The Sandman - Overture
2002
- nyt:hardcover-graphic-books=2015-11-29
- comics & graphic novels, horror
- literature
- sandman (legendary character)
- comic books, strips
- creation
The story
Presents the Sandman's origin story from the birth of a galaxy to the moment that Morpheus is captured. set the standard for mature, lyrical fantasy in the modern comics era. Illustrated by an exemplary selection of the medium's most gifted artists, the series is a rich blend of modern and ancient mythology in which contemporary fiction, historical drama, and legend are seamlessly interwoven. *Overture* brings Gaiman's mesmerizing saga of the Sandman full circle, serving as both a prequel and a coda to the groundbreaking original series. Lushly illustrated by acclaimed artist J.H. Williams III, this stunning tale follows the King of Dreams as he travels across the universe--and into realms unbounded by time and space--on a fateful mission to prevent all of reality from unraveling.
What it’s like
Lush, painterly pages where the panels dissolve into one another: deep indigo and star-field black, gold leaf, and ornate lettering that curls like smoke around enormous, slow-turning cosmic spaces. J. H. Williams III's layouts shift shape from page to page, so the reading pace varies, lingering over a single wide image and then racing through a sequence of small, fractured frames. Gaiman's narration is formal and incantatory, with rolling, mythic sentences that give the sense of an old story being told aloud in a hush. A cosmic, elegiac mood runs through it, with dread at the edges and a sad, stately quality at the centre, as the King of Dreams travels through realms outside time on a mission that carries the weight of an ending. Violence is present but not dwelt on: some combat and eerie, unsettling imagery, with horror in the atmosphere more than in gore. It suits a slow, unhurried evening with the lamp on, or a return visit for readers who love mythic language and visual experiment. It is for people who want their comics to read like poetry and look like paintings.
More books like The Sandman - Overture
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved The Sandman - Overtureand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
