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THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: THE CORINTHIAN #3
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Writer: Darko Macan
Artist: Daniel Zezelj
Colors: Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh & Jamison
Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Shelly Bond
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
As a fan of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, and in particular of his "Collectors" story from that title in which the Corinthian had the spotlight, I found the nightmare's initial adventures in the waking world and development of his murderous reputation and skills to be intriguing and entertaining. But the structure of the story and the art seems geared toward obfuscation. Plot and character is sacrificed in the name of atmosphere.
The Corinthian's purpose in haunting Charles Constantine is finally revealed: he is seeking a tutor, someone who can teach him how to kill, how to become flesh in order to tear through it. He finds a new teacher, though: the odd woman named Coco, now insisting on being called Columbine. Unlike Constantine, she has the will to kill, and it may serve to ignite a bloody fire within the toothy-eyed nightmare.
Zezelj's thick, stark lines are well suited for the dark, bizarre tone of this story, but at times, the action is rather difficult to follow. Some of the characters look too much alike. The real visual strength of this book is to be found in Van Valkenburgh's muted, almost surreal colors. She uses pastel tones, but somehow, they come off as eerie as opposed to gaudy.
Macan conveys one aspect of this story clearly here, and that's emotion. The title character's anger and frustration comes to life in a shocking scene on page 11, and Columbine's weird desire is haunting. The importance of this particular story to the character also comes through, though it will be lost on those unfamiliar with the Gaiman series that inspired it.
It seems that with every issue of this series, I need to read the synopsis of the previous chapter in each issue to know what really happened before. The problem is that this is the final chapter, so I guess I'll never really be sure of the events that transpired. While there are some interesting and clever twists in plot and character, there are just as many confusing moments.
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