Review Group #403 - Sandman Overture #1
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Hey you! Reader! Want to be a part of the GREATEST COMIC BOOK AND GEEK COMMUNITY on the web?! Well, they're not accepting new members, but we'll take anyone here, so why not sign up for a free acount? It's fast and it's easy, like your mom! Sign up today! Membership spots are limited!*
*Membership spots not really limited!
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 This might make for the two most popular weeks since RU took over. This pick really shoudln't come as a surprise. TO THE REVIEWS! Writer: Neil Gaiman • Artist: J. H. Williams Twenty-five years since THE SANDMAN changed the landscape of modern comics, Neil Gaiman's legendary series is back! THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE heralds New York Times best-selling writer Neil Gaiman's return to the art form that made him famous, ably abetted by artistic luminary JH Williams III (BATWOMAN, PROMETHEA), whose lush, widescreen images provide an epic scope to The Sandman's origin story. From the birth of a galaxy to the moment that Morpheus is captured, THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE will feature cameo appearances by fan-favorite characters such as The Corinthian, Merv Pumpkinhead and, of course, the Dream King's siblings: Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny. 'People have often asked me what happened to Morpheus to make it possible for him to be captured in THE SANDMAN #1,' Gaiman said. 'And now they get to find out. And finding out, they get to learn secrets of the Endless that I've kept to myself for 25 years. Family secrets. And I should warn you: one of the Endless dies on page five.' The first issue of this 6-issue, bimonthly miniseries features a stunning double-page interior foldout. digital copy availible here Ze rules:Post your review in the forum thread or in the comments section here on the front page. Review as often or as little as you like. Once you've posted 5 reviews, you will be awarded 1 pick. You can post 5 reviews, right? That's a totally achievable goal and with day and date digital releases becoming the standard, it shouldn't matter if your shop ordered enough copies of this weeks comic or not. When multiple Review Groupers have posted 5 (or more) qualifying reviews, they will be awarded their pick in the order that they qualified. What constitutes a qualifying review? Any review posted (with a score on a scale from 0-10, that's right 0!) within 1 calendar month of the thread going live. Reviews are to be at least 5 sentences long. It shows that a) you have at least read this week's pick and b) you have some unique insight into the comic. Reviews posted while waiting in line for your pick will be applied to your next pick. I'll be keeping track of everyone's progress with the newly christened Spreadsheet of Fantastic (RIP, Spreadsheet of Doom) and reporting the results in the Current Members list in the weekly OP. When it's your turn to make a pick, I will PM you. If you do not respond to me by Midnight EST the following Sunday, you will lose your pick and I will start a poll to determine that week's selection. Any week in which we do not have a Review Grouper with 5 qualifying picks, we will determine the week's comic via poll. If it's your week to pick, remember to keep it under $3.99. Current Members List
RU's note - yes the members list has been culled some, if you feel your name was removed in error - REVIEW A COMIC! Written or Contributed by GHERU READ THIS ARTICLE ON THE FRONT PAGE, HUMANS! |
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Yes, but only if you do it because Neil Gaiman is a woman. |
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He talks like one, does that count? |
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Are you saying British people sound like women? You anglophobe! |
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No, but the posh ones do. It's more like classism, I like Twigg just fine for example. |
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This is very funny to me, especially as I only recently had it explained to me exactly what "posh" means. |
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This story is a prequel to the original Sandman run, aiming to show just how Morpheus was weak enough to be captured by those sub-Crowley occultists in #1, and whilst we don’t know much about the plot after this first issue, that final 4-page fold-out spread blew my mind, and shows just how epic the scale of the War that so weakened Morpheus was. The issue begins on an Alien planet, with a race of sentient plants that can dream, one of these plants is visited by a form of Dream that also looks like a plant, and they talk, until this Dream is attacked by fire. I’m guessing this is a separate version of Dream to the one we’re familiar with, and his/it’s death is what causes the end of this issue. We then move across the galaxy to London in 1915, where one of Gaiman’s most terrifying creations, The Corinthian returns. I’m a huge fan of this character, both of the evil original we see here, and also the nicer version that appears in later Sandman stories. The visual of a man with mouths for eyes is just so creepy, and seeing him once again prey on a vulnerable young man was both brilliant and scary. After this, the story moves again, as both Destiny and Death of the Endless appear, with Destiny watching these events unfold in his book, and Death being rather worried for her younger brother. Once again, it’s just brilliant to see these characters again, and Gaiman steps effortly back into writing everyone really, it’s like he’s never been away. I will say that I did find that his narration in this issue was a bit more flowery and prose-like than ever before, but I suppose he has been writing books without pictures pretty much exclusively since The Eternals, and it can be hard to switch gears. That said, the long narration describing the new, and very cool character of George Portcullis was wonderful, and did feel like a bit of a short-story. George Portcullis is the manager of Dream’s London Office, and he’s there to allow Morpheus to intercept The Corinthian before he can kill, and unmake him. The conversation between Morpheus and Corinthian is very cool, and it explains a lot of back-story that came into play in The Doll’s House story, and sets up just how Corinthian was able to roam free and become a serial killer. Just as Morpheus is about to unmake Corinthian, he is called away by a powerful, unknown force, but not so powerful that he can’t slow it down and stop off in The Dreaming to arm himself for battle, putting on his weird helmet and all that. This also allows Gaiman for some more cameos, from the likes of Lucien and Merv Pumpkinhead, which were great fun. I’m assuming that the likes of these characters and the other Endless won’t appear again in this series, so a little bit of fan-service to start off is tolerable. It’s just a shame Matthew The Raven wasn’t around at this point. Morpheus is then whisked off to… a meeting of loads of versions of himself? This is a fantastic 4-page spread as I said, and there are loads of different versions of Dream here, including a Robot, a Tree, a fish, a guy with a moon-shaped head, and more. We also see the Cat-Dream, a version that has appeared before in Sandman. I initially assumed that all the different forms that Dream took were just the same person, changing appearance, but now it looks like they are different entities entirely? I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out. It’s clear from this issue that the story Gaiman has to tell here isn’t a Before Watchmen-esque cash-in, but something new and different and not just a box-ticking exercise like many prequels. JH Williams III is one of the best artists in comics today, and here, he delivers his best work since Promethea. I feel that Williams’ style suits a story that’s more than just your average superhero stuff, like Batwoman was (and really, the story of Batwoman was below average), and here, Gaiman’s script matches his ambition. On Batwoman, his art was overly elaborate for such a simple story, and made things confusing, but here, it works, basically, I’m the only person online glad that he’s left Batwoman, because that was a waste of his talents, even though Williams himself would obviously disagree. There are some amazing layouts here, like the page that reintroduces The Corinthian being made up of Teeth, or the way the panels are inside Destiny’s book, or the George Portcullis pages being, well, Portcullis-shaped. This made each page look different and exciting, the colours from Dave Stewart are also hugely important, with him using a variety of different styles and techniques throughout. Williams also uses different styles, particularly on the pages with all of the different Dreams. This book is just beautiful to look at, and even if you aren’t familiar with Sandman, it’s worth buying just for Williams and Stewart. That said, I did choose the Dave McKean cover, because it’s not Sandman if Dave McKean isn’t on covers, even a latecomer like me knows that. So, at the end of the day, this is a fantastic return for Gaiman and Sandman, fans of that series will love it, and I can only imagine how good this must be for people who have been waiting 10 years or more for it, rather than Punchy-come-lately, who’s been waiting 3 months. One of the best comics ever is back, and it’s not missed a beat, a cause for celebration methinks. 10/10 Yes, a 10. |
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I thought it was a strong beginning. To be honest, I had so many reservations going in that I didn't even bother to put it on my pull list, but I intend to when I go in tomorrow. Gaiman does a nice job of re-introducing favourites and of setting up setting us up for something on a grand scale and Williams brings his A game for the art. If this level of energy and creativity is maintained, it will be a worthy addition to the series, and not just the attempt to cash in that most prequels are. 9/10 Jude, two questions. First, what definition of posh were you given? And, second, what, if anything, did you think it meant? |
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Done. |
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http://www.midtowncomics.com/store/week ... asp?pl=534 |
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