The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country (2022-): The Glass House

Nightmare Country

by James Tynion IV, Patricio Angel (inker), Maria Llovet (inker)

The Corinthian has been turned loose on the waking world once more, and this time he sets his sights on the very root of rapacious American capitalism—Silicon Valley. His relentless pursuit of the Smiling Man will carve a bloody path from the C-suite of Prophet Capital to the bowels of a demonic nightclub, and no one will be safe from his reach. Not Ken, living large in the Bay Area since parting ways with Barbie all those years ago. Not Max, a nervous hedge fund manager on the rise who’s never quite fit anywhere. Not Thessaly, the immortal witch who would tear heaven and hell apart to get the answers she seeks surrounding the death of Madison Flynn. Not anyone.
Multiple Eisner Award–winning writer James Tynion IV reunites with superstar horror artist Lisandro Estherren to bring you the nightmarefueled follow-up you’ve been craving, a tale that will plunge the bottomless depths of our yearning for more at the heart of the American dream.
Collects The Sandman Nightmare Country – The Glass House #1-6 and The Sandman Universe Thessaly #1.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Dc Comics, Urban Fantasy

196 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2024

About the author

Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

Reviews

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was explosive and amazing!

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great follow up to the original series and a great reminder at how well Tynion works in this kind of a world. Really makes me want to dive back into Sandman again.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still dark and pretty intriguing but the characters felt a little disjointed by the end. First 3 issues were great but I found myself slipping away. The last issue though was interesting. I guess one more part for this one!

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Tynion.

I really like the Sandman Universe.

I didn’t love this. Part of that may be on me. Volume 1 made sense but the further I got into Volume 2, the more confused I got. I felt like I was constantly thinking “Who did what now?”

There’s something about Dream and Desire having a struggle. Corinthian gets “reset,” as it were. There’s a witch thrown in the mix. There’s some other random baddies that aren’t explained (well).

Maybe it’s not on Tynion. Maybe I need to reread it. I don’t know.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A edição anterior de País dos Pesadelos foi muito bem desenvolvida, um belo terror, um ótimo mistério, uma boa reinserção no Universo de Sandman através dos olhos (ou seriam bocas?) do Coríntio. Mas ela deixou tudo em aberto e, nesta continuação, não continuou exatamente de onde havia parado, deixando esse leitor a ver navios. Ainda assim, Tynion IV desenvolve uma bela trama, intrincada, misteriosa e cheia de terror. Minha parte favorita é o especial da bruxa Thessaly incluído neste encadernado, e desenhado por Maria Lloret. Contudo, com a intervenção do Lorde dos Sonhos parece que a coisa da narrativa se acelera, como num Deus ex machina, e parece que o fluxo da narrativa é perdido. Além disso, mais uma vez a minissérie acaba deixando muitas explicações para serem feitas, como aconteceu no primeiro volume. Dessa forma, o leitor, eu, no caso, tenho/temos que esperar por mais uma dose de minissérie para entender exatamente o que está se passando no Universo de Sandman. E pode ser que demore a sair e esqueçamos toda a trama. Ponto negativo para uma história bem desenvolvida.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazingly crafted story, couldn't put it down!

Tynion really gets what the Sandman is and continues it's legacy magnificently!
I'm very excited to see what he does with the toys entering his tool box by the end of this book next!

The artists of Estherren, Depeche, and Llovet make this book a true dream! Can't get enough of their art inside!

I would argue that the Thessaly single issue is a must for anyone who loves Sandman, but the same could be said of this whole Nightmare Country series!

[Nate Hipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent sequel to a fantastic series. The end is a bit of a whimper rather than an explosion, but it’s helpful to remind myself that the end of the trilogy is still to come.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[eris · Rating 5 out of 5]

JA JUŻ CHCĘ NASTĘPNY TOM CO TO ZA ZAKOŃCZENIE

[Caleb Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly a little disappointed. It didn't really carry the story forward and wasn't as engaging as others in the series

[Alex Sarll]

I normally like Tynion, but when you put him up against Sandman proper it is a little like the Corinthian's original attempt to confront Dream. Matthew gets a line here about the obvious inference when someone keeps saying how smart they are, and it made me realise how much this book feels obliged to tease us with its mysteries, and how extremely mysterious they are, when Sandman proper would hide them in plain sight so well that you wouldn't even realise you weren't getting the whole story until the reveal. Then too, there's a lot of overlap between this and the current Hellblazer run, both in terms of specific comics furniture (the sand) and wider themes (what the blazes is wrong with America?), without it really feeling like the stories cohere or intersect, which rather militates against the plausibility of a supposedly Gaiman-curated prestige imprint. But even if it's clearly not the real thing, I can't deny it approximates the vibe pretty well, and a whole special with the fabulously pragmatic Thessaly, illustrated by the great Maria Llovet, was always going to be a treat. Turns out writing Hollywood scripts using AI gets great results after all, so long as by AI you mean ancient incantations, and the result you want isn't a film.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without rules, a story has no structure, and it becomes all too apparent that any word can mean anything in the right context. That anything can happen at any time. That existence is chaos. Random. Few can grapple with that. So they seek meaning. And my power exists within that meaning.

Making anything happen draws attention in and of itself. Why would I break the rules? Who am I moving against in breaking the rules? Why?

But, if you've set a trigger in place, when you are allowed to make just about anything happen, then you are allowed to make anything happen.

And the reason anything is happening is because you set that trigger.

The Corinthian is a thing of nightmares, quite literally. Having been destroyed and then recreated by its master, Dream of the Endless, it is not quite the same as before. Learning of an artist that creates monsters with teeth for eyes, Corinthian is intrigued as they have not before visited the struggling painter. It seems there is something out there that is new and unknown. It is up to the Corinthian to investigate further and to challenge their purpose.

With competing forces in play, the Corinthian is given an offer it may not be able to refuse. Meanwhile, Madison Flynn (the aforementioned artist) has been murdered. Luckily Dream is on hand to reincarnate her as a cat so she can continue in her quest for answers. Teaming up with fan favourite Thessaly (aka Lamia), they must take on Agony and Ecstasy, a rogue angel and a tech billionaire, all of whom have their own agenda in play.

My only criticism is that the story just sort of peeters out. There isn't a definitive ending and that left me rather underwhelmed. There is internet talk of a third volume but as of the time of this review, no progress has been seen on this. 4 stars.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sandman: Nightmare Country volume 2 feels like a far more focused story than the first installment. There’s a hellish nightclub that grants your deepest desire and somehow that’s tied into the ongoing mystery of The Smiling Man. But can the Corinthian and Flynn unravel this mystery before a deranged angel brings about the apocalypse? Once again, Tynion IV delivers a very classic Sandman story - all at once straddling the realms of horror and fantasy while shining a light at the underbelly of the American dream.

It’s a compulsive read, and one that finally starts to shine a light on the series’ ongoing mysteries. But much like the first volume, The Glass House feels like setup for next year’s concluding arc. It’s the calm before the storm, the part of the story where all of the various pieces are moved into place. But the story being set up is devilishly interesting and quintessentially Sandman.

Estherren’s art is suitably horrific and abstract, feeling all at once like a dream and a nightmare. And it fits the material to a tee. This isn’t the kind of story you want realistic artwork for. No, you want something that’s gonna give you the ick, that’s gonna draw you into Tynion IV’s world and spit you back out again - and that’s exactly the feeling Estherren’s art communicates. It’s gorgeous in its discomfort.

As for the script itself, Tynion IV properly understands Gaiman’s world, understands the weight behind his ideas, and he uses that understanding to craft this rich exploration of the American dream. What if American isn’t a dream country after all? What if there’s some other force at play, some other endless quality that drives this country? What if, indeed…

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong opening and very reminiscent of American Gods. Tynion has a great writing style which lends itself to the world. The art and plotting start off strongly then fall off towards the end a little bit. It's unclear who certain characters are or why they're in The King of Pain in the dreamworld in a way that is never really resolved.

The zombie girl was an interesting and tragic character who I wish was explained a bit better. Her styling towards the end is reminiscent of Monica Belluci in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or Burton's Corpse Bride.

The two henchmen and the way they're drawn is very reminiscent of Fleming's Live and Let Die. Overall, there's a lot left up in the air and not a huge sense of place or who the various angels and non angels various people are seeing are. Will start again from Sandman 1 and see how it goes. Would read other works by Tynion and see how they went too.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sick and twisted in all the right ways, the second volume of Nightmare Country brings back Sandman concepts and characters from across all of Gaiman's mythos and throws them into some even more ridiculous scenarios. Vertigo might not be a thing any more, but this is as close to a Vertigo book as you're going to get these days.

I do wish we still got the guest artist spots like the last volume, but that's a minor quibble. Roll on the final volume, whenever that's due. I wanna know how this all shakes out.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the Dreaming and Nightmare Country books produced since the end of the Sandman, this is the one that has the closest feel to Gaiman's original, perhaps as a dark, twisted Game of You. Oh, it's put aside most of the grotesqueries of the first volume, but there's still plenty of dark gruesomeness. But moreso, there's the return of old friends (even Daniel) and the interweaving of plans and plots that makes it feel like The Sandman, with a small story have large reflections.

And more surprisingly, it's not done. There's apparently a V3 to look forward to.

[Mik Cope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as individual issues. I really wanted to like this, and there were some interesting ideas and nice cameos of established places, characters and events from previous installments in the mythology of the Dreaming. But I found the story overall to be confusing, with a ton of exposition which didn't make a ton of sense. The first volume was better, and I hope the upcoming conclusion will be, too.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof, this one is a bit of a dud. Maybe I'm all Sandman'd out Tynion has been so readable over the last couple of years. Aside from the Thessaly ish I was bored out of my mind and the writing felt so choppy from page to page. Doesn't help that the art was quite on the ugly side and didn't appeal to me at all. I'm usually down with some gritty dingy ass look in a horror book but this looks plain rough not sure what's going on.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Familiar faces from The Sandman come back to play parts shaped for them by past dreams and cause trouble while new characters find themselves entangled with their lives. The dead find themselves famous, curious, and accompanying nightmares to get to the bottom of a mystery where their own driving passion is the biggest clue. This mingled history with the plot, fleshing out not only the characters, but the universe itself.

[Pittoresque · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a little disappointing. While we learned quite a bit of background on the Corinthian, Thessaly and the others, not a lot really *happens* in this volume, and just when things start to get interesting, the book is over and I am left to figuring out where, if at all, this story is continued. Which is a shame because I *wanted* to like this, and I *want* to find out where it leads, but right now, I got no idea!

[Randomproxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally took a star off for this title not holding up well on its own as a stand-alone story, and put it back. This is the sequel to a spin-off of a spin-off of a series that ended in 1996 - it's fair for the narrative to assume you know who all these people are.

The Corinthian and Thessaly Do Their Thing. A tremendous story ensues.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hate to say it since it's Tynion and I really liked the first volume but this kinda sucks. No nightmare interludes this time and Misters Agony and Ecstasty don't show up until the literal final page ugh. Instead we get old villains from the Sandman series proper showing up and acting exactly like they did there so I really don't get the point of this volume?

[Daniel Freer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really like so far

Haven't read any of the other spinoff series and before these 2 volumes I had only read the original sandman stories. I like seeing Daniel the son even though he still has the "memories?"or essence of the original dreamking. I'd love to see a totally new volume of Daniel being the sandman and learning the ropes so to speak

[Will Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series and really enjoying the cat-and-devil game of mystery. Can't wait to see how it concludes, especially as my favorite (and the only) Thessaliad witch has featured prominently. The writing and art continues to be top notch!

[elián · Rating 3 out of 5]

No sé porque tarde tanto en terminar este cómic, pero me gustó, no tanto como el primer volumen, pero la historia se mantuvo interesante y hasta el final te deja con cierto suspenso y con muchísimas dudas. Ya quiero el tercer volumen y seguir leyendo sobre esta extraña y grotesca historia.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this volume. Gorgeous art, a riveting storyline, and lots of fun lore in this already rich universe. I like how it continued the plot of the first volume while maintaining some mystery. I'm very excited to see where this goes!

[zackxdig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream had to step in but there are too many open ended questions. That last issue seemed to try and cram it all in there when they needed an extra issue or two to wrap stuff up and leave breadcrumbs like normal. Who are the two weird hellraiser assassins. Who is the fat blob Corinthian.

[Luii_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que chingados pt-2

(Ya saquen que chingados pt-3)

Ahora si tiene más sentido, como que al principio no entendía del todo lo que sucedía pero ya con este los puntos en mi mente se acomodaron solitos.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al mismo nivel de la etapa de Spurrier. Ahora a esperar que esto concluya este año...

[Jeremiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so much