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A magus trying to capture Death captures her younger brother, Dream, instead. He’s trapped like a goldfish in a bowl for 70 years, a time when the “sleepy sickness” took over the earth. Some people slept through a lifetime. But the Sandman has patience and he has time to plan his revenge.
I haven’t read that many graphic novels. Really, I’ve only read graphic novel memoirs and Coraline. So this genre is pretty new to me.
I wasn’t hugely impressed, but that’s just me. Although I have read a lot of reviews that say this first volume is just okay and it gets better from here. I like the basic idea of the story, and I have to say that I am hugely impressed by all the myth and story Gaiman has worked into the storyline. I know I missed some of it, but what I caught was seamlessly integrated and impressive in its scope.
By the end, it had gotten way too dark and disturbing for my taste. That’s all I’ll say.
I did like the way that The Sandman is depicted. He looks very badass (and somehow like Gaiman himself, but maybe I’m projecting) and I do like the long, flowing cape. I also love the covers that Dave McKean did. I stopped at every one to inspect it carefully, and I honestly rarely do that with artwork in books.
That’s really all I have to say. Judging by this one, I probably wouldn’t continue with the series. There’s just enough potential, and I’ve heard just enough about the rest of the series for me to give one or two more volumes a try. Those who are well-established fans of graphic novels will probably like it more than I did.
1 Comment
I'm a huge Gaiman and Sandman fan and I must say this collection is the least interesting of them all.
In this story Gaiman is trying to stay too close to other (superhero) comics. It's only in the last story (where Dream is talking to his sister Death) where Gaiman's voice truly shines through. Luckily he decided to keep his own voice from there on.