Friday
Well-Known Member
I bought the first Sandman hardcover today. On a whim really. I only had one title on my pull list, plus Wizard, and one TPB came in, so it was time to explore the TPB box. I've been on the edge of picking up The Sandman in trade for a while now, holding off for 2 reasons. If I bought it I'd want to get the hardcovers, since I'm a format whore, and the price of said hardcover. 29.99 and up. Well, my LCS said they'd give me 30% off, and there I was. I started reading it in the store, eager to dip into whats supposed to be one of the masterworks of sequential storytelling. I read the first issue collected there, then stopped, and went on with the rest of my night. When I got home I cracked it open again, finishing it and coming out impressed. A high quality story, with good artwork for the time. I set it down, checked message boards, ate a can of peaches, and then something odd happened.
I wanted to read it again.
This hasn't happened to me in a while folks. My friends believe that I've become so inundated to all forms of entertainment media that nothing can impress me anymore. They think I'm jaded, and always expect me to have a "well it could have been better if" at the end of a movie. For the most part they're right. But damn if Sandman didn't make an impact.
I've been a fan of Neil Gaimen for what seems like forever, yet I never picked up any of his comic work until 1602, which while being an inventive and refreshing take on classic Marvel characters had failed to impress me anymore than most of DCs Elseworld tales had. I've always been more impressed with his novels. Good Omens had me howling, and also turned me on to Terry Prattchet's writing. Shadows and Glass was an excellent set of short stories, most of which I've recounted to people to give them a taste of his writing style. American Gods, which when you exclude the chapter with pointless homosexuality (2 characters, not seen before or after in the book have creepy Djinn sex. It could have been cut) was an excellent read. I've even got Stardust collecting dust somewhere. I think it's safe to say I'm familiar with the man.
This trade is what I love about Neil Gaiman. It's pure imagination poured out onto the page. It's everything I've loved in his novels, tempered by artists and inkers. On the surface this is a simple revenge story. Morpheous, King of Dreams has been captured in a binding spell gone wrong. In 1916 a man tried to unsuccessfully capture Death, and bind it to do his will. He gets dream instead, and keeps him in a cage (metaphysically speaking that is) for close to 70 years. In that time the domain of the Sandman, the dreaming goes to hell, both figuratively and literally. Once freed from his prison Morpheous goes about punishing the son of the man who imprisoned him, as the perpetrator himself is long dead, then attempts to regain his 3 items of power, running afoul of such DC icons as John Constantine, Mister Miracle, The Martian Manhunter, and the amazingly well used Doctor Destiny, who has been redefined in my eyes. In addition Gaimen manages to tie this Sandman in with the previous Golden Age character of the same name. After all, something had to have been causing Wesley Dodds' prophetic dreams, didn't it?
The first 7 issues collected are all about establishing a place for this mythos into the already overburdened DC universe. In it you see that this is all taking place in the normal continuity, not in its own world, and this is an important thing to remember. It would have been easy for them to simply cop out on this point, and make the entire series a stand-alone book. An imaginary tale to turn a phrase from the past. By rooting the series in the DC mainstream continuity they both gave Gaimen a great toy box to play with, and allowed writers to continue the exploration of the darker side of its own universe, wich we had begun to see in Swamp Thing and Hellblazer. The only real problem with this is Hell. We've seen a lot of Hells in DC, and it seems that The Sandman added yet another one to the list. But we got Etrigan in it too, so I guess I can't even gripe there too much.
The last issue in the trade deals with the Sandman's feelings on his place in the world after he's finished searching out his items of power. It's a stand-alone issue, focusing on the characters of Dream and Death. Morpheous has become listless since he's completed his initial tasks, but with the help of his sister he finds new footing, looking forward to the reconstruction of The Dreaming instead of lamenting his time imprisoned. This was easily the best one in the trade, and the one I'm most likely to reread later.
If it seems like I'm being cagey about details here it's because I am. I want you all to go get a copy of Preludes and Nocturnes sometime. It's an excellent piece of comic literature, and deserves its top shelf status with Watchmen, Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, and Marvels. This is one of the great ones folks, don't let it pass you bye. The writing is top notch, and the art is only hampered by the age and rotating artists. I'd have loved for this to have a more uniform look, but if they all stay in the same style, as was shown here I'll be happy.
10/10 writing
9/10 art
Recomendation: Buy it if you love comics.
I wanted to read it again.
This hasn't happened to me in a while folks. My friends believe that I've become so inundated to all forms of entertainment media that nothing can impress me anymore. They think I'm jaded, and always expect me to have a "well it could have been better if" at the end of a movie. For the most part they're right. But damn if Sandman didn't make an impact.
I've been a fan of Neil Gaimen for what seems like forever, yet I never picked up any of his comic work until 1602, which while being an inventive and refreshing take on classic Marvel characters had failed to impress me anymore than most of DCs Elseworld tales had. I've always been more impressed with his novels. Good Omens had me howling, and also turned me on to Terry Prattchet's writing. Shadows and Glass was an excellent set of short stories, most of which I've recounted to people to give them a taste of his writing style. American Gods, which when you exclude the chapter with pointless homosexuality (2 characters, not seen before or after in the book have creepy Djinn sex. It could have been cut) was an excellent read. I've even got Stardust collecting dust somewhere. I think it's safe to say I'm familiar with the man.
This trade is what I love about Neil Gaiman. It's pure imagination poured out onto the page. It's everything I've loved in his novels, tempered by artists and inkers. On the surface this is a simple revenge story. Morpheous, King of Dreams has been captured in a binding spell gone wrong. In 1916 a man tried to unsuccessfully capture Death, and bind it to do his will. He gets dream instead, and keeps him in a cage (metaphysically speaking that is) for close to 70 years. In that time the domain of the Sandman, the dreaming goes to hell, both figuratively and literally. Once freed from his prison Morpheous goes about punishing the son of the man who imprisoned him, as the perpetrator himself is long dead, then attempts to regain his 3 items of power, running afoul of such DC icons as John Constantine, Mister Miracle, The Martian Manhunter, and the amazingly well used Doctor Destiny, who has been redefined in my eyes. In addition Gaimen manages to tie this Sandman in with the previous Golden Age character of the same name. After all, something had to have been causing Wesley Dodds' prophetic dreams, didn't it?
The first 7 issues collected are all about establishing a place for this mythos into the already overburdened DC universe. In it you see that this is all taking place in the normal continuity, not in its own world, and this is an important thing to remember. It would have been easy for them to simply cop out on this point, and make the entire series a stand-alone book. An imaginary tale to turn a phrase from the past. By rooting the series in the DC mainstream continuity they both gave Gaimen a great toy box to play with, and allowed writers to continue the exploration of the darker side of its own universe, wich we had begun to see in Swamp Thing and Hellblazer. The only real problem with this is Hell. We've seen a lot of Hells in DC, and it seems that The Sandman added yet another one to the list. But we got Etrigan in it too, so I guess I can't even gripe there too much.
The last issue in the trade deals with the Sandman's feelings on his place in the world after he's finished searching out his items of power. It's a stand-alone issue, focusing on the characters of Dream and Death. Morpheous has become listless since he's completed his initial tasks, but with the help of his sister he finds new footing, looking forward to the reconstruction of The Dreaming instead of lamenting his time imprisoned. This was easily the best one in the trade, and the one I'm most likely to reread later.
If it seems like I'm being cagey about details here it's because I am. I want you all to go get a copy of Preludes and Nocturnes sometime. It's an excellent piece of comic literature, and deserves its top shelf status with Watchmen, Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, and Marvels. This is one of the great ones folks, don't let it pass you bye. The writing is top notch, and the art is only hampered by the age and rotating artists. I'd have loved for this to have a more uniform look, but if they all stay in the same style, as was shown here I'll be happy.
10/10 writing
9/10 art
Recomendation: Buy it if you love comics.