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Sandman--should I or shouldn't I?

ValkyrieRaven88

ValkyrieRaven88

New Member
I am a huge fan of horror and fantasy, and several of my friends love the Sandman series. I have been told one of my favorite songs--Enter Sandman by Metallica--was based off of this series, and in reading up on it, it appears very interesting, but it's so LONG. I wanted to know, before I spend any money on it, if I should try collecting these graphic novels. (FYI, I don't have a lot of money; I would be buying them maybe three at a time.)
So anyone out there who has read Sandman, please tell me what you think. It looks very good, but I would like second and third opinions.
(I should also probably note that none of my friends own any Sandman books, except the one who I only know over the Internet. My friend Ori goes to school with a girl named Grace, who I have only talked to on the Internet as well, whose sister owns all of the Sandman books, but since I don't technically know Grace and know her sister even less, I don't feel comfortable asking her if I can borrow them.)
 
Does your library carry them? If not perhaps they could order it, and you can read some and see if you want to put out the bucks. I've had librarys order books that I wanted to check out.

to all doubters that read the above claim, it is true! Yes in the distant past, but true! :D
 
Why commit to collecting the series up front?
Would it be so bad to buy and read the first few and then take it from there, deciding whichever way you might feel about them at that point?
Peder
 
Ohh, they are soo worth it (and especially when you love fantasy, horror and Metallica!)! (I'm one to talk, I read them at the library :eek: ). But you should know there are some in the ten-album-series that are not part of the ongoing story, but rather "short story collections" - they add depth and understanding, but aren't essential to the flow of story. I think they are parts 3 and 8. But I'll agree with Peder: read the first couple of books. If you love them, the rest will be as good and better! :cool:


*mrkgnao*
 
I can't find a library nearby that carries them...and I wasn't going to buy the whole series right away, but I have to order over a certain amount from amazon.com for free shipping, which requires ordering at least two at a time. I had been hoping to find an edition with all volumes in one book, but I can't find that.
Thanks, mrkgnao! I hadn't known that, although I knew there were extra books. I am definitely interested in the collections about Death, because she looks so cool...I love gothic stuff. ^^
On the other hand, if I read things, I usually like to own them, especially with graphic novels. Even just reading about the Sandman books, I'm getting this feeling of excitement that I rarely get, the kind when I'm completely obsessed with something. I don't think I've ever gotten it just reading Wikipedia articles, so this must be something good.
 
When I was 17, my friend owned the entire collection in paperback and lent them all to me to read. I just fell in love with the series. Gaiman is a fantastic story teller and I'd highly recommend that everyone read it if given the chance.

Anyway, 5 years later (just last year), I started collecting them... but I decided to collect the hardcover 'cause my friend's paperbacks were starting to fall apart (pages, the covers, etc... were starting to detach themselves from the spine). And anyway, The Sandman series is in my top 3 stories, so I had to get them in hardcover. So yeah, about $300 later, and here I am, a happy, proud owner of The Sandman collection. Worth. Every. Penny. ;)

But of course, this is just me. I read the whole thing before buying 'em...
The paperbacks are about $10 less... so... (but of course, the prices vary depending on the volume).
 
I would probably buy the paperbacks. They would be easier to fit into my bookshelf. I get all my graphic novels in paperback, and a couple are falling apart, but I have some very good tape, so that would be okay, LOL. Thanks for replying, libra6poe. I haven't heard from anyone who doesn't like Sandman, but maybe I should check out the bad amazon.com reviews to see what people didn't like about it. (Usually, it's just a bunch of losers who picked the wrong genre story complaining, but we will see.) *checks*
Hmm...pretty much, that's it. One person said that the characters just wander in and out of the plot and that he/she didn't care for the art. Can anyone comment on this?
 
Hey, no problem. ;)

Well, there's a huge cast of characters; it's not all about The Sandman, since there are a lot of stories to tell... Gaiman said that he didn't want to put the character Death into it (although she was one of the most popular characters) more than the others because she wasn't supposed to be the focus. So she gets just as much face time as anyone else.

I think it's hard to complain about the art work considering that Gaiman had a lot of artists on board and that the style changes constantly. Some I liked, some I didn't care for. Either way, they were all unique and nice in their own way.

-Libra
 
Well, there's not much turning back now. I just ordered the first two comics, which should be arriving in a week. ^^ I read up some more, even read a script for a potential movie, and I am in love already. So my decision was made. I'll tell everyone how I like them! I can hardly wait!
 
Nope; coming on Wednesday! I'm so excited. ^^ I can't remember the last time I was so excited about reading something. Though I will cut throats if it's not all I thought it would be...but I doubt that will happen, since I've looked at previews and everything on the Internet.
 
Well, I loved Preludes & Nocturnes... but if you don't end up thinking it's fantastic, don't judge the entire series on only one book.
 
I'll be getting that and the second one (Is it The Doll House? Something like that?). I'll probably be ranting about it soon...I should get them Tuesday or Wednsday, I think.
 
Welcome to the Sandman readers' community! =) Yup the second volume is The Doll House. I finished volume six a couple of weeks ago. I buy them two at a time.
 
OMG. I just got them yesterday--they came ahead of schedule--and I AM IN LOVE. They were just fantastic--on one hand I can't wait to get the next ones, but on the other, I need a while to let what I read last night sink in. ^-^
I fell in love with Morpheus/Dream and his world and the whole thing was just so amazing! I especially liked Death, because I thought it was funny how she started talking about Mary Poppins and you'd expect her to be talking about Stephen King or something. ("Fat pigeons!") I wasn't crazy about Despair, but I liked Desire. I wish I would have gotten to see Destiny and Delirium, but I'm sure that's coming soon.
Thank you, EVERYONE, for convincing me to do this. I'm in Sandman heaven and ever-so-happy.
 
While the short stories are great, it's the story arcs that are really amazing. My favorite thus far is Season of Mists, followed by Brief Lives and The Doll House. I've yet to read the last three volumes, but I've heard the last two are the best so I'm extremely excited.

And don't judge Despair so quickly... She's fleshed out much more later on. She's still no Desire, though.
 
I've read that Season of Mists (IV) is the favorite among most fans.
My personal favorite is A Game of You (V) - I like fairy tales...
Also, it is suggested that if one decides to skip around in the series, it's best to make sure you read Brief Lives (VII) to The Wake (X) in order.
At the time of its release (as a monthly comic), fans were tired of The Kindly Ones (IX) as it was (and is) the longest.
I loved Season of Mists as well, but I think Worlds' End (VIII) is my 2nd favorite (it's the first book to ever make me cry:p ).
 
Thanks; I'll be buying at least one of them next time I order from Amazon. That and another Nightwish CD, and maybe something else from my extensive wish list. ^^
 
It's best to start off from the beginning of the series, but, as mentioned earlier, don't be scared off by the first volume... it's stays a bit more closely connected to its comic book roots than the others. I'd recommend buying Preludes & Nocturnes and The Doll's House at the same time, as I figure by the time you finish the second story arc, you'll be fairly addicted.
 
OMG, I just finished the fourth book. This series is completely and totally AWESOME!!!!
One of the things I love is that Dream has the personality you'd expect Death to have, and Death is just completely awesome. Parts of Episode Zero in Season of Mists had me laughing. Then, of course, the scenes in Hell were terrifying. It's dark fantasy, or horror, though, and that's why I started reading it in the first place.
But anyway, I'm a person who reads because I like characters, and Sandman has several great ones. Even the most insignificant people seem important for a while, and I like that. I like being able to feel the story as I go through it. But they also manage not to overload us with detail, which is extraordinary. I can't wait to buy the next book.
 
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