The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes - Softcover

Neil Gaiman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1563890119 ISBN 13: 9781563890116

Publisher: Vertigo, 1993

Synopsis

An attempt to summon and imprison Death, results, instead, in the capture of Morpheus, the Sandman, who must regain the tools of his powers.

About this title

Review

"Wake up, sir. We're here." It's a simple enough opening line--although not many would have guessed back in 1991 that this would lead to one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comics of the second half of the century.

In Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman weaves the story of a man interested in capturing the physical manifestation of Death but who instead captures the King of Dreams. By Gaiman's own admission there's a lot in this first collection that is awkward and ungainly--which is not to say there are not frequent moments of greatness here. The chapter "24 Hours" is worth the price of the book alone; it stands as one of the most chilling examples of horror in comics. And let's not underestimate Gaiman's achievement of personifying Death as a perky, overly cheery, cute goth girl! All in all, I greatly prefer the roguish breaking of new ground in this book to the often dull precision of the concluding volumes of the Sandman series. --Jim Pascoe

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Newbery Medal-winning The Graveyard Book and Coraline, the basis for the hit movie. His other books include Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, American Gods, and Stardust, (winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award as one of 2000's top novels for young adults) as well as the short story collections M Is for Magic and Smoke and Mirrors. He is also the author of The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Traded My Dad for Two Goldfish, both written for children. Among his many awards are the Eisner, the Hugo, the Nebula, the World Fantasy, and the Bram Stoker. Originally from England, he now lives in the United States.

Sam Kieth was born in 1963 and started his professional career when he was seventeen. Later on he sold some work to DC Comics and Marvel, where he illustrated Wolverine. In 1987 Kieth drew the first five issues of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and went on to create his own comic series called The Maxx, which was published by Image comics from 1993 until 1998. The success of the series spawned an award-winning cartoon on MTV, trading cards, a toy, and even some statues. This work is currently in print as graphic novels from DC's WildStorm imprint. Keith's recent work includes Wolverine/Hulk for Marvel Comics and Batman: Secrets and Scratch for DC Comics. He has also created several other creator-owned properties that have been published by WildStorm including Epicurus The Sage and Zero Girl.

Mike Dringenberg was born in Laon, France, and currently resides in Bountiful, Utah. His early comics work appeared in Eclipse's Enchanter, Alien Worlds, Total Eclipse, and Vortex's Kelvin Mace. When not drawing or painting, Mike swears he can be found "wandering through the desert kicking coyotes" and "watching the sun rise in the west."

Edition details

• Publisher: Vertigo
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1563890119
• ISBN 13: 9781563890116
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III
• Number of pages: 240