There’s no question that Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series broadened comic’s audience by tapping into a number of demographics including women, fantasy fans, academia and mature readers.
Annotations for the book have been available online for years and there have been several books that have analyzed the series on a whole. Now, DC has published their own annotated version.
In-depth, informative and entertaining, THE ANNOTATED SANDMAN is a fascinating look at the New York Times best-selling series by Neil Gaiman.
Edited by and with an introduction and notes by Leslie S. Klinger, the expert researcher and editor behind the Edgar®-winning New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and the critically acclaimed New Annotated Dracula, THE ANNOTATED SANDMAN is a panel-by-panel journey through every issue of THE SANDMAN. Beginning with issues #1-#20, this volume provides commentary, historical and contemporary references, hidden meanings and more, presented side-by-side with the series’ art and text. Using scripts and hours of conversation with Gaiman, Klinger reveals fascinating details of THE SANDMAN’s hundreds of unforgettable characters and its place in literary history.
The first of an incredible four volume series, the ANNOTATED SANDMAN Vol. 1 is a must-have for every Sandman fan!
Is it a must-have?
Unfortunately not. Despite the material deserving such attention, it’s execution is marred by a nunber of issues that prevent a solid recommendation.
Quality: A huge hardcover book on the outside, with black and white reprints on the inside. The paper feels very pulpy and the image reproduction seems not as crisp as one would expect (the grey tones tend to make it a little muddy). The edges of each page feature the annotations with white lettering against a black background. It’s a handsome in thought presentation, but it’s execution could have benefited from color reprinting and a cleaner annotation column.
Annotations: Although Klinger has done some amazing work, the fact that Gaiman didn’t participate is unforgivable and the number one reason why this isn’t necessary.
Overall: This is the fourth format for the material (comics, various trade paperbacks and Absolute Editions) and really could have been the definitive and isn’t. Lackluster production quality and annotations without the participation if it’s creators (and not just Gaiman; I’d like to have seen the various artists and editor Karen Berger as well) makes it an unnecessary series to add to the collection. As good as Sandman is, how many copies of the same book do you really need? If you’ve never read Sandman before, check out the beautifully recolored trade paperbacks at a little more than a third of the cost.
