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.
Here's our gallery:
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.