After-Margaret book-a-thon (Part 2)!!

Previously-

-Margaret book-a-thon 1!!

-Margaret book-a-thon 2!!

-After-Margaret book-a-thon (Part 1)!!

From here.

Next one of these, the Sandman comics.

Stay tuned!

So, a month later, after bingeing "Black Sails" and reading these like a slowpoke, here we finally go!

The Sandman (1988-1996)

Here's Hyla's review from...holy shit, a decade ago!

And now, mine.

Series overall? Magnificent.

At the outset, I wondered if I'd become a full-fledged fan.

I'd have to say now that I am.

Not much more I can add to what Hyla said....but I fucking have to, don't I?

Got this goddamned blog review to do, don't I?

I didn't read 2000+ pages just to go "yeah, that was peachy keen" and be done.

Well, let's use this Stephen King quote...

"He is, simply put, a treasure house of story, and we are lucky to have him in any medium.  

His fecundity, coupled with the overal quality of his work, is both wonderful and a little intimidating".

-Stephen King.

Wow, he intimidates Stephen King?

We're in the same boat then, Unca Stevie.

Being in any boat with Unca Stevie is kinda cool in and of itself.

I knew this book was for me, and Gaiman was for me, when he had Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Paine, and Mark Twain all pop up.

So, what's it about?

Morpheus, the lord of dreams, and all the lives throughout history he's intersected with.

The first arc is a superhero-y fetch quest for power items, but after that, it jumps all over the timeline of history, to other worlds, other realities, the story goes wherever it wants to go. 

So, it's about everything, really, but mostly it's about stories themselves.

Favorite characters?

Thessaly the witch, and Matthew the raven.

I'd read a whole spinoff series about Thessaly.

Make that happen, Gaiman.

Favorite arcs?

"A Game Of You" and "Fables & Reflections".

People are divided on "A Game Of you" because they're divided on Wanda, the trans character.

I think her depiction is pro-trans. I think Gaiman's intent was pro-trans.

I actually wept at the end. I love that book. Your mileage may vary.

Is it perfect? No, but for the goddamned 80's, it's like a fucking Starfleet officer beamed down.

A Discovery era Starfleet officer.

Holy shit. Breaks my heart it took so long for me to read these.

Yeah...but a lot of other factors tell me I probably read these at just the right time.

Can't fuck around too much with "what if?".

I also read "Death: The High Cost Of Living" and loved it, not just because it was good, but because it was an "A Game Of You" sequel.

If you loved one, you'll love the other.

IMHO.

Favorite individual issues?

"24 hours", "The Sound Of Her Wings", "Thermador", "Three Septembers and a January", and "August".

Favorite scene that touched me the most personally?

Too many, and too personal for most, but the one I can mention is Matthew's Eulogy in "the Wake".

That totally reminded me of my feelings after Margaret passed.

Favorite DC cameos?

Superman and Batman in "The Wake".

Some great little gags in there only comics junkies will get.

Cain, Able, Eve, Matthew, and Constantine don't count, because they aren't cameos, they're full-on cast members.

Hey, yeah, we never get the full skinny on Matthew's former human life in "Sandman".

You totally have to be a "Swamp Thing" reader to know who Matthew was before.

That's interesting.

For Sandman-only readers/viewers, you think of Matthew one way, and if you read both "Swamp Thing" and "Sandman" you see him another way.

Wonder if that's an intentional thing, or Gaiman just assumed at the time he was bringing over the "Swamp Thing" readership.

Hmmm...

If I had to pitch "Sandman" to my teenage self I'd say "Swamp Thing" is never again going to be as good as when Alan Moore wrote it. Rick Veitch does a good job, but not as good. Then it's downhill after him. If you want to greedily maintain this level of quality, and have something that even connects to the DC/Swamp Thing mythology, switch right over to "Sandman". That's where the good shit is happening.

If I had to pitch to people now who've only recently watched the "Sandman" Netflix show, yeah, get the "Sandman" books. They're worth it, and have goodies the show had to cut.

Then work backwards to "Swamp Thing" cuz there's connections and good stuff there too.

Best analogy I can make is this...

When I was a kid in the 70's/80's, PBS tried to cover all levels of childhood development, and had not just "Sesame Street" but "The Electric Company" and "3-2-1 Contact".

"Sesame" for the kiddies, "Electric" for the bigger kids, "Contact" for the junior high kids.

The other 2 shows fell away, and then it was only "Sesame".

And then everyone forgot those other ones.

The experiment failed, but I liked the idea behind it.

Anyway, that's the analogy I would make.

Superman is "Sesame", Swamp Thing is "Electric Company", Sandman is "3-2-1 Contact".

All you have to do to get on board for Superman, is to have had a childhood, but then you get to graduate up to these levels of rewarding richness.

And unlike the PBS shows, you get continuity in the same world.

It's a clubhouse where all are welcome.

I can't speak to the attitudes of some of the fans, there's toxic elements in all fandoms, look at fucking Star Wars and Star Trek lately, but Neil isn't a snob, he's a nice guy.

If you're a weirdo, you're invited.

And aren't we all a little bit odd?

It's not for a clique, it's for everybody.

Come aboard. You're in good hands.

With the Netflix show to check out, now's the best time ever to jump in.

Speaking of, next up, I'll review the show.

Stay tuned!