Crossover events are one of the signature joys of reading comic books.
EW caught up with Hill and Rodriguez to discuss how this crossover came together.
SinceSandmanwas one of the flagship comics of that era, what has Sandman specifically meant to you both?
Gabriel Rodríguez for IDW
I remember reading that very first issue and was immediately hooked by the storytelling.
The first thing I thought was, “Oh all my comics must be there!”
This is the beset single issue I’ve ever read in my life."
Gabriel Rodríguez for IDW
So then I went back and got everything and was completely obsessed.
He kind of took me under his wing after my first novel came out.
Once upon a time he workshopped my pitches for theDoctor WhoTV show.
Gabriel Rodríguez for IDW
He’s just very generous with his time and with his imagination.
How did you come up with that setting?
The original stories with Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode are more set up like a horror/mystery story.
So we thought that the universe ofSandmanwould hold hands in a more natural way through Chamberlin’s family.
It started as a sort of ping-pong of ideas.
We were meeting when they were shooting the failed pilot ofLocke & Keythat Fox tried to set up.
Joe said, “Well, and what if that hell is the hell fromSandman?”
And then everything clicked.
So we were snowed in at this hotel: Gabe, Chris Ryall, and myself.
It’s amazing that both those things actually happened.
We never thought we would actually make the Sandman story, it just felt like an idle fantasy.
I have to say that this feels like something that would happen inSandman.
It’s like theAt World’s Endstory: trapped inside during a storm and you just start talking stories.
HILL:Yeah, the bartender’s forked tail kept appearing, it was very peculiar.
And they ran out of beer, so we had to drink mead… HILL:I don’t really believe in a Judeo-Christian hell.
That’s not really a version of the afterlife that I find terribly plausible.
But Neil’s interpretation of hell has this tremendous folkloric power to it.
It feels like hell as envisioned in a Grimm’s fairy tale.
And Lucifer’s just like, “Um, that was 1,200 years ago, nobody cares.
You’ve been completely forgotten.”
In a way, that’s the most terrible punishment of all.
Can you guys tease anything about season 2?
HILL:Season 2 is so great.
It’s so much fun.
To compare it to MCU, season 1 was a little bit likeIron ManorCaptain America: The First Avenger.
Season 1 was the setup, and season 2 is the adventures.
In addition to giving it a new life, it gives the people that read the comic new surprises.
The other thing it did was introducethe two hottest paramedicsever seen on screen.
People are crying out loud for them to get their own spin-off series!
