Sandman

[TonyJaymz03]

I know I'm way, way, way behind, but I just read Sandman #1 for the first time ever, and I'm blown away....this has instantly become the best 50 cents I've ever spent....

The weird/sad thing is I read all of Lucifer before I read any Sandman...

My question is, should I get the trades or are the Absolute volumes worth waiting for?

[stealthwise]

Well, Absolute Sandman volume one is already available, and covers the first 20 issues. I just got it for Xmas, and was looking through it today, and it's just damn fantastic. I would recommend getting the Absolutes as they come out, as the recolouring, the oversized art, and the script samples and extras are well worth it. Hell, I think it's cheaper to get the comics this way as well.

(Note: I have all the trades too, and they're quite fine as well.)

[reddkryten]

I'd go for the trades. They have one very big advantage over Absolute. They are all out right now.
Once you get into Sandman you will crave it, as soon as one TPB ends you'll want another and another and another. There is no release date for Absolute Sandman Volume 2.

Can you tell I'm waiting for Amazon to send The Kindly Ones and The Wake? It should arrive later on today...it better arrive later on today!

Wow, it must have been destiny, they both arrived as I was typing that.

[stealthwise]

I'd go for the trades. They have one very big advantage over Absolute. They are all out right now.
Once you get into Sandman you will crave it, as soon as one TPB ends you'll want another and another and another. There is no release date for Absolute Sandman Volume 2.

Can you tell I'm waiting for Amazon to send The Kindly Ones and The Wake? It should arrive later on today...it better arrive later on today!

Wow, it must have been destiny, they both arrived as I was typing that.

Absolute Sandman 2 will likely hit this year. No, I have no source or way to substantiate that, just a hunch.

But the first volume is 600 pages, so it'll take some time to get through.

Either way, I'd recommend buying the Sandman Companion once you've read them all, it's great to have while rereading the series.

[Ryan Day]

I got the Absolute Sandman for xmas, and it's pretty darn awesome. Just a gorgeous book.

Of course, the down side is that they're probably doing one per year, so it'll take a while to go through the whole run. Although you could probably find the trades at a good library, so you could read those and then buy the Absolutes.

Depends on how patient you are, really. You can't go wrong either way.

[reddkryten]

It may be 600 pages. But what about the addictive properties of Sandman. First you'll read one chapter, then another and another until it's the crack of dawn and you're still awake reading The Kindly Ones and screaming "No Del, don't trust that guy, he may look like David Bowie but he's not!".

I know someone who ran through the entire series in two days. I can't say I managed that, but I have gone through entire tpbs in a day.

[TonyJaymz03]

thanks for all the help guys, i decided to go with the Absolute edition, but I'm also hoping to trackdown the issues of the series themselves, as Sandman has joined a small group of comics where I want every comic.

[enediol]

I've been sold on the Absolute editions since picking up New Frontier, Absolute Sandman is the next book on my list.

[niall mc cann]

Either way, I'd recommend buying the Sandman Companion once you've read them all, it's great to have while rereading the series.

I'll second that.

Great little book to have on hand.

[stealthwise]

I know someone who ran through the entire series in two days. I can't say I managed that, but I have gone through entire tpbs in a day.

If you're reading them that fast, then you have more time to go through them again and re-read them.

I think that the more I read this series and read the accompanying material, like the Companion, the series of interviews done with Gaiman and his collaborators (Hanging with the Dream King), and a bunch of other stuff, the more I appreciate it.

[reddkryten]

Rereading rocks.

Thanks for recomending the companion. I've been checking http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~wald/sandman-index.html but it's very dry and sometimes skips over important details like that thing in the catacombs of Necropolis.
Hanging Out With The Dream King earns points for the name

[Duy]

If you're reading them that fast, then you have more time to go through them again and re-read them.

I think that the more I read this series and read the accompanying material, like the Companion, the series of interviews done with Gaiman and his collaborators (Hanging with the Dream King), and a bunch of other stuff, the more I appreciate it.

I personally think the companions are repetitive, and I couldn't really get anything new out of one that I didn't already get in another.

The series is still one of the best ever, though.