Didn't live up to my expectations at *all.* I enjoyed the Rose Walker arc, but the rest were so tedious. ( )

What a joy it was to re-read the first 3 books of the Sandman series for my Graphic Novels class - watching Gaiman find his voice in this series starting out as an occult horror book to a grand exploration of story, myth, folklore (traditional and superhero) and love is pretty great.
( )

How good was Sandman, really? I asked myself. After all I was in my late teens and it was a long time ago. Should I take a risk on those gigantic anthologies, The Absolute Sandman or a lesser commitment on the comparatively tiddly first paperback collection, Preludes and Nocturnes? How much of it did I actually read back then? There was Death and a Cereal Convention and a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream but there was definitely much more I had not read.

OK - let's play with house money and get The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 for my birthday.

Good choice! Because this book is utterly gorgeous simply as a physical object and the art is scaled up from the 8 issue paperback collections. (Also re-coloured, whatever that means for quality - ask a person who knows about comics.) There's also a pile of ancillary material collected at the back, some of which isn't available elsewhere. It's also, for the most part, even better than I remembered!

Both Gaiman and who-ever wrote the introduction feel that these comics really found their proper voice with the first appearance of the character Death in issue 8. I agree. This marks the end of the first story arc, involving many aspects of and characters from the wider DC universe and the start of a more isolated but deeper exploration of Gaiman's vision of The Endless and how they relate to life across the universe and time as well as humanity specifically. The Endless are seven "anthropomorphic personifications" that don't seem to always be anthropomorphic at all, since they exist for all types of life - as evidenced by fairies, aliens and cats. They are: Dream, Death, Delerium, Desire, Destiny, Despair...and the other one that I never remember but presumably has a name beginning with "D" in English. They're an interesting bunch.

These stories already show Gaiman's in-depth knowledge of world mythology and penchant for literary references, only the most obvious of which did I get back in the day. I noticed many more this time round. Makes me wonder if there are more I still missed...

Anyway, to sum up...book gorgeous. Art gorgeous. Stories great. And addictive. Bring me Vol. 2. ( )

Neil Gaiman is such a generous writer and this story, with its ever expanding narrative corners, is a perfect expression of his writerly attitude of abundance. Though this story starts out like any comic book affair, what Gaiman does with his characters, and central questions, as soon as the first arc completes is what makes it special. I highly recommend this to anyone, particularly anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to take comics seriously in the past. ( )

Neil Gaiman is such a generous writer and this story, with its ever expanding narrative corners, is a perfect expression of his writerly attitude of abundance. Though this story starts out like any comic book affair, what Gaiman does with his characters, and central questions, as soon as the first arc completes is what makes it special. I highly recommend this to anyone, particularly anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to take comics seriously in the past. ( )

Accidentally stayed up way past my bedtime reading this in one sitting. Gonna hold off on the other volumes until later this week. ( )

The rating is for the entire Sandman run. It was a tremendous narrative, with incredibly evocative and moving worldbuilding, characterization, and art. I think perhaps some of its parts are better than it is as a whole, but it's still a worthwhile story to take in. ( )

"Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot. The best in this kind are but shadows; and the worst are no worse, if imagination amend them." Neil Gaiman

Dark, myth, disturbing, at times very much disturbing, gory, odd, weird, chilling, fantasy. Epic in scope (though not apparent at the very beginning). Winner of many awards. It has deep thoughts but sometimes I realized that I had slipped right past them in the thrall of the story.

I would not recommend this to everyone. Has some disturbing images. The art gets better as the story goes on. ( )

Easily the best thing I have read by Gaiman. The artwork is beautiful and the layout is very creative. But the stories. Ahh, the stories are wonderfully dark and troubling, yet enlightening and uplifting all at the same time. They all carry a common thread; how the waking world might just be less real than the dream-worlds where The Endless reside. I can't wait for volume 2 to become available at the library. ( )

What is there to say? Sandman is magnificent, dark, epic storytelling, and it has never looked better than this. The only thing I could possible say against it is that I almost feel guilty touching it. And while I found myself wishing I'd held on to my smaller, more portable trades for ease-of-reading purposes, I don't think I would ever be able to read them again, any more than I could watch the theatrical releases of the Lord of the Rings movies.

As for the book, Gaiman is always at his best when humanizing concepts and ideas (usually, quite literally). Dream and Death are great characters who have been surprisingly well-indoctrinated into popular culture, despite hailing from a critically-acclaimed, but not terribly popular comic book. ( )

Tradutor da seção de extras da edição (prefácio, posfácio, biografias, roteiro completo)

I don't read comic books frequently, but I'd heard so much about Sandman that I had to give it a try. I was not a huge fan of Dream--it's difficult to get into his head--but the story is epic and the side characters are very compelling. ( )

The protagonist of The Sandman is Dream of the Endless, a personification of the abstract concept of "dream"-- the other Endless, who are all siblings, also personify abstract concepts that begin with "D" in English (odd, that). He can enter into people's dreams, and acquire whatever he needs from them. Despite his enormous power, he's imprisoned by a human sorcerer, but the series begins with him finally making his escape after almost a century. Now, he must return to the world and re-establish his kingdom. All of my problems with this series can be traced to Dream himself, I think. How does he feel about being locked up and powerless for such a long period of time? No one knows, since Gaiman never gives us much insight into his interiority. Dream embarks on a series of quests upon his escape in an attempt to track down and recover artifacts stolen from him during his imprisonment, but it's hard to root for a protagonist whose powers are so all-encompassing and ill-defined. There's not really any circumstance where he won't triumph; even his journey into Hell is anti-climactic; he turns out to have a power that Lucifer's demons don't.

Where this volume succeeds much more is with its depiction of the small characters, human or otherwise, caught in the wake of Dream's machinations. The snippets of those affected by Dream's imprisonment in the opening issues are the first sign of this, but it gets better with those who are subject to the evil machinations of Doctor Destiny (who just happens to escape imprisonment and steal Dream's magic ruby at the exact moment Dream comes looking for it), and even Doctor Destiny himself. Even better, however, is the substory called The Doll's House where a "dream vortex" begins to form. No one, not even Dream or Neil Gaiman, seem to know what a dream vortex actually is, but the exploration of its effects on the tenants in a Florida house is well done, as we see the snippets of all these people's dreams, and thus the snippets of themselves. Rose Walker is a good character, well drawn as a teenager struggling to come to terms with all the enormous things suddenly happening in her life. I even liked the appearance of poor Hector Hall, one of the substitute Sandmen who filled in for Dream during his imprisonment. He's a buffoon, but a well-meaning, manipulated one. The ending of the story, with Rose Walker and the heroic Gilbert at a serial killer's convention, is great. Even if Gaiman continuously tops himself in the gross-out stakes with the serial killer stuff.

Perhaps the best part of the entire volume are the side stories that show other aspects of the Dreaming. "The Sound of Her Wings," Dream's first meeting with his sister Death after his imprisonment, and "Dream of a Thousand Cats," the story of the secret dream of cats, were both good, but my favorite was "Men of Good Fortune," which is about an ordinary English granted immortality that Dream meets with every century-- the closest thing Dream has to a friend, and a rare insight into Dream's character. Curiously, the award-winning "A Midsummer Night's Dream," where Dream hires Shakespeare to write the titular play for him, left me cold. Clever, but uninvolving.

Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Next in sequence »

Every fan of the graphic novel format chooses for themselves the moment at which the medium "broke out." Watchmen. Miracle Man. Dark Knight Returns. The Contract With God Trilogy. While there can be no right answer to this question, for me it lies with Sandman, Neil Gaiman's brilliant, literate, and highly entertaining romp through areas as diverse as pop culture, Kaballah, Freudian analysis, serial killers, Shakespeare, death, and other areas too many to number. The story follows one of the endless, creatures that exist as personifications of certain eternal forces, Despair, Destiny, Delusion, Desire, etc, in this case Dream.

The story begins with Dream's capture by mystics in Britain between the world wars and takes off at his release in modern times, following his struggle to rebuild his realm, shattered and abandoned for his absence. While the first few issues touch at the edges of the traditional comic universe, Gaiman quickly departs this and enters his own deep textual musings. While a thread binds all the tales here together, a passion play of rise, fall, and self realization, what one finds here most pleasurable are the stories. Dream is the keeper of tales and many are to be found here. Shakespeare's troop performing a Midsummer Night's Dream for the real King Oberon, a man gifted with eternal life, another of a writer who captures and holds bound a muse for her stories, yet another of the trials of ruling hell, and many others.

Nor does this volume stand along on its prose, for the art too may be some of the most lovely in any modern graphic novel, rich and varied. While the book comes pricey, fans will love the oversized format and those beginning the collection will quickly notice that the price is only nominally higher then buying the individual soft back volumes. Of one thing I am certain, no one will likely regret taking this fine work home. ( )

Where do you start when trying to review a collection like this? I really have no idea. I was going to give up before I even began; admit defeat without letting anyone know about it, but I decided, what the hell, lets give it a go.

I first read some of Gaiman’s Sandman series years and years ago. Like a genius I started with A Doll’s House rather than at the beginning, but I soon realised my mistake and retraced my steps. The first few issues never really grabbed me. But they begin the story, so you do need to start there, and then, even if you dislike them, persevere for a little while longer. Because, lets face it, the character of Morpheus isn’t really that likeable. He is an arrogant ass. But his story is interesting. And the stories and places Gaiman gets to explore through the Sandman and his sibling Endless characters are fascinating. If you like comics and myths then you should give this[1] a go.

And there are also pretty pictures to look at.

I particularly like the Cereal Convention, brilliantly evil. And the loved A dream of a thousand cats.

Hmmm, I think this review is beginning to show why I should have admitted defeat before starting it, because I really don’t want to spoil aspects by telling you about stuff I loved. And I’m not even going to try and offer any sort of analysis because, damn, there is a lot in there. Let’s just say that Gaiman does his usual wonderful job blending horror, fantasy, myth and history into a wonderful story with so much going on that any amount of rereads will most likely be satisfying.

Before I go, the whole “absolute” deluxe treatment, can I just say that it really works here. Although it does mean you won’t be using this for commuter reading :) Now I just have to go buy Volume 2 and get stuck in to that ( )

I could have sworn that when this was coming out in single issues, I read as far as '24 Hours' and then quit. Because that was just too gruesome for me. My college roommate was buying them. But every story in this volume was familiar. (Although I skipped 24 Hours this time. I'm certain I still can't stomach it.) It's hard to say anything about the series. I mean, it's Sandman. It's like finding anything to say at this point about Watchmen. I guess I am reading the series now more because I really ought to, rather than for pleasure. And I wouldn't be reading it at all if my boyfriend weren't the one bringing home the volumes (his first time through and he's much more enthusiastic than I). It is taking me years to get through Preacher for the same reason -- because it's just so frequently ... icky. The worst of human nature and some nightmarish creepy crawlies to boot. But there's no question they're brilliant. ( )

Simply a great collection. Visually stunning and ovewhelming at times. I love the way Gaiman works in the links to the old stories and bits of folklore and mythology. It helps me understand some of his early fascinations which led to the novels he wrote later in his career.
Although I love the overarching story line, my favorites are the asides like A Midsummer Night 's Dream and A Tale of a Thousand Cats. I look forward to reading the next 3 collections. ( )

No need for me to review the contents of this book -- because if you're even just a casual SANDMAN fan, you've probably got them all in either their original comics form or in paperback. No, chances are, you're thinking of getting this book because you're a SANDMAN addict and are wondering whether an ABSOLUTE version of Gaiman's classic is worth all the hubbub, bub.

It is.

The stories are presented in an oversize format, beautfully colored and presented on glossy stock. That sort of classy presentation alone should be worth the price of admission -- but there's more here than that.

Also included are Gaiman's original pitch to DC Comics (attention writers: See? Even Neil Gaiman had to pitch editors in his day!), which includes his vision of the character, an outline for the first story arc, and some potential future stories, some of which never saw light of day. The pitch also includes rough sketches by Gaiman of the look of the character, as well as more polished drawings by Leigh Baulch and Dave McKean.

The real gem in here, though, is Gaiman's complete script for "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the first (and only) comic to win the World Fantasy Award. Like Alan Moore's script for WATCHMEN (included in both the Graffitti and Absolute editions of WATCHMEN), Gaiman's script -- a "full script", with action and dialogue broken down panel by panel -- is full of literary asides, inside jokes, commentary on what CD he's listening to, and observations on mythology, character motivation, and backgrounds.

It's not only a peek behind the scenes, to give you an idea of how complicated it is to write a comic, but also a great look at the creative process, as you'll see how -- and why -- Gaiman breaks down some scenes the way he does, and why he has characters act the way they do. ( )

Absolutely beautiful! absolutely amazing! Absolutely recommend absolute Sandman Vol. 1 ( )

Gorgeously bound, meticulously printed edition, collecting Neil Gaiman's graphic novel The Sandman. These stories are literate, compelling, and full of engaging characters. It's a privilege to read such wonderful stories in such beautiful editions. ( )

Just in case I needed a reminder of how much the colouring can make or break a graphic novel. Having the first 15 or 20 issues recoloured from scratch was the main reason I bought the entire Absolute Sandman collection, and it was definitely worth it.

Re-reading this has been enormously fun.

Preludes and Nocturnes, even with all of its DC baggage is still a surprisingly good piece of literature. A Doll's House is also excellent.

It occurred to me that when I first read Collectors, I had never been to a convention, and rereading it having been to several makes it both funnier and more tragic.

I still don't really get A Midsummer Night's Dream, even having now re-read the play. Yeah, it's alright, but I don't really get why it's meant to be so brilliant. Though having the script has helped me appreciate it a bit more.

Neil's original outline for Sandman, published in its entirety at the back of this volume, is also quite enlightening. Did you know that the Etrigan's dialogue was meant to be a sestina? I would have been very impressed had he managed to pull it off.

Finally, the introduction to the volume is one of the poncier introductions to Sandman I have read. ( )

Neil Gaiman's award-winning and critically acclaimed Sandman was my introduction to comics which quickly grew to border on an obsession with the genre. I devoured the series, borrowing the trade paperback collection from a good acquaintance, knowing that eventually I wanted to have my own set. When I discovered that DC Comics' Vertigo imprint (which is probably my favorite comic imprint) was publishing an "Absolute edition of the core series, I was glad I hadn't quite got around to purchasing any of Sandman yet.

DC's Absolute editions are gorgeous, hardbound, oversized volumes that come with sturdy and handsome slipcases, supposedly of archival quality. The comics are often recolored or otherwise restored and are usually accompanied by a substantial amount of additional material. The Absolute Sandman, Volume One consists of the first twenty issues of the series, which corresponds to the first three trade collections: Preludes and Nocturens, The Doll's House and Dream Country. The first volume also collects a new introduction and afterword, Gaiman's original proposal for the series, additional artwork, the afterwords from the trade paperbacks, and the full script and sketches for the (in)famous issue #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction in 1991, the only comic to ever win the award. Rumor has it that the rules were changed after the win, prohibiting comics from qualifying, though this is denied by the World Fantasy Convention. However, while it does look like comics have been restricted from the Best Short Fiction category, they may still win in the category for Special Award: Professional.)

The primary story arc of the first volume focuses on the capture and eventual escape of Dream of the Endless (aka the Sandman). Both he and the world have changed dramatically due to his imprisonment, and the widespread ramifications are great. Dream must struggle to regain control of his powers and his realm. Through this quest we are introduced to most of the other Endless, his siblings: Destiny, Death (with whom I'm not just a little in love), Desire, and Despair. In addition to the main story line there are several other related but separate side issues that grant further insight into the world that Gaiman has created.

For the most part, the artwork itself doesn't do much for me in this first volume. For me, its really the storytelling that does it. Of course, the illustrations are an integral part of that. Seeing as different artists worked on the different issues, I don't necessarily expect the artwork to be consistent from issue to issue, but I do expect it to be within a single issue, which is unfortunately not always the case. However, I do appreciate the different "feels" and visual interpretation that the various artists bring to the series.

One thing that I absolutely love about Sandman is the fantastic mix of established mythology, legend, history, pseudo-history, popular culture, reality and fantasy with ideas and approaches that are completely new. In these earlier issues it is sometimes painfully obvious that the series is still trying to establish itself and find its niche. But, at the same time, this first Absolute volume also contains what is arguably one of the best single issues of the series ("A Midsummer Night's Dream," illustrated by Charles Vess). The stories range from horror, to fantasy, to just plain strange and are definitely meant for mature readers. Newcomers might want to read the series through before making the investment, but for fans it's a no-brainer--though hefty in size (not to mention price), The Absolute Sandman is, absolutely, the best edition out there.

Issues included: "Sleep of the Just"; "Imperfect Hosts"; "...Dream a Little Dream of Me"; "A Hope in Hell"; "Passengers"; "24 Hours"; "Sound and Fury"; "The Sound of Her Wings"; "Tales in the Sand"; "The Doll's House"; "Moving In"; "Playing House"; "Men of Good Fortune"; "Collectors"; "Into the Night"; "Lost Hearts"; "Calliope"; "A Dream of a Thousand Cats"; "A Midsummer Night's Dream"; "Façade"

Experiments in Reading ( )

Summary: The first volume of the Absolute Sandman compilations includes the first twenty issues of the Sandman comics, enlarged and re-colored, in a beautiful (if huge and heavy) faux-leather-bound tome, complete with built-in silk ribbon for page-marking. The first twenty issues also correspond to the first three previously-published trade paperbacks: Preludes & Nocturnes, The Doll's House, and Dream Country. This collection also includes Gaiman's original proposal for The Sandman characters and stories, some early artwork and character sketches, and the original script and sketches for "A Midsummer Night's Dream", the only comic book to ever win the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction.

In Preludes & Nocturnes, we first meet Dream, one of the Endless, as he is imprisoned by a secret occult society who had been hoping to bind Death. For 70 years he was kept prisoner, while a strange sleeping sickness emerged worldwide, and the Dreaming fell into decay. He finally escapes, but before he can regain his full power, he must track down his possessions that had been stolen from him - his bag of sand, sold to John Constantine; his helm, in the possession of a demon; and his ruby, which is being used by the insanely murderous Doctor Destiny.

In The Doll's House, while the Sandman works to repair the Dreaming after his long absence, a mortal girl named Rose Walker is off in search of her younger brother, who is being held captive - both physically, by abusive relatives, and mentally, by demons who have sequestered his mind into a twisted pocket of the dreaming. Rose, too, is more than she seems - not only does she have to face a convention of serial killers in real life, but she can't even escape into her dreams - for she is a Dream Vortex, with the power to destroy the Dreaming permanently.

Dream Country, in contrast, isn't a single story arc with one or two one-offs added in; rather, it's a collection of four independent tales showing Dream - and his sister Death - interacting with people, animals, and gods across time.

Review: I've been putting off writing this review, because I'm having a hard time deciding exactly how I feel about the Sandman series. To start with, I didn't realize until I was about halfway through this volume that it was a collection of one-offs as well as several longer story arcs instead of one continuous story, and that every 25 pages or so, I would be thrown into a completely new plot. (Consequently, I spent the first half of this book rather befuddled. Smart, I know, but I'm new to this whole comic books thing.) The stories (and the overarching Story) are sprawling and ambitious, bringing in elements of classical and modern mythology, horror, literature, history, and other bits of the DC universe (Arkham Asylum, for one), while simultaneously inventing much of the characters and the world they move through from whole cloth. On the one hand, this gives Gaiman a huge range of stories to tell; on the other, it means that any individual piece might never be fully explained or integrated.

I'm similarly unsure how I feel about the artwork. It's incredibly creative and beautiful in its way, especially in the large, re-colored format: sprawling across the page, frequently breaking away from traditional angles and standard panel format. At the same time, it's "sketchier" than I'm used to, relying on pencil-hashing to convey dimensionality and shading. It's absolutely a preference thing, but I think I like art with cleaner lines a bit better, although I can't quite say why. Less smudgy-looking, maybe? In either case, this is not a comic to read right before bed - its horror roots show up quite prominently in the artwork, which does not shy away from the disturbing or gruesome, which this series has in spades. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Whenever anyone talks about the modern age of comic books/graphic novels, The Sandman invariably comes up, and I'm glad to have finally read some of the series. I enjoyed it, and while I've been converted into a Reader - I'm definitely going to go find the next volume in the series - I don't think I've yet been converted into a Fan. ( )

If you've read and liked any other Sandman story then this book is for you. Even though this volume contains mostly the first few Sandman issues that are the weakest in the series, the large page size, original coloring, and classy binding make this a must own volume. ( )

The story is great! I read most of this in one sitting. Some of the art isn't the best it could be, and there were one or two panels I found to be of distractingly poor quality (granted, I am a bit of a snob about art quality), but for the most part I didn't mind because I was so deeply into what was happening. Neil Gaiman is an extremely talented writer.

Plus, the edition I've seen looks really, REALLY nice on a book shelf! ( )