Issue(s): Sleepwalker #10, Sleepwalker #11
Cover Date: Mar-Apr 92
Title: "The hero within" / "Ghost of a chance"
Credits:
Bob Budiansky - Writer
Bret Blevins - Penciler
Mike Manley - Inker
Tim Tuohy - Assistant Editor
Don Daley - Editor

Review/plot:
We saw last issue that police detective Cecilia Perez signed a form handing over control of the search for Sleepwalker to a government agency called the OIE. We learn in this issue that that acronym stands for the Office of Insufficient Evidence. They have big armored suits and a way to track Sleepwalker's "radiation signature". But their search leads them to a bunch of false positives, people that have encountered Sleepwalker.

The group is pretty draconian, and Perez immediately regrets turning control over to them.

Things get really over the top really quickly.

The OIE manage to capture Sleepwalker, but their fight with him wakes up Rick Sheridan, which of course causes Sleepwalker to disappear. Sleepwalker decides that he has to stay inside Rick's head forever. But Rick's punky younger dream self convinces him otherwise.

So Sleepwalker returns to the waking world and fights the OIE again.

But the OIE hold the people of the neighborhood hostage, and Sleepwalker is forced to surrender.

Special goggles are affixed to Sleepwalker that prevent him from using his matter manipulation powers. And then the OIE leader, Tolliver Smith, starts charging Sleepwalker with energy, the idea being that when Sleepwalker returns to his host, he'll explode.

Luckily, Ghost Rider figures out that this is the one book that he hasn't guest starred in yet.

Sleepwalker, being bound, isn't available for a Misunderstanding Fight, so Ghost Rider turns his attention to the OIE. And i mean, he's just brutal and unstoppable. It's no contest.

Sleepwalker recovers in time to stop Ghost Rider from delivering his penance stare to Smith (Sleepy thinks GR is going to kill him), so we do get our Misunderstanding Fight after all.

Sleepwalker tries to get Ghost Rider to kill him, so that he won't cause Rick's death with the explosion that Smith has rigged. Ghost Rider refuses to kill Sleepwalker, and instead intimidates Smith into removing Sleepwalker's goggles, and Sleepwalker is able to release the energy that he's stored up. Ghost Rider leaves Smith alone in return for the goggle removal, and when Sleepwalker turns to deal with Smith, Rick wakes up, so Smith is left to himself, vowing that he'll be ready for Sleepwalker "next time".

The OIE is so over the top i am hoping that there's a more nefarious explanation for them, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I guess i should just accept that this book is going to be over the top. I mentioned in a previous entry that it seemed like Bret Blevins' pencils were declining a bit, but they seem to be back on track here. The Ghost Rider/Sleepwalker fight looks pretty great.

There's a subplot in this story about how Rick, who lives rent free in return for being his building's super, can't manage to get his work done because of everything that's going on with Sleepwalker.

It's been my experience that we don't normally see Statement of Ownership numbers until the second year, but we do get them in these issues. And the numbers are crazy high.

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 356,925. Single issue closest to filing date = 324,325.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• One of the people whose home is invaded by the OIE goons was saved by Sleepwalker in Sleepwalker #8, another in Sleepwalker #1.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

These scans are doing Blevin's work justice because I think his Ghost Rider looks fantastic here. I still think Sleepwalker is a misguided book and that Marvel doesn't do supernatural stuff as good as they COULD do... I've had some ideas for Hellstorm for years, some of which I incorporated into my own comic... anyway, Sleepwalker seems like a interesting read if you get it in the bargain bin... I really am impressed with Blevins, his work here earned him a second look from me...

The statement of ownership numbers are weird- this website has a list of the top 100 comics ordered through Diamond for 1991:
http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/1991.html
And Sleepwalker's issues are nowhere on the list. Maybe early Sleepwalker issues were purchased largely on the newsstand?

Wow, I had no idea this was selling that many copies. I think I picked up an issue or two near the start and then forgot all about it. Were these all speculators picking up the early issues hoping for an investment?

Too bad that for all the ways the SOO breaks down the numbers, they lump direct market and newsstand sales together. I can tell you that 200 of the sales were via subscription, but that's it. :-)

Why do I have the feeling Bob Budiansky has a storage unit full of Sleepwalker comics?