dustydigger
9/4/2014
Oh wow! Stephen King must have been relieved when Neil Gaiman only produced this horror tale as a series of graphic novels, because if Neil had written full length horror nvels, Steve might have had to look to his laurels! This tale is macabre, full of the gruesome, shot through with the darkest of black humour, and at times absolutely terrifying! It has weaknesses, Gaiman was just learning his craft back in 1990, but some of the book is beautiful and poetic, with some amazing, if horrifying characters. Apparently the series goes from strength to strength as it continues. I found this very tense and eerie in parts Totally original, this is the story of Dream, the Sandman, who has power over men's dreams. He was mistakenly grabbed by a necromancer instead of his sibling Death, and imprisoned by enemies who wanted death powers, and held prisoner for seven decades. When he escapes he has to go off in search of his magic items long since dispersed, even to hell itself. The sad, grim, melancholy, often cruel, sometimes kind, Dream is matched as a great character by his sister, Death, who is presented as a Goth chick!The tale took the graphic novel world by storm, and I can see why. Mixing terror and beauty, horror and humour it is a terrific read. The section in a diner where John Dee terrorises the staff and customers is probably the highpoint, or low point, of the story, but the final chapter is a quiet coda, poignant and rather melancholy, as Dream talks to his sister The series will follow Dream as he slowly changes from his age-old nature. I am no expert on graphic artwork, but it was very atmospheric. In later volumes a variety of artists contributedwith radically different art styles, but for me this volume is the one which encapsulated the characters of Dream, Death, and other characters, and epitomised the brilliance of the series. Good stuff, amodern classic. Highly recommended.