The Sandman
Vol. 1, Preludes and Nocturnes
Written by Neil Gaiman
Pencils by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg
Inks by Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III
Colors by Robbie Busch
Letters by Todd Klein

The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman, is one of those books that belong to the “comics you must read to consider yourself any kind of comics fan” list. A 90’s phenomenon that helped to launch the career of one of today’s premiere fiction writers, it has very quickly made its way to the top of my own pile of “comics I love” and Gaiman to the dizzy heights of my “favorite authors” list.

So for today’s installment of Tuesday Trades, we take a look at the first paperback collection of Gaiman’s premiere graphic novel work: The Sandman, Volume 1, Preludes and Nocturnes.

I was truly stoked to get my hands on this book, and when it first arrived in that wonderful little Amazon box at my front door, delivered by a man I will soon be on a first name basis with, I was thoroughly excited. The book is a glory to hold, nice and thick for a paperback, and with a front cover with artwork by Dave McKean that just keeps drawing your eye back to it, time and time again.

Having set myself the task of reviewing trade paperbacks, I have already dug myself a hole in that I will have to give this book a maximum of 4 out of 5 due to its lack of added goodies. But the more I read of these books, the more I suspect that, maybe the “goodies” are the exception and not the rule. We will have to see.

But this is a true “tragesty” (tragedy + travesty), considering the sheer quality of this book. Neil Gaiman, in an Afterword at the end of this book, notes that “rereading these stories today I must confess I find many of them awkward and ungainly.” Nothing could be further from the truth, or, more to the point, standing by itself nothing could be further from the truth. My opinion may change when I am looking back from the tenth and final volume of The Sandman series.

There is something thoroughly enjoyable about sitting down to read a book, and not knowing exactly what you are going to get. Neil Gaiman has a tremendous habit of doing that to his readers, and The Sandman is a terrific example of this. The story focuses on Dream, aka, Morpheus, one of The Endless, as he attempts to regain his power that was stolen from him by a group of wayward humans. We are introduced to a plethora of characters that I assume will make return appearances, including Lucifer, a character who was perfectly drawn as a fallen angel!

Let us not kid ourselves; I am a reader of great proportions. No, I am not fat. What I mean to say is that I read a ridiculously large amount of books. So when I say that this book leaves me completely baffled at times, let it mean something. For the most part, I am able to read a book with a certain level of comfort that I know what is coming. That comfort has been ripped right away, leaving me floating free in a world of literary genius that, though I am untethered to my normality, I simply do not care.

Another thing that has totally left me confused is the apparent linkage between the Vertigo imprint and DC Comics. Since when are they in the same world? I’ll express a measure of naivete when it comes to publishers like Vertigo, because I am only a recent convert to the world of non-superhero-based comics. Appearances by John Constantine, the supervillain Doctor Destiny, and everyone’s favorite green martian, the Martian Manhunter, threw me for a loop, while still bringing the story on.

The art can only be described as late 80’s/early 90’s art. It is heavy, busy, and absolutely bloody fantastic! The first five issues in this collection, which wraps together the first eight, were penciled by Sam Kieth, with the first four of those inked by Mike Dringenberg. The books are heavily reliant upon red and blue colors, almost overpowering much of the page, but not.

Issue five saw Malcolm Jones III take over from Dringenberg as inker, who at issue six took over the penciling job from Kieth. There is no real noticeable change in the quality and detail of the art, and only by perusing Wikipedia did I even realize there had been a change.

If you have not found yourself drawn to The Sandman, then I suggest you hit up Amazon as soon as possible. These books are sure to make a big impact in your life, if you are anything like me. Do I review the TPB or the comic? The latter seems to be a no-brainer, and as I hope to review further volumes, I will settle for reviewing the TPB. As it is lacking any noticeable special features, I do relegate it to 4 out of 5, but do not let that stop you from purchasing it. You will not see your money wasted if you do.