"The Sandman" became a cult success for DC Comics and attracted an audience unlike that of mainstream comics: much of the readership was female, many were in their twenties, and many read no other comics at all. Comics historian Les Daniels called Gaiman's work "astonishing" and noted that "The Sandman" was "a mixture of fantasy, horror, and ironic humor such as comic books had never seen before." DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that ""The Sandman" became the first extraordinary success as a series of graphic novel collections, reaching out and converting new readers to the medium, particularly young women on college campuses, and making Gaiman himself into an iconic cultural figure." Gaiman had a finite run in mind for the series, and it concluded with issue No. 75. Gaiman said in 1996, "Could I do another five issues of Sandman? Well, damn right. And would I be able to look at myself in the mirror happily? No. Is it time to stop because I've reached the end, yes, and I think I'd rather leave while I'm in love." The final issue, No. 75, was dated March 1996.