The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes

It deserves every bit of the praise it's gotten.

This review is really for the entire Sandman series.
I'm not sure I've ever found it so difficult to review something. I feel like I've been on a long bizarre journey and have just woken up. I'm pretty sure that was what Neil Gaiman was aiming for from the start, the series centering around the Lord of Dreams, Morpheus himself. While we follow Morpheus around and through interweaving tales we get amazing insights about the importance of stories, the human condition, family, mythology, nightmares, dreams, religion, faith, madness, life & death and the list could go on. There is so much packed in this series that I can't even put it into a category, it really is a category all its own. I haven't ever read anything like it and doubt I will ever again. It is fantasy of the highest sense. Poetic, meaningful, dark, funny, sad (okay in the last few there is a lot of sad), but also a lot about hope and new beginnings and changes. I feel like Dream, Destiny, Desire, Delirium, Despair, Death and Destruction are a pantheon of mythos I will never quite shake from my mind. Like the Greek gods, they will forever be apart of a mythology in the fabric of people's consciousness. They live there now in the back of my mind and when I encounter these things in my life, I won't be able to help but think back on Neil Gaiman's amazing story and colourful characters.
The artwork was always great and even surprising sometimes and inventive. I especially loved the Dreaming and it's heart where Morpheus' surreal and ever changing castle was. I feel like now that the journey is over, I need to start it over again, so that I can pick out all the things I missed the first time. See all the hints about where it was headed, to put characters into perspective now that I know their fates. I feel like I missed a lot, because there were stories within stories that I didn't realize were significant until after the fact. I can only marvel at its intricacy.
The imagination on display is vast and mind blowing and the way in which Gaiman can take flawed creatures or humans and give them hearts and voices and emotions that you carry with you through the entire series, is a testament to his character-building. I never thought I'd shed a tear for a pumpkin-head or raven or for a place that doesn't even exist, although I really wish it did.
I could go on and on about this series, but I'll do the only thing I can do and that is to recommend it to everyone, just as the comic book store employee recommended it to me. I have read very few graphic novels, so I can't compare to it to other graphic novels, but as a story completely on its own and of its own merits, I highly, highly recommend you give The Sandman series a read. Even if you only do it once, it will be worth it. You will see storytelling in a different way and it will stick with long after you finish the last volume.

4.6/5 stars
(Rating stayed the same)

I loved the story. I think I started reading this in middle school, but I never finished it because I could not figure out what was happening. It was not until I picked up this comic book series after watching Sandman on Netflix for the third time that I realized this. I was on the waiting list, so it took me some time to get it. The difference between the series and the Netflix series was slightly noticeable to me, but that was expected.

This issue had a slow start at the beginning, but it didn't necessarily bother me. In this instance, I think it enhanced the narrative. The art occasionally bothered me because of how offputting it made some scenes seem. The villain was also intriguing. The fact that they were not good people and were unquestionably insane added complexity and darkness to the story. Death ended up being my favorite character, as expected. Her introduction, her relationship with her job, and her brother were all things I enjoyed. That is all I can say for now.

I do recommend it, but be sure to check the triggers because it can occasionally get quite dark.

The artwork was fantastic and the story was interesting. However, I could not tell you what the hell i just read. It was like reading 6 different stories in the one book.

Gaiman undeniably is a master of his art, but again I don't feel satisfied by reading his book. It's just not my cup of tea. Almost from the second third of the book I wanted it to come to the end sooner rather than later. Definitely not going to continue the series.

Rating: 4 / 5 starsShort review: Dark, gritty and full of awesomeness. Initially, though, very confusing.

I've wanted to read this graphic novel for a long while. Thankfully, it was available on Kindle Unlimited, and I did not hesitate to make it my first KU read. And I'm glad I did.

Essentially, this graphic is just really awesome. A great, dark and mysterious main character, in a dark, cool setting, involving dreams and all these mysterious and mythological themes. Really, it's just my cup of tea. Add a few superheroes references with a dash of crossover, and it's even better.

And that's without mentioning the amazing art style brought into the story, with a lot of colors and dynamic panels that really brought a different tone to each character and each setting, making the experience very complete.

My one problem, though, was how confusing the initial part of the volume is. After all, Gaiman drops us in the story without any warning or acknowledgment, and halfway through I still found myself wondering what certain panels meant and what exactly was going on. He didn't really explain anything about the story and, instead, just started telling it, which meant that I had to constantly catch up and wonder what the purpose of each event and character was. This, nonetheless, is only prominent in the first issues of the volume, and didn't bother me much by the end of it.

Another thing that felt out of place was the whole sequence with Morpheus's sister, Death. That is, the story had already finished, and it felt, initially, like something else was starting. I definitely liked the character and the development to the MC that it brought, but it felt a bit detached from the overall story.

In general, it was a really great read, and I'm excited to continue reading the next issues to and see what's in store for our MC. I'm still hesitant if I will read all 10 volumes, but, for now, I'll definitely continue.

May need to read a few more before I get into it....

I haven't fully grasped what is happening but I like it.

Bueno, mas cruel de lo que lo imaginaba. Es una buena introduccion al mundo Sandman, aunque aun esta calentando motores.
Aun siguen sin gustarme las portadas, ya se que son arte y tal, pero a mi personalmente me disgusta que sean tan inconsistentes con el resto del estilo.

Okay, this was awesome!
Started weird, but it took very little time to get oriented and get into it.
The first few volumes were simple and easy, then things got suuuuper dark. And then the ending was strangely hopeful, which was a nice balance.
Not sure how I feel about the art style, to be honest (which changes at least once to a more simplistic one), but it didn't bother me enough to take away a star.

I should have known this wasn't for me, but I wanted to give it a chance anyways. I've only read one other book by this author and that was Coraline, and I really enjoyed that book. This one not so much. The story was hard to follow, and the graphics weren't for me. They were dark and gruesome at times. I definitely prefer the cutesy type of graphic novels. 

I've been thinking about re-reading Sandman for a long time. When Chipperish Media (I listen to many of their podcasts) announced they were doing a Sandman podcast I decided to read along with the podcast. Meaning I only read one or two issues at a time, at least for now.

I'm not a bit reader of comics or graphic novels, but I remember liking Sandman, and I've liked Neil Gaiman's writing for a long time. I still liked it.

I know the series probably gets better from here but I can't help but give this first volume a 5. Heartbreaking, depressing, hopeful, beautiful, dreamy. Absolute perfection of the medium, I'm in love already.

Esta es una serie de novelas gráficas que tenía pendiente desde hace mucho tiempo. Las veía conforme iban saliendo cuando se publicaron originalmente en la tienda de comics, sin embargo en ese moment no me llamaban tanto la atención. Poco a poco fui conociendo la obra de Neil Gaiman y vi que era parte de lectura obligada para los que nos gusta su obra. En mi caso el acercamiento quizá fue al revés que la mayoría, empecé por sus novelas literarias y terminé con sus novelas gráficas.

No me falló ni tantito.

Una secta decide capturar a la Muerte y por equivocación acaban capturando a Sandman, el dueño (no es dios, sino una especie de amo) del mundo del Sueño. Cuando por fin logra escapar debe recuperar, hasta en el propio infierno, los elementos que le permiten gobernar su mundo. El coqueteo con algunos personajes del mundo de DC es por demás interesante.

Las ilustraciones totalmente oníricas y extrañas te transportarán a un ambiente opresivo y extraño de principio a fin. Sumamente recomendable.

Grim as f*ck

This was really great! The first volume appears to be not much more than an introduction to the world and a few of the characters, but it was a wild ride and not quite like anything else I've read in a while. Looking forward to the next volume!

Very cool dreamworld journey featuring mythical gods and creatures. The Sandman himself is a well-fleshed out protagonist with a clear arc and quest. The artwork is sublime, depicting indescribable places and creatures with emotion. I did feel the story went up and down at times, even if minutely, and just held this back from a five. But Gaiman is truly magical with some really open-ended questions and thought-provoking moments in the graphic novel.

Simply awesome!

This was the first graphic novel I have ever read. I was already a big fan of Mr. Gaian from his novels, so I had hope that I would like this as well. I was not disappointed.

So beautiful

Ok, ik heb de helft gelezen, maar het is echt niks voor mij.
Ik vind de tekeningen echt niet mooi, het is te verwarrend en te Amerikaans voor mijn smaak...

I love that this series (and by extension, Neil Gaiman) was given a chance by DC, because it is incredibly unique even though in these first issues, one definitely gets the sense that the Sandman (both the series and the character himself) is struggling to find his/its identity in the world of DC comics. Rather than scrap the idea and focus on more established story lines, editor Karen Berger realized Gaiman's potential and gave him time to develop this story in to its now legendary status.
I didn't really see how this series became so famous based on this collection until the last (8th) issue, when the character himself sort of reflects back on what's been happening, and tries to find his identity. The introspective and existential nature of that story shows that this collection is not afraid to play at being philisophical, deep and truly edgy.
On a more personal note, even though I felt some of the first few issues were a bit shallow and confused, I enjoyed how much they leaned on Alan Moore's Swamp Thing Saga which I had read just before these. I knew that Gaiman was a fan of Moore, but I didn't realize until the introduction in this that he actually tried to pitch stories for Moore's Swamp thing. Characters from those stories were very prominent (John Constantine, Ertigan the demon, Cane and Able) and I loved the way they were incorporated, even though Sandman's over all quest to retrieve his tools did not entirely appeal to me.
In that way, I enjoyed all the stories quite a lot, but was left hoping for more up until that last issue. Now I can rest assured that it will only get better in the next volume.

First off, I'm indifferent to Neil Gaiman. He has some great books (Coraline) and he's got plenty of average or forgettable books (Norse Mythology). When I pick up one of his books, I never know which version I'll get.

Preludes and Noctures was just OK. The story jumps around a lot. It was very Stephen King esk. Bob chopped some onions, Helga was watching tv, Sally and Billy were..... you get the point. The character is rather mopey, and IMO looks exactly like Neil Gaiman. He even acts exactly like I'd expect Neil to act. To me, the character wasn't original. It was the chance for the author to write himself into a comic book character. Maybe that's the fault of the artist, idk. But to me, it really detracted from the story.

I did like some of the realistic aspects. Ex: dangers of picking up strangers with your cars. It doesn't sugar coat the real world like so many other stories do. But like most of Gaiman's books I just don't get the fanaticism.

Graphic novels and comics: I get them now. Before this, their pictures were vaguely interesting but I often didn't even look at them, I was just reading the text and speech bubbles to get the story the fastest way I could. I wanted the story fast (I was a glutton for stories). But when I merely glanced at, or even skipped, the pictures, it felt like I was missing out on something.... because I was. And then this book. This book. When I saw the cover page of “Sleep of the Just” I gasped out loud. The pictures of Morpheus and Alex in the tower, Morpheus riding peoples' dreams, and so many more, they gave as much power to the story as the words. And those words, that story - I am in awe.

Gaiman's writings have always (always meaning since I discovered him i.e. earlier this year)fascinated me, the way he is able to create entire worlds and mythologies in a drop of the hat. Sandman was on my wishlist for so long, finally got around to reading the first volume and gotta say it is enticing as hell. The stories, especially the beginning of each issue (8 in total) seem disjointed at first, but some come together in great ways, others are left for the reader to figure out. Characters are spread out like grains of sand (yep!) helping and aiding our protagonist Dream aka Sandman aka other thousand names in his mission for revenge, with a lot of heavy handed biblical themes thrown in to the mix. Also classic DC stalwarts show up, so that's a plus point. I found Vol 1 to be thoroughly enjoyable, although the first issue may confuse some, but stick it out, it's gonna be great.

Great art. Interesting characters. Lots of experimentation going on by Gaiman, and not all of it is successful. The Dr. Destiny chapter is incredible, and unsettling. The end of the volume provides an enticement to continue.