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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 24, 2015 14:13:27 GMT -5
Finally, I have begun to read this classic run. Why I waited until now cannot be explained but it was time to rectify that situation via the collected editions I have found at the local library. And thankfully I will be able to get ahold of the entire run by utilizing this free institution. I have now completed 31 of the 75 issues. The first issue, a double-sized debut, left me kind of cold. Neil was relatively new to comicbook scripting and attempted to introduce a score of characters and tell a tale enveloping decades of time. The main character wasn't introduced until 35 pages or so. Seriously, if I read this first issue when it first appeared, I would possibly have decided not to continue.
But the writing and story structure began to quickly improve. Neil must have been working out his fanboy excitement in these early tales because he seemed compelled to have guest stars from the DC universe in each story . John Constantine, Cain & Abel, Etrigan the Demon, The 3 hosts of The Witching Hour and some JLA members were included. I enjoyed Neil's done-in-one stories. I thought his early attempts at multi-part tales didn't quite work out. By the time he got to double-digit issues, his skills had been sharpened and he was now on a roll. From that point on each story was a "10" or, if not, an adventurous and admiral experiment. My favorite story at that particular time was the tale told from a Cat's perspective. A noble experiment that did not quite work for me concerned William Shakespeare and his actor's troop.
Then we got to # 21 and the beginning of the 8 part Season of Mists storyline where-in The Devil bequeaths Hell to Dream who must then decide what to do with that realm. Here is where I find Gaiman has reached a pinnacle of entertaining and literate storytelling. Surely the heir to what Alan Moore was doing concurrently at DC. I am now about to begin Neil's next multi-part story , A Game Of You, and can't wait to begin
Would love to hear comments from others about this series but please NO SPOILERS for God's sake
Did the quality of this series last to its end? How was the limited series that came out a few years ago and was it ever collected? Why did Sam Keith quit the artwork so early in the run and did he regret his decision? I have access to the absolute editions which reprint some of the one-off stories told in things like Vertigo anthologies. Besides the 3 issue Death mini-series are there any other essentials? |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 24, 2015 14:33:27 GMT -5
[/p] Did the quality of this series last to its end? [/quote] Pretty much. World's End is a significant departure from the rest of the series that, despite a few clever moments, generally bored me, but the rest is fantastic. Season of Mists was the first multi-part storyline to truly wow me as well. Gaiman being the artist that he is never rests in a safe comfort zone; he consistently explores new directions and, thus, some will excite you more than others, but pretty much all are high quality and worth reading. No spoilers beyond saying that nothing in the series is safe nor sacred. Gaiman continues experimenting up to the end. Did you mean Endless Nights or Overture? Endless Nights was good for folks who missed the series and wanted more, but it wasn't the same caliber as the core series. I'm not sure if it ever existed in floppy format. It does exist as a tpb. I don't think Overture has concluded yet. There have been considerable delays. I'm trade waiting. There have also been a few limited series starring Death, but I haven't heard particularly great things about any of them. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 24, 2015 14:40:44 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Shax. Sounds good to me
Endless Night was an original hardcover graphic novel and the library does have copies of that available.
I guess I was referring to Overture. I can't believe that series hasn't concluded yet. It began when I still had my comic collection in what seems a lifetime ago. Any word on when it should be finished? |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 24, 2015 14:43:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Shax. Sounds good to me
Endless Night was an original hardcover graphic novel and the library does have copies of that available.
I guess I was referring to Overture. I can't believe that series hasn't concluded yet. It began when I still had my comic collection in what seems a lifetime ago. Any word on when it should be finished? #4 was released in December. I'm not sure how long the series is slated to be nor when the next issue will be released. |
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Post by fanboystranger on Feb 24, 2015 14:43:42 GMT -5
I guess I was referring to Overture. I can't believe that series hasn't concluded yet. It began when I still had my comic collection in what seems a lifetime ago. Any word on when it should be finished? They're planning for August-September and a HC in November/December in time for Christmas season.
There's also P Craig Russell's adaptation of The Dream Hunters, which was released as a miniseries a few years ago.
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Post by fanboystranger on Feb 24, 2015 14:44:36 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Shax. Sounds good to me
Endless Night was an original hardcover graphic novel and the library does have copies of that available.
I guess I was referring to Overture. I can't believe that series hasn't concluded yet. It began when I still had my comic collection in what seems a lifetime ago. Any word on when it should be finished? #4 was released in December. I'm not sure how long the series is slated to be nor when the next issue will be released. Next issue is scheduled for late April/early May. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2015 14:49:31 GMT -5
As a follow up to the series if you liked Season of Mists, you might want to check out the Lucifer series that Mike Carey wrote (with Gaiman as a kind of consultant early on). It ran for 75 issues plus a few specials I think, and is collected in 10 or so trades as well.
-M
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Post by badwolf on Feb 24, 2015 14:49:52 GMT -5
I'm in the mists, err midst of re-reading this myself via the trades (3 volumes to go.) I loved it in its first run and I think I'm enjoying it just as much now. In a way I'm getting more out of it, because Gaiman plays a long game; (no spoilers) there are things introduced very early in the series that don't come to a head until much, much later, as well as small references and symmetries not unlike what Alan Moore put into Watchmen. Things you might not remember when reading on a monthly basis, or even catch the first time.
Unlike most people (including Neil himself apparently) I think the series is strong right out of the gate. Maybe it has a slow beginning but I enjoy the build-up. I love the horror comic feel of it. Even though "The Doll's House" is my favorite arc, I think people should just start at the beginning. Presumably that's what most people did originally, right?
I did start to lose the plot by the long "Kindly Ones" arc, but I'm not sure that's because of the book itself or other things that were going on in my life at the time, taking my attention away. I'll see when I read the next volume. I certainly think it's worth following through as the series does have a definite beginning and end.
For spinoffs, I'd recommend both Thessaly miniseries (I believe you're about to meet her for the first time), both Death miniseries, Bast, and Lucifer: The Morningstar Option (now collected with the ongoing series). P. Craig Russell's adaptation of The Dream Hunters is also great (I still haven't read the original prose form.)
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 24, 2015 15:24:43 GMT -5
Finally, I have begun to read this classic run. Why I waited until now cannot be explained but it was time to rectify that situation via the collected editions I have found at the local library. And thankfully I will be able to get ahold of the entire run by utilizing this free institution. I have now completed 31 of the 75 issues. The first issue, a double-sized debut, left me kind of cold. Neil was relatively new to comicbook scripting and attempted to introduce a score of characters and tell a tale enveloping decades of time. The main character wasn't introduced until 35 pages or so. Seriously, if I read this first issue when it first appeared, I would possibly have decided not to continue.
But the writing and story structure began to quickly improve. Neil must have been working out his fanboy excitement in these early tales because he seemed compelled to have guest stars from the DC universe in each story . John Constantine, Cain & Abel, Etrigan the Demon, The 3 hosts of The Witching Hour and some JLA members were included. I enjoyed Neil's done-in-one stories. I thought his early attempts at multi-part tales didn't quite work out. By the time he got to double-digit issues, his skills had been sharpened and he was now on a roll. From that point on each story was a "10" or, if not, an adventurous and admiral experiment. My favorite story at that particular time was the tale told from a Cat's perspective. A noble experiment that did not quite work for me concerned William Shakespeare and his actor's troop.
Then we got to # 21 and the beginning of the 8 part Season of Mists storyline where-in The Devil bequeaths Hell to Dream who must then decide what to do with that realm. Here is where I find Gaiman has reached a pinnacle of entertaining and literate storytelling. Surely the heir to what Alan Moore was doing concurrently at DC. I am now about to begin Neil's next multi-part story , A Game Of You, and can't wait to begin
Would love to hear comments from others about this series but please NO SPOILERS for God's sake
Did the quality of this series last to its end? How was the limited series that came out a few years ago and was it ever collected? Why did Sam Keith quit the artwork so early in the run and did he regret his decision? I have access to the absolute editions which reprint some of the one-off stories told in things like Vertigo anthologies. Besides the 3 issue Death mini-series are there any other essentials? I actually agree with Gaiman that the first seven issues of Sandman are a little weak. Not...compared to the books that were generally appearing on the stands at the same time, but compared to what came after. And that's because Neil wasn't sure exactly what he was writing. Was it a super-hero book? Was it a horror book? What was it. With issue 8 he started to figure out what it was. And by issue 17 it was very clear that he was telling a story about stories. According to Gaiman and Hy Bender (author of the Sandman Companion) Season of Mists is most popular storyline with male readers. A Game of You is the most popular storyline with female readers. Overall the quality remains very very high and it is, in my opinion, the single best extended work of comic fiction. There are rough spots. As Shax points out there are parts of World's End that aren't fabulous. And it took a long time for The Kindly Ones to grow on me. The book started missing deadlines in the last couple of years. It made it a bit of a nuisance to follow at the time. But again...it's always very very good. As for spin-offs...Lucifer is the cream of the crop. Carey did an outstanding job of standing beside Gaiman and not falling in his shadow. Both Death mini-series' are well worth reading. The Little Endless Storybook by Jill Thompson is great. Merv Pumpkinhead Agent of D.R.E.A.M. is pretty swell. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Feb 24, 2015 15:30:04 GMT -5
I not too long ago, read Sandman for the first time via TPB at the library for free. So no need to justify the costs in my mind as I read them. I was in absolute love with Death. (Even prompted some fiction of my own.) But the whole story is quite well. I think there's no way possible to maintain the momentum and magnitude of how it started. It's almost like he himself couldn't top his own writing.
For me it fell off at The Kindly Ones (#57-69) mostly because I found the art so off putting. I don't like to be critical of artists as I doing good to make stick figures, but it was distracting from the story, and I mostly light to skim read that portion just try and get the gist. Then it was probably several months before I read the last volume. I am totally willing to admit that because of this I can't praise the series as a whole, but really liked everything prior to it. And while every other part of the story art wise was great I think Mike Dringenberg and Malcom Jones III really killed on this series. Their art was so perfect, though that maybe me being partial to their version of Death.
Being so enamored with Death I really enjoyed The Time of Your Life. It a good moving story that really says a lot of our idea of death as a society and how we cope with it. I liked The High Cost of Living, though the story was a bit "lighter", to me. Also if you are not a fan of Bachalo's art, I think the former is much better work of his than the latter.
Edit: I would also like to add that one of the other plus points of the series is that despite Sandman being the central character, the supporting cast, his brothers and sisters, weren't card board cut outs or secondary to his development. They were actually very pivotal to his development, and stood on their own with their own characterizations. I think that's why I walked away from the series wishing there was more spin offs of Death and Destruction, my two favorite characters from the series.
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Post by coke & comics on Feb 24, 2015 15:31:35 GMT -5
Sandman is among my favorite comics and one of my top votes for "best graphic novel ever". And I actually think the first issue is a great issue. The rest of the first story arc perhaps not so much. "The beating of her wings" at the end of the first volume was where I think he found the right tone and voice for the series.
I will second the Lucifer recommendation. It can wait until after you finish Sandman, but it is a great series and to my mind the best follow-up to Sandman. The story of the second most powerful being in creation, who just can't accept that.
Sandman is a series where each reread has given me something new, the second read especially. Gaiman does a very good job of weaving a lot of threads together. It took the second read to appreciate how much the payoffs were very natural conclusions to the setup, and how well everything was foreshadowed.
My favorite issue of the first 4 books is definitely "Midsummer Night's Dream". I consider it a tour de force for great quotations hitting on the themes and motifs that resonate throughout the entire series.
Paraphrasing from memory:
"He did not understand the price. Mortals never do. They see only their dreams, their heart's desires. But the price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted."
"Things need not have happened to be true. Stories and dreams are the shadow truths that live on when mere fact is dust and ash and forgot."
Both ideas will show up several times in the series, and the idea of there being things more true than fact is at the core of most everything the man has written. Stardust also refers to those places that stop existing when explorers prove they aren't there.
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Post by fanboystranger on Feb 24, 2015 15:48:43 GMT -5
Why did Sam Keith quit the artwork so early in the run and did he regret his decision? Sam just didn't think he fit in well with what the book was trying to do. He recognized the brilliance in it, but it wasn't really what he wanted to do. As he's put it over the years, he felt like Jimi Hendrix playing with the Beatles. Other than his inking Matt Wagner on Mage, most of his professional work up to that point had featured very exaggerated figures, and that's where his heart was (and continues to be). Sandman was far more traditional in its style. He doesn't regret his decision to leave the book, and he's happy that it had the success it did. In fact, he appeared on a few panels during Sandman's 25th anniversary, and said that it took him a few years, but he's proud of the work that he did those first few issues.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 24, 2015 15:53:21 GMT -5
According to Gaiman and Hy Bender (author of the Sandman Companion) Season of Mists is most popular storyline with male readers. A Game of You is the most popular storyline with female readers. That's hysterical. Mine and my wife's tastes have never been popular in regard to pretty much anything, but that statistic nails us perfectly. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 24, 2015 16:01:08 GMT -5
As a follow up to the series if you liked Season of Mists, you might want to check out the Lucifer series that Mike Carey wrote (with Gaiman as a kind of consultant early on). It ran for 75 issues plus a few specials I think, and is collected in 10 or so trades as well. -M I actually liked Lucifer BETTER than Sandman. There's also the Dreaming, which features alot of the minor characters in Sandman... it's a bit hit or miss, but mostly good. Man, Vertigo was something in the early- mid 90s. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 24, 2015 16:02:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Shax. Sounds good to me
Endless Night was an original hardcover graphic novel and the library does have copies of that available.
I guess I was referring to Overture. I can't believe that series hasn't concluded yet. It began when I still had my comic collection in what seems a lifetime ago. Any word on when it should be finished? #4 was released in December. I'm not sure how long the series is slated to be nor when the next issue will be released. I think it's downright embarrassing how delayed it has been... I have no idea if that was Gaiman, or the artists, but for a 6 issue mini series people have literally been waiting for for years, there was no reason to have the whole thing in the can before release. Between that and the $4.99 per issue price, it's been a real lost oppertunity, IMO. |
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