The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1

Neil Gaiman’s creation, The Sandman is one of the great graphic arts masterpieces. Neil Gaiman (along with Alan Moore) are genius creators that bring to their work more than just a comic book sensibility. I’m sure both have a deeper literary foundation than just the Mort Weisinger edited Superman, the Julius Schwartz super hero revivals, and the Marvel Universe of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck. All these comics mentioned are indeed great but most writers since them seem to not try to break new ground and just repeat a formula until Alan showed everyone how It could be done. With Neil I feel that he is quite familiar with many writers that have enriched my life like TH White, William Hope Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Jack Vance, Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny, Fritz Leiber, Mervyn Peake, Michael Moorcock, and Gene Wolfe. These wonderful creators shared a rich Imagination and many a mastery of creating poetry in prose. Neil is a master storyteller with this skill first most powerfully demonstrated in The Sandman comic. I love these Omnibus editions with long runs of the title contained within and physically the omnibuses are quite beautiful. It has been several years since I had read these issues and I had forgot what great artists had worked on these issues. Some of the artists I was already familiar with and knew to be great ( Colleen Doran, P Craig Russell, Bryan Talbot, Charles Vess) along with artists that I was unfamiliar with that delivered outstanding graphic storytelling like Mike Dringenberg, Sam Kieth, Jill Thompson, and Shawn McManus. Truly a masterpiece of imagination that belongs on everyone’s shelf. Absolutely read this then go out and read the collected CA Smith, Lord Of Light by Roger Zelazny, Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison, The Dying Earth by Jack Vance, the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser collections, Clive Barker’s Imajica, Michael Moorcock’s Elric series and Mother London, William Hope Hodgson’s The House on the Borderland, Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, Almost anything by Henry Kuttner and Catherine Moore, anything by Leigh Brackett, and Alan Moore’s Jerusalem. Certainly Neil’s prose novels The Ocean At The End Of The Lane, Neverwhere, American Gods, and Stardust belong in your future readings also. Happy magic.

The Sandman story is a very long saga that helped break the mold of comic book writing. Among a handful of other titles at the time it ushered in the term 'graphic novel', surprised people by being labeled 'not for sale to minors', and garnered author Neil Gaiman the distinction of being the first comic book author to be recognized (and rewarded) by the Science Fiction Writers of America (thank you, Harlan Ellison). The story is at times fantasy, horror, or everyday people whose lives become surreal, and it rubs shoulders with a wide variety of already-established characters--both superhero and non--in the DC Comics universe. Our protagonist is literally the personification of Dream: Morpheus, the Lord of the Dream Realm, and his godlike nature makes it easy to move our story to limitless times and places. This Omnibus edition is a massive slab of a book. It is huge and heavy. The binding appears to be sewn to keep it together (it is over 1,000 pages), and the print quality, from paper to coloring, is excellent. This 'Omnibus Vol.1' represents approximately half of the story arc of The Sandman and I'm delighted to have it in my collection now. If you're pondering this book, chances are you're already familiar with and a fan of the story, and in my case I am proud to say I purchased this in order to be able to share the world of The Sandman with my daughter. Compared to the price of tracking down all the individual trade paperbacks, the high price is actually a very good deal, particularly given the quality of the book.

This review is not for the story but for this specific edition. I debated which volumes to get and looked at trade paperbacks, the absolute editions, and the three omnibus volumes. These are the reasons I purchased this edition over the others. Price: I like to collect nice editions that will look good on my shelf and last for a long time and through many readings. The three volumes, which are discounted about 40% at my time of purchase, were by far the least expensive way to collect the Sandman story while still getting a hardcover format. If you are not a collector and just want to read it for the story, Kindle editions or trade paperbacks through Amazon will be the least expensive way to purchase the story. Look and design: The books are as large as your standard omnibus if you are familiar with how Marvel and DC publish their comic collections. They look amazing on the shelf and the design is consistent. Nothing bothers me more than to have a set or series that does not match in either design or size. The three volumes together collect the entire story, including additional materials, and it's compacted into less shelf space than the absolute editions. Binding: You may see criticism on the binding. Although the binding could be better, you can prevent damage to the spine by properly opening the book. If you are unfamiliar with properly breaking in the binding, there are plenty of resources online which will teach you how to break in the spine and prevent damage during reading. You should never leave the book open on the table overnight or flip it upside down. This can also lead to spine damage. I have taken proper care of my volumes since they are expensive, and have not had any trouble mentioned by other customers. This is a great story and these volumes offer a great deal for such a wonderful collectors item. I would highly recommend purchasing them if you want to collect the story.

Beautiful, it was in perfect state. I'll Buy volume II soon

Bought for partner for Christmas- his favourite gift hands down! Loved it

This is an absolute beauty. Sandman does not require any review what so ever. It is easily the best graphic novel out there. For me this particular edition of sandman is a prized possession standing tall among my other graphic novels. I just have one issue with the packaging. Hard cardbox should be used while sending such valuable masterpiece. Both my sandmans have bent corners due to this problem.

Una edición preciosa para coleccionista, lo único malo es que es un poco aparatoso para leer al ser una compilación tan gruesa.

The price is high, but you get what you pay for! This hardcover collection is a beautiful looking design and the binding is very well done! Arrived quickly and in mint condition! Highly recommend for the collectors!

Ya sabemos que las historias son ampliamente recomendadas. Yo aquí quiero comentar que la manufactura del tomo está en otro nivel. No sólo es pasta dura, sino que además tiene una cubierta con textura, tanto en el lomo como en la cubierta frontal, que lo vuelven un tomo realmente hermoso. Una edición muy recomendada. No duden en comprar esta edición. No se arrepentirán.