The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
Book Review: Sandman Gives sweet dreams
Summary: 5 Stars
Truly Neil Gaiman is the best story teller of our age! His characters are diverse and enigmatic with more history to them than you will ever read. Preludes and Nocturnes is the most amazing gateway into the world of sandman you could wish to have. Beautiful!Book Review: A Slow Start to Comics' Greatest Series...
Summary: 4 Stars
That doesn't mean that this is a bad book. It's good, but compared to the stories that Gaiman and company would come up with later on down the road, well, let's just say that it might suffer by comparison. I didn't start off the series with this. If you do, you might quit (but then again, you might not). I started off with the story collections first (Dream Country, Fables and Reflections and World's End), then I proceeded onto the longer storylines. If you are strictly into reading it in chronological fashion, that's your choice. The beauty of the entire series is that you don't HAVE to read them in order (excepting volumes 9 and 10, you have to finish the series with those). Beyond that, think of it as a giant playground for the reader to wander and enjoy.
Lastly, the final story, the stand alone, "The Sound of Her Wings," introduces us to Dream's unforgettable sister, Death. It's the story Gaiman himself said where he "found" his voice for the series and reading it, it's hard to disagree. It's the best story of this volume and fully worth the price of the book alone.
Still, not the ideal intro, but eventually it becomes essential part of the Sandman story arc.
Book Review: The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, this wasn't the first "Sandman" volume I had read, although I should've (the first one I read was "Season of Mists" or volume 4). Of course it's important, since it establishes Dream as the protagonist and all that, but it's not my favorite.
Personally, the artwork is iffy and is not my thing (Dream looks oooold). The stories are entertaining and well thought out, but a bit too jumpy (this is because Gaiman was experimenting with styles at the time). The later volumes are much more cohesive and, I think, of better quality.
Still, any fan of the series needs the first volume, especially because in "The Sandman" the story comes full circle at the end, and skipping almost any part of it would leave you hanging.
And it's still a good read, regardless of art or style or whatever :)
Book Review: This was a grind
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm among the few reviewers here who dislike this book. For readers with similar tastes, here's why.
The art is sloppy and, as another reviewer put it, hideous. The colors are garish, the faces are inconsistent, the perspective can be abysmal (ex. bottom panel, pg. 83), there is evidence of tracing or retouching of photographs (acceptable in some cases - p. 186, but incongruous in others). One might call this artistic licence, I call it simply bad. The narrative would take about twenty-five pages in text, but here we have a comic that goes on for 240 pages while offending the eye with ugly graphics.
The story has promise, but seems to try to blow harder than it can. (However, since the entire series has garnered high praise, maybe it really does ultimately deliver.) It is also humorless. Consequently, it was a slog to get through this first instalment in the Sandman series and I will desist from the rest until I can look into the books and see if the art improves.
For readers who, like me, have a more conventional appreciation of comic art, one modern series I am currently reading that I can recommend is Cerebus, whose art is somewhat poor in the first pages, but improves so fast and so much that it is masterful by the end of the first volume, while the storyline is rich and funny throughout. Now that's a combination for a modern comic (or graphic novel, if you prefer) that I can take!
Book Review: A Non-Fan Ponders Sandman's Appeal
Summary: 2 Stars
"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up," said C. S. Lewis. He was defending his love of fairy tales, but perhaps similar things could be said about those who enjoy reading comic books, an art-form that, like fairy tales, some think is fit only for children. Perhaps he who, at age 50, can admit without shame that he still enjoy reading his old Stan Lee Spidermans, is perhaps more truly adult than he who would squirm with embarrassment at the thought.
"Sandman" is, in the Lewisian sense, far more childish than anything written by Stan Lee. It is a comic book that tries desperately to prove that it is sophisticated adult material. The usual methods employed are: (1) hideous art - sufficient to cause any child to throw the title aside at one glance; (2) completely amoral protagonists; (3) sporadic but explicit sexual content; (4) grim and gory violence; (5) obvious - but incoherent - allegorical elements; (6) an incoherent assortment of historical, mythological, and literary references; and (7) confusing narrative gimmicks that force readers to use extra brain cells to follow an otherwise simple plot.
Gaiman has explained that the Sandman comics are about the telling of stories. That sounds grand, but means little. Art, if it is meaningful to mortals, must ultimately reflect on Reality in some way. Art that is merely about Art is ultimately about nothing. But if Gaiman means that his stories are derivative, borrowing fragments here and there from better artists while still retaining some of their original power, then I suspect that would be hitting close to the truth - (though I myself recognize only a few of his sources).
Okay, so what's it all about? (Warning: SPOILERS).
These comics are about an Evil Nerd -- but not just any Evil Nerd. He is a Nerd God -- the ultra-powerful ruler of the realm of Dreams, and has lots of cool names like Morpheus, or Kai'chul, or Oneiros, or Sandman, or simply Dream. He is one of the Endless, a group of seven mostly-evil gods whose names all begin with D -- Destiny, Death, Dream, Despair, Desire, Destruction, and Delirium. Though he supposedly rules all dreams, Nerd-Man seems to traffic mainly in nightmares (in this volume, anyway). The most benevolent and likeable of his siblings is Death - a perky goth chick, introduced near the end of this volume, who rescues mortals from the miseries inflicted by the other six -- though what becomes of them thereafter is unclear.
The Nerd God is ultra-cool. He can assume many forms, but usually looks like Neil Gaiman (tall, lanky, white dude, likes to dress in black , with lots of hair, lots of nose, and a craggy face). He also has an ultra-cool scary voice -- represented by white text within a black balloon. He has black eyes like bottomless pits that reflect the universe, as though he were wearing a built in pair of the coolest shades imaginable.
In his volume, Nerd-Man is captured and imprisoned for 70 years by cultists who were trying to capture Death, but who capture Nerd-Man instead. Nerd-Man is too cool to negotiate with enemies, so he just sits and glares at his captors for 70 years. He finally breaks free, and, since his original captor is long dead, instead inflicts horrible vengeance on the successor. Ignoring pleas for mercy, the ultra-cool Nerd Man curses the successor to a horrible never-waking nightmare. This demonstrates that no-one should mess with Nerd-Man!
Seeking to restore himself to full power, Nerd-Man then sets out to recover three artifacts he lost when he was captured, which is the occasion for various adventures. The most memorable of these is a trip to Hell, which ironically seems a welcome break from the horrors of Earth. After arriving in hell, Evil Nerd-Man faces off against Lucifer, Baalzebub, and a vast army of demons, and proves that he is infinitely cooler than all of them combined.
Nerd Man defeats the demons by pointing out to them that without the dream of Heaven, Hell would have no power over its inmates. This seems a cynical thought, directly contrary to the theological notion (derived from the idea of a forgiving, merciful God) that that it is despair of Heaven that empowers Hell. But it is not a rejection of the idea of an afterlife as such, because Death elsewhere tells a mortal that oblivion is not an option. It is not otherwise clear what aspect of Heaven is being objected to. Is it the hope of happiness? Or is it aspirations toward goodness? Does Gaiman, like Ayn Rand, think altruism is the root of all misery?
Another significant thing that happens, on his visit to Hell, is that Nerd Man encounters an old flame, and once again displays his ultra-cool. In order to fully appreciate this episode, you will need to know a little more of its background (in an episode which, in some editions of Preludes and Nocturnes, is reserved for the beginning of the next volume).
You see, ten thousand years earlier there was this Snotty Babe, who lived in a City of Glass. Snotty Babe was the most beautiful Babe in the world, but she would turn up her nose at all the dudes, considering herself too good for them. This went on until a mysterious Nerd came wandering through, who, just by looking up at her from the street below, caused Snotty Babe to fall madly in love with him.
So Snotty Babe searches high and low for the mysterious Nerd Man. She has no success, until the King of Birds directs her to the Palace of Dreams. "Wow," says Nerd Man, "No one has ever sought me out before. We must be meant for each other. Let's get it on." But Snotty Babe refuses, because she realizes this is not just any Nerd-Man, but the Nerd God himself - and she suspects that boinking a Nerd God can have horrific consequences.
But Evil Nerd Man is far too cool to take no for an answer, so he pursues the Snotty Babe. Snotty Babe takes her own virginity with a sharp rock, hoping this will cause Nerd Man to lose interest. But Evil Nerd Man just says "I'm not interested in your body," and proceeds to give her a super-hot boinking. (That's two non-sequiturs in a row - but what do you expect from the Lord of Dreams?)
The sex is hot, but Snotty Babe is a complainer. "Look," she cries. "My beloved City of Glass has just been smashed to smithereens, all because I boinked an Evil Nerd God." "I'm too cool to care," says Evil Nerd God, "Prepare to be boinked some more.
But Snotty Babe is not nearly as cool as Evil Nerd God, and throws herself off a cliff to prevent any further boinking-induced calamities. Evil Nerd God, however, is the ultimate stalker, and pursues her into the Realm of Death. "Listen up, Snotty Babe," he says "I'm too cool for this nonsense. Either be my Queen, or endure eternal torment." Well, Snotty Babe can't take a hint, so Nerd Man condemns Snotty Babe to Hell.
Well, ten thousand years later, during the just-mentioned trip to Hell, Nerd Man by chance runs into Snotty Babe, still enduring the torments of Hell. Snotty no longer, she begs for her release: "Don't you love me any more? Don't you forgive me?" Nerd Man does not like seeing her in torment, but being Ultra-Cool is a hard and lonely duty. "Yes, I still love you," he intones sadly, "But even after ten thousand years, I do not forgive you." And Evil Nerd Man walks away.
Whoah! How cool is that! I want to be just like Evil Nerd Man. Then, I too can force Snotty Babes to fall in love with me just by glancing at them. Then, I too, can take them by force if they perversely attempt to deny their love for me. Then I, too, can punish them horribly if they then fail to show sufficient gratitude for this favor. Then I too can sadly refuse as they grovel at my feet begging my forgiveness. The Sandman is truly a God to Evil Nerds everywhere!
Or perhaps I am just too shallow to appreciate the deep, sophisticated point Gaiman was making.