Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’ returns on Vertigo this fall

Neil Gaiman is busy. Having just published his first novel for adults in years, “Ocean at the End of the Lane,” the fantasy master is returning to the “Sandman” series on which his reputation at least partly rests, Vertigo, an imprint of DC Entertainment, announced Monday morning.

“The Sandman: Overture #1,” to be written by Gaiman and illustrated by J.H. Williams III, will be released on Oct. 30. According to a press release from Vertigo – which published the original “Sandman” series – “Overture” will “reveal a previously untold story in ‘The Sandman’ mythos.”

“This is the one story that we never got to tell. In ‘Sandman #1’ Morpheus is captured somehow. Later on in the series, you learn he was returning from somewhere far, far away - but we never got to the story of what he was doing and what had happened. This is our chance to tell that story,” Gaiman is quoted as telling the New York Times in the press release.

The six-issue miniseries will be published bimonthly, with art to be previewed at this month’s Comic-Con in San Diego.

Gaiman does not appear capable of standing still. As Rebecca Keegan noted in a recent Calendar profile, the author is “almost absurdly prolific” and varied, having recently written a “Doctor Who” episode that aired in the U.K., 12 short stories inspired by fan suggestions as part of a project funded by BlackBerry, and a forthcoming children’s book, “Fortunately, the Milk,” as well as working on an HBO adaptation of his novel “American Gods.”

Vertigo has five other series in the works, including Ian Hedginton’s “Hinterkind” and “Sandman” spinoff “The Dead Boy Detectives.”

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