The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman

Winner of the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story

Twenty-five years since The Sandman first changed the landscape of modern comics, Neil Gaiman's legendary series is back in a deluxe edition!

The Sandman: Overture heralds New York Times best-selling writer Neil Gaiman's return to the art form that made him famous, ably abetted by artistic luminary JH Williams III (Batwoman, Promethea), whose lush, widescreen images provide an epic scope to The Sandman's origin story. From the birth of a galaxy to the moment that Morpheus is captured, THE Sandman: Overture will feature cameo appearances by fan-favorite characters such as The Corinthian, Merv Pumpkinhead and, of course, the Dream King's siblings: Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny.

I was so worried my expectations would exceed 'The sandman: overture', however, I was totally satisfied with the story and blown away by the visuals. Imagine you finally get the delirium way of seeing things, and it's 100% fitting.

I am sad this story ended but happy it happened and I was the witness to it

Heiligschennis! Een prequel voor Sandman, één van de allerbeste comics ooit, vijfentwintig jaar na datum, wie doét nu zoiets?

...oh, wacht, wat? Neil Gaiman zelf? Ah. Even kijken, dan maar.

Van die prequels voor dingen die erg populair zijn, da's altijd riskant KUCHDune prequels Kevin J. Anderson KUCH Brian Herbert. En zelfs als het de auteur zelf is – ik moet direct denken aan de Prelude to Foundation-boeken – voelt het vaak als niet vele meer aan dan een poging om nog maar eens rap te cashen op succes van lang lang geleden.

Maar kijk, nog maar het eerste van de geplande zes delen van Sandman: Overture gelezen, en het voelt redelijk goed aan.

Het moet gezegd: Sandman begon redelijk in medias res, met een hele resem onbeantwoorde vragen (hoé kwamen zijn attributen terecht waar ze terechtgekomen waren, om maar iets te zeggen). Komt daarbij dat het Sandman-universum zich helemaal leent tot uitbreidingen en toevoegingen: Dream Hunter, Death: The High Cost of Living en andere Death-boeken, dat voelde ook allemaal redelijk goed aan.

Bij deze niet anders. Gaiman is in zijn element, J.H. Williams III (Promethea, Batwoman) tekent bijzonder goed (prachtige spreads!), het verhaal heeft me mee vanaf het begin: laat maar komen, de rest. En dan koop ik dat denk ik eens op papier, om naast mijn andere Sandman-boeken te zetten.

I've been reading comics for four and a half decades. Williams' art is some of the most astonishing and creative I've ever seen. The variety of styles he works in for this mini-series is incredible. Gaiman's story is great and adds to the enjoyment of the original series, but even if you're not a fan of Gaiman, Morpheus, or this particular story, you must see this art.

Sandman was my gateway drug into comics. I already loved Gaiman's novels and wanted to read everything I could get my hands on, which meant looking at a medium that had not held too much interest for me previously. I think I'd be a different person today if I hadn't read it.

That said, if you're holding Overture in your hands, you've probably read Sandman too, and you're probably wondering if going back to that world so many years later is a good thing. I don't think I can answer that. It was for me, even with new artists and new themes. It has Morpheus and the gang. It has experimental visuals that recall the original while forging new grounds. It has answers to questions I've always wondered about. And it has cats. I love when Gaiman writes cats.

So, I think the answer is yes, it's a good thing. I'm sure it was challenging for the original production members involved, and I'm glad they did so. While I picked up the floppies as they came out, the Deluxe version has tons of extras about the process which is fun if you're interested in that sort of thing. As someone who tends to read comics too fast, these interviews and articles were a good place to make me slow down and observe the subtler bits of magic.

If you like Sandman, you should read this. That's about the sum.