The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth
Blurb:
Neil Gaiman's seminal series, THE SANDMAN, celebrates its 30th anniversary with an all-new edition of THE SANDMAN VOL. 1: PRELUDES & NOCTURNES!
New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman's transcendent series THE SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo title and one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created an unforgettable tale of the forces that exist beyond life and death by weaving ancient mythology, folklore and fairy tales with his own distinct narrative vision.
In PRELUDES & NOCTURNES, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. After his 70 year imprisonment and eventual escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine, and an all-powerful madman.
This book also includes the story "The Sound of Her Wings," which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl Death.
Collects THE SANDMAN #1-8.
Review:
Well… here we are, finally! After spending eons on my messy, unending TBR, The Sandman by Neil Gaiman has now seen the light of the day. And I can well and truly confirm that the hype and the reception is more than justified. After reading Volume 1, I can easily say that this is one of the most unique pieces of media that I’ve ever come across, no cap. It’s literally THAT GOOD.
So then, without any further ado… here we go!
What’s it about?
To be very honest, there isn’t a straight answer to this, I feel! Of course one can just put out the very basics of plots as an overview (which is exactly what I’m gonna go below lol), but there’s literally so many dots to connect on a sub-plot level that the former is realistically what can be presented here without spoiling anything major!
So, the question remains… What is it all about?
Meet Dream. The King of Dreams; of the nightmare realms; the master of the realm of sleep. Also called Lord Morpheus. He is the Prince of stories. One of the Endless. The younger brother of Death herself. And he… is also a very old God.
England, 1916…
A cult manages to kidnap Dream for their very own nefarious plans… and all hell breaks loose… The world is gripped by The Sleepy Sickness, with no cure and no end in sight. But finally after decades of patiently waiting for the right moment, Dream finally escapes… and nothing is the same anymore… anywhere.
To restore order in both his world and ours, Dream needs to find his missing tools asap, lest everything descends into even more chaos. And to find these utterly significant and magical objects of power, Dream is gonna need a helping hand or two…
Enter… ! (OMG. I absolutely didn’t know that this character was gonna play a crucial part in the story, thanks to going in completely blind! And I was SOOO STOKED about it! One of my fav. chars in the comic universe! And the only reason I’m not mentioning who it is, is cuz I don’t wanna spoil it for anyone, as was the case with me! P.S. – you already might’ve glimpsed their name in the blurb tho…)
And here, folks, starts a journey and an adventure quite unlike any other…
I am simply not gonna let anything out of the bag… You better go and experience it all for yourselves… RIGHT NOW!
The good:
Where do I even begin with all the goodness on offer…
The story, the art, the characters, the lore and the innumerable references/easter eggs throughout, the worldbuilding… you name it, and it was not only impeccably executed from start to finish, but was almost as perfect as it could be! SIMPLY WOW.
Dream’s character design is just legendary at this point… and I fully get it now!
Really LOVED all the borders/frames/edges for each and every page. Intricate, detailed, and just so good!
Talk about the in-issue title pages as well, and the individual issue cover pages to go alongside… simply incredible.
The depiction of places, the depth of the characters, and some of the quotes/dialogues… wonderfully done.
And overall it’s just so good that I finally get why this work has become a pop culture icon.
The “not so” good:
Now, having said all that, I do have a slight “complaint” … The second issue was, in my humble opinion, the “weakest” one of this groundbreaking opening volume. Not to mention the quite confusing aspect associated with its specific individual plotline. And that’s about it, my only gripe about it all.
But having said that, again, there’s literally NOTHING ELSE to pinpoint when it comes to any “not so” good things from my side. It was just a perfect, wonderfully crafted piece of work all round. As simple as that, really!
Highlights:
There’s literally SOOO MUCH good stuff present throughout that this section simply shouldn’t have been able to do justice to it all… Go read and find out for yourselves, folks!
Other info.(which I feel is not only quite amazing, but also quite fun to know about!)
The Sandman Volume 1 – Preludes and Nocturnes: The 30th Anniversary Edition, was originally published in single magazine form as The Sandman #1-8 in 1988, whereupon it was picked up by DC Comics the very next year, in 1989.
The Sandman is based on characters created by Neil Gaiman (writer), Sam Keith (artist), and Mike Dringenberg (artist). Not to forget Malcolm Jones III who also worked on it as an artist.
The 30th Anniversary Edition features an introduction by none other than Patrick Rothfuss (written in July, 2018) – the author of The Kingkiller Chronicle! He mentions how "THE SANDMAN changed my life.", garnering high praise for the same, alongside other influences like The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen!
The Foreword also mentions the iconic V for Vendetta, and an Afterword by Gaiman himself, which was pretty well-written in itself.
There are a TON of references/easter eggs throughout, both from the DC universe, and from everyday pop culture media (many which I was taken back and sheer delighted to find cuz I’m a huge fan of!). And again, I’m not gonna list them not only cuz there are just too many to list, but also cuz I don’t wanna spoil the fun of discovering them for yourselves as you read along!
Note/Trigger Warnings: Adult/Mature themes are present throughout; blood/gore; partial nudity, etc.
Final thoughts:
Well, what else can I say that’s not already out there!? The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes is quite easily one of the most unique and one-of-a-kind adventures that you’re probably ever gonna read. Period. Every aspect that makes a great graphic novel is present here, and even more so, cuz this particular one just feels more special. The art and the story are two major standouts, but everything else is top notch as well, especially the character of Dream. The worldbuilding is mesmerizing in itself, and the insanely crazy amounts of references/easter eggs throughout just elevates it to a whole new level. It is dark. It is intense. And it is also a bit philosophical and emotional at the right moments. To say that it’s an ABSOLUTE MUST READ would be an understatement. VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
