Best Sandman arc?

[squashmaster]

Let's get on with it, then.

IMHO, a tie between Season of Mists and Brief Lives. Season of Mists is great because it weaves such a brilliant tale out of so much classical mythology, but Brief Lives is the heart and soul of the story of the Endless, and the biggest turning point for Morpheus as a character.

I'm not counting the groups one-off issues or The Wake. QQ more.

[sportsguy831]

I've only read Breif Lives which I absolutely loved so I'm relying on this thread to recommend me some good ones.

[Adset]

brief lives. destruction is perhaps my favorite character in all of comics. just brilliant.

season of mists is also great... i know not everyone loves preludes and nocturnes, but i'm an unapologetic fan so season of mists came on the heels of two years worth of solid stuff. i thought gaiman sort of lost his vision around a game of you and those various one-off issues surrounding it, so brief lives also has the benefit of being a great comeback effort. as a lifelong canterbury tales nerd i also really dug world's end, but brief lives was the last great sandman arc, imo.

[de Sosa]

kindly ones. I love how everything came together

the art in brief lives is my favorite

[squashmaster]

Actually I'd put Preludes and Nocturnes as third best arc.

It's more horror than the later stuff, but it's damn good horror and Kieth and Dringenberg's art is some of the best in all of Sandman, next to Michael Zulli or Jill Thompson.

[jesse_custer]

It comes down between A Game of You and The Kindly Ones for me.

[Adset]

i love preludes; i know it has a different flavor than the rest of the series, but i thought it was fantastic. i was surprised to learn, years back, that the internet community was somewhat split on it.

i know we're going to eventually get to a point where we name every arc because sandman is just that kind of season, but doll's house is top notch as well.

[Desaad]

Seasons of Mist was far and away my favorite, but I loved them all.

I'd probably rank it

Seasons of Mist
Brief Lives
Preludes and Nocturnes
The Doll's House
The Kindly Ones
A Game of You


My single favorite issue was the Prez issue, though. Amazing.

[AtlAggie]

I voted for Brief Lives, but to me it's really a toss up between that and The Kindly Ones.

[Ilash]

I voted for Brief Lives, but to me it's really a toss up between that and The Kindly Ones.

Yup. My thoughts exactly.

[Rumblecat]

Preludes for me. I loved that it was more of a straight up horror comic- I came onboard at issue 5 (the one in the diner... ) and loved it. For me it went downhill as it drifted more and more away from horror into fantasy.

Ach, downhill really isn't the word... it didn't become worse, it just became different, and I preferred what it was.