The Sandman: Volume I (1991)

Preludes & Nocturnes (1991)

Author: Neil Gaiman | Illustrators: Sam Kieth / Mike Dringenberg | Page Count:  235

"I'd just had this nightmare. These things with faces like appendectomy scars were crocheting my intestines into body bags for the blind and dead."

I want to someday feature Mike Carey's Lucifer series on The 7th blog, but it makes sense to cover The Sandman first, seeing as how Carey's work was an offshoot of it. So, in service to Lucifer (not like that), let's proceed.

Volume I of X in the Sandman saga brings together the More Than Rubies storyline, in which the Lord of all Dreaming (Morpheus) gets into a spot of trouble with an enthusiastic occultist who steals his possessions, magical things that weren't ever meant for the human world. Morpheus spends most of the remainder of the book trying to get the items back, but his journey takes him to places that he'd rather not set foot.

It had been years since I last read the work and I'd forgotten how closely tied it was to the DC universe at the beginning. It's not until the epilogue that the first phase of where Gaiman would eventually take the character begins to surface. Until then, it exists in a number of already established genres, from the traditional English fireside horror tale, through generic dark fantasy territory, and even the merging of horror with the superhero genre. It didn't fit with the latter genre at all, so it's fortuitous that it was just an experiment. There's one person from the DC Vertigo pantheon that did fit right into the Sandman world, but I won't spoil it by saying who.

It's worth mentioning that some of the dialogue is embarrassingly bad in the first few chapters. Try not to be put off by it, however, because things really do get better, much better. Despite the dodgy wording there are some very interesting ideas under the surface, ideas that have deeper connotations than may be initially apparent. You'll also be introduced to a number of bit players who return later and play bigger roles, but, of course, first time readers won't know who that is at the start, so it rewards repeated readings later down the line.

The book collects together Sandman issues 1 - 8.

NOTE: years after their original publication and TPB collections the books were individually reissued with new computerised colouring — initially done for the Absolute Editions — and on better paper stock. Better stock is a good idea, but the recoloured + retouched versions have a different tone that I personally dislike; it takes some of the charm away. If you're planning to buy any of the books, I suggest doing some research and opt for the one(s) that you favour most.