The Sandman

The Sandman Volume 1 Preludes and Nocturnes
Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcom Jones III
Published by DC Comics (Compilation Copyright Year 1999)

I've always had an interest in graphic novels. In fact the comic book genre is what got me to start reading in the first place. As a little girl the only way my parents could get me to read was by giving me Betty and Veronica comic books. Every couple of weeks my Dad would bring home the latest issue and I would tear through it. I don't read comics or graphic novels too often anymore, but I had been meaning to read the Sandman series for some time. I figured it would be a good addition to my list because it is so different than all the other books I have read. Let me just say I was not prepared for what I encountered.

This particular volume is a compilation of about five different 'issues' that had originally been released monthly. The comic focuses on the protagonist Morpheus. Morpheus is the anthropomorphic personification of dreams. He is the lord of the "Dream Realm" and he can control what people dream, thus the name Sandman. Basically this particular volume documents the capture of Morpheus by magicians who hold him captive for over 60 years. They take from him 3 items which hold his power. He spends the rest of the book attempting to take those items back so that he can rule the dream realm once again. Throughout this process he encounters some really messed up stuff. His journey to retrieve his magical items takes him to hell, a really creepy mental asylum and a house of horrors.

Right around the second issue I figured out why the Sandman series is said to contain adult content and is also considered to be in the horror genre. There are disturbing images of decapitation, people literally exploding, lots and lots of blood and gore, and some other really nasty stuff that I don't even know how to describe. I felt that the excessive use of violent images kind of took away from the story line, which was actually quite good. I was really impressed by the compilation of the frames within each page. Most of them weren't laid out in a consecutive manner, instead they flowed with the tone of the story which really made it a much more intense reading experience. The disorganization of the pages puts the reader on edge, which I assume is the feeling the artist was going for.  I've read almost all of Neil Gaiman's other works and realized that they are just as dark and creepy, but somehow seeing it drawn out for you just makes it a little hard to stomach. The story is riddled with references to ancient mythology, which gives it good depth.

I don't know if I plan on reading the rest of the series. From what I've heard and read, the other 12 or so volumes are much better. Honestly though, I just don't think it's my kind of thing. The fan base for this series is huge, so maybe I should give it another chance. But for now I think I am going to steer clear from this series, until I feel like I am up for the challenge again.

Footnote: Sorry for all of the grammatical errors in the first publication of this post. I suppose being all strung out on caffeine and trying to write a post at 1 in the morning isn't the best thing for my grammar, which isn't really very good to being with. Special thanks to my favorite 'editor' Nathan Kaplan for finding the errors for me :)