Some fans of DC/Vertigo's "Sandman" turned to "The Dreaming" when the former series reached its end. Now, the latter monthly series, set in the kingdom once ruled by the titular Sandman -- although he still does rule it … it's complicated -- is coming to an end as well.

Wednesday, DC announced that "The Dreaming" will begin its final four part story arc, "Bad Dreams," in December, with issue #57. The Dreaming and the characters originally appearing in "Sandman" will continue to have a presence on the shelves, though, as the series of "Sandman Presents" miniseries -- one of which, "Sandman Presents: Lucifer," has turned into an ongoing series as well -- will increase in frequency.

"Many months ago, ['Sandman' writer] Neil Gaiman, [Vertigo head] Karen Berger, [writer Caitlin R. Kiernan] and I thought that it would be best to bring 'The Dreaming' to a close at issue #60," "Dreaming" editor Shelly Bond is quoted in the release. The monthly series became more and more confining as a format, and in the spirit of 'The Sandman,' we decided to work toward a satisfying conclusion. This gave Caitlin and regular artists Christian Hojgaard and Ron Randall ample time to orchestrate a compelling finishing point to a series that really deserved solid closure."

Future "Sandman Presents" projects specifically mentioned in the release include "The Deadboy Detectives" miniseries by Ed Brubaker, Bryan Talbot and Steve Leiloha, "The Thessaliad" by Bill Willingham and Shawn McManus and "Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Dreams But Were Afraid to Ask," by Bill Willingham, Kevin Nowlan, Mark Buckingham, Jason Little, Duncan Fegredo and others. Future projects starring the Corinthian and the Furies are reportedly in development.

"The Dreaming" #57 is scheduled for a December 20 release.