Comic Connections

[Dan Kelly]

After retrieving them from my parent's loft the other week I settled down to re-read Sandman for the first time in quite a while.  And noticed something.

Obviously there are some connections between Sandman and the rest of the DC Universe, for example John Constantine and J'onn J'ozz... as well as the whole Lucifer spin off.  However I've noticed another one that I wasn't aware of.

There may be spoilers to Preacher and Lucifer, as well as Sandman, below...











In the first couple of books there is mention on Mad Old Hettie, who is a couple of hundred years old constantine and Hob Gadling both know her).  Mad Old Hettie crops up a couple of issues of Preacher.  In Preacher God has Quit.  In Lucifer (which is of course based on Sandman's Lucifer) God has also quit.  So is this the same event?  

Preacher was always outside of the DCU for me.  But perhaps not...

Any other connections like this around between stories?

Dan

[Trout]

Gaiman has since described his attempt to use superheroes in Sandman as a bit misguided and not too successful, although J'onn, Superman and Batman did turn up in a pretty funny cameo in The Wake.

I'd have agreed with you on Preacher being unconnected, but I haven't read Lucifer, so am as intrigued as you, Dan.

Can anyone answer this question?

- Trout

[House of Usher]

Well, Preacher takes place outside the DCU, but there's no reason you couldn't have a cameo in it here and there.

[stevemfp]

I seem to remember an interview with Garth Ennis as Preacher started up in which he stated quite categorically that the Preacher characters were totally stand alone, having no bearing on or relationship with the DCU.

[Dan Kelly]

So why does Mad Hettie show up then?  Hey?

Dan

[Woolly]

Ive only read Preacher out of the above, but ive no idea who Mad Hettie is!

Can someone fill me in?

[Dan Kelly]

She's the New York tramp who knows Cassidy and tells the us his back story towards the end of the run...

Dan

[Woolly]

Aaaaahhhhh....

Cheers Dude!

[DavidXBrunt]

Except Mad Hettie is a London based tramp, not the New York based Bag Lady who crops up in Preacher. I think, only think mind, that they're seperate characters and that Mad Hettie is still at large in the Sandman universe.

It would be hard to reconcileSandman and Preachers Heaven and Hell mythology what with Preachers Satan getting *spoiler* killed in the 1880's and Sandmans running off to play show tunes in a bar and then getting his own spin off.

Speaking of Lucifer, I've often been tempted by the collections. Any cop?

[Dan Kelly]

There are certainly more than a few conflicts - thinking about it more are the names of the angels in Preacher the same as the one's in charge of Hell?

It's highly likely that I've got the bag ladies mixed up, especially as I don't read Hellblazer.

As for Lucifer, I'm certainly enjoying it.

Dan

[Tordelbach]

Cool!  Maybe Mad Hettie is a new example one of them wattaycallit Archetypes, like the Trickster or what have you - the Immortal Homeless Lady.

[Trout]

Um, can I confuse the issue even more by pointing out Mad Hettie - yes, the one from London - travelled to the States in one of the Death mini-series?

Sorry.

[Endjinn]

The female tramp towards the end of Preacher is called Sally, not Hettie, and probably most importantly, she dies, something Hettie's done very little of.

[Dan Kelly]

Oh well, that's another thought down in flames...

...Interesting symmetry of ideas though ;)

Dan