Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is one of the most popular graphic novel series of all time, and with good reason. These graphic novels blend amazing, sometimes surrealist artwork with the level of literary quality you’d expect of Gaiman. The Sandman series explored some dark supernatural territory, but with surprising depth and touches of dark humor. From Wikipedia:
The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel and Michael Zulli, lettering by Todd Klein, and covers by Dave McKean…It chronicles the adventures of Dream (of the Endless), who rules over the world of dreams.
The Sandman’s main character is Dream, the Lord of Dreams (also known, to various characters throughout the series, as Morpheus, Oneiros, the Shaper, the Shaper of Form, Lord of the Dreaming, the Dream King, Dream-Sneak, Dream Cat, Murphy, Kai’ckul, and Lord L’Zoril), who is essentially the anthropomorphic personification of dreams.
At the start of the series, Morpheus is captured by an occult ritual and held prisoner for 70 years. Morpheus escapes in the modern day and, after avenging himself upon his captors, sets about rebuilding his kingdom, which has fallen into disrepair in his absence. Gaiman himself has summarized the plot of the series (in the foreword to Endless Nights) as “The Lord of Dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision.”
And now, at last, The Sandman Overture prequels are here, and at bargain prices! All other books in this graphic novel series normally sell for $9.99 each or more, so at $5 and $4 respectively, these Overture prequels are a steal.
The first of the two is available to purchase and download now, but the second is currently available for pre-order only, with a scheduled release date of 12/31/13. Even if you’ve never read a graphic novel before, if you’re a fan of Gaiman classics like American Gods and Anansi Boys, definitely pick these up and give them a try.
The Sandman: Overture #1 is currently priced at $4.99. Note that while its overall review rating is only 3/5 stars, this is because the original release had some Kindle Panel view issues and several reviewers gave a low rating because of this. However, an updated version is now available (and purchasers of the initial release received this update for free). The Kindle Panel view problems are resolved in the updated version. From Amazon:
Discover the events leading up to Morpheus’ capture at the beginning of the SANDMAN series with this prequel limited series by the legendary Neil Gaiman and award-winning artist J.H. Williams III.
The Sandman: Overture #2 (available for pre-order, currently priced at $3.99)
Neil Gaiman’s long-awaited return to the SANDMAN universe continues as the secrets of the Endless and events behind Morpheus’ eventual capture are revealed!