The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country (New Edition) - Softcover

Gaiman, Neil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1401229352 ISBN 13: 9781401229351

Publisher: Vertigo, 2010

Synopsis

The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. In each of these otherwise unrelated stories, Morpheus serves only as a minor character. Here we meet the mother of Morpheus's son, find out what cats dream about, and discover the true origin behind Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. The latter won a World Fantasy Award for best short story, the first time a comic book was given that honor.

This volume includes issues 17-20 of the original series and features completely new coloring, approved by the author, of issues 17 and 18.

About this title

Review:

The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. What's remarkable here (considering the publisher and the time that this was originally published) is that the main character of the book--the Sandman, King of Dreams--serves only as a minor character in each of these otherwise unrelated stories. (Actually, he's not even in the last story.) This signaled a couple of important things in the development of what is considered one of the great comics of the second half of the century. First, it marked a distinct move away from the horror genre and into a more fantasy-rich, classical mythology-laden environment. And secondly, it solidly cemented Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. One of the stories here, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," took home the World Fantasy Award for best short story--the first time a comic was given that honor. But for my money, another story in Dream Country has it beat hands down. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" has such hope, beauty, and good old-fashioned chills that rereading it becomes a welcome pleasure. --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.

Kelley Jones is a comic book artist best known for his work on Batman with Doug Moench and The Sandman with Neil Gaiman. A critically acclaimed artist throughout his career, Jones' recent work includes Swamp Thing: The Dead Don't Sleep with Swamp Thing creator Len Wein.

Charles Vess has been drawing ever since he could hold a crayon. His award-winning work has graced covers and pages from numerous comic book publishers including THE BOOKS OF MAGIC, SWAMP THING, THE SANDMAN from DC Comics and Spider-Man from Marvel Comics. He currently concentrates on book illustration where he continues to win praise and accolades for his unique style. Vess shared the prestigious World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story with Neil Gaiman in 1991 for their collaboration on THE SANDMAN #19, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Vess recently completed a short story included in the FABLES: 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL graphic novel from Vertigo and Blueberry Girl, a picture book written by Neil Gaiman. STARDUST, the graphic novel created by Neil Gaiman and Vess was released as a major motion picture adaptation in 2007.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vertigo
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1401229352
• ISBN 13: 9781401229351
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Jones Kelley, Vess Charles