The only real complaint I have is that this volume is short, hence the script thrown in at the end to pad it out.  But, on the other hand, there are still eight more volumes in the collection, so that isn’t that great of a problem.

Hypothetically related posts:

1. The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
2. The Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll’s House
3. Batman: False Faces

It seems that, in Morpheus’ absence from the Dreaming, two key events have occurred:  a Dream Vortex in the person of Rose Walker has appeared (granddaughter of Unity Kinkaid; you remember her from the first volume don’t you?  Ah, well, that’s a good excuse to go back and re-read it); and four of the Dreams have gone missing.  The Vortex is Bad.  If left unchecked, it will tear down the walls between people’s dreams, leaving them mindless and damaging the Dreaming as well.  The Dreams are potentially bad as well.  Brute and Glob are merely untrustworthy; the Corinthian is very dangerous; and Fiddler’s Green’s disappearance is a bit of a mystery.

No spoilers here; let’s just say that the story is excellent.  There is a houseful of weirdos, another Sandman, child abuse, an interlude reminding you what the story is all about, TONS of serial killers, and a tying up of loose ends that you didn’t even know existed.  Good stuff.

If you read my review of Preludes and Nocturnes, you will know that I wasn’t that impressed with the art.  In fact, it was quite distracting in its poorness, which is bad news in a graphic novel.  I am happy to say that the artwork here is vastly improved.  The overall quality of the draftsmanship is higher, almost like somebody at Vertigo noticed the popularity of the book and gave it a higher priority.  It is also more adventurous, which I love.  Panels tumble, making you turn the page sideways to read them.  There is an homage to Little Nemo in Slumberland.  There are photo-realistic drawings, and collage.  It’s way more interesting, and does a lot more to help out the writing.  And, as before, the covers are superb.

I just finished reading The Doll’s House, and I have to go get Dream Country and start into that.  That’s how good this is.  Treat yourself to a read or a re-read and pick this one up.

Hypothetically related posts:

1. The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country
2. The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
3. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 2: Cycles

This volume collects that first 8 issues of The Sandman comic.  The story begins in 1916 in England, where an occultist group performs a ritual to summon and trap Death, one of The Endless.  Something goes wrong and they end up with Dream (aka Morpheus) instead.  Afraid of what may happen if they let him go, they confiscate his clothing and personal effects and keep him locked up in a magical prison for scores of years.

With Morpheus unable to perform his sacred duties as the master of dreams, the world is plagued with strange effects.  A “sleeping sickness” sweeps the globe; people fall into states of catatonia; “zombie”-ism affects others.  Over time, the occultist group splinters; the artifacts collected from Dream are scattered and lost.  The captors become lazy, and careless.

Eventually, Morpheus is able to escape, and goes on a quest to regain control of his domain and to recover his lost items.  Along the way, Gaiman manages to tie in a half-dozen or more DC characters in what is a superb feat of comic book writing.  In fact, the writing is so strong that it is able to support a book that is sorely lacking in one of the two requirements that make a graphic novel – that is, “graphics” and “a novel.”

I am sad to say that the art in The Sandman, Vol 1. is not very good.  If you naively pick up a copy of this book, thumb through it, and decide to give it a skip, I couldn’t really blame you.  If you tend to favour the art side of the graphic novel, as my friend Tim does, you might find this book almost unreadable, as my friend Tim does.  It makes sense, I suppose; this was one of Gaiman’s first kicks at the can for DC, so maybe they didn’t feel like throwing the best effort at it.  Maybe the deadlines were tight.  I don’t know.  I just know that the artwork certainly doesn’t help the series at all.

(I suppose that this isn’t entirely true.  The inside art is bad, yes.  But the cover art, by Dave McKean, are a real joy.)

I cannot recommend this book enough.  If you love a well written story, then it deserves a place in your library.  But if you NEED your graphic novels to be closely balanced between the “graphic” and the “novel,” you might want to borrow a copy first.

Hypothetically related posts:

1. The Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll’s House
2. The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country
3. Welcome To Tranquility, Vol. 1