The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

In Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman weaves the story of a man interested in capturing the physical manifestation of Death but who instead captures the King of Dreams. By Gaiman's own admission there's a lot in this first collection that is awkward and ungainly--which is not to say there are not frequent moments of greatness here. The chapter "24 Hours" is worth the price of the book alone; it stands as one of the most chilling examples of horror in comics. And let's not underestimate Gaiman's achievement of personifying Death as a perky, overly cheery, cute goth girl! All in all, I greatly prefer the roguish breaking of new ground in this book to the often dull precision of the concluding volumes of the Sandman series. --Jim Pascoe

Product Description
"Wake up, sir. We're here." It's a simple enough opening line--althoughnot many would have guessed back in 1991 thatthis would lead to one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comics of the second half of the century.In Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman weaves the story of a man interested in capturing the physical manifestation of Death but who instead captures the King of Dreams. By Gaiman's own admission there's a lot in this first collection that is awkward and ungainly--which is not to say there are not frequent moments of greatness here. The chapter "24 Hours" is worth the price of the book alone; it stands as one of the most chilling examples of horror in comics. And let's not underestimate Gaiman's achievement of personifying Death as a perky, overly cheery, cute goth girl! All in all, I greatly prefer the roguish breaking of new ground in this book to the often dull precision of the concluding volumes of the Sandman series. --Jim Pascoe

So - you haven't read comics in a long time, have you? Sure, you read it when you were a kid, like everyone else, but then you outgrew them. You went on to read real books with no pictures. But suddenly a couple of people tell you that there have been some interesting things going on in comics in the last twenty years, and you should check it out. You decide to give the ol' funnybooks a chance.

In that case, this book right here is one of the half-dozen masterworks you should start with to get a general idea of what comics are capable of, at least in the English speaking regions of the world (there are some fascinating things going on in Japan and France that I won't even begin to discuss). The Sandman, the ENTIRE Sandman saga, altogether ten books long - collected from magazine-form comics that were published regularly throughout most of the 90s - is one of the truly glorious, shining, perfect creations of, I'll say it, adult comics. That Preludes & Nocturnes, the first story-arch in the series, is the only one that can stand rightly by its own right, other than being a convenience for new readers which may make it easier for them to deal with the size of this saga, is a sure sign of the wisdom of the creator, the brilliant Mr. Neil Gaiman. While completely revolutionizing what people though about comics, Neil started doing so in small doses to make it easier to swallow for audiences and editors alike. Thus, he started here with a story that is a classic folk tale, of a dethroned monarch who goes through a series of quests and challenges in order to earn back his rightful place in power. More help is given by cameo appearances of old and popular characters from the DC Comics universe - such as the Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, the Scarecrow and John Constantine. Such appearances will become quite rare as the series continues, and the story becomes, rather than a folk tale, a mythology as grim as any Greek tragedy - which, doubtlessly, was in the author's mind from the very beginning. However, though the storyline of Preludes & Nocturnes is schematic and the drawings are often bland, Gaiman's already famous storytelling skills are fully developed, and the books is one of the most fantastic stories he had penned.

The hero of the series is, simply, Dream. His identity is a rather philosophical matter, as he is not so much a god of dream, but rather, the embodiment of the very concept of dream itself. At the beginning of the story, Dream is summoned by a human mystic, and caged. Seventy years later, when he escapes from his prison, he finds his kingdom in ruins, and must return to himself the symbolic garments of his reign to rebuild it. Along the way we have the pleasure to meet some of the most fantastic and fascinating characters in any literary creation, and also some characters who, small though their part may be now, will be crucial in the complete creation of the saga, such as Lucifer Morningstar, Cain and Abel, and the three Furies (also known as the Graces, the Fates, or the Kindly Ones). Though much more fascinating as part of the whole, Preludes & Nocturnes by itself is a perfect piece of fantastic storytelling.

However, it is the final magazine issue in this collection, titled `The Sound Of Her Wings', that gives it more worth than the rest of it put together. Sam Keith's surreal, deformed image of Dream and dark, heavy, brooding lines move over to make place for Mike Dringenberg's realistic backgrounds, light-hearted lines and recognizable human faces. Dream's flowing black robes make way for a t-shirt and a black jacket; the dark and towering Sandman is given a whole new perspective. He now seems like a depressed, bored teenager, sulking in the park and feeding the pigeons. He is then granted a visit by none other than his sister - Death, which is the single most brilliant creation in Gaiman's universe. Death is a perky, cheerful, beautiful, wise, mature goth-girl who confronts Dream and show to him his own pettiness. Completely without any action or suspense, it is this story that paved the way for the revolution that the Sandman series began. And this story alone remains one of the handful true perfect masterpieces of the medium. It is this story alone that makes this book a milestone in modern comics - and literature - and essential reading for everyone interested in the medium.

And, oh, I said half dozen masterworks, right? So, to complete the list, let's say: Alan Moore's `Watchmen', Art Spiegelman's `Maus', Scott McCloud's `Understanding Comics', Frank Miller's `The Dark Knight Returns' and Kurt Busiek's `Marvels'. Or, to make it a top ten, let's add Peter Kuper's `The System', Garth Ennis's `Preacher', Grant Morrison's `Arkham Asylum', and anything by Robert Crumb. Enjoy!


The beginnings of greatness   August 13, 1999
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

"Preludes and Nocturnes" is the first and most uneven of the Sandman collections. Neil Gaiman gives himself a large task of having to explain many things about the Sandman, thus justifying the lack of cohesion in the first few issues.

However, I think this is one of the best collections. The first story is a classic gothic horror tale that explains how Dream became mistakenly imprisoned for almost 80 years and how people all over the world began to sleep all the time. At the end, Dream tricks his captors and escapes. The other tales follow Dream's quest to regain his magical items and his kingdom, which is in disarray in his absence. Familiar characters from the DC universe show up here such as John Constantine, Hellblazer, Mr. Miracle and Martian Manhunter from the Justice League, and the old super-villain Doctor Destiny. Neil manages to use John Constantine and Dr. Destiny quite well but isn't sure what to do with the Justice League. Nevertheless, the Sandman's journey is an interesting one particularly his trip to Hell and his encounter with Doctor Destiny in a 24 hour diner that manages to bring out the worst in human nature. The last tale introduces us to Death and is a great tale about life despite being about well, Death. Neil Gaiman laid down the blueprints for the entire Sandman series here. Many of the characters would appear again in later stories and many events mentioned here would later be expanded upon. This is the place to start if you want to get into Sandman.


Whatever you do, don't buy this book...   June 8, 2004
Boog (United States)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

... at least not if you're only getting started in comics. I say this because the Sandman series is among the finest comics you will ever find.

In fact, "comic" is too small a word. So is "graphic novel," which is most often used by adults who are trying not to feel silly about reading comics. Sandman is one of those rare comics that transcend the medium. This is no mere comic book.

This is fiction, with artwork. This is visual storytelling, a modern descendent of humanity's earliest art forms. Don't let the "comic book" label fool you. This is a full-fledged book.

The entire 10 volume Sandman series centers around Morpheus, the Dream King. One of The Endless, he is one of seven eternal beings who are the embodiments of abstracts. Dream's older sister Death makes an appearance in the final chapter in this volume.

Other reviewers have criticized this volume for not being very representative of the series on the whole, and that is true. But this volume is a supremely important one becuase it lays the groundwork for everything that follows.

Not only that, it's very entertaining in it's own right. Chapters like A Hope In Hell, The Sound of Her Wings, or 24 Hours are extraordinary examples of comics at their best. Any one of those stories makes this volume worth owning, but you get all three of them, plus five more chapters as well.

If you already read comics, then by all means buy this book (and the other nine volumes, too). But if you're just getting started in comics, you should seriously think about starting somewhere else.

Because once you've read Sandman, you're going to be spending a lot of time in a mostly fruitless search for more books that are as good as this series.

Seriously. It's that good. 10 out of 10


Wonderful Book - Incredible series   February 25, 2004
Tyler Tanner (Los Angeles, CA United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

It's a little sad after reading the Sandman books because you know you will never quite recapture the same feeling of going through such a great story for the first time when you pick them again. And trust me, you will be rereading these.

But the flip side of that is once you have read the series and go back, you see how fully realized Neil Gaiman's vision is. What seems like almost arbitrary bits of exposition are the seeds of future story arcs. "Season of Mists" the fourth book in the series, being just one example.

The main story begins when a necromancer who, intending to capture Death, captures her little brother Dream instead. He and his son keep him locked up for the better part of the 20th century. Once "Sandman" breaks out, he must restore his dream kingdom and reclaim his talismans of power. That takes him to London, Hell and a 24hr diner outside of Gotham.

What I love particularly about this series is that it is esoteric without being pretentious. This is what happens when someone who is remarkably well read is also a comic fan. Gaiman manages to invoke The Old Testament, William Faulkner, old DC Comic mythos, Shakespeare, Bobby Darin, Victorian Literature and Greek Tragedy, makes it relevant to the story, and then makes the concepts comprehensible to a fifteen year old. And that's just in this volume. I say the last because that's how old I was when I started to read these. At the risk of sounding overzealous, it has since challenged me to become as well read as the author.

I've read other reviews arguing that this is not the best one. I disagree only because I know that each volume speaks differently to different people. My humble advice is to start with this one and read them in order the way the author wrote them. I have bought this particular volume three times over the years due to lending it out to friends and not getting it back. Treasure this as well, enjoy and don't lend them out!


An Introduction to a Legacy   November 21, 2003
Little Old Me
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

To start - Neil Gaiman is an immaculate genre writer, who blends in sophistication with the bizarre in almost all of his projects. The Sandman Series is certainly one of his best works and , of course, keeps getting better. I must admit, I'm currently on the Seventh Chapter, but the first book: "Preludes and Nocturnes" deserves a lot of recognition.

I had been warned that the first collection of his comics was one of the weaker installments. But so far, I must disagree. "Preludes and Nocturnes" is a fantastic introduction to the character of Dream. For those who have not yet read started this series, the book opens with a underground society of necromantic cultists, in England, the early 1900's. In an attempt to capture the divine personification of Death - they accidently capture her brother, Dream. Though, this doesn't ensure immortality to the cultists anymore, they keep him bound in hopes of bargaining his freedom for power. After imprisonment for almost a century, Dream finally escapes and takes his revenge on his captors. The rest of the book, finds Dream severly weakened and missing his three artifacts, and sources of his power: his bag of sand, helmet and amulet. Because of his absence, the items have fallen into the hands of others and his kingdom and responsibilities, having been neglected during his imprisonment, have all crumbled. He spends the rest of the book reclaiming his lost possessions and reestablishing his authority as the Lord of Dreams.

For a writer who really didn't know where his story was going, Gaiman has given us an intriguing world to visit. He intergrates the modern world and ordinary mortal characters with elements of the supernatural and mythology. One cannot help but be fascinated by such scenes as Dream challenging a deamon to a duel of spoken words and image, while in a 1930's style bar in Hell. The book contains a variety of colorful characters and an original storyline that really sets the stage for the rest of the series. Also, being a graphic novel really adds to its presentation. The images are sometimes beyond literary comprehension and now I just couldn't imagine just reading this story. Gaiman has a way of creating images to vivid for words, so it seems quite appropriate these stories are told in a comic book style.

In addition, the book closes on a scene between Dream and Death, who is pictured as a flamboyant happy-go-lucky Goth girl. He accompanies her as she collects the souls of the dying and brings an interesting sense of closure to Dream's experience. The world has changed in his absence and there is much more for him to learn and to explore.

This is an essential book in the Neil Gaiman universe. If anything, it acts as a much needed foreward to the rest of the Sandman graphic novels and sets the stage for our expectations. But it stands on its own, the story rivaling the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Terry Pratchett.

Happy Reading!