It was hard for me to get into Sandman. The first reason is because the art in Sandman is never anywhere near as good as the writing. The second reason is either because of Neil Gaiman's egotism or because of how ridiculous Gaiman fans are. Neil Gaiman is often compared to Alan Moore, and let's face it, he's no Alan Moore. He may be the next best recent comic book writer to deal with myth, lore and zeitgeist, but he's at least two levers below Moore in skill and creativity.
But Sandman is good. It's really good. It will stick with you when you're done. It is intensely anthropological, with Dream and family describing all of human mythology since the dawn of this world. There are tricksters and creators and beings of great power. Like the trials of Hercules, plots are often linear and revolve around tasks. But like much of ancient literature, it will linger on seemingly unrelated one-shot stories, perhaps about a bold Englishman who is granted immortality or about a cat who starts a revolution in feline dreaming that could change reality. The story stands alone, but occasionally reaches into the DC Universe.
Sandman is good. I still don't know if I can say this about the rest of Gaiman's corpus, but Sandman is good.
Hi I know its over a year since you wrote these and all that but just had to give you an answer :)
ReplyDeleteI stumbled over Sandman at the age of around 12, my mom worked in a store and I didn't mind wait in front of the comics :) So I sat in the store backroom window with comics for an hour or two, and I would sneak those who were marked " Grownups only", with me.
So it was there I found TheDollhouse. And I was totally taken, I read it over and over till my mom came and at that time she had given me up a bit and just asked if I couldn't read comics other 12 year old girls read ?
It took over 10 year before I dared read something else written by Neil Gaiman. I was, and still is I guess, in love with the idea of the Endless ( I refuse to grow up! lol ) The pure idea that Dream is awesome with flaws cos he is Dream. He wasnt made by scientists in a lab or anything like that, he was made out of believe and imagination!!! What more can you ask for in a man ;)
So I when I finally did dare pick up a book written by Neil Gaiman it was with mixed feelings. The book was American Gods and my man threw it at me and told me to read it, it was worth it. Its not Sandman, and Shadow isn't Dream but its a very good book, I did love it and to day its still the book I like the best.
What makes Neil Gaiman's books so good to me is beside that he is a very good story teller, he dont always do what you want with his characters. He let them suffer, he strips it down and dirty and makes a hell of a good story out it, cos its the kind of stories you dont forget. :)
About the movies............. I have seen one, Coraline, and I made my self a promise I wont see any other.
Cos what makes Sandman and the rest of Neil Gaiman's writing great to me is the images he paints in your head. The comicbook Dream is just a hint, like Death and the others of how they look. Its your imagination that gives them life, and Neil Gaiman manages that in a way no other writer have for me.
And he lured me into the comic world, and yes I like Alan Moore too. It's just one problem I found Neil Gaiman first and I guess you never forget your first ;)
MissMenkey
Hey. Thanks for your reply. I think you totally just gave me a bibliography of Gaiman books to check out.
ReplyDeleteHi thank you for the reply. :) that was a fun surprise.
ReplyDeleteI would recommend AmericanGods, Smoke and Mirrors ( short stories )and Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman and Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett.
Good Omens I started reading when I had my breaks at work, I had to quit cos I laughed out loud. And its not easy to try to explain why. ( at the moment I work as a assitant and "step in teacher" in a elementary school ) :)
And yes, have in mind that some of Gaimans books are childrens novels. Yet they are still worth reading IF you like to read that is. The Coraline books and The Churchyard book along with Neverwhere.
For god sake STAY AWAY form the tv series!!!
Have a good time reading :)
MissMenkey