Neil Gaiman provided the source material for a new cinematic, perhaps televisual, universe on Netflix. Their take on The Sandman captured some of that famously unfilmable classic’s magic. As a longtime fan, I loved seeing “The Sound of Her Wings” play out with a Netflix budget. Dead Boy Detectives drops as a spin-off project with a complicated background and bizarre level of investment. Thankfully, the show earned praise from critics and a third-place slot on Netflix’s top ten.
Neil Gamian’s Dead Boy Detectives Found New Life on Netflix
The titular Dead Boy Detectives are Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne, a pair of ghost lads who stick around to solve mysteries. Charles and Edwin have starred in several DC comics since the 90s. They debuted in The Sandman #25 in 1991, but their detective gimmick emerged two years later. The show gives them a new opening because Netflix’s take on The Sandman hasn’t reached the chapter that introduced the boys. The Sandman comics depict Lucifer Morningstar leaving Hell unsupervised, the effects of which emerge in Charles’ young life. Neil Gaiman resurrected the lads several times in crossovers and future solo series. Netflix’s adaptation leaps off of The Sandman as the first tentative steps of a Neil Gaiman TV universe. This is a fascinating leap from the story’s initial place. The Sandman finally hit the screen, and it’s taking its two ghost friends with it.
The Dead Boy Detectives actually found TV success before The Sandman. Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant portrayed Charles and Edwin in HBO’s celebrated Doom Patrol series. They appear in Season Three, Episode Three, entitled “Dead Patrol.” The episode set the table for a spin-off series, which would have seen the lads partner with Dorothy Spinner for new adventures. Max gave that project a series order in 2022, but James Gunn’s takeover shut it down. The showrunners intended to connect their Dead Boy Detectives to The Sandman despite the competition. Moving to Netflix freed them to make more explicit connections but raised several new concerns. Their previous supernatural detective series, Lockwood & Co., suffered cancellation after one season. That show’s demise left a sour taste in many mouths. While unlikely, it can feel like Netflix set aside one teen ghost mystery show to free the one attached to Neil Gaiman’s universe.
Dead Boy Detectives is a fun and charming series with a great sense of humor. It’s not the most inventive thing on the streaming service, but it’s a great second volley in a potential Sandman universe. Not everything needs to be a universe, but Netflix clearly wants to try on last decade’s most popular trend for a bit. As it stands, Dead Boy Detectives has received excellent reviews from critics and millions of viewers worldwide. You won’t need a medium to see these ghosts succeed.
