The Dreaming Vol. 1: Pathways and Emanations (The Sandman Universe) Paperback – June 11, 2019

“The Dreaming” began as a spin-off of Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series, working as an anthology series of tales set in Dream of the Endless’ realm. The original series, which ran from June 1996 to May 2001 featured stories by Terry LaBan, Alisa Kwitney, Bryan Talbot, and Caitlín R. Kiernan. In celebration of “The Sandman”’s 30th anniversary, DC fully rebooted the title with Simon Spurrier as the writer. This new series does not follow what preceded it and takes place after the events of “The Wake,” when Daniel Hall replaced Morpheus as Dream of the Endless. The first story in “Pathways and Emanations” is from Neil Gaiman and explains that Daniel has disappeared, putting the future of the Dreaming in danger. Matthew the Raven goes searching for him, exploring the realms of other stories that appeared under DC’s Sandman Universe banner including “Lucifer,” “House of Whispers,” and “Books of Magic”.Cracks begin appearing in the Dreamining, with blank humanoid creatures and a fractal object coming through. Worse, one of the Dukes of Hell manages to enter the Dreaming without the approval of its master and is only repelled when Lucien impersonates Daniel, wearing his cloak and helmet. Dora, a young woman with wings on her head who is not originally of the dreamining and has abilities resembling those of Dream himself, takes one of the blanks as a friend and sidekick as she travels to other dreams for food and resources. Unlike the other creatures of the Dreamining, who are not flesh and blood, she has the needs of a living being. Mervyn Pumpkinhead feels his world crumbling around him and, in his sense of powerlessness, frees a nightmare to help restore order, leading to further chaos. Amid the fantasy elements, Spurrier examines the nature of breakage and identity, whether a person who suffered needs to become who they were before or if they can redefine themselves. Artist Bilquis Evely’s work perfectly depicts the familiar characters from “The Sandman” while giving life to the new ones from this series, portraying them and their world with all the beauty and gravitas that the realm of the Dreaming deserves.This volume collects “The Sandman Universe” no. 1 and “The Dreaming” nos. 1-6 from the duo, with some guest art by Abigail Larson, colors by Mat Lopes and Quinton Winter, and letters by Simon Bowland. “The Sandman Universe” includes writing by Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters with art by Tom Fowler, Dominike “DOMO” Stanton, Max Fiumara, and Sebastian Fiumara – the creative teams behind the other books DC published under the “Sandman Universe” banner. Finally, all the book feature stunning covers by Jae Lee and June Chung. Fans of “The Sandman” looking for more stories to read set in the world Gaiman created need look no further than this collection.

This is one of the most beautifully inked comics I have seen. The story is unhinged but the images make you keep turning the pages.

When going into the world of Sandman, it's always best to be cautious. There have been good spin-offs, and there have been bad. Having now read all four of the new Sandman spin-offs by published under Neil Gaiman's supervision, this is the one I'm most interested in seeing continue.It's a bit hard to talk about the plot of this volume with spoiling the premise, so if you want to go in completely blind, stop reading now. Dream of the Endless is gone. Know one is sure why, but it isn't good news for the citizens of the Dreaming. Demons are breaking in, new mysterious things are appearing that no one knows how to deal with, and everyone is freaking out. In this chaos, old nightmares are plotting, and who knows what comes next.The thing that stands out to me about this series is that Si Spurrier gets what made Sandman so unique and interesting. The artwork breaks away from normal panelling multiple times to highlight what is going on in the story. His characters all have unique voices (though, sadly, no font changes). And one of his new characters is a perfect representation of a storytelling trope personified. The plot is a nuanced look at how governments can turn into dictatorships that doesn't come off as preachy in the slightest. I mention this because there have been a number of comics in recent years that have failed that test.But there are some problems. One of the new main characters is a bog-standard snarking jerk that sucks the fun out of anything that's going on. And I remain skeptical that the explanation for why the plot started is ever going to be satisfying. But we'll see in future volumes.

I enjoyed it, though I’d like the endless to be featured more. Other than that great story. I think I’ll continue the series.

I admit I was worried when I heard a new Sandman series was being written. With Gaiman only overseeing the project I had low expectations. But this first volume is a great start. Si Spurrier clearly understands what makes the dreaming well the dreaming. Expertly mixing in mythology, and stories to expand the fantastic world started by Gaiman. While still staying true to Gaiman's style. I look forward to seeing how this series progresses.

So far the book it self is amazing! The art is colorful and interesting, and solid story, I'm halfway threw.This was a replacement for a damaged copy but this one is just as bent up and damaged as the first! I'm probably going to keep the other one and send this one back instead. A waste of my time and money, also a waste of Amazons resources. obviously the whole batch is all damaged in the same way, if that's the case you should sell them as such. 'Like new' mabey..

The story and art that is this book is phenomenal. I can't wait to see where this story goes. And who Dora is.

A great continuation of the Sandman universe. Beautiful illustrations. Looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

Daniel, the new Lord Dream of the Endless appears to have forsaken his kingdom and, as Lucien, Matthew and Mervyn try to hold back those who seek to seize control of the Dreaming, Dora and Cain try to create a new paradigm where they can feel they belong.An interesting mirror of 'The Sandman', where the Dreaming has to deal with a creator who is not captured but has wilfully left, the artwork cleverly shows the breaking apart of the fantasy world as Spurrier sets up an intriguing mystery.

Es trabajo de Neil Gaiman , cual es la duda para no leerlo ??? :)

Zwar kein Gaiman-Titel, aber ein würdiger Nachfolger in schöner Optik

Different from the others but still good read will see further on if it's as good as originals or not

Muy lindo