The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #6

The Super Powered Fancast

The Story: As a fan of the Sandman universe, I absolutely loved all of the ambiguity of this conclusion. Not only are the stakes getting higher for Charles and Edwin, but they are learning quickly that there are limits to what they can do even as ghosts. Thessaly’s moral ambiguity works exceptionally well in this issue. You don’t know if she is friend or foe, just that she is working for her own ends. I loved the connections to the rest of the Sandman universe and look forward to more adventures. The Art: Stokely delivers some beautifully detailed and haunting imagery throughout the issue. The visuals are filled with great energy and disturbing moments that showcase the stakes for the characters.

Geek Dad

Pornsak Pichetshote and Jeff Stokely bring the curtain down on this creepy tale of young ghosts and international twists, as the source of the sudden plague of Thai ghosts is revealed. Like most things in this series, it’s a tragedy of not being able to let go – something Charles and Edwin are forced to confront themselves as one of them is fading fast. This leads them to an unexpected source for help—the witch Thessaly, who seems to be becoming the main villain of the Sandman Universe at the moment. Her machinations give the boys and their new companions a potential second chance at an afterlife that resets the table a little and leaves room for new adventures, but things do have to end a little abruptly. This mostly seems like it was setup for Thessaly’s next move, but the story Pichetshote built around it is packed with genuine, emotional moments that make it another big win for this line.

DC Comics News

As final chapters go, The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #6 is about as good as it gets. I didn’t expect it to end the way it did, have no issues with the conclusion; and, best of all, as all great stories tend to do, what was the conclusion to one tale is just the beginning of another. The Dead Boy Detectives will be back (although they may need to change their name), and Thessaly’s role and connection to he larger, overall arc will continue, over in the pages of Nightmare Country. This entire team has created a memorable, fun, scary romp that has never ceased to delight. I have bought the individual issues, and would happily own a collected version too.

ComicBook.com

The newest Dead Boy Detectives adventure concludes with an embrace of childhood and children's capacity to embrace the new, making for a stirring finale. Of course, the climactic sequences are also filled with horrifying visions of Thai ghosts eviscerating human beings and threatening all sorts of harm. It's a tense read in which characters are faced with difficult decisions and sacrifices in a crisis caused by a deeply sympathetic actor. Those levels of complexity and absence of a pure villain makes for a much more moving conclusion. Jeff Stokely's contributions in delivering both demonic apparitions and expressions of innocence should not be understated as Dead Boy Detectives manages to pivot between terrifying and uplifting in the space of only a few panels. Although this mystery has drawn to a close, and lays additional groundwork for other Sandman Universe tales along the way, it will leave readers looking for the next Dead Boy Detectives adventure, especially if it comes from Pichetshote and Stokely.