Comic book writer James Tynion IV has significantly reduced his work with DC in favor of focusing on his creator-owned projects through platforms like Substack. His sole licensed title with the publisher for the foreseeable future is The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country. As a lifelong Sandman fan, Nightmare Country has Tynion explore unseen corners of the fantasy horror world created by Neil Gaiman to universal acclaim over thirty years ago. And with Nightmare Country being published through DC Black Label, Tynion is able to fully unleash the unflinching horror of the Sandman Universe, with the ravenous villain the Corinthian back in the spotlight.
In a roundtable interview attended by CBR, Tynion shared how Gaiman's original Sandman run influenced his comic writing career. He also hinted at some of the new characters making their way into the Sandman Universe through Nightmare Country and praised his collaborators for making such a horrific story come to life. Also included are preview pages from The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #1, illustrated by Lisandro Estherren, colored by Patricio Delpeche and lettered by Simon Bowland.
Tynion declared that The Sandman is his "all-time favorite comic book series" and the comic that made him want to write comics. Tynion credited the original comic series' second story arc "A Doll's House" for making him a lifelong Sandman fan, remarking on the obvious connection that Nightmare Country "centers on the Corinthian," the villain introduced in the 1990 story. Though the narrative connections are not heavy, Tynion noted that both stories involve ordinary, human characters brushing up against the fantastical and having it "absolutely devastate their lives."
Tynion explained that he enjoys and appreciates the horror genre as "it reflects the world around us," with some of his favorite horror stories coming "from real deep, cultural fears." To that point, Tynion is interested in writing horror stories that speak to contemporary moments in time, which is apparent in his self-published horror anthology Razorblades. With the Corinthian appearing prominently in Nightmare Country, CBR asked Tynion what it is about the mass-murdering villain that continues to make him stand out from the rest of The Sandman's cast of antagonists.
"I think that the Corinthian is one of the best horror images to ever come out of comic books," Tynion observed. "The mouths for eyes creates this incredible image that just stays with you like the best horror images stay with you. It has this perfect uncanny element where this is somebody that looks entirely human except there's one thing wrong with him, and that one thing makes him so, so scary. I think it just comes down to that concept and initial design."
While Tynion delved deeply into conspiracy theories and urban legends for his Image Comics series Department of Truth, he hinted that the dark side of exploring Americana's secrets would thematically "come funneling into Nightmare Country." The DC Black Label story will dive into the lurid world of serial killers, with Tynion acknowledging that in the original Sandman, the Corinthian was recognized as something of a "patron saint for serial killers."
Nightmare Country introduces two new villains to the Sandman Universe, Mister Agony and Mister Ecstasy. Tynion quickly clarified that the characters are not living nightmares, which "makes them even scarier." In writing Nightmare Country, Tynion wasn't just drawing from Sandman references but also wider influences from creator Neil Gaiman, with Agony and Ecstasy inspired by Gaiman's standalone story Neverwhere. Tynion also wanted to pace the story deliberately to allow readers to learn about the Sandman Universe through the story rather than "throw them in right in the deep end" from the very beginning, making Nightmare Country accessible to those who may have never read a Sandman story before.
Tynion confirmed that the Corinthian in Nightmare Country is the remade version from the end of the previous series, but the story "will play with what he remembers from his previous life and how he interacts with those memories." Conversation turned to the artwork on Nightmare Country, with CBR asking Tynion about his experience working with artists Lisandro Estherren and Yanick Paquette.
"It's been absolutely incredible. Lisandro is someone whose art I've absolutely loved for years and [has] been on my shortlist of artists I've wanted to work with," Tynion shared, praising Estherren's work alongside colorist Patricio Delpeche. "Yanick's legendary and one of the best artists working in the medium, and someone who I've intersected with a bit in my superhero work, but I still haven't done anything long-form with him… and still haven't!"
Paquette illustrates the nightmare sequence in the first issue of Nightmare Country, with every issue of the series featuring pages by different guest artists "expanding on the backstory of the Corinthian and [explaining] a bit of the world." Tynion lauded Paquette and colorist Nathan Fairbairn for their work together, bringing the Dreaming to life in the first issue. CBR followed up by asking about the new human characters in the Sandman Universe introduced in Nightmare Country, including the first issue's protagonist Flynn.
"I wanted to build contemporary characters that felt like they were coming out of 2022. That's the thing that was so striking about Rose and Barbie," Tynion explained. "They felt real in a way that a lot of comic protagonists in the '90s didn't feel quite as real."
Tynion drew from his own experiences going to college just outside New York City and relocating to Brooklyn in his 20s in creating a vibrant protagonist in Flynn. He said that he "wanted to capture that feeling" for the character. Tynion noted that Flynn provides the first vantage point into the world and story, which will be expanded upon moving forward. Despite this, Tynion promised he will not pull his punches and that "this will be bloody and horrible in places because I love bloody and horrible comics." Tynion elaborated that Nightmare Country will also lean into fantasy, feeling that the idea of blending different types of horror stories "is the essence of Sandman."
Tynion noted that the "central question of the series" is how new characters like Agony and Ecstasy exactly fit within the larger Sandman Universe. The Sandman established that the Dreaming is where stories come from, and nightmares are an extension of the psyche's fears. Tynion hinted at "different fonts of existence" playing a role in Nightmare Country. While refraining from specifying, Tynion promised that other familiar Sandman characters and aspects of the mythology will make appearances in Nightmare Country. CBR asked if there was any thematic connection between Tynion's previous co-creation, the Upside Down Man, and the living embodiment of fear and darkness in Nightmare Country.
Tynion noted it was a recurring thematic thread in his work, with the combination of imagination and human will making something a dangerous reality. "We create the horror in our lives, and there's a self-destructive streak in a lot of us," he observed. Tynion appreciated that his exploration of this theme in the Sandman Universe carries weight as The Sandman inspired him to become a comic writer in the first place. Tynion felt that the Sandman Universe "is so vast" that he could "write 100 issues in this world." While Tynion is committed to focusing on his creator-owned projects, the allure of working in the Sandman Universe was too strong and personally fulfilling an opportunity for him to pass up. He continues to explore the universe as his sole licensed title for the foreseeable future, an offer Tynion credited to editor Chris Conroy.
Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Lisandro Estherren and Yanick Paquette, The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #1 is on sale now from DC Comics.
