While the Sandman series arrives very soon on Netflix, it is more than time to discover this masterpiece of the comic book by Death. What if death was the most beautiful story?
Start at the end
Sandman is a unique comic. Awarded several literary awards, he has enjoyed both massive public success and critical recognition beyond comic book journalists. Already adapted into a podcast, it is however through comics that it is the strongest. The reader does not follow a single story but a series of tales around a dysfunctional but also powerful family. The infinites are goddesses and gods who embody concepts of Dream consciousness, Fate, Destruction, Despair, Desire, Delirium and especially Death in this volume. Rest assured, it is useless to know Plato's theses on the Ideas to grasp the beauty of Sandman because the series also makes us penetrate the abandoned corners of the Earth.
Several deaths in one
If the idea of embarking on this long series of more than 2,000 pages over seven volumes at Urban scares you, Sandman Death is the most beautiful door to enter the captivating universe of Neil Gaiman. This key is sketched from the cover, made like all the others in the series by Dave McKean and is confirmed in the summary. Sandman Death is a composite volume containing two episodes from the first series, three complete one-episode stories, and two longer stories. We alternate between the density of a short story and the depth of a short novel. The bonuses are also numerous at the end of the volume. The whole is unified by the magnificent writing of Neil Gaiman. Far from simple informative dialogues, he is a sensitive and poetic writer. He brings depth to each character because no human or divine being is entirely good or bad. In addition, Death brings dramatic tension through intervention: who will die? But there are different cartoonists. Mike Dringenberg and Colleen Doran seem to compose a collage of very saturated old photos and a fine drawing. Dealing with long stories, Chris Bachalo is still at the beginning of his career but his personal style is totally convincing. It offers framing very innovative at the time.
A New Death
Death, Morpheus' older sister, soon appears in episode eight of Sandman included here. She serves as a counterpoint to Sandman, she is carefree while her brother is a killjoy. Through this character, Neil Gaiman changes the image of Death. Forget the shroud and the disturbing skeleton and discover a young gothic girl. In the middle of the New Wave period, the inspiration comes from rock. Death is very close to Siouxsie and Morpheus by Robert Smith of the Cure. Yes, death is beautiful and profound. Death never goes unnoticed. Disguised in her deadly form named Didi, she seduces some and freezes the blood of others. In Sandman, Death is more of a guide to the afterlife than the Grim Reaper condemning a human being to death. Despite her professional pragmatism, she feels compassion for mortals who are in most cases very upset to see her. It is everywhere but remains present for all. She supports a comedian who left before fame and, by various deaths, she paradoxically restores the taste of life to Morpheus and then to a suicidal and grunge teenager. She helps a heroine find meaning in her life. Indeed, belonging to DC comics, we meet in Sandman the superheroine Elementale. Sandman Death is not a single long death but several different stories all having the same character as its main actor, death. Each story is a journey where Death is the necessary interlocutor for everyone to penetrate into the depths of his soul or accept the end of the road. From the first pages, through the story of the adventures of Morpheus, it is quite possible that you have the irrepressible desire to read the first volume of the main series. You can find on these links on recent releases of Urban comics: American Flagg! and The Last of the Gods.
