Catching Ducks

I don't read a lot of comic books/graphic novels, but I'd heard of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. It's considered a classic of the genre. I loved Gaiman's (regular) book Good Omens (that he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett), but didn't care for his solo novel Neverwhere. Given my ambivalence towards comic books, I wasn't sure I'd like Sandman.

The Volume 1 collection contains the first twenty issues of the series. It took a while to catch my interest, especially since the main character doesn't appear to be the main character until late in the first issue. But once we're properly introduced to him, the story begins to gain traction. It really takes off in Issue 8 ("The Sound of Her Wings") when you meet the main character's sister.

Sandman draws on mythology in some interesting ways. In the course of the book you meet the Fates, Lucifer, a Muse, the Faerie Queen, goblins, and more.

Some issues are "one shots" that tell a single story. Other stories take several issues to tell. The one-shots were nice breathers between the longer stories.

As with most graphic novels, there was more gore than I'd have liked, but the stories and characters were compelling.

Labels: comics, review: book