The Top 100 Comic Sagas, Day 10!
Aug 11, 2017 10:59:01 GMT -5
shaxper, Slam_Bradley, and 1 more like this
Post by Crimebuster on Aug 11, 2017 10:59:01 GMT -5
I'm clearly going to have to do a podcast or three on this, because it hasn't even shown up in anyone's honorable mention list!
#1. Sandman Mystery Theatre
Sandman Mystery Theatre #1-70 plus annuals and specials
This is what I wrote three years ago:
"Starman and SMT have a lot in common. Both use continuity to wonderful effect, exploring the history of the DC Universe. More importantly, though, as great as the adventures are, they both serve as a vehicle for a bigger story about human relationships. While Starman is about father and son, Sandman Mystery Theatre is about what I consider the best and most realistic romance in comics, the relationship between Wes Dodds and Dian Belmont. The structure itself highlights this (and I loev it when the structure of a story reinforces the story itself); every case is a four issue arc, and every arc alternates between Wes and Dian as narrator, telling one story from his point of view and then the next from hers. The series begins with their meeting and ends with their commitment to each other. Again, the structure of the ending is wonderful, as the final arc cuts off halfway through the case; we never learn who the killer was or how he was defeated or any of that, because it's beside the point. Once Wes and Dian's story was done being told, the series was over. The only sad part was that the ending came so soon - another 100 issues would not have been at all out of place. But we're fortunate to have 70 issues of what I consider the best saga of all time.
I should also say that the team of Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle as writers and Guy Davis as primary artist is absolutely sublime. And the stories themselves are fantastic bits of period pulp. Nothing is rose colored in this gritty depiction of late 30's New York; we see humanity in all its seedy, desperate depths. Guy Davis's depictions of 30's new York are absolutely to die for. And the bits where Wes (who in post-Crisis DC was the first superhero) interacts with the characters who would later form the foundation of the DCU - such as Hourman, Ted Knight and Blackhawk - are great, great moments for comics nerds. There are a lot of layers to this (I haven't even gotten into the connection between this series and Neil Gaiman's Sandman and the crossover one-shot between the two) and every layer is better than the last."
#1. Sandman Mystery Theatre
Sandman Mystery Theatre #1-70 plus annuals and specials
This is what I wrote three years ago:
"Starman and SMT have a lot in common. Both use continuity to wonderful effect, exploring the history of the DC Universe. More importantly, though, as great as the adventures are, they both serve as a vehicle for a bigger story about human relationships. While Starman is about father and son, Sandman Mystery Theatre is about what I consider the best and most realistic romance in comics, the relationship between Wes Dodds and Dian Belmont. The structure itself highlights this (and I loev it when the structure of a story reinforces the story itself); every case is a four issue arc, and every arc alternates between Wes and Dian as narrator, telling one story from his point of view and then the next from hers. The series begins with their meeting and ends with their commitment to each other. Again, the structure of the ending is wonderful, as the final arc cuts off halfway through the case; we never learn who the killer was or how he was defeated or any of that, because it's beside the point. Once Wes and Dian's story was done being told, the series was over. The only sad part was that the ending came so soon - another 100 issues would not have been at all out of place. But we're fortunate to have 70 issues of what I consider the best saga of all time.
I should also say that the team of Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle as writers and Guy Davis as primary artist is absolutely sublime. And the stories themselves are fantastic bits of period pulp. Nothing is rose colored in this gritty depiction of late 30's New York; we see humanity in all its seedy, desperate depths. Guy Davis's depictions of 30's new York are absolutely to die for. And the bits where Wes (who in post-Crisis DC was the first superhero) interacts with the characters who would later form the foundation of the DCU - such as Hourman, Ted Knight and Blackhawk - are great, great moments for comics nerds. There are a lot of layers to this (I haven't even gotten into the connection between this series and Neil Gaiman's Sandman and the crossover one-shot between the two) and every layer is better than the last."
