The worlds of the Endless' Sadnman Morpheus and Wesley Dodds (crime fighting Sandman) meet momentarily in 1939 when Dods is lef to Burgess' mansion in search of the murderer of a family friend. This story is largely fluff and is obviously more connected to the Wesley Dodds storyline than to that of Morpheus, but it almost explains how the two characters are connected. Though really it just hints, because what's the fun in a story where everything is completely explained? ( )

Sandman Midnight Theatre features a crossover between the Golden Age Sandman (Wesley Dodds, created by Gardner Fox and Bert Christman) and Neil Gaiman's Sandman (Morpheus, the literal embodiment of Dreams) as written by Gaiman and illustrated by Teddy Kristiansen. The artwork is gorgeous and creates a wonderful brooding, film noir feel as Dodds travels to England to find who had blackmailed his friend, resulting in the friend's suicide. Much of the story serves as a reason for Dodds to meet Morpheus, who at the time of the story is still imprisoned by Roderick Burgess. While Gaiman had previously retconned the Golden Age Sandman to suggest that he devised his superhero alter-ego as part of a psychic side effect from Morpheus' capture, the two had not previously met. This one-shot is part of a 70-issue series also published under the Sandman Mystery Theatre banner that updated Wesley Dodds' version of the character for the Modern Age and, as such, it may feel like a forced crossover rather than a fully-developed mystery. Those who enjoy Gaiman's writing and Kristiansen's artwork will find it a fulfilling read. ( )

Teddy Kristiansen's artwork is incredible.

That's about the only positive, and it's a really big positive. Most of this crossover between Wagner's Sandman and Gaiman's more modern Sandman is hurt by being so incredibly boring. Nothing is gained, nothing's learned by the characters. They meet, and then go back to their respective worlds.

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

A crossover is a tool, and can't immediately account for a result. (Obviously.) Sandman Midnight Theatre, unfortunately, (and like most every crossover ever written,) reads as if they structured the entire 60-page story around the tool. Finding something interesting to do with that tool came second to simply getting the means out there. This accounts for a threadbare 1939 mystery used to get Wagner's Sandman to England so he can meet the more popular Sandman--at this point, held prisoner in the Sandman #1. It dissolves by the end, so much so that the conclusion is hidden under the crossover.

Midnight Theatre was plotted by Wagner, and fleshed out by Gaiman. This leads to Midnight Theatre being much more of a Sandman Mystery Theatre story than the Sandman, which, again, weird considering the size of their respective fanbases. Some of Gaiman's trademark philosophizing on the meaning of story is here, but doesn't benefit the mystery much when it's only here for the purpose of crossover.

But good lord, Teddy Kristiansen's art might make it worth it. His style is a bit abstract, reminding me of the abstract cubists or German expressionists that dominated the early 20th century. He adds a lot of nuance to Wesley Dodd's internal conflicts, of his attraction to series regular Diana, of his broken identity.

& that's it. Great art, boring, pointless story. The only excuse to read this is for struggling completists of either authors--and it's a pretty crummy excuse. ( )

There was a time when Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and Wagner and Seagle's Sandman Mystery Theatre were running alongside one another, so it must have seemed logical to cross the two series over. But despite an appearance by Dream (one of many mainstream DCU appearances in SMT of late), this is definitely a Sandman Mystery Theatre tale, albeit one filtered through a Neil Gaiman style. With Dian gone to England to find herself, Wesley eventually pursues a mystery there, and the two have a number of confrontations while solving a mystery and then reconciling. The mystery is a bit thin, and the reconciliation comes out of nowhere, but I enjoyed the story all the same. It just oozed atmosphere, partially because of Gaiman's dreamlike writing, but mostly because of Teddy Kristiansen's amazing artwork. He's the first artist who's not Guy Davis to do successful work on Sandman Mystery Theatre, and I really liked the story as a result. He is the only other person to get Wesley's dashing-but-awkward, young-but-pudgy appearance just right, and the way he does Wesley's glasses was especially great. Sometimes Wesley was as impenetrable as his disguise.

What really bothered me, though, was that Wesley referred to "the Sandman" as a different person throughout the story. Which is a neat idea, but Dian claims it's something he always does-- when he's never done it in Sandman Mystery Theatre ever! Nor does he do it again, to my knowledge. A weird little inconsistency.

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