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| www.neilgaiman.com |
Genre: Graphic Novel - Fantasy
5 out of 5 Stars
As I did when I did my last review, I'd like to begin this one with a little backstory. When it comes to the world of graphic novels I'm fairly new. Until not too long ago all I knew of the fantastic worlds of Marvel, DC and the like came from movies and televised cartoons. And then there was college.
The first graphic novel I read was actually Daniel Clowes' Ghost World for an English course on Cultural Criticism. The second, and the true spark of what is now my love for this art form was none other than Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, because one of my senior capstone classmates was doing his project on that work. Needless to say since then I've been hooked, seeking out excellent material to read based mostly on the suggestions of friends who've been at it longer than I and there have been quite a few absolutely excellent suggestions, but one kept coming up in the must read list of several of those I've asked - Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
So off to the library I went and reserved a copy of the Absolute Sandman Vol. I, a tome containing the first 20 issues of the series. Honestly I wasn't expecting the sheer mass of the book what really surprised me was the librarian who helped me check the book out. I passed it over the counter to him and as though it had a magical hold on him, he gently pet the cover and looked at it like it was an old friend. And now I know why. Hold on... I must add a proper introduction...thank you YouTube.
Sorry, I got side tracked there. So to put it basically Sandman starts out with a bunch of dudes messing around with forces they don't understand. While trying to capture Death, they accidentally capture death's brother, Dream. This of course has many consequences and the stories immediately plunge you into the world from that event onward.
Saying that the artwork and storylines are stunning would be an understatement, but it's more than that. I found myself encountering new concepts and characters as well as some old familiar friends and ideas. Some even similar to ideas found in another collection I've read recently, Piers Anthony's novel series Incarnations of Immortality. I also found some old friends from the DC universe, and others from sources both fictional and historical.
My favorite issues were the first few where Dream is accidentally captured and begins his quest of vengeance (not to mention seeking out the tools of his trade). After that there was also a tale involving Shakespeare that was phenomenal, and of course I also loved the cats, read it. You'll see what I mean.
I don't want to give away too much, so go check it out and please be sure to leave me questions or comments. Now if you'll excuse me, Volume II has just come in and I have some reading to do.
