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SYFY WIRE The Sandman Universe

Exclusive: The Sandman Universe welcomes Ruin in two variant covers for 'The Dreaming: Waking Hours'

By Matthew Jackson
The Dreaming Waking Hours Variant Cover

This summer, the next chapter in DC Comics' critically acclaimed Sandman Universe debuts in the form of The Dreaming: Waking Hours, a new series from writer G. Willow Wilson (Wonder Woman) and artists Nick Robles and Mat Lopes that will explore what happens when one of Dream's most perfectly constructed nightmares makes his way out into the world. The series doesn't debut until August, but today SYFY WIRE has an exclusive look at two beautiful variant covers highlighting this nightmarish new character, Ruin.

First announced back in MarchWaking Hours follows Ruin — Dream's nightmare constructed to be the embodiment of catastrophic failure — as he enters our world via the dreams of Lindy, a Shakespearean scholar and new mother pushed to exhaustion. What happens next will change the Sandman Universe forever, as Ruin discovers there's more to his existence than simply being a bad dream.

"What does it mean to have a bad dream as a protagonist? And then Ruin came tumbling out faster than I could write him down," Wilson explained in an essay on the new character published back in May. "A nightmare who falls in love with the person whose dreams he was sent to haunt. A nightmare who doesn’t want to be a nightmare and tries to change, who aches for a kind of human connection he might never have. It raises tantalizing questions from a storytelling perspective — if you have power that is inherently malevolent, can you simply choose to use it for good? Or is there more work involved? What do you have to sacrifice to become something better?"

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1 will arrive with two variant covers. First up, there's this beautiful offering from Yanick Paquette and Nathan Fairbairn, highlighting the series' cast.

The Dreaming Waking Hours Variant Cover

Plus, fans who want an even better look at Ruin can feast their eyes on this 1:25 incentive variant from Robles, highlighting the design work for the character. 

The Dreaming Waking Hours 1 in 25 Variant Cover

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1 arrives Aug. 4 from DC Black Label.