SETH’S PICK :: SANDMAN: OVERTURE #1:  Like it or not, it’s hard to deny the depth and range of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, or the mark it left on our beloved comics medium.  Like it or not (part two), Sandman is a book that warrants all the attention it’s received over the years.  It is nothing if not thought-provoking.  So here we are twenty five years after Sandman debuted, and Vertigo is appropriately ushering in a new mini series from Gaiman.  Overture is notable for a few reasons.  Aside from the fact it’s the first time Neil’s returned to these characters in a good while, the series features art from J.H. Williams III, whose particular artistic inclinations seem ready-made for Sandman work.  What’s more is that Overture deals with an often puzzling chapter of Dream’s past: what happened to him that lead to him being imprisoned prior to Sandman #1?  Sandman: Overture is at the very least a book worth noting in your comic travels this week.  Who knows?  This could very well be a fine addition to the legacy of one of comics’ most enduring libraries of the past quarter century. 

BRENT’S FAVORITES OF 2012:

Favorite Superhero Book of 2012: There were lots of great superhero books on the stands this year (the reinvigorated Daredevil, the thematically-unified Uncanny X-Force, and the imaginative Action Comics were definite front runners for me), but my favorite capes-and-fisticuffs book continues to be Batwoman. Operating on the fringes of the Bat-family, it is allowed to move at its own pace. J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman turn in thought-provoking scripts that take the story in introspective directions. The great strength of the book, of course, lies in the art. Williams turns in page after page of gorgeous work. But even when he’s spelled a bit by Amy Reeder or Trevor McCarthy, the storyline shines through. The current arc, featuring a Wonder Woman team-up, is knitting together years of plot threads in high style.

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