The Sandman Presents: Love Street #1–3 (of 3)
[Vertigo $2.95 US $4.50 CAN]
Written Peter Hogan / Pencilled by Michael Zulli / Inked by Vince Locke
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Issue one has the cover blurb, "I was a teenage Hellblazer...." but Love Street is really about Oliver and is told from his viewpoint as a Rabbi in 1999. The story begins with Oliver, a fourteen year-old runaway and his meeting with a teenaged and much more streetwise, John Constantine. Oliver is then introduced to a cast of hippie characters who all reside in the same building as John: Estrella, American ex-patriate; Terry, an Australian Vietnam war vet; Pamela, eighteen year-old aspiring dancer, and Ravi, a wise-beyond-his-years Indian man.

Along with Pamela’s boyfriend, Ivan (an initiate witch), the six set out for a dark arts garden party at Roderick Burgess’ house. For those of you versed in Sandman lore, Roderick Burgess is the magus who kept Dream as a prisoner in his house for 70 years. Roderick is long dead but the house and the imprisoned Dream have fallen to his son, Alex. As a result, Oliver and his friends are caught up in a denizen of the Dreaming’s (Magpie) attempt to rescue her lord and it doesn’t go well.

The mini-series follows the group to the present day when Oliver and the always-a-step-ahead John Constantine are calling the group to London to be present at Pamela’s death and the supposed freeing of the being possessing her. John, Oliver and Ravi are the three who seem the most aware of the supernatural ramifications of Pamela’s death.

I’ve read a few negative reactions to this mini-series on rac.arts.comics.vertigo and I was kind of surprised. I enjoyed the tale and would like to read more about Oliver, the Rabbi versed in the Kabballah. The artwork by Michael Zulli and Vince Locke was superb. I do prefer Michael Zulli’s pencils uninked as they were for "The Kindly Ones" but if anybody’s got to ink Zulli you can’t do much better than Vince Locke.