Those of you who purchased any DC comic this week will have noticed in the back the image I posted here. It’s meant as a teaser for the upcoming arc of Action Comics as well as the cover for Action Comics #894. DC teased the reader with the identity of who that was, and promised that they would reveal who it was later in the week.
Today is that day. On DCU’s The Source blog, the cover to Action Comics #894 was revealed… and it’s definitely a mind bender!
For those curious to see what lovely lady is adorning this beautiful David Finch cover, click behind the cut. Obviously I should warn that it is a mild spoiler, and if you don’t want to know don’t look. That being said, let’s take a look behind the cut.
Well would you look at that? It’s DEATH!
For those that don’t know, the woman above is Death, one of the characters from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Sandman is Neil Gaiman’s defining work in comic books, and the man is rather accomplished when it comes to literary prowess in general. As DC’s blog points out, it’s not entirely unusual for Sandman characters to appear in DC comics, as even in the first arc of Sandman, the character Dream went to Arkham Asylum and talked with Jonathan Crane briefly.
Action Comics is now about Lex Luthor and his quest for power, and the whole point of the story was to put Luthor up against characters that were way out of his normal power set and to really challenge Luthor as a super villain. According to Paul Cornell, he even got Neil Gaiman’s blessing on the work before writing it.
Death appearing in Action Comics was my own mad idea, the extreme case of putting Luthor up against characters he’s not used to dealing with I’m very pleased that, after I ran the idea by him, Neil Gaiman approved me using Death in this issue. He’s been very supportive. It’s so interesting to see her back in the DC Universe. Though Vertigo readers can rest assured that the character, and the way she’s used, will be true to the spirit of what has gone before.
Keep your eyes peeled and your wallets ready for Action Comics #894, which comes out in October.
