Customer Reviews
Amazing 
2008-02-25
I've been a huge Neil Gaiman fan for a long time, knowing his reputation with The Sandman. This book is what got me interested in reading Gaiman's work, but I never did read this book. I was interested in getting the series for a long time, but until now, I just wasn't happy with the previous editions. They never jumped out at me and screamed for me to own them.
Then came Absolute Sandman. I own a large print of Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald" which is such a great collectors item, but more so it feels right for the story. I saw this huge volume on the shelf of a book store, and it immediately felt right; it screamed at me to own it.
I just recieved the first two volumes of Absolute Sandman and they are everything I anticipated. Huge, hulikng books. Leather bound and engraved to look like something from Lucien's library. The only thing missing was a thick coating of dust that you wold expect from a book that seems to be of the ages.
The story is great, the new coloring (despite some reviews) is great. The extras are amazing. If you are a fan or a first timer like myself, you need to own the series in this format.
An Absolute Beauty 2008-01-27
So far I own both volumes, but I must say volume one stands out as the best. Both volumes are rich in color, representation, and beautifully remastered. However volume one stands out as a winner for the sheer content. Even though the book is quiet heavy and thick, I find myself going back to read more than once. Well-developed stories draw the reader right into it from the very first page. I guess the representation helps a bit. Thick big book can be used as furniture too. Highly recommended for comic reader, especially those whose is short a piece of furniture or two.
Collected works a treasure 2008-01-19
Ordered before Xmas and arrived in time. This volume is in a delightful slipcase and features the comics bound together into one hardback book, with a colouring that is slightly better to my eye than the original comics. Obviously the paper stock is different but well worth the investment to collect this delightful and thought-provoking series. Vol. 2 is just as good and they stack nicely on the bookcase.
Neil's Masterpiece 2007-12-31
I let my husband know without a doubt that this was all I wanted for Christmas. I got BOTH volumes and I was so very pleased! They are beautiful works of art as well as an amazing journey through history, mythology, and story telling at its finest. I already have all the single volumes and it is fun to compare. They are a lot different in color and they benefit from being significantly larger. Don't hesitate to add this to your collection OR start one.
Gaiman's greatest work! 2007-12-23
The Absolute Sandman first two books is a Dream come true. Beautiful presentation allowing the power of this work to shine. The size and printing allow for the fastidious detail and sweep of the story to be more evident than ever before. I read Sandman as roughed up library copies and out of order and they were mind boggling. But these.....For old fans it is a Christmas morning in a box for anyone yet to taste the exquisite pleasure of the Sandman series it is an awesome opportunity. If I sound like an fan I suppose.. but only because it combines the power of myth, great contemporary humor, wisdom and images that don't stop.
AMAZING 2008-05-09
I always love Mr Gaiman;'s work. Sandman is probably his opus given the size and the eclectic nature of the themes. The Endless as interpreted by a Master like Gaiman represent an amazing world that weaves the deepest recesses of the collective consciousness, mythology, history and keep it living enough to be interesting. Aesthetically, the books are great and the artwork is just as eclectic as the are the themes. I wish I was exposed to this stuff as a kid...
Creative 2008-05-08
I found this book a very creative exercise in perception, script and artwork. The story is mainly told from the perspective of one of the "Endless", Dream, with cameos from Destiny, Death, Desire and Dispare (see satirical opening quote from Jack Dee - "Lots of things begin with D") :-) The third brother in a family of seven, these Endless are anthropomorphic personifications of ideals/concepts and exist, apparently, across even species (one of the stories is told from a cat's point of view). The issues dealt with in the varied stories are some of the usual collection of welcoming death, forgivness, murder, society, slavery etc - in other words what appears to be standard fare for any sci-fi buf. However, there are a few interesting twists with takes on several points of history, biblical references and different points of view of the same issues but told from a different species' perspective which is somewhat unusual. The artwork throughout the collection is consistent and uses high contrast in many of the captions to great effect. The artwork on the covering page for each story is quite exceptional and could even be viewed as works in their own right.
All in all, this is well worth a read, whether you are a fan of the comic genre or if you're new to it, this collection will suck you into the world of the Endless...
Absolute Masterpiece 2008-04-16
Comprising Sandman numbers 1 to 20, the Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 is the first of four oversized, slip-cased hardcover books that will reprint Neil Gaiman's Sandman completely (all 75 numbers, plus some extras). That alone would be highly recommended, but this book has also a new coloring, aproved my Neil himself, plus a new introduction by Paul Levitz, forewords by Gaiman, a copy of the script with sketches for Sandman #19 (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and also sketches from Gaiman and Michael Dringenberg on the Sandman proposal to DC back in the 80s. Ah, and also all 20 covers from Dave McKean.
All of this would mean nothing if the book wasn't really good, and really good it is. Here you'll read the capture of the Lord of the Dreams and his comeback (early collected in "Preludes and Nocturnes"), his encounter with the deadly nightmare "The Corinthian" (previously collected in "The Doll's House), and four short stories from the past of Dream (as seen before in "Dream County" collection). Many great moments from the series are here: the confrontation in Hell with demons over his helmet, the serial killer convention, the encounter with his sister Death, and the already mentioned A Midsummer Night's Dream, the first and only comic book to win a World Fantasy Award.
This book is a work of art, and high recommended. Can't wait to have the 4 of them on my bookshelf!
Well worth the wait. 2008-04-16
I was actually surprised by two things reading these first twenty issues of Sandman: by how many of the characters I already knew, and by how much these comics actually tied into the mainstream DC Universe at the time. I'm used to the current age of Vertigo comics where the characters can NEVER cross over into regular superhero books, or vice versa (the days of Swamp Thing teaming up with Superman are gone). Of course, some of these characters can still pop up from time to time (I'm pretty sure Morpheus was in an issue or two of JSA and Starman, and even more recently Destiny was in The Brave and The Bold).
I was also impressed with the overal mythology Gaiman gave this world, one I didn't really knew existed. I was aware that The Endless existed, but I had always just assumed that Sandman was a series of somewhat interconnected tales, almost an anthology series, that featured him as a central character, but nothing much else. Turns out he had a very large story-arc planned through the whole 80 issue run, and I could see elements of what he would later do with American Gods. I'm glad I stuck it out and waited for the Absolute editions.
wonderful 2008-03-30
This is a beautiful book - expensive but worth every penny. Anyone that likes neil gaimon, graphic novels, dark fantasy, or gothic stories will love the stories, illustrations, and whole format of the book. Those who just love wonderful books will also be proud to have this on their shelves.
