The Sandman author explains the idea behind 24 Hours.
To read more from EW’s Untold Stories issue, pick up the new Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday.
Neil Gaiman’s iconic comic seriesThe Sandmanwas a story about stories.
The cover of ‘The Sandman’ #6, a.k.a. ‘24 Hours.’ Cover art by Dave McKean.DC Comics
“I think I was definitely trying to find my voice,” theAmerican Godsauthor tells EW.
“I was trying on different hats over those first eight issues, but that one was just mine.
The movie sparked the idea to count down 24 hours of increasing depravity inside the diner.
The first page of ‘The Sandman’ #6, written by Neil Gaiman with art by Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III.DC Comics
But there was an easy fix: “Suddenly I went, ‘Hang on.
And it came into focus suddenly and beautifully.
And it was an awful thing.
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It was like, ‘Okay, where does my imagination go?
What would I do to these people?’
And then going, ‘This needs to be relentless.
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It needs to be horrible.
And it can never be torture porn.
you’ve got the option to never enjoy what is happening to these people.'”
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And that, to me, was the key line.
None of these people are gonna get happy endings,” Gaiman says.
And that, I felt, was where that was established.
John Dee as seen in ‘The Sandman’ #6 by Neil Gaiman, Mike Dringenberg, and Malcolm Jones III.DC Comics
I got to push that pin in in ‘24 Hours.'"
Williams III), the author says he’s keeping the door open.
“So why it feels relevant, I don’t know, but it still does.
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That people are still excited about it is thrilling to me.
