Neil Gaiman's Sandman: How is it?

[greedostick]

I've wanted to read this for what seems like an eternity. I think since I have a 4 day weekend I'm going to pick at least part of the series up in some format.

So, for anyone here that has read Sandman, how do you feel about the series.

Also, what are the best ways to read it? Original comics, Absolute Hard Back versions, TPB's viable? Digital formats any good?

 

[FilthyRear]

Comixology has a ton of the collected editions up. Its tied to your amazon account, so it's super-easy to buy the print versions if you like what you're reading digitally.

 

[Rot]

I liked these comics...

After reading comics for years... with the good old heroes beating the shit out of Villains... it came as a nice change...

They are more adult in themes... but still hold up REALLY well...

I'd recommend a read..

xROTx

PS. STUFF...

 

[greedostick]

Comixology has a ton of the collected editions up. Its tied to your amazon account, so it's super-easy to buy the print versions if you like what you're reading digitally.

Saw this on Amazon earlier while I was looking up editions. Is it free to read these with that app? Gonna have to check it out.

I liked these comics...

After reading comics for years... with the good old heroes beating the shit out of Villains... it came as a nice change...

They are more adult in themes... but still hold up REALLY well...

I'd recommend a read..

xROTx

PS. STUFF...

Guess if it has the Rot Seal of Approval I need to get on it.

 

[fake]

I only got into comics relatively recently. But I've steered toward the somewhat off-beat stuff, like The Invisibles, The Filth, Ronin, etc. So I figured Sandman would be up my alley. Nope. It's like the goth kids from South Park wrote it. I'm putting Neil Gaiman in the same "overrated guy with a cult following" bucket as Joss Whedon. That said, I the TPB copy that I had was perfectly fine in terms of print quality.

 

[greedostick]

I only got into comics relatively recently. But I've steered toward the somewhat off-beat stuff, like The Invisibles, The Filth, Ronin, etc. So I figured Sandman would be up my alley. Nope. It's like the goth kids from South Park wrote it. I'm putting Neil Gaiman in the same "overrated guy with a cult following" bucket as Joss Whedon. That said, I the TPB copy that I had was perfectly fine in terms of print quality.

You should check out Mouse Guard: Fall 1152. It's one of my favorites. They remind me of the Redwall novels I use to read in Jr. High school by Brian Jacques.

 

[fake]

You should check out Mouse Guard: Fall 1152. It's one of my favorites. They remind me of the Redwall novels I use to read in Jr. High school by Brian Jacques.

Ha, I used to read those too. Fantasy mice, man.

 

[ChopstickSamurai]

Sandman is one of my favorite series. Highly recommended! Gaiman is a wonderful writer and he works with some amazing artists.

 

[FilthyRear]

Saw this on Amazon earlier while I was looking up editions. Is it free to read these with that app? Gonna have to check it out.

The app has a very small selection of free stuff, usually 1-offs or reprints of #1's. Comixology Unlimited is $5.99/month, and anything with the "UNLIMITED" banner is free to read and download as long as you have your account (theres a shit-ton of the free stuff). The first month is free, and its worth a shot.

You don't need a subscription, as you can still buy whatever you wantand the app itself is free. The subscription gets you discounts on physical and digital editions.

I bought the first 6 Uncanny X-Men Masterworks which covers the orginal run - they were normally $16.99 a piece, but they were running a sale, and that stacked with the discount I get from the Unlimited subscription, so they ended up costing me $2.99 a piece. Since its tied to your amazon account, you can read them on anything.

 

[famicommander]

It's great but Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing is better.

 

[greedostick]

The app has a very small selection of free stuff, usually 1-offs or reprints of #1's. Comixology Unlimited is $5.99/month, and anything with the "UNLIMITED" banner is free to read and download as long as you have your account (theres a shit-ton of the free stuff). The first month is free, and its worth a shot.

You don't need a subscription, as you can still buy whatever you wantand the app itself is free. The subscription gets you discounts on physical and digital editions.

I bought the first 6 Uncanny X-Men Masterworks which covers the orginal run - they were normally $16.99 a piece, but they were running a sale, and that stacked with the discount I get from the Unlimited subscription, so they ended up costing me $2.99 a piece. Since its tied to your amazon account, you can read them on anything.

Yeah, just downloaded it on my phone but didn't start the free trial. Noticed the Sandman TPB's are only $5.00 each. When I get home im gonna see of this app works on my Fire Tablet. If so I may just go that route. I always feel reading comics on my phone sucks. So hopefully on a tablet it will be ok.

 

[greedostick]

It's great but Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing is better.

Yeah. Came across that while looking at Sandman stuff on amazon. Will have to check it out. Right now Sandman is the only thing on my radar. So maybe after Sandman I'll research it some more.

 

[famicommander]

Yeah. Came across that while looking at Sandman stuff on amazon. Will have to check it out. Right now Sandman is the only thing on my radar. So maybe after Sandman I'll research it some more.

Definitely do it. Saga of the Swamp Thing is the best comic story I have ever read, and it was the first major series to intentionally ditch the Comics Code Authority. So it was very important to the establishment of Vertigo books including Sandman.

 

[Ip Man]

i've gotten recommendations to read sandman for nearly twenty years now. but never bothered because the theme never interested me. but i've had people who own comic book stores tell me it their favourite comic book of all time, so that says something.

 

[Viewpoint]

Going to add this was an amazing read. I loved Gaiman's work.

You should also check out Preacher.

 

[greedostick]

Going to add this was an amazing read. I loved Gaiman's work.

You should also check out Preacher.

Yeah. I was reading Preacher way back before it was in TPB form. At some point though I stopped picking up issues. Would like to start it over some day.

 

[terry.330]

It's great but Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing is better.

Infinitely better read.

@Greedo, I own all this shit just come over and you can borrow whatever.

 

[greedostick]

Infinitely better read.

@Greedo, I own all this shit just come over and you can borrow whatever.

Didn't realize you had Sandman. Would have borrowed it long ago. Will have to check that other stuff out next time I come by.

 

[ChopstickSamurai]

Swamp Thing and Preacher are both excellent as well. If Sandman is your bag, I would think Fables would be up your alley as well.

 

[greedostick]

Swamp Thing and Preacher are both excellent as well. If Sandman is your bag, I would think Fables would be up your alley as well.

Not sure if Sandman is my bag. I just want to try it.

I read the first few issues of Fables when it first came out. It seemed OK but didn't hook me. Of course, I only read 4 or 5 issues. So maybe it gets better.

 

[cat]

I'm a big fan of neil gaiman but i could never take to sandman, not for me.
Preacher and hellblazer are much, much better IMO, saga of the swamp thing is a classic and 100 bullets is well worth checking out if you ain't already.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Comixology has a sale up until the end of the year where I think you can get all volumes of Sandman for $4.99 each, which is more than half off. So if you're going to buy them, now's the time. They'll never be cheaper than this.

As for how it is... It's fine. It was considered great, but doesn't hold up as well as some who read it back in the '90s might expect. Angsty and pretentious. Someone in the other thread described it as being as if Tim Burton wrote it when he was in junior high, which is maybe the best description of Sandman I've ever read. Later volumes are better, but be warned, the first volume is pretty terrible and is a chore to read; it's is not really representative of the series as a whole. If you can stick with it for the first few books, you might like it. I'd almost recommend skipping the first volume and starting from book 2, but that doesn't really work.

Preacher is kind of the opposite. It's maybe more entertaining overall although shallow as hell, starting really strong, good most of the way through, but Ennis muffs the ending.

 

[Late]

^That's a pretty good summary, I also thought it was great when I read it in the 90's as a teenager, looking back the intertextual references which made the 16-yo me go like "woah, William Blake, pretty deep" are really tacked-on and on the level of "Hello, I have a Bachelor's in English lit, I'm edumacted!"

 

[The_Chosen_One]

I feel like it still holds up well, but would strongly agree about vol 1, not the best start.

I have the Absolutes, and I really like the size of them for the art but they are not exactly easy to lug around when you want to read them.

 

[NeuroticMoose]

I only got into comics relatively recently. But I've steered toward the somewhat off-beat stuff, like The Invisibles, The Filth, Ronin, etc. So I figured Sandman would be up my alley. Nope. It's like the goth kids from South Park wrote it. I'm putting Neil Gaiman in the same "overrated guy with a cult following" bucket as Joss Whedon. That said, I the TPB copy that I had was perfectly fine in terms of print quality.

going back and doing a reread, yeah, if you dropped it around the second arc that's pretty much the impression I can see someone having of the series, it doesn't get really good or indicative of what the series became until the third or fourth volumes. You have to keep in mind the series was coming out as a companion piece of sorts to Alan Moore's Swamp Thing which was similarly dark and moody and horror focused, The Dolls House reads like something from a completely different series once you take the series as a whole, which is a pretty great epic dark fantasy series. Getting into the more lighthearted and life affirming fantasy stories later on and going back is good for a serious case of tonal whiplash.

You could also always just skip all this shit and read Transmetropolitan, the best book Vertigo ever put out