Boy Detectives #1-12, Sandman Dead Boy Detectives #1-4, The Sandman #25, The Children's Crusade #1-2, Ghosts #1, The Witching Hour #1, Time Warp #1, Doom Patrol Annual #2, and Swamp Thing Annual #7.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Dc Comics, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy

800 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
Vertigo has given us some of the greatest comics ever-made, to the point where I would place the label above DC and Marvel proper in terms of my affection for it. Sadly, The Dead Boy Detectives may just be the worst Vertigo title I've had the displeasure of reading so far.
The opening Gaiman title from the early 90s had potential, but soon turned into an aimless mess. Brubaker's four issue follow up can be found under the dictionary definition of bland, and despite the dozen or so issues of the series' run having beautiful Mark Buckingham art, nothing can elevate these incredibly uninteresting characters and premises into something approaching enjoyable.
This could have been a wonderfully dark, gritty collection of stories, but instead, I'm lost for words as to describe the tone of this book. I mention 'aimless' before and I'll reiterate it now. This is a directionless hodge podge of middling issues, cobbled together into a format that DC gives us far too few of. I can't see this being any sort of seller at all, so DC will blame the format rather than their choice of what to collect in it. I stumbled through about two thirds of this before I gave up. 2/5


OmniBen.

[Lily Cigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like the graphic novel until the official start of Dead Boy Detectives comics. The older ones were very dated and not appropriate. The Netflix show did a very good job weeding all these storylines out.

[Ginger Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dead Boy Detectives Omnibus by Neil Gaiman is a most interesting way to continue the story of Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine. I enjoyed the book very much, but I found it a little uneven. There are several separate stories in the book since this is a compilation of all the Dead Boy Detectives graphic novels. The Children's Crusade is my favorite. It is a plot within a plot, and it is not clear who or what is evil until the end of the story.

I did like that some of the minor characters from The Sandman make an appearance in The Secret of Immortality. Mad Hettie and Hob/Rob Gadling are both involved in the Dead Boys' case that teaches them more about being proper ghosts. The Secret of Immortality also features a plot covered by layers of lies that Charles and Edwin have to navigate.

I did not like the other stories as much, even though they were very good. I did find myself a little disappointed that Death did not make an appearance. Dream appears briefly in one story to deliver a nightmare to someone that the boys were trying to haunt, but he is the only one of the Endless in any of the stories contained in the book. I found myself feeling sorry that Charles and Edwin remain caught in limbo with no hope of anything better, even though they seem to like being ghosts.

If you are a fan of The Sandman, I would recommend reading the Dead Boys Detective stories after you finish Sandman. Some of the stories won't make sense without the background of The Sandman. But, it is definitely a good way to continue engaging with the world of the Endless.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sandman #25 - This one-off issue focuses on the sad end of Charles Rowland and his new friend Edwin Paine. When I first read this, I was immediately caught up in their friendship and was intrigued by where their adventures of refusing to go with Death might lead them.

The Sandman Presents: The Dead Boy Detectives #1-4 The Secret of Immortality - This is quite fun. I had enjoyed the story of Edwin & Charles from The Sandman #25 quite a bit and to have them spun off into their own story seemed delightful. The dynamics of their relationship is a bit off, but then these are just a couple of boys who never really had a chance to find out who the are. Couple of Lost Boys, I suppose. But Ed Brubaker also spins in some other characters who’ve appeared in the pages of The Sandman, so long time readers can really enjoy all the cameos and guest appearances. The art seems like an odd combination of the blocky Bryan Talbot and the wispy Steve Leialoha, but it works beautifully. And the whole idea of turning Edwin & Charles into a pair of Boy Detectives was really inspired. I’d read these initially as individual issues when they were first published and I don’t think I’ve gone back and revisited them since, although maybe one other time just before their ongoing series first started up seems likely. In any case, as I said, this is quite entertaining.

Material from Ghosts #1, Time Warp #1, & The Witching Hour #1 Run Ragged -

Dead Boy Detectives #1-4 School Boy Terrors -

Dead Boy Detectives #5-6 Halfway House -

Dead Boy Detectives #7-11 Ghost Snow -

Dead Boy Detectives #12 Yonda -

[DesertSlug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although first introduced by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner in The Sandman: Season of Mists, the Dead Boy Detectives stories are actually written by multiple authors, illustrated by multiple artists, and occur in multiple comics. This volume brings all of these stories together into one collection with some additional notes and art at the end. As someone who read many, but not all, of these stories when they were first published, it was great fun to read some old favorites while also being introduced to some new cases taken on by Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland.

The stories are consistently good, the art consistently great. However, the tone of the stories range from the dark and brutal of 90s horror comics to the cute of kawaii manga. If you are a fan of comic books, you probably won’t blink twice at this seeming inconsistency; if you are not familiar with the vagaries of comic books, especially those written over a decade by different authors and artists, this range of styles may seem jarring.

If you have enjoyed one or more of the Dead Boy Detectives stories in the past, or are simply a fan of comic books in general, then this volume absolutely belongs on your shelf and you will enjoy it again and again. If, on the other hand, you are coming to this volume from the recent Netflix show and are not familiar with the original comic book stories, be forewarned: the TV series is yet a different set of artists’ take on the boys. If you are expecting the Payne and Rowland of the TV series, you will be disappointed. But come to the collection with an open mind, and I suspect you will enjoy the stories immensely.

SIDE NOTE: I wrote a paper in college on the Children’s Crusade and was obsessed with it for awhile (look it up!). I seriously considered writing a book on this dark historic topic. As such, I was particularly delighted with Dead Boy Detectives’ version of the story when I read it in ’94. It remains my favorite in the series.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, off the wall but so much fun. Probably describes a lot of Neil Gaiman's work but definitely fits for the Dead Boy Detectives. The omnibus edition, over 750 pages of it, covers all the stories released either as a Sandman issue or standalone Dead Boy Detectives comic. The story of two boys, one Edwin, who died in the early 1900's and his body was left in the attic of a school, and another, Charles, in present day who is killed by bullies at the same school in the same attic. The two ghosts meet and become friends but when death comes to take Charles away, he refuses to go when death said she cannot take Edwin. Death gives in and the dead boys are left on earth, they both have a love for detective stories and the adventures start from there.
Great fun to read, great artwork, even a manga version is included.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the Sandman, Lucifer and The Books of Magic it was time for another Sandman related series with Death Boy Detectives. This has some serious artists attached ! Neil Gaiman, Mark Buckingham and Ed Brubaker to name a few, even the colorists and letterers are topnotch, Lee Loughridge, Tatjana Wood, Todd Klein and John Costanza. Really amazing to see such talent on one omnibus. I think i liked both Lucifer and The books of Magic a bit better, but this was a fun book nontheless!

[Zachary Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

More stories in the Sandman Universe is always a good thing. Neil Gaiman, Ed Brubaker and Toby Lit contribute stories to this omnibus collection of the various dead boy detective stories over the years. This was a fun read albeit a bit disjointed at times given the lack of cohesion between runs. The premise keeps it relatively easy for new writers to jump in and tell stories.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun reading these stories of the Dead Boy Detectives! I also enjoyed that this copy conveniently seems to have most issues in one place. The Manga- style comic was not for me, the others I very much enjoyed!

[Jack T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandman 5/5
Children's Crusade 3.5/5
Presents 3/5
12 series 5/5
Manga 4/5

[Al Capwned · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't expect such a low quality from an original Sandman Universe title but it is what it is...

[Ella Campbell]

Okay I just finished the show and I am O B S E S S E D and I need season two now Netflix if you cancel this i swear to god I will go total Jenny the butcher on your ass

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars as:
-1 for the manga - I skipped it after ten pages as it was just bad
-1 as the main storyline read as if it should have had another issue
Otherwise very cute, comfy, easy read

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Brokenintrovert]

wtffff ive read this ages ago, why it didnt update
goodread wyd

[Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept is great. The execution goes downhill the whole way.