Due to the long-lasting popularity of Neil Gaiman’s glorious The Sandman series, DC Comics, through the Vertigo imprint, has published a number of miniseries under the Sandman umbrella in order to maximize returns on the franchise. Labled as “The Sandman Presents,” these seires highlighted supporting characters that had appeared in
The Sandman. The miniseries that led into Mike Carey’s
Lucifer ongoing,
The Sandman Presents: Lucifer, was one such series. As his star rose with the continueing success of the ongoing
Lucifer, Carey was paired with painter John Bolton and former
The Sandman letterer, Todd Klein, to take another shot at
The Sandman Presents in 2002 with an original graphic novel,
The Sandman Presents: The Furies.
Readers of
The Sandman will already be familiar with the central character of this spinoff, Lyta Hall, whose emotional confusion allowed her to be manipulated into assisting the Eumenides, or Furies, with their vendetta against Morpheus, the original“sandman” of Gaiman’s
The Sandman. Lyta, being half-human, half-Fury, has a special connection to the Eumenides, which makes her a prime candidate for manipulation in
The Sandman. The fallout of this manipulation, as well as the resulting chaos of Lyta’s own actions, has led to her being an incredibly, mentally unstable pariah, which, combined with her ancestral connection to the Furies, makes her an ideal pawn for the machinations of divine beings. In Gaiman’s
The Sandman, Lyta was manipulated into aiding the destruction of one of the Endless; in Carey’s The Furies, Lyta is manipulated into forging a loop of impossibility, the paradoxical nature of which could lead to the destruction of all of reality. The only hope for the preservation of reality is if Lyta can accept the aid of both friends and indifferent allies in order to overcome her own demons metaphorically as well as literally.
The Furies, atlhough not written by Gaiman, preserves some of the content and stylistic choices that Gaiman used to make
The Sandman so riveting and intellectually stimulating. Carey combines ancient myth with modern reality in an alchemic soup that assails the readers’ emotions while simultaneosly feeding the readers’ intellect. The crossfade of mythic pantheons that Gaiman worked so well in
The Sandman and his brilliant
American Gods is also evident and deftly handled by Carey in
The Furies. Carey’s narrative progresses at a rapid-fire rate that quickly pulls the readers into the quickening dilemma of the protagonist and develops a sense of urgency in both characters and readers. Furthermore,
The Furies is inundated with the frequent allusions and witty dialog that have come to serve as indicia of the Vertigo brand. Carey at times, especially earlier in the book, appears to opt for contrived, cheap drama; however, these minor instances are more than overshadowed by the full-force of his entire work.
The typically held belief is that Vertigo books defy the stereotypical belief that “comic books” focus on pictures over story. While it is true that the strength of Vertigo books has always rested primarily in the stories, John Bolton is one of those artists who show that books of the intellectual caliber of
The Furies or
Books of Magic, can also be georgiously illustrated. Bolton is a painter, like the more well-known Alex Ross, but, while Ross’ stunning paintings focus on iconography, Bolton’s paintings are more photorealistic, while simulateously creating a sense of the ethereal. The etherealness of Bolton’s work aids Carey’s story in creating a sense of the otherworldly, yet, so many of Bolton’s painted pages seem almost indistinguishable from photography. Bolton’s art, then, has the same effect of blending the otherworldy and mythical with the real and mundane that Carey accomplishes with his storyline.
It is much to early to discuss possible artistic heirs for Neil Gaiman; after all, Gaiman himself is still producing work in the medium, but when the short list of Gaiman’s intellectual successors is compiled, Mike Carey’s name should be placed high on the list among such proven writers as Bill Willingham. If
The Furies, or
Lucifer for that matter, are any indication of Mike Carey’s ability to help steward Vertigo’s Sandman Mythology, then Gaiman’s offspring is in more than capable hands
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