Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, AKA the Dead Boy Detectives from Neil Gaiman's expansive Sandman universe, are returning to comics on December 27. That's when The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #1 a six-issue limited series written by Pornsak Pichetshote and drawn by Jeff Stokely debuts.
Although Charles and Edwin have been dead best friends for what seems like always and have been working as detectives together for decades, they've never encountered ghosts quite like the ones they find in The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives. The boys begin investigating the disappearance of a Thai American girl from her Los Angeles home and encounter some truly terrifying spirits, including a bloodthirsty krasue (likely based on the Cambodian legend of a nocturnal woman's spirit who wanders aimlessly, searching for victims upon which to feed).
To make things worse, Charles and Edwin may be growing apart, which could be devastating for them both.
Meanwhile, The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives will also follow the witch Thessaly, who's being held hostage by magic that threatens her life and her ego in super close proximity to the boys' investigation. She won't let that stand for long, and it seems likely the characters' paths will intersect, which could pull Charles and Edwin into her revenge mission or pull her into their mystery.
Check out a preview and cover gallery for issue #1 below.
Charles and Edwin first appeared in 1991's The Sandman #15, and they've appeared in several comics and mangas since. They even appeared in Doom Patrol Season 3 on HBO Max, played by Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant. In April, HBO Max announced a full series, Dead Boy Detectives, which doesn't seem to have been a casualty during the recent Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
It's difficult to say whether these characters will appear on Netflix's The Sandman, or whether or not the Dead Boy Detectives series moves forward at HBO Max. The good news is, the new comic book series is definitely happening.
Meet the Sandman's Endless family and learn their comic book origins.
