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Neil Gaiman

The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes 30th Anniversary Edition Paperback – October 30, 2018

by Neil Gaiman (Author), Sam Kieth (Illustrator)

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One of the most popular and critically acclaimed graphic novels of all time, Neil Gaiman's award-winning masterpiece The Sandman 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.

The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes 30th Anniversary Edition collects issues #1-8 of the original run of The Sandman, beginning an epic saga unique in graphic literature and introducing readers to a dark and enchanting world of dreams and nightmares--the home of Morpheus, the King of Dreams, and his kin, the Endless.

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Vertigo
Publication date

October 30, 2018
Dimensions

6.64 x 0.39 x 10.17 inches
ISBN-10

1401284779
ISBN-13

978-1401284770
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From the Publisher


	Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes 30th Anniversary Edition	Absolute Sandman Vol. 1	The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1	Annotated Sandman Vol. 1
SRP	19.99	125.00	150.00	49.99
Collects	Issues #1-8	Issues #1-20	Issues #1-37	Issues #1-20

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The greatest epic in the history of comic books.” —The Los Angeles Times Magazine

“Dark, iconoclastic and wildly successful.” —The San Francisco Examiner

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Newbery Medal-winning The Graveyard Book and Coraline, the basis for the hit movie. His other books include Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, American Gods, and Stardust, (winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award as one of 2000's top novels for young adults) as well as the short story collections M Is for Magic and Smoke and Mirrors. He is also the author of The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Traded My Dad for Two Goldfish, both written for children. Among his many awards are the Eisner, the Hugo, the Nebula, the World Fantasy, and the Bram Stoker. Originally from England, he now lives in the United States.

Sam Kieth was born in 1963 and started his professional career when he was seventeen. Later on he sold some work to DC Comics and Marvel, where he illustrated Wolverine. In 1987 Kieth drew the first five issues of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and went on to create his own comic series called The Maxx, which was published by Image comics from 1993 until 1998. The success of the series spawned an award-winning cartoon on MTV, trading cards, a toy, and even some statues. This work is currently in print as graphic novels from DC's WildStorm imprint. Keith's recent work includes Wolverine/Hulk for Marvel Comics and Batman: Secrets and Scratch for DC Comics. He has also created several other creator-owned properties that have been published by WildStorm including Epicurus The Sage and Zero Girl.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vertigo; Anniversary edition (October 30, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1401284779
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1401284770
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.64 x 0.39 x 10.17 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Horror Graphic Novels (Books)
- #5 in Fantasy Graphic Novels (Books)
- #7 in Literary Graphic Novels (Books)

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3,603 ratings

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Neil Gaiman

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Neil Gaiman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, and The Graveyard Book. Among his numerous literary awards are the Newbery and Carnegie medals, and the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner awards. He is a Professor in the Arts at Bard College.

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5 star		84%
4 star		12%
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2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Blaine

Sandman? This is where you start. Vol.1

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2019

A newly updated(recolor) of the original. + it's cheaper. If you're looking to get into The Sandman this is where you start.

"winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award as one of 2000's top novels for young adults) as well as the short story collections M Is for Magic and Smoke and Mirrors. He is also the author of The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Traded My Dad for Two Goldfish, both written for children. "

Reading a simple description on any front page anywhere will generally tell you what you're getting. These are for young adults(late teens-early 20s) to adults. Don't listen to any 1 star review anywhere that's leaving a poor rating for a book of any kind just because some person or persons didn't even read a description let alone a Google search. Friendly reminder to anyone don't leave poor reviews because you made a mistake.

189 people found this helpful

Helpful

The night of no dreams

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2018

The world of comic books was a very different place before the Sandman came into being. Neil Gaiman revolutionized the graphic novel with "The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes," an exquisite story filled with shadowy realistic art and strange magical beings. This is one of those rare stories that tantalizes you with beauty and chills you to your core, all at the same time.

A group of occultists are attempting to summon and trap Death... but instead, they capture Dream and lock him in a glass orb. Decades pass, and countless people are locked in slumber -- unable to dream, unable to wake for long. One day, Dream escapes his prison and reenters the world, but loses the last of his power with his final act of revenge.

His Dreamworld palace has fallen into ruin, and his magical items have been scattered. To regain his power, he must get back his helm, his pouch of sand, and his dreamstone. His journey to regain them will take him across worlds -- to John Constantine and a woman destroyed by dreams, to the depths of Hell at a demonic club, and a ghastly madman who drives various people to depravity and death.

The world of "The Sandman" is a strange one -- it lightly interlocks with other graphic novel series, effortlessly slips from one world to another, and exposes both the beauty and ugliness of our own world. "Preludes and Nocturnes" is an excellent introduction to Neil Gaiman's strange, expansive world -- as well as his hollow-eyed anti-hero.

At its core, the story is rather simple, since it's basically a quest for Dream's three magical "tools." But Gaiman paints it with foreshadowing, nightmarish grotesqueries (flesh melting off bones, John Dee's drooling lipless face), and some zanily macabre humor (the Hellfire Club... in hell!). And as the dust settles, Gaiman caps his story off with a quieter interlude in which Dream encounters his sister Death.

And the artwork is sublime -- realistic in style, but often bizarre and a little frightening in theme. And despite the core colors being shadowy greys, whites and blacks, there are splashes of bright colors everywhere. Green fields, blue hallways, psychedelic skies, hallucinations filled with sickly pallid hues.

And Gaiman created one of his most iconic, complex characters in Dream -- his inhumanness is underlined by acts of great cruelty and kindness, and his sad, grim demeanor is more than a little touching. The author also spun up a very nonstereotypical version of Death. No robes, scythes or skeletal faces here. In fact, forget about anything sinister -- this version of Death is a delightfully quirky, perky goth chick.

"Preludes and Nocturnes" is a harrowing and hypnotic look into the world of dreams -- what happens when the Sandman is imprisoned, and what must be done after. Sublime.

102 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A masterpiece begins.

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2019

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Here is the start of an adult fiction masterpiece. I recommend reading it for the first time knowing as little as possible. As the story unfolds you may realize that this comic really is on a higher level. This is not a comic for the dull minded, as it takes an engaged and thoughtful brain to truly grasp the poetic philosophy behind the page, but neither does it take an active genius to comprehend its layered contents. I can happily confirm that the digital version is perfectly scanned for your viewing pleasure.

45 people found this helpful

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Eldweena

Great story, great art.

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2019

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It was hard to choose tags for this book... It's a weird ride but once you start, you are hooked.

I avoided the Sandman comics for a long time because...? I was curious, but maybe I was afraid to take the leap. But I'm on a Neil Gaiman kick right now, so I decided to take the plunge and bought the 30th anniversary edition from amongst many options. I wanted to see what the fuss was about, why it's considered to be such a classic. Now I know.

I had no idea what this was going to be when I started reading. It begins with a cult. The leader is trying to trap Death so he can achieve immortality. (No death equals eternal life!) But he catches Death's little brother instead. And while the Lord of Dreams, the Sandman, Morpheus is in captivity, three precious artifacts are stolen: his dream dust, his mask, and a ruby containing parts of himself. Volume 1 of the trade paperback series shows what happens to us all without the Sandman, and follows Morpheus along on his journey to reclaim his possessions.

At times the story was horrifying, and sometimes it was really trippy. Morpheus is on earth, he visits hell, and he takes us to his dream realm. I enjoyed the eclectic story and characters, though Morpheus himself was by far my favorite. The art was a feast for the eyes. I can't wait to see where else the series takes me.

20 people found this helpful

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Catherine M. Blair

Know what you are purchasing

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2019

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This book is not what I expected based on reviews and the description. I purchased it for my 12 year old grandson and it is totally inappropriate. I have learned the hard way that I need to read a book before I give it as a gift. It is filled with horrible language about degrading Behavior towards women and everyone. It is dark, violent and frightening and has no positive redeeming value. Thank goodness my daughter in law intercepted it before my grandson was able to read it.

82 people found this helpful

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Kieran McLoughlin

Absolutely wonderful graphic novel in every respect!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2020

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I should preface this by saying that my initial exposure of The Sandman series came from the recently released audiodrama from Audible. If my memory serves me right, I gave that a 3 out of 5 stars. My main reason for this was due to the nature of the production being a series of short stories revolving around Morpheus and the dream world. My main problems had been based around some of the stories being told in what can only be described in a "cartoony" way, while its constant jumping from horror to comedy elements could be jarring at times.

So, what made this a 5 for me? Immediately it should be stated that the audiodrama was very loyal to this in every respect. From the way it was written and dialogue used, the audiodrama may as well have been performed by reading this word for word, so again, what made this different.

To begin, the visual component was the first plus. Despite its age, the art is still brilliant. Upon reading The Dark Knight Returns (widely regarded as one of the best graphic novels of all time) I had to admit that the art did dissappoint me. This by contrast is drawn beautifully, again giving what can only be described (in my opinion) as the best rendition of hell in any medium. The way the panels areally organised and characters are given life is really breathtaking. Funnily enough, my only gripe with the entire graphic novel comes from this department, as I didn't like the way Dr Destiny looked. However the rest more than made up for it. It shows the horror elements of this series brilliantly. I can't fault it enough.

Now, we go onto storytelling. Neil Gaiman is a master of the art. Not much needs to be said. The way in which he blends a new mythology with old mythologies and fairy tales is brilliant, while the series truly wrestles with the deepest parts of ourselves which we often hold so dear, the dreams that pervade our souls for better or worse (and so often, the desires we would nevery dare admit to others). It is within the realm of dreams that Neil masterfully weaves this tale, using it as a vehicle to peer into our strange yet wonderful nature. I don't want to say anymore for spoilers, as you can already guess that I recommend this wholeheartedly. I should also give credit where credit was due. While listening to the audiodrama I was worried that this modern ages pandering to social justice movements had pervaded this work. However, all of what could be perceived as pandering in this respect was genuine and in from the start, written long before comics have descended into what they are now. It is for this reason Neil has my full respect. He included groups that absolutely should have been represented at the time, but doing it from an obviously genuine place, not unlike today's publications and modern comic book writers who use it to push political agendas or essentially tick boxes. I fully respect Neil all the more for doing this.

Otherwise, do I really need to sell this more to you if you've made it this far? Do yourself a favour, give it a try. You have nothing to lose except for £10 or so. Rest assured, your money will be well spent.

17 people found this helpful

richard

Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2019

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Simply the most unique graphic novel I've ever read.
Gaiman is a master of words and imagination.
I'm a long time fan of his novels and short stories, the reason I came to sandman so late?
I just couldn't stop reading his books.

13 people found this helpful

Mr. J. N. Cobb

Early stuff but still an intriguing beginning

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

I am no big comic book fan, although I have read some big books like the watchmen, V and such. I thought it time to start this.

As this work clearly states, this is early stuff for Gaiman and team. It shows, but frankly early Gaiman kicks the stuffing out of most other authors stuff so ..
The Art work here is beautiful and quite varied, the content very mature and never shrinks, which I love.
The implementation of a digital format that helps you read it is a nice touch too.
Extra 30th Anniversary intro’s and such are a nice touch too. I look forward to the rest

3 people found this helpful

Michael Price

Marvelous

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2022

Verified Purchase

I read random issues of sandman during the 90s and enjoyed them, but never really took it any further.
I made a decision a while back to read all 10 of the main volumes. (Excluding any of the later stories and prequel,for now)
This first volume sets the tone quite nicely.
It really is unlike anything else in the comic book medium. I think its well ahead of its time. Disturbing in places. Actually very disturbing! You can tell that a lot of consideration, time and effort has gone into each panel. Great character development, great art and great story telling. I highly recommend.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Do not hesitate nor procrastinate. Buy the book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2020

Verified Purchase

There is nothing I can say that hasn’t been written in previous positive reviews. A very well written and beautifully illustrated story. You are most definitely left wanting more... so it’s great that this is only the beginning of the story.

4 people found this helpful

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