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aceinit's review
3.0
Warning: Random, stream-of-consciousness pseudo-review follows:
First off: I wish everyone I knew who loved books had read The Sandman. There is so much to enjoy, and learn and take away from this series. I love it. And I wish everyone out there loved it as much as I do.
The first time I read Gaiman’s masterwork, I did so out of order. I started with The Kindly Ones, the penultimate volume of the series, then worked my way haphazardly through the remaining graphic novels. This is my second time going back and reading all of The Sandman, and my first time doing so for a deeper enjoyment. Looking back (or going forward), I’m surprised at how much I’m getting out of this second re-read.
The first two times, Preludes & Nocturnes was one of my least favorite installments. Looking at it from the perspective of a reader in mid-2000, I found the late 80’s styling off-putting and the artist’s renderings of Dream freakish. I am having to acclimate myself to the fact that this was how comics were drawn at the time, and am focusing on the story as much as the art.
I’m also reviewing for my own personal observations, not to offer some great, in-depth critique of the series as a whole.
Dream of the Endless is one of my great loves of fiction, and I will never tire of his story…or keep hoping for new installments. I love him and I love the world that Gaiman has created for him. Like any epic series, there are hits and misses in the installments, and Preludes is far from one of my favorites. However, the 11-volume masterwork is one of my favorite stories ever told.
That said, Preludes and Nocturnes isn’t one of my favorite installments of the series, and I always tell the people I recommend The Sandman to to overlook its individual installments (being, in this case, the graphic novel collections as opposed to the individual comic issues) and regard it as a whole.
The beginning Gaiman weaves with these first 8 issues is remarkable, especially in the context of the whole. I’d forgotten how early we first see the Kindly Ones, Nada and even Merv Pumpkinhead. The amount of foreshadowing of things to come is downright eerie, and I have to wonder if Gaiman had the full series planned out this far ahead of time, or if he had to work to bring things so remarkably full-circle in regards to the Hecate and their prophecies.
There are some beautiful moments in this arc, but I still find it a bit weird how much of the DC Universe these first issues reach out to touch. Though it’s nice to see Constantine make an appearance (and my mind wants to add Lucifer to this as well, even though I know that spinoff came much later), it always throws me to see the superheroes included as well. Something about The Sandman has always struck me as apart from and above silly stories about people with capes. I didn’t like it with the Halls (Daniel’s parents), and I don’t like the inclusion of the JLA, however peripherally. These two kinds of stories, to me, were not meant to go together.
Though the writing and the artistry are both beautiful and horrific, I still find Dee/Dr. Destiny’s arc to be the least interesting personally. I feel like too much time is wasted on him, that could’ve been directed towards the Endless themselves. I have a tendency not to like the side stories as a whole (Ramadan being a notable exception), and the Dee issues serve to lower my enjoyment of this volume as a whole. I have to fight my way through them every time.
The strongest parts of this graphic novel are it’s opening—from when Dream is captured by Burgess to the time he leaves the Dreaming to reclaim his tools—and it’s closing, where we are introduced to the first member of Dream’s family, his older sister, Death. “The Sound of Her Wings” is one of the standout issues in the series, and one of my favorite single issues in all of comicdom. It is truly one of those issues that transcends the series and the medium it is a part of and becomes something much more powerful.
I only wished everything in between lived up to the content that bookends it.
First off: I wish everyone I knew who loved books had read The Sandman. There is so much to enjoy, and learn and take away from this series. I love it. And I wish everyone out there loved it as much as I do.
The first time I read Gaiman’s masterwork, I did so out of order. I started with The Kindly Ones, the penultimate volume of the series, then worked my way haphazardly through the remaining graphic novels. This is my second time going back and reading all of The Sandman, and my first time doing so for a deeper enjoyment. Looking back (or going forward), I’m surprised at how much I’m getting out of this second re-read.
The first two times, Preludes & Nocturnes was one of my least favorite installments. Looking at it from the perspective of a reader in mid-2000, I found the late 80’s styling off-putting and the artist’s renderings of Dream freakish. I am having to acclimate myself to the fact that this was how comics were drawn at the time, and am focusing on the story as much as the art.
I’m also reviewing for my own personal observations, not to offer some great, in-depth critique of the series as a whole.
Dream of the Endless is one of my great loves of fiction, and I will never tire of his story…or keep hoping for new installments. I love him and I love the world that Gaiman has created for him. Like any epic series, there are hits and misses in the installments, and Preludes is far from one of my favorites. However, the 11-volume masterwork is one of my favorite stories ever told.
That said, Preludes and Nocturnes isn’t one of my favorite installments of the series, and I always tell the people I recommend The Sandman to to overlook its individual installments (being, in this case, the graphic novel collections as opposed to the individual comic issues) and regard it as a whole.
The beginning Gaiman weaves with these first 8 issues is remarkable, especially in the context of the whole. I’d forgotten how early we first see the Kindly Ones, Nada and even Merv Pumpkinhead. The amount of foreshadowing of things to come is downright eerie, and I have to wonder if Gaiman had the full series planned out this far ahead of time, or if he had to work to bring things so remarkably full-circle in regards to the Hecate and their prophecies.
There are some beautiful moments in this arc, but I still find it a bit weird how much of the DC Universe these first issues reach out to touch. Though it’s nice to see Constantine make an appearance (and my mind wants to add Lucifer to this as well, even though I know that spinoff came much later), it always throws me to see the superheroes included as well. Something about The Sandman has always struck me as apart from and above silly stories about people with capes. I didn’t like it with the Halls (Daniel’s parents), and I don’t like the inclusion of the JLA, however peripherally. These two kinds of stories, to me, were not meant to go together.
Though the writing and the artistry are both beautiful and horrific, I still find Dee/Dr. Destiny’s arc to be the least interesting personally. I feel like too much time is wasted on him, that could’ve been directed towards the Endless themselves. I have a tendency not to like the side stories as a whole (Ramadan being a notable exception), and the Dee issues serve to lower my enjoyment of this volume as a whole. I have to fight my way through them every time.
The strongest parts of this graphic novel are it’s opening—from when Dream is captured by Burgess to the time he leaves the Dreaming to reclaim his tools—and it’s closing, where we are introduced to the first member of Dream’s family, his older sister, Death. “The Sound of Her Wings” is one of the standout issues in the series, and one of my favorite single issues in all of comicdom. It is truly one of those issues that transcends the series and the medium it is a part of and becomes something much more powerful.
I only wished everything in between lived up to the content that bookends it.
hendrix67's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
jess_mango's review
4.0
Finally delved into Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel series. I will be requesting the rest of these from the library post-haste.
makennac2503's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
chris_allen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bookgeek809's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
kcrouth's review against another edition
4.0
Very nice upon 2nd reading, it will take some time to get into the story as these volumes progress.
roslink's review
dark
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cloneknight's review
5.0
Endlessly (pun intended) creative and intriguing in both the writing and artwork. Can't wait to read the rest!