Every Wednesday we take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue at random, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

Ah, The Dreaming. Road to hell, good intentions, and all that. Having started out as a way to allow an idiosyncratic variety of creators to play in the sandbox of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman universe, the first year or so followed the template of distinct and individual stories (sometimes single-issue, sometimes spread over a few) that bounced around various supporting characters, minor and major, with – as you’d expect – varying degrees of quality. Unfortunately, neither critical nor sales success was forthcoming, and so Vertigo editorial took the decision to change the focus to an ongoing, plot-driven series centred around a core group of characters (Cain, Abel, Lucien and so on). This mightn’t have been a bad decision in and of itself, but the choice of Caitlin R. Kiernan as one of the two writers (and, later, the sole writer) to take the series forward was fatal, as one of the worst writers in comic book history (yes, even worse than Chuck Austen – and it’s telling that the industry has barely been near her since) completely ran it into the ground in a self-indulgent, fan fiction-esque fireball.

Before all of that, however, we were at least treated to a few issues by the series’ other main writer, Peter Hogan. Hogan had already turned in two of the best stories of the “anthology” era (four-part fairy story “The Lost Boy”, and the superb single issue “Ice”), and would also create the Sandman Presents : Love Street miniseries and the later-cancelled Marquee Moon. He showed an uncanny knack for the characterisation of numerous members of Gaiman’s expansive supporting cast, and for my money, he’s also the best potential Hellblazer writer never to have been given a shout at it.

Anyway, amid the dross that Kiernan’s story arcs were gradually plunging the title into, there was one final ray of light in early ‘99 in the shape of “London Pride”, a standalone issue with artist Steve Parkhouse that represents possibly the finest non-Gaiman moment in the Sandman franchise. Set during the Blitz, it tells the story – mentioned briefly in Sandman – of the death of Hob Gadling’s wife Peg. In a neat twist – and I’m not sure if this was intended by Gaiman and I was just too stupid to notice it in the original – it turns out that she’s the same girl (”Peg” being a shortened form of her name “Margaret”) that Hob met in his seafaring days and with whom he encountered the sea serpent, as relayed back in the Sandman : Worlds’ End. Gadling was, in my opinion, the best character to come out of Sandman, and the issue is a welcome expansion of his largely-untapped backstory. We’re also treated to not only a cameo by Sandman favourite Mad Hettie, but an addition to the ranks of the Constantine clan, in the shape of vile chancer Jack.

It’s a fairly simple little story in itself, but it’s moving and funny in turns, and the atmosphere – helped by some sterling work from Parkhouse – is well-judged. The style may not be to everyone’s taste, but that’s really the point of what The Dreaming was supposed to do – span the range of tastes of the wide variety of readers drawn into Gaiman’s universe. Certainly, “London Pride” stands out as exactly the sort of character exploration that was sacrificed all-too-quickly in favour of dicking about with Kiernan’s murderous transsexual Mary Sue character Echo. And it really raises the question of why Hogan’s career in American comics stalled so markedly after he left the title. But if you’re any sort of Sandman fan, I can heartily recommend it as a cracking little read.