Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes

So to my great surprise, I actually won a book during last week's Read-A-Thon: a graphic novel of my choice, to be precise. And after hearing quite a bit about the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman, I thought starting there would be the best choice. I am really glad I did, though now, I think I am going to have to buy the rest of the series.

I read a few online comics on a daily basis, so I am used to the medium in some ways but Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes was so much better than I even thought to hope for. Essentially, it is about the Sandman, or the anthropomorphic realization of Dreams. When some occult group seeks to capture Death, they mistakenly end up with him and hold him captive for decades.

The Dream King, as he was sometimes referred to is a very interesting character and while the story was sometimes rather dark... ok, really dark... I enjoyed it. The art was beautiful and I am beginning to see why The Sandman was number 46 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 best new classics. I also enjoyed some of the references to other works and ideas, especially the Inferno reference that some of you may have also recognized.

In short, I loved it and I can't wait to get the rest of the series and see what happens!

Rating: 4.5