All 22 covers to Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone #1

Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone #1 cover — (Image credit: Mike Allred/Laura Allred (IDW Publishing/DC))

The first major cross-company crossover in Sandman history begins next week with Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone #1 (of 2). This milestone crossover even bridges Neil Gaiman's Sandman Universe from DC with that of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key from IDW Publishing.

And those namesake creators are involved, with Hill writing, Rodriguez drawing, and Gaiman acting as a story consultant.

Ahead of this event, we are showcasing all 22 covers for the first issue of this unique event - similar to the memorable pin-up book DC published years ago titled Sandman: A Gallery of Dreams.

Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone #1 covers

There are five Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone #1 covers available through all retailers: the primary cover by Gabriel Rodriguez, others by J.H Williams III (colored and uncolored), Kelley Jones/Jay Fotos, and an uncolored version of Rodriguez's primary cover.

A sixth cover, by Mike & Laura Allred, is being sold as an exclusive to the upcoming Comic-Con International: San Diego 2021.

In addition to that, several stores have arranged specific variant covers exclusive to them. Here is the list of the artists and retailers - with a link to the retailer (when possible) to inquire about owning one yourself.

Megan Hutchison (colored and uncolored) versions, 616 Comics
Dennis Calero, AOD Collectables
Raymund Lee, AOD Collectables
Mark A. Nelson, Bedrock City
John Giang, Big Time Collectibles
Alan Quah, Comic Kingdom of Canada
Unnattributed art of Sandman key, Jetpack Comics / Forbidden Planet
Jae Lee/June Chung, Oasas Comics
Justine Frany (with and without trade dress), Sanctum Santorum / Slab City
David Mack (with and without trade dress), Scorpion Comics
Two by Peach Momoko, Scorpion Comics
Miguel Mercado, Yesteryear Comics

The two-part Locke & Key / The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone event comes ahead of the return of Netflix's Locke and Key later this year - and the debut of the live-action Sandman TV series, also on Netflix.

Read our review of the first chapter of Sandman, Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)