man of sand

I can't remember the last time I reread Sandman. I'm certain I've not touched it since Good-Chris returned my copies, and that would have been no later than 2006, probably more like 2004. I never took advantage of Emily acquiring the Absolute Sandmen with their proper chronological ordering and better colour reproduction, and I mildly regret that now.

On the other hand, my original battered trade paperbacks do have introductions by people like Samuel Delany, Gene Wolfe, and Karen Berger, so that'll be fun.

I'm two issues in. It's slow going: I seem to be more inclined to savour, rather than devouring. I remember being unimpressed by A Doll's House and A Game Of You, and disliking the art in The Kindly Ones. I wonder if that'll persist.

More later.

Preludes & Nocturnes

(xposted elseweb)
Thoughts on Preludes & Nocturnes:

• I had somehow forgotten that Sandman started out life as a horror comic. Yow.
  
• Lots of foreshadowing, in both the writing and the art.
  
• I really wish Sam Kieth had stuck with the book: I like his Morpheus a lot.
  
• Dream is kind of a dick. As I recall this is a persistent theme.
  
• The two pages of Neil writing Martian Manhunter are great. (As is his John Constantine, but that's no surprise.)
  
• Death's initial appearance remains stunning (it's the contrast with the previous seven issues, I think), and "The Sound of Her Wings" in general ... wow.