with the show finally out i figured it was a great time to share my reading list again! check it out below the cut 👻☠️🔎
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⏳ the sandman #25 (1991)
this is their first appearance!
🐇 the children's crusade (1993)/free country: a tale of the children's crusade (2015)
1. the children's crusade #1
(2. black orchid annual #1
4. animal man annual #1
5. swamp thing annual #7
6. doom patrol annual #2
7. arcana annual #1)
8. the children's crusade #2
alternatively you can just read free country. whether or not you read the annuals i recommend reading free country's middle chapter
!!! in place of the annuals there is an additional middle chapter that was created for the book "free country: a tale of the children's crusade" where it is placed between the two children's crusade issues. the boys don't actually appear in most of the annuals (they are in two panels of swamp thing and appear in doom patrol) and reading them isn't necessary but i figured i would include them as they are part of the story.
❄️ winter's edge #3 (2000)
this is an anthology. their part is the 'books of magic: waiting for good dough' story starting on page 19
🐦⬛ the sandman presents: the dead boy detectives (2001, 4 issues)
i believe the tv show's esther finch was partially based on this run's villain.
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(they do have a part in 'death: at death's door' from 2003. it's short and really just a retelling of events from sandman #25 with some minor changes. the entirety of their appearance in death: at death's door is included at the end of the next comic im listing so i am not really adding the death: at death's door book to the list)
☠️ the dead boy detectives (2005, one-shot)
this book was made by jill thompson in a very cute manga-esque style
👻 ghosts (2012), time warp (2013), the witching hour (2013)
these three are anthologies. the story 'the dead boy detectives in: run ragged' runs through all of them. 'run ragged' kicks off the next run.
🔮 from the pages of the sandman: dead boy detectives (2013, 12 issues)
this is the comic where crystal is introduced! a book collecting all 12 issues titled 'dead boy detectives by toby litt & mark buckingham' was released in 2023
🔎the sandman universe: dead boy detectives (2022, 6 issues)
the most recent run, centered around some really interesting thai mythology and featuring multiple edwin moments that i am sure you will love
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and that's everything! i also recommend buying the omnibus if you can. it includes everything minus the 2022 run plus some additional bonus content!
i hope this is helpful! feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the comics. dead boy detectives is my number one interest so i should be able to answer
A crossover with several DC Vertigo titles. Edwin, Charles and Dorothy can be found in the Doom Patrol episode "Dead Patrol".
The Sandman Presents: The Dead Boy Detectives (2001) #1-4
Hob Gadling whump. For lovers of Mad Hettie.
The Dead Boy Detectives (2005) #1
Atypical DC Vertigo fare and this assessment isn't because of the cutesy art.
Dead Boy Detectives (2014) #1-12
The best out of the whole bunch!! Crystal Palace and Tragic Mick from the Netflix series are characters originally from this run.
The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives (2022) #1-6
I guess you can call this a soft reboot. The variant covers are absolute bangers.
The Dead Boy Detectives Omnibus (2023)
Has all of the above except for Sandman Universe. This omnibus includes minor appearances of the DBD and other exclusive goodies. The one-shots about the DBD in Ghosts (2012), Time Warp (2013) and The Witching Hour (2013) form a three part story called Run Ragged. It's recommended to read Run Ragged before the 2014 run.
YOU ARE ONE OF MY MOOTS ON THIS APP. WHO ALSO IS FAMILIAR WITH HALBARRY?
ermmm what the freakkk??? inventing homosexuality in the making? lets gooo? ( from the godzilla vs king kong issue.....)
Also my favorite thing here is Hal calling him Red? I don't know, it was Ollie's first nickname for Barry in the older comics so seeing him call Barry this is sooo silly. (They should get married. Diana supports them and wants them to?)
Omg yess I'm desperate for halbarry content it's an underated ship, and it makes me happy when someone ships halbarry 😭😭
if dc ain't inventing mlm homosexuality we'll do it ourselves 😤👊
idk I can see them giving each other nicknames, and I hc hal giving barry "bluebarry"
and I think they are the type of closet queer couple who keeps saying they're just friends and almost all of their friends and co workers find it super obvious they're not, they're in the closet but their closet is made of glass 💀
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