Volume 2 Doll's House: This is where Neil severs the ties between the Sandman and the DC universe and the series begins to take form. This is a fan favorite volume and a fairly good starting point for new readers. You can get immersed in the series and then read volume 1 after this. Note on Bonus Content: Detailed list of the bonus content collected in each volume of the Absolute Editions can be found in the "What is in ..." section of the subreddit. At present, none of the editions contain all the bonus content. The new introductions/forewords to the individual volumes as well as the annotated script for #17 Calliope collected in the 30th Anniversary TPBs are not present in any other edition including the Absolutes. Pros: Definitive collectors editions - Huge slipcased volumes with leather-like cover and sewn binding, a ribbon bookmark, and lots of bonus content Volume 1 Preludes and Nocturnes: This is where Neil recommends starting. This volume is comparatively weaker than later volumes as Neil was still trying to find his place in the DC universe while setting up major events to come.

Each volume tells its own part of the story, and they are all wonderful in different ways. A throwaway comment or character will come brilliantly full circle volumes later, and all the story strands are intricately connected. I particularly loved Dream Country and The Kindly Ones. And The Doll's House. And Brief Lives. And all the other volumes...So yes, of course you should read Sandman. Everyone should, whether you read comics or not. I went in with pretty high hopes. It mostly met them, sometimes fell well short. Still bloody great though. Just don't watch the Netflix show. I'm calling it early, its gonna be shite. 4.25/5 I had held off on reading this series for around a year or so, because I don't like to burn through all of the best reads all at once. It would be a fairly dispiriting endeavour if your reading followed a continual downward spiral until you were left with nothing but the dregs at the bottom of the barrel. That said, sometimes you just have to go for gold and creak out the big guns. So now that its all over, what do I really think about Sandman? Well, it was really good, but I don't think I hyper loved it as much as others. Here's why:

The Sandman series was probably my favorite and most important read of 2020. The main series is 76 issues and it's widely considered as one of the greatest comic series ever made.

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Absolute Editions: The main series is covered in Volumes 1-4. Vol. 5 contains Endless Nights, Dream Hunters (prose and comic), and Midnight Theatre. Absolute Overture has the most gorgeous art you will ever see in a comic book. Absolute Death presents the two Death miniseries and other Death stories already covered in Vol. 1-5 along with an extensive art gallery. Chris Bachalo is an artist whose body of comic book work covers a wide spectrum of genres; ranging from fantasy and science fiction to super hero and action-adventure. His work for DC Comics includes stints on the critically acclaimed Sandman series, Death: The High Cost of Living, and Shade: The Changing Man for DC’s Vertigo imprint as well as the creator-owned projects The Witching Hour, with co-creator Jeph Loeb, and Steampunk, with co-creator Joe Kelly. His other comic book work includes among others Wolverine & the X-Men, Captain America, and the quirky Generation X, which he co-created with Scott Lobdell for Marvel Comics. In addition to his comics work, Chris has provided artwork for publications such as MAD Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and Playstation Magazine, and for companies such as Activision, EA Games and Def Jam Records. Chris is a Canadian citizen and was born in Portage La Prairie, Canada. He currently resides in Southern California with his wife, Helen, his son, Dylan, and his Siamese fighting fish, Spike Four. That's really my greatest criticism with this series, and was enough to rob it of a whole point, taking it from a five to a four. That and some of the art wasn't always as good as I would have liked. You really get quiet an assortment here, and not all of it as good as others. Other than writing all these great characters, Neil also does an amazing job with the world building. He's able in this series to create multiple different "worlds" and he does so in a way that everyone of these "worlds" feels very unique but also familiar. I believe that world building is one of the most important aspects of writing a long series, especially when it's sci-fi. And while Sandman is definitely not sci-fi (at least not in a conventional way), it has many similarities with this genre. For me the best at world building is Brian K. Vaughan, but now, thanks to this series, Neil Gaiman is very close. The story (usually) follows Sandman, also known as Morpheus or Dream. Sandman is the aspect of dream. He is one of the Endless, with the other ones being Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destiny and Destruction. The story starts when a magician, in an attempt to capture death and become immortal, captures Sandman and imprisons him for 70 years. Sandman is the main character in most story arcs of the series, but some times he's just a secondary character. This might lead someone to believe that the arcs in which he appears as a secondary character, aren't as important or interesting, but every arc is so interesting and so well written that it doesn't really matter if Sandman is the main character or not.

Pros: Oversized hardcover (Same trim size as Omnibus edition) - Some scripts and art galleries reprinted from the Absolute editions - New wraparound cover art by Michael Wm. Kaluta and Dave Stewart - Premium hardcover for collectors on a budget Then, proceed to finish the original series (Vol. 1-10). Read Endless Nights after reading the original series. DO NOT start with Overture. Although it is a prequel, it should be read after the original series and Endless Nights. The Dream Hunters is an illustrated prose novella and has also been adapted into a graphic novel by P. Craig Russell. The Death volume collects two spin-off miniseries; The Cost of Living and The Time of Your Life and repeats other stories from the main series. Published under DC’s now-defunct Vertigo, Sandman features Gaiman’s signature blend of dark, mythology-inspired fantasy. Other DC heroes showed up every so often, but it mostly stayed within the land of dreams known as The Dreaming, and focused on Gaiman’s original characters. Morpheus, the King of Dreams, Lord of the Dreaming, Dream of the Endless, has been captured and is imprisoned for close to a century. The repurcussions of his capture and eventual escape are felt across generations of dreamers, and that makes up the crux of this story. But it is also much, MUCH more. When Sandman is on point, which it usually is, it is some amazing storytelling, and some truly memorable and magnificent comics. When its not, it really got on my tits far more than I would have liked.Omnibus: The main series is collected in Vol. 1 and 2. Vol 3 contains other stories set in the Sandman universe which are written by Gaiman (Endless Nights, The Dream Hunters (prose and comic), Overture, Both Death miniseries, Midnight Theatre, and more) Throughout the series many artists come and go. With a few exceptions, the style is almost the same. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of said style, but it's the classic Vertigo style of the era and it's not like I hate it, it's just not my cup of tea. What's great tho in the series, other that the writing, is the lettering. Todd Klein is my all time favorite letterer and I believe that in this series he does his best work. It's amazing how he creates beautiful, very unique speech bubbles for each character, based on the character's personality.

Other than Sandman himself, there are many other great characters like Death, Delirium, Matthew, Hob Gadling and more. It's honestly impressive how many, vastly different characters can Neil Gaiman create. Death and Delirium are both sisters of Sandman. Death is a very uplifting and happy person. She's the one closest to Sandman and she's always there for him, when he needs her. Delirium is one of the most unique characters I've ever seen in a story. She isn't crazy, but her mind is very chaotic. She acts like a child, but not in an annoying way. She's a very fun character most of the time, but some times, like everyone, she gets depressed and angry. Matthew was a human, but now he's a raven and he works for Sandman. Him and Hob Gadling (and maybe also Lucien) are the closest Sandman has to a friend. What I love about the relationship between Sandman and Matthew is that they both really care for each other and they can talk with honesty, without hiding anything. Sandman's relationship with Hob is a bit more complicated. Hob is hundreds of years old and for the longest, they've been meeting once every century. During the time of the series they meet again more often and it's obvious that they are very important to one another, because deep down, they truly understand each other. Volume 4 Season of Mists: One of the best volumes of the series, this is Neil Gaiman in top form. This volume is where the vast scope of the universe is fully realized for the first time. You can get a taste of the series' at its peak and then return to the beginning for more answers.

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There are many reasons why this series is an amazing piece of art and I love it. First of all, the characters are amazing. Sandman is weirdly, at the same time, one of the most deep, complex and relatable characters. He's very moody and throughout the series, we see him multiple times dealing with depression and trying to find a way to distract himself and feel better. His problems are of cosmic importance, but somehow they are also very human problems, like dealing with a bad break up or arguing with relatives. Another interesting aspect of Sandman's personality is how much he follows the rules. That's not very important for the biggest part of the series, but it's very important in the 9th arc. In this arc, he has the opportunity to make things better by ignoring the rules, but he refuses to do so, leading to major consequences. Deluxe Editions: Books 1-5 collect the original series, Midnight Theatre, Endless Nights, and both versions of Dream Hunters. The older deluxe editions of Death and Overture remain in print.