Sandman

Product Information

Chris Bachalo is an artist whose body of comic book work covers a wide spectrum of genres; ranging from fantasy and science fiction to super hero and action-adventure. His work for DC Comics includes stints on the critically acclaimed Sandman series, Death: The High Cost of Living, and Shade: The Changing Man for DC’s Vertigo imprint as well as the creator-owned projects The Witching Hour, with co-creator Jeph Loeb, and Steampunk, with co-creator Joe Kelly. His other comic book work includes among others Wolverine & the X-Men, Captain America, and the quirky Generation X, which he co-created with Scott Lobdell for Marvel Comics. In addition to his comics work, Chris has provided artwork for publications such as MAD Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and Playstation Magazine, and for companies such as Activision, EA Games and Def Jam Records. Chris is a Canadian citizen and was born in Portage La Prairie, Canada. He currently resides in Southern California with his wife, Helen, his son, Dylan, and his Siamese fighting fish, Spike Four. If you’ve never read the original The Sandman comics, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve at least heard about it. If you look up any of those guides for “ The Comics You Need Read“, there’s a pretty high chance that The Sandman will be on there, sitting alongside the likes of Watchmen and Maus. Finally, Book Four finishes up the series with issues #57-75, collecting the arcs “The Kindly Ones” and “The Wake.” It also includes Vertigo Jam #1 and Dust Covers: The Collected Sandman Covers.

Other than writing all these great characters, Neil also does an amazing job with the world building. He's able in this series to create multiple different "worlds" and he does so in a way that everyone of these "worlds" feels very unique but also familiar. I believe that world building is one of the most important aspects of writing a long series, especially when it's sci-fi. And while Sandman is definitely not sci-fi (at least not in a conventional way), it has many similarities with this genre. For me the best at world building is Brian K. Vaughan, but now, thanks to this series, Neil Gaiman is very close. This collection includes the 10 volumes that make up the original The Sandman comic series, along with the Endless Nights graphic novel, the Overture prequel miniseries, and both the prose and comic versions of The Dream Hunters.The story (usually) follows Sandman, also known as Morpheus or Dream. Sandman is the aspect of dream. He is one of the Endless, with the other ones being Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destiny and Destruction. The story starts when a magician, in an attempt to capture death and become immortal, captures Sandman and imprisons him for 70 years. Sandman is the main character in most story arcs of the series, but some times he's just a secondary character. This might lead someone to believe that the arcs in which he appears as a secondary character, aren't as important or interesting, but every arc is so interesting and so well written that it doesn't really matter if Sandman is the main character or not. I had held off on reading this series for around a year or so, because I don't like to burn through all of the best reads all at once. It would be a fairly dispiriting endeavour if your reading followed a continual downward spiral until you were left with nothing but the dregs at the bottom of the barrel. That said, sometimes you just have to go for gold and creak out the big guns. So now that its all over, what do I really think about Sandman? Well, it was really good, but I don't think I hyper loved it as much as others. Here's why: So yes, of course you should read Sandman. Everyone should, whether you read comics or not. I went in with pretty high hopes. It mostly met them, sometimes fell well short. Still bloody great though. Just don't watch the Netflix show. I'm calling it early, its gonna be shite. 4.25/5

Originally published in 1989, The Sandman is the series that launched co-creator and writer Neil Gaiman into superstar status, with the main comic and its spin-offs winning 26 Eisner Awards during their runs. Morpheus, the King of Dreams, Lord of the Dreaming, Dream of the Endless, has been captured and is imprisoned for close to a century. The repurcussions of his capture and eventual escape are felt across generations of dreamers, and that makes up the crux of this story. But it is also much, MUCH more. That's really my greatest criticism with this series, and was enough to rob it of a whole point, taking it from a five to a four. That and some of the art wasn't always as good as I would have liked. You really get quiet an assortment here, and not all of it as good as others.The Sandman begins with Morpheus, the personification of dreams, being torn from his kingdom of dreaming and imprisoned on Earth by an occultist seeking eternal life. After escaping his decades-long imprisonment, this sprawling dark fantasy epic follows Morpheus as he attempts to regain his powers. I don’t know why I made this but I’m also not going to not post it. (Image: Netflix/DC Comics) These beautifully illustrated graphic novels would make the perfect gift for any fan of Gaiman's work or fans of the DC comic universe. The artists that helped shape this world into the visual masterpiece we see today are Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Kelley Jones, and so many more. Combined with Gaiman's writing, these creative minds have created a literary world beyond our imaginations.

Ten thousand years ago, Morpheus condemned a woman who loved him to Hell. Now the other members of his immortal family, the Endless, have convinced the Dream King that this was an injustice. To make it right, Morpheus must return to Hell to rescue his banished love-and Hell's ruler, the fallen angel Lucifer, has already sworn to destroy him. Neil Gaiman's epic continues in The Sandman Book Two, collecting issues #21-37, The Sandman Special #1, and stories from Vertigo: Winter's Edge #1-3. In the climactic final volume, Dream becomes the target of The Furies-unstoppable agents of vengeance. Dark forces are at work, and what they set in motion will demand a sacrifice more significant than any the Dreaming has yet known. The thrilling conclusion of the Sandman weaves together threads and pieces building since the beginning of the series, collecting issues #57-75 and stories from Vertigo Jam and Dust Covers. If you have seen the Netflix series, the show covers the first two trades – Preludes and Nocturnes and The Doll’s House – along with two stories from Dream Country. So you still have plenty of comics to keep you busy while waiting for the second season to drop. When Sandman is on point, which it usually is, it is some amazing storytelling, and some truly memorable and magnificent comics. When its not, it really got on my tits far more than I would have liked. As the story begins, 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. Book One collects The Sandman #1-20.Next, Book Two comes with issues #21-37, which includes the arcs “Season on Mysts,” and “A Game of You,” plus some of the one-off tales originally found in “Fables and Reflections.” This collection also includes The Sandman Special #1 and Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #1-3.