by Randy Lander

THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: THE THESSALIAD #1 "Part I: The Daughters of Garm or Far Too Much About Pie" Highly Recommended (9/10) DC Comics/Vertigo imprint Writer: Bill Willingham Artist: Shawn McManus Colors: Danny Vozzo & Jamison Letters: John Costanza Editor: Shelly Bond Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN A curse on Bill Willignham, Shawn McManus and Shelly Bond. I really don't want to buy another Sandman spinoff, particularly about a character I really didn't like that much in the first place, but this was such an excellent first issue, I have to know where it's going next. The atmosphere of this one is not at all what I expected, more of the light comedy/magic style that Willingham has used to such good effect on Proposition Player and Coventry, and McManus's art is equally delightful, reminiscent of Kyle Baker or Sam Kieth in its weird and joyful style. Thessaly, one of the darker characters of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, seems an odd choice for this tone, but in fact she serves as a great "straight man" (if you will) for the magical hijinks that fill the book. In fact, Thessaly isn't in this issue much, as we instead focus on a hapless bystander, another trademark of Willingham's work, and on the cocky but amusing antagonist for the story. This is mostly an issue to set the stage, to establish the world as one that is full of hidden magic and very abnormal things existing alongside normal life. McManus does a terrific job in depicting this type of thing. The realism of city streets or university buildings contrast nicely with the ghostly war dogs being used to hunt Thessaly, and the gore and destructive behavior demonstrated later on serves more as dark humor than disturbing violence. I also quite enjoyed the very normal designs for Thessaly and Fetch, which contrasts with their not-at-all normal lives. Willingham's sense of humor is what drew me to his work on Proposition Player, and it's in full swing in this issue. Poor hapless Stanley is a cliche, but he's still quite funny, and the sardonic voice of Fetch makes for some very engaging narration. Even Thessaly, for all her cold demeanor, demonstrates a dry sense of humor. Some might find this out of character for her, but I actually thought it fit quite well with the detached personality she demonstrated in Sandman previously. Though I'm as nervous as anyone about the idea of further stories of Sandman characters not done by Neil Gaiman, The Sandman Presents line thus far has brought about too many pleasant surprises to complain about. Gaiman created a wide variety of characters, all of whom have potential for stories of different types, and though I'd just as soon see something original from this creative team, they have taken an established character and crafted something original around her, which is almost as good. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.