By: Neil Gaiman Publisher: Vertigo Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Comic Label: Vertigo Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 612 Publication Date: November 01, 2006 Release Date: November 01, 2006
Product Description: THE SANDMAN, written by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, was the most acclaimed comic book title of the 1990s. A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, THE SANDMAN is also widely considered one of the most original and artistically ambitious series of the modern age. By the time it concluded in 1996, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of comic books and become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right.Now, DC Comics is proud to present this comics classic in an all-new Absolute Edition format. The first of four beautifully designed slipcased volumes, THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1 collects issues 1-20 of The Sandman and features completely new coloring, approved by the author, on the first 18 issues, as well as a host of never-before-seen extra material, including the complete original Sandman Proposal, a gallery of character designs from Gaiman and the artists who originated the look of the Sandman, and the original script to the World Fantasy Award-winning THE SANDMAN #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," together with reproductions of the issue's original pencils by Charles Vess. Also included are a new introduction by DC's president Paul Levitz and a new afterword by Gaiman.
AMAZING I always love Mr Gaiman;'s work. Sandman is probably his opus given the size and the eclectic nature of the themes. The Endless as interpreted by a Master like Gaiman represent an amazing world that weaves the deepest recesses of the collective consciousness, mythology, history and keep it living enough to be interesting. Aesthetically, the books are great and the artwork is just as eclectic as the are the themes. I wish I was exposed to this stuff as a kid...
Creative I found this book a very creative exercise in perception, script and artwork. The story is mainly told from the perspective of one of the "Endless", Dream, with cameos from Destiny, Death, Desire and Dispare (see satirical opening quote from Jack Dee - "Lots of things begin with D") :-) The third brother in a family of seven, these Endless are anthropomorphic personifications of ideals/concepts and exist, apparently, across even species (one of the stories is told from a cat's point of view). The issues dealt with in the varied stories are some of the usual collection of welcoming death, forgivness, murder, society, slavery etc - in other words what appears to be standard fare for any sci-fi buf. However, there are a few interesting twists with takes on several points of history, biblical references and different points of view of the same issues but told from a different species' perspective which is somewhat unusual. The artwork throughout the collection is consistent and uses high contrast in many of the captions to great effect. The artwork on the covering page for each story is quite exceptional and could even be viewed as works in their own right.
All in all, this is well worth a read, whether you are a fan of the comic genre or if you're new to it, this collection will suck you into the world of the Endless...
Absolute Masterpiece Comprising Sandman numbers 1 to 20, the Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 is the first of four oversized, slip-cased hardcover books that will reprint Neil Gaiman's Sandman completely (all 75 numbers, plus some extras). That alone would be highly recommended, but this book has also a new coloring, aproved my Neil himself, plus a new introduction by Paul Levitz, forewords by Gaiman, a copy of the script with sketches for Sandman #19 (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and also sketches from Gaiman and Michael Dringenberg on the Sandman proposal to DC back in the 80s. Ah, and also all 20 covers from Dave McKean.
All of this would mean nothing if the book wasn't really good, and really good it is. Here you'll read the capture of the Lord of the Dreams and his comeback (early collected in "Preludes and Nocturnes"), his encounter with the deadly nightmare "The Corinthian" (previously collected in "The Doll's House), and four short stories from the past of Dream (as seen before in "Dream County" collection). Many great moments from the series are here: the confrontation in Hell with demons over his helmet, the serial killer convention, the encounter with his sister Death, and the already mentioned A Midsummer Night's Dream, the first and only comic book to win a World Fantasy Award.
This book is a work of art, and high recommended. Can't wait to have the 4 of them on my bookshelf!
Well worth the wait. I was actually surprised by two things reading these first twenty issues of Sandman: by how many of the characters I already knew, and by how much these comics actually tied into the mainstream DC Universe at the time. I'm used to the current age of Vertigo comics where the characters can NEVER cross over into regular superhero books, or vice versa (the days of Swamp Thing teaming up with Superman are gone). Of course, some of these characters can still pop up from time to time (I'm pretty sure Morpheus was in an issue or two of JSA and Starman, and even more recently Destiny was in The Brave and The Bold). I was also impressed with the overal mythology Gaiman gave this world, one I didn't really knew existed. I was aware that The Endless existed, but I had always just assumed that Sandman was a series of somewhat interconnected tales, almost an anthology series, that featured him as a central character, but nothing much else. Turns out he had a very large story-arc planned through the whole 80 issue run, and I could see elements of what he would later do with American Gods. I'm glad I stuck it out and waited for the Absolute editions.
wonderful This is a beautiful book - expensive but worth every penny. Anyone that likes neil gaimon, graphic novels, dark fantasy, or gothic stories will love the stories, illustrations, and whole format of the book. Those who just love wonderful books will also be proud to have this on their shelves.
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