Favourite Sandman Storyline/Story

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

What was your favourite single-issue story or extended storyline from Neil Gaiman's landmark Sandman comic? And why?

For the poll, I've used the titles of the collected trade paperback editions. If you have a favourite story from one of the collections of standalones, let us know which one in a post. I've stuck to just the original Sandman series written by Gaiman, none of the spin-offs about Death and so on. You can also talk about favourite moments from the various stories.

I haven't yet completed my own collection - I'm not familiar with the World's End and Kindly Ones stories, so I won't post on this just yet. I will say that Season of Mists contains some of my favourite moments, especially Dream's visit to hell. I love the character of Fiddler's Green/Gilbert in The Doll's House as well - a great tribute to GK Chesteron, and an endearing character in his own right.

 

[kaneda]

Just curious is there a certain order you should read these in, or are they stand alone comics?

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

The titles above are not individual comic-book serial numbers, but the titles of the collected trade paperback editions. Each one is a complete story-arc or collection of standalones. You can read them in the order listed in the poll, or start with either the first one or a standalone-story collection such as Fables & Reflections (Which I'd favour as the best introduction) and then carry on as you see fit. After the 4th or 5th volume they really have to be read in sequence to get the full impact of the larger story, although each volume is complete in itself.

 

[Brian G Turner]

As a story arc, Season of Mists was my favourite - but it has to be said, Neil's command of one-issue stories was brilliant - quite possibly the best Sandman stories were those single issues - they really captured something of the sense of storytelling.

I *think* therefore that falls into Dream Country and Fables and Reflections - if so, definitely recommended. And the Misummer Night's Dream issue in Dream country is priceless.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Season Of Mists is pretty awesome, both the art and the story. If I was Lucifer, that's what I'd do, too! Brief Lives actualy suffers a bit from uneven art in places, but I love the story for the sheer deliriousness (is that a word?) of it. The Wake is possibly the most satisfying conclusion to an epic story I've read.

But some of the best material is in those one-off stories. The one about the first staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream was the first story (read as an individual story back then) that made me suspect there was something interesting going on in the Sandman series, that it wasn't just some Gothic psycho-drama (it sorta looked that way from the previous issues I'd glanced at). Have you read it's counterpart, in The Wake, which tells of how Shakespeare wrote The Tempest?

 

[Brian G Turner]

I don't think I read the Wake - I stopped about half-way through the Kindly Ones because I thought it was lacking and becoming somewhat pulp, though I may have flicked through it at a friend's.

World's End short stories, Marco Polo in the desert, the Emperor of the United States - all fascinating and kept with a nice sense of self-completion.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

The Kindly Ones had the most consisten art of the lot, I think, but it did wander about a bit. essentially, the only action Morpheus takes is to embrace his fate...not a very strong theme, since it rather lacks in conflict.

 

[Thadlerian]

I can't really recall the middle ones, as it's been some years since I read them. But I'd say there's a contest between Preludes and Nocturnes and The Kindly Ones. Perhaps Doll's House too. And the tale of Baghdad.

I voted P&N, for just being wonderfully varied. The depiction of Lucifer was thought-provoking too.

Seasons of Mist didn't quite do it for me. I had hoped what Lucifer did would turn out a really complex plot that would dominate the rest of the series, but instead it just ended there. And


(SPOILER)


I think Morpheus' way of escaping the inside of the demon, and trapping it, was a little too easy. Wouldn't it have thought of that before it attempted to capture him?

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

(FUrther Spoiler)

Yes, the whole way in which Morpheus defeated Azazel seemed a bit too easy - there's some hand-waving about him having great power at the heart of the Dreaming, but he doesn't seem to do anything special apart from sprinkling some of his dust to track down Choronzon and Nada. On th eother hand, I have to say that, although I was expecting something far more complex and involved, Lucifer's decision was indeed the most devious, unexpected action he could take at that point. I know I'd do the same if I had to be incharge of aplace like that!

 

[McMurphy]

Season of the Mists

I, too, must say that I enjoyed Season of the Mists. It was the first Sandman graphic novel that I had picked up and read, so I believe that it can successfully be read out of order, which is why I would recommend this chapter for people not wishing to make a committment to the full storyline.

What I like most about this book is that we get to watch our much admired Dream King reluctantly come to terms with the possiblity that he may have made an error in judgement with his dealing with an old flame. Perhaps---just perhaps---sending her to Hell for not accepting his hand in an unlikely marriage between a mortal and an Endless was a bit harsh.

On an interesting sidenote, a manga version of Season of the Mists, telling the story from the view point of Death, was adapted by Jill Thompson. It is entitled Death: At Death's Door. Honestly, it isn't nearly as good, but it was an interesting experiment.

The Doll's House, that, among other things, relates the origins of Sandman's "youthful" lust for Nada, is a close second on my personal favorites list.

 

[Thadlerian]

Re: Season of the Mists

On an interesting sidenote, a manga version of Season of the Mists, telling the story from the view point of Death, was adapted by Jill Thompson. It is entitled Death: At Death's Door. Honestly, it isn't nearly as good, but it was an interesting experiment.

I read that pseudo-manga not long ago. It seemed quite interesting, but I thought characters like Despair turned out a bit lamely.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Are there any scans of Death: At Death's Door online? I wasn't quite blown away by Jill Thompson's art in Brief Lives (althought the story is great - Dream and Delirium on a road-trip!) and I'm not sure how well she transited to a manga-esque style.

 

[McMurphy]

Yeah, here are some scans I found online:

(Taken from [font=arial,sans-serif][size=-1]www.thexaxis.com)

[/size][/font]And a page of panel shots:

(Taken from [font=arial,sans-serif][size=-1]www.universohq.com)[/size][/font]

 

[orionsixwings]

My favorite Sandman story is the one below

 

[the_faery_queen]

dolls house for me. i did enjoy the wake, i found that so moving, but it made me boohoo! so i avoid that now. i like any of the stories with clurcan in, just because i like gay faeries, but for the most part, its the doll's house. a truly disturbing tale, and the corthian, one of teh greatest characters

 

[pmur0479]

In my opinion:

Dream Country and The Kindly Ones are almost tied.

However, after thinking about it more, I decided that I preferred The Kindly Ones. This is because the story (one main story in the whole book) is much more in-depth than any in Dream Country. Since it followed one story throughout the entire book, I feel that helped make it a stronger piece.

As for Dream Country, while most people think "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was the best short story (winning a World Fantasy Award for short fiction) I personally enjoyed "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" better.