"Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes" Comic Review

     Growing up in the 90's was a time that I wish I could relive again. Although I was born in '85, I was already growing what Freud called the "Ego;" something that allowed me to perceive my surroundings and start to grow a consciousness. I recall speculators on the news saying "Now is the greatest time to be alive in the entire history of mankind," and I think some people would agree. Nothing for me screams 90's than Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. Published in '89, Sandman was redefining how we read comics before its time. In my opinion nothing can can compare to it even now; perhaps that is because of the impact this story had on its readers. It seems most people have come to expect the unexpected and shock value no long has a value. At the time, Gaiman took the taboos of society such as the occult, religion, serial kills, and the mystery of dreams, and added a twist that only his mind was capable of producing. The result was a story that started as revenge and became so much more. "Sandman" quickly became a cult phenomenon that many readers still enjoy today. Sandman is written for a more adult audiences, but not really for violence, but mostly because of its disturbing stories; most of which make the reader think instead of perceive.
     For the sake of time I will be focusing on "Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes." This was the first book in the graphic novel line of ten and can be considered the origin story. Sandman starts off with an occult group, hellbent on capturing and containing Death herself in order live forever. However, during the ritual of summoning and containing Death, they instead got Death's younger brother, Dream. Sealing Dream in a containment bubble and circle, they removed his helm, his magical jewel, and his bag of dust and left Dream to suffer within his prison until he was willing to cooperate. Since Dream is an immortal he needed no substance and therefore all it would take is time before he would be set loose to take his revenge. Upon his initial capture, phenomenon started to take place around the world in certain individuals. Some people who were asleep remained sleeping without waking and others who were awake were doomed to never sleep again. Dream's relics were quickly moved around the world and each has its own tale in which Dream has to divulge in order to regain enough of his power. After 80 years a small mistake causes the circle, which contains Dream, to be shattered and he sets forth on his mission to reclaim his relics and set right the wrongs his capture caused.

     The art is what drove me to initially read "Sandman." Some people say not to judge a book by its cover but I find that to be rubbish when it comes to comics. Sandman had haunted me from when I was a child looking through old "Wizard" magazines, and I would see this poetic depiction of Dream with his darkened eyes. It still brings me chills. I can honestly say that the images from Sandman are ones that will stick with me throughout my life; the abstract faces, the horrific images, the grime, and the humor are all mixed into the perfect dream.