great (Sandman Comics in general)

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Product:	Sandman Comics in general
Date:	19/09/01 (11 review reads)
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Advantages: long

Disadvantages: none

The Sandman graphic novels are unusual in that they aer one of the few series to attract a significant number of female readers. I am one of those female readers, and have been saving my pennies to by copies since my teens. Gaiman is a fantastic writer and a great hero of mine. His wonderful, dark wit and his vast knowledge of mythology mixed with a fertil imagination, leads to some of the greates writing you could hope to find in a graphic novel. His characters are rounded, his plots strange and intruiging. It is also true that there aren't too many ludicrously endowed females in scanty costumes.

A littl detail then. The Sandman, Dream,or Morpheus as he is also known is one of Seven siblings, who are, Destiny (big hood and a book, doesn't say much) Death ( a lively goth girl called Didi) Dream (Moody and gloomy but irresistable) Desire (Genderless) Despare (Twin of desire, female.) Delerium ( Female, really strange and with a fondness for butterflies) Destruction (Who has gone off somewhere.)

Denizens of Dream's realm are frequently found in the midst of the action - Nuala the faerie, Merve Pumpkinhead, Caine, Able, Eve and matthew the crow to name but a few. Very much like the characters you will have seen wandering through your dreams at night. Eerily so in fact.

There's also a huge mortal cast of characters who come up frequently. Including Shakespeare, a lesbian duo, a girl called barbie (who does have a boyfrind called Ken at one point).

Also expect gods, demons, faeries and an assortment of other strange an peculiar things. Expect it to be terribly familir and utterly unperdictable at the same time.

The graphic novels are a joy to read, and are more often than not exquisitly illustrated. I would recomend them to anyone.

An overview of the individual novels then.

Preludes and Nocturnes: dream escapes from a room where he has been held prisonner for a long time. He reclaims hi
s kingdom, and then goes to hell to battle with a demon for a powerful artifact. Surprisignly funny in places.

The Dolls House: About lost love, intruige and family ties. I really don't want to tell you any details because there's quite a strong plot in this and its better if you find out as you go along.

Dream Country - effectivly short stories, conected by the theme of Dream. Includes a very interesting version of Shakespeare's Midsummer night's dream.

Seasons of Mists - Hell is closed down, Dream is given the key and must chose a new occupant for the domain. there are plenty of old gods who fancy this particular relam, and much chaos and hilarity ensues.

A Game of You - a young woman with a dream country in her head is drawn into a struggle to save the land of her childhood fantasies from destruction. Drawn in to help her are a lesbian couple, a very powerful witch, and a cross dresser.

Brief Lives - Dream and Delerium set out to look for their missing brother.

Fables and Reflections - more excellent tales featuring werewolves and Orpheus, Morpheus' son.

World's End - in the inn at teh world's end, travellers meet and exchange strange tales.

The Wake - I haven't bought or read this because know i'm going to find it depressing.

You might also want to read "The high cost of living" about death, and there's a great one about Merve Pumpkinhead, but the title eludes me.

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