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A review by unladylike
The Sandman: Overture: The Deluxe Edition by Neil Gaiman
3.0
Sandman, via the 4 or 5 Absolute editions released in the mid '00s, was what made me truly fall in love with comic books with an adult, post-university mind rather than an adolescent imagination that latched onto certain character designs and the dream of super-powers. I really don't mean to elevate the adult form of literary love over the child-like one, and I'm sure Mister Gaiman would disapprove strongly if I did. I've actually had the chance to tell Neil in person how Sandman influenced me, and I can say he's been one of my favourite authors for over a decade.
So I approached Sandman: Overture with equal parts eagerness and hesitancy. This is a book I will have to read over and over, and my rating and review will likely shift over time. I think it would be appropriate to transcribe the first of Neil's notes from the signed deluxe hardcover version on my lap:
"Hullo everyone,
I'm not 26 anymore, am I? I don't think I've ever felt less 26 in my life. I'm wearing computer-writing glasses, and feeling like I'm re-forming a beloved supergroup, and the only thing I can be certain of is that the world will buy the story and grumble that it's not as good as they remember."
Those three sentences are so typically Neil Gaiman: He makes me chuckle aloud at his simple cleverness, and somehow makes a cliche into a profound assertion that causes me to doubt my own first instincts as an arts critic.
It took me far too long to make my way through the six issues of this story, and that fact alone stands in stark contrast to the way I plowed through hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages at a time when I first found Sandman.
J.H. Williams III's art deserves nothing less than 5 stars. That's pretty much true of all of his work, but there are so many pretty and strange things to look at in this book in particular. So why did I feel the script and story left me feeling empty?
I am actually okay with leaving that question open-ended, and coming back to it at a later date, when I can sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting.
So I approached Sandman: Overture with equal parts eagerness and hesitancy. This is a book I will have to read over and over, and my rating and review will likely shift over time. I think it would be appropriate to transcribe the first of Neil's notes from the signed deluxe hardcover version on my lap:
"Hullo everyone,
I'm not 26 anymore, am I? I don't think I've ever felt less 26 in my life. I'm wearing computer-writing glasses, and feeling like I'm re-forming a beloved supergroup, and the only thing I can be certain of is that the world will buy the story and grumble that it's not as good as they remember."
Those three sentences are so typically Neil Gaiman: He makes me chuckle aloud at his simple cleverness, and somehow makes a cliche into a profound assertion that causes me to doubt my own first instincts as an arts critic.
It took me far too long to make my way through the six issues of this story, and that fact alone stands in stark contrast to the way I plowed through hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages at a time when I first found Sandman.
J.H. Williams III's art deserves nothing less than 5 stars. That's pretty much true of all of his work, but there are so many pretty and strange things to look at in this book in particular. So why did I feel the script and story left me feeling empty?
I am actually okay with leaving that question open-ended, and coming back to it at a later date, when I can sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting.