Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, published primarily during the '90s, still remains as one of the seminal graphic novel series ever written, with the property set to be adapted into a television show by Netflix and Warner Bros.
The volumes focus on the tragic journey of Dream, one of the Endless, who after being imprisoned for over 70 years, escapes and rebuilds his kingdom anew and sets old wrongs right, along with a host of colorful characters, most notably his spunky punk-goth sister Death.
Within that framework, Gaiman weaves in other poignant, heartbreaking, and deeply relevant stories, with elements of dark fantasy, history, mythology and slice-of-life narratives carefully blended in.
The comic series has been collected into 10 trade paperback volumes, which have been ranked from the worst to the best.
10 Preludes & Nocturnes
No, just because it's listed at the bottom, doesn't mean it's unreadable. It's not terrible by any standards, but compared to the later volumes in the series, it cannot hold a candle.
That's because, just like Dream, Neil Gaiman is just starting out here, slowly laying the framework for the epic saga that is to come. Narrative-wise, it's fairly straightforward, with Dream/Morpheus on a quest to retrieve the stolen artifacts that hold his power.
The elements of horror seem extremely overdone, and it is only in the last episode, "The Sound of Her Wings," where Dream encounters his elder sister Death and they feed pigeons together, that the series begins to take on a voice of its own.
9 The Wake
This is the last volume that concludes The Sandman saga and it reads just like an epilogue. Once again, it's not particularly bad, but after the devastating climax in The Kindly Ones, The Wake had a pretty hard time matching up.
The stories here are pretty beautiful and mostly tie up loose ends, set the stage for the new aspect of Dream to take control of things and offer some sense of closure.
8 The Doll's House
This is the volume that first gives us a picture of the wider world of the Sandman universe, and although it's pretty well-written, it's clear that Gaiman is still trying to find a balance, between overt horror and gore, and dark fantasy.
The volume details the tragic love story between Dream and Queen Nada, the journey of Rose Walker to find her missing younger brother and even features a convention of serial killers along with a grisly Red Riding Hood retelling.
7 Dream Country
Dream Country is the first volume that introduces one of Gaiman's favorite methods of story-telling: Semi-interconnected short stories, that are entertaining and complete in themselves, even as they layout plot details that will become relevant later.
This volume also contains "A Midsummer Night's Dream" wherein William Shakespeare is introduced as a character, who makes a deal with Morpheus for his creativity, and is the only comic to have ever won a World Fantasy Award.
6 Fables and Reflections
Fables and Reflections is another volume that comprises only brief tales, many of which revolve around emperors and explores issues of power. One of the stories "Soft Places" features a lost Marco Polo and has a lot in common with the story "Exiles" featured in The Wake.
The final tale "Ramadan," which tells the story of the legendary city of Baghdad, features some of the most breath-taking artwork in the entire series. Gorgeously-drawn and colored, every page seems like a work of art and is a feast for the eyes.
5 A Game Of You
Morpheus is barely present in this volume. Instead, the story follows the adventures of Barbie and her friends, as they venture deeper and deeper into a fantastical realm from her childhood that is in grave danger on account of a mysterious Cuckoo. This tightly-knit story explores issues relating to identity, childhood, and the nature of evil.
Barbie, who always fancied herself as a princess of a magical realm, realized later that life isn't always perfect, particularly after her divorce from Ken. Therefore, her journey into the Land to confront the Cuckoo is also a journey of self-awakening.
4 Brief Lives
One of the Endless, we are told, had long since abandoned his realm and gone off on his own. Delirium, who misses her brother, convinces Dream to go on a quest with her to find their long-lost sibling, Destruction.
Naturally, their quest is beset with death and numerous setbacks. Eventually, after great difficulty and personal cost, they are finally reunited with Destruction who entertains them for a while, before vanishing into space with his dog Barnabas.
Meanwhile, these events force Dream to finally visit his long-abandoned son and grant him his last wish by letting him die.
3 World's End
This is the penultimate volume before the climax and features individual tales by different travelers, who are trapped in an inn at World's End, as they are all caught up in a reality storm.
One of the stories is a Lovecraftian tale about a city that dreams, while the "Golden Boy" offers an alternate vision of U.S history as it explores the American Dream. "Cerements" is a masterfully crafted tale-within-a-tale that follows a Russian Doll-like structure, while "Cluracan's Tale" is a delightful fantasy adventure.
2 The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is easily one of the best comic volumes every written, where all the minor details and plot threads from other episodes come into play, resulting in a heartbreaking but thoroughly satisfying climax. Dream's past and all of his prior misdeeds and choices finally catch up with him, and he must finally sacrifice himself or let his kingdom perish.
As his character arc comes to a close, he remarks, "Rules and responsibilities: These are the ties that bind us. We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves. I will do what I have to do. And I will do what I must."
1 Season Of Mists
In this narrative, Dream visits Hell to free his former lover whom he had condemned to eternal torment for daring to refuse his love. But it turns out that Lucifer has abandoned his kingdom and entrusted the keys of hell to Dream. Soon enough, different gods and deities from various mythological pantheons arrive at the Dreaming, demanding that they deserve to own the realm of Hell and Dream has to choose from among them.
Season Of Mists is perfect. It balances the fun with the darkly fantastical, gives the readers a wonderful sense of world-building and illustrates how every action, no matter how minor, always has far-reaching consequences.
So which is your favorite volume of the Sandman?
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