Thursday, February 05, 2009

Reader's Diary #447- Neil Gaiman: The Absolute Sandman, Volume 1





(Cross posted at the Graphic Novels Challenge blog.)


Wanda said...

Horror stories are not my thing and can't really say that graphic novels are for me either but if I had to pick one over the other, I'd definitely go with Seth's.

Your review however, is much appreciated if for no other reason than the opportunity to visualize the image of "the unholy love child of Alice Cooper and the Cure's Robert Smith". LMAO! That was great, John. Thanks! :D

splummer said...

Hi John,
I have finished another book for the 2nd Canadian Reading Challenge. Mister Sandman - Barbara Gowdy. You can see my post on this book here:


Barbara Bruederlin said...

I have been meaning to read some of Neil Gaiman's books for a long time now, but I think I will start with a different one.

August said...

The Sandman started as a horror comic, and if it had stayed that way, it probably would be mostly forgotten today. The further it gets from Morpheus as a protagonist (and he rarely is), the better it tends to get.

The Sandman is far and away Neil Gaiman's strongest work, with is children's books coming in second. I know people love his novels, but they don't have the same kind of vision or sense that he's in control of the material and in command of the format.

John Mutford said...

Wanda: With all the technology out there, maybe Smith and Cooper could make it a reality.

Splummer: Well done!

Barbara: I still haven't tried a novel of his, but at this point, I think I'm safe to say that I can take him or leave him.

August: I'm not so sure if it'd been forgotten had it stuck to the horror themes. There's a lot of horror that has stood the test of time, and I think I prefered that aspect of the book rather than the mythology/fantasy that started to creep in.

August said...

There's nothing wrong with horror as a genre, it's just that Neil Gaiman ultimately isn't as good at it, and the horror aspects weren't a very big part of why The Sandman became this big groundbreaking acclaimed phenomenon. It was Hellblazer and Swamp Thing that were really blazing trails for horror. Even the Sandman stories that seem like horror on the surface (The Collectors, for example, about the serial killers' convention) are really about how and why we create myths. Preludes and Nocturnes is probably the only time the book could ever have been truly called a horror comic. But don't worry, with the possible exception of A Game of You (the weakest arc in the series, imho), all the best stuff starts with Season of Mists, when Gaiman hits his stride.

Wanda said...

lol, OMG John, .. Let's hope not!!