The Kindly Ones (1996)
Author: Neil Gaiman | Illustrators: Kevin Nowlan / Marc Hempel / Glyn Dillon / Charles Vess / Dean Ornston / Teddy Kristiansen / Richard Case | Page Count: 352
"It was then that Delirium noticed that she had absent-mindedly turned into a hundred and eleven perfect, tiny multicoloured fish. Each fish sang a different song."
Volume IX of X in the Sandman saga is the largest volume of the series, containing one thirteen-part story and a short fourteenth piece that acts as a prologue.
All good things must come to an end, and the The Kindly Ones is it. There's a Volume X, but Vol IX is arguably the real end of the series, and it doesn't disappoint.
It gathers together threads from all previous volumes and weaves them into a blanket of deep synchronicity; my advice would be to not even think about reading it unless you've read Volumes I, II, IV, V and VII. Up until now Morpheus was the thing that most of the characters had in common, but that begins to change.
It gathers together threads from all previous volumes and weaves them into a blanket of deep synchronicity; my advice would be to not even think about reading it unless you've read Volumes I, II, IV, V and VII. Up until now Morpheus was the thing that most of the characters had in common, but that begins to change.
A number of events that had seemed minor in previous books have grown to encompass most of the people that the Dream King has touched over the years. There are subplots in the weave that aren't strictly necessary, but they serve to make the pattern even more beautiful than it already was. The sense of change that was apparent in Vol VII begins to have unavoidable repercussions.
The Kindly Ones is about collecting payment, and about paying your dues. It's about acting according to your nature and accepting what that means for others. I've not read any of Gaiman's recent works in over a decade, the last was The Graveyard Book (2008), but I'm willing to bet that Sandman is still regarded by many as the greatest thing he's done. It's a landmark in comic book history, with a structure and complexity that's worthy of praise. Volume IX itself is a master-class in how to wrap up a multi-part narrative in a satisfactory manner.
My only criticism is some of the artwork doesn't suit the mood of the piece. It detracted a little from the darkness that was ever-present.
The book collects together Sandman issues 57 – 69 and Vertigo Jam #1.
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