The Sandman series of is one that has always held a special place in my heart. Volume 2 of the original series, The Doll’s House, was the first graphic novel I read, a volume I discovered in my old school’s library because my old school had awesome librarians. I was hooked, captivated by a fantastical and surreal story of a godlike being, and I immediately read all of the other volumes at my library; Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes, Volume 3: Fables and Reflections and Volume 10: The Wake.
My reading of the rest of the series continued in an equally scrappy fashion, with the other volumes picked up from bookshops and comic shops whenever I saw them and whenever I felt like grabbing them; I only completed reading them all with The Kindly Ones about a fortnight ago.
For me, The Sandman: Overture was a bit of a curveball; I saw it sitting on a shelf in my local comic book/general nerdstravaganza shop just today when I went in to pick up Saga Issue 15, and before that I had no prior knowledge it was coming out. I had a bit of a double take; it definitely said Sandman on the cover, Neil Gaiman’s name was right there and it left me kind of confused. ‘Is this some new episodic re-release of the old Sandman comics?’ I wondered. ‘Has DC really sunk that low?’ I flicked it open to the first pace. ‘Wow, this is a whole new storyline! DC hasn’t quite sunk that low yet, but they’re still peppering the issue with adverts. Stay classy, DC.’
The full-page advertisements that litter the comic aside, I actually found The Sandman: Overtures to be a really good read. The comic is set before the main narrative(s) of the original Sandman, prior to Morpheus’ imprisonment which kickstarted the events of the first graphic novels. There are ominous premonitions of impending disaster on a distant, alien world, a few of the favourite Dreaming characters; Lucius, Merv Pumpkinhead and the ever-unnerving Corinthian; make an appearance and Destiny and Death, two of Dream’s siblings, also feature in a scene that is composed in a remarkably clever way.
It goes without saying that the writing was really good, and Gaiman once again excels at creating a world and story that is as dark and surreal as the original Sandman series (again, Corinthian. That thing terrifies me). However, what really stood out for me with this first issue was J.H. Williams III’s artwork; not only was it illustrated exceptionally well, including a fold-out page which rendered multiple incarnations of Morpheus as he appears to different peoples and species, but he also used some remarkably clever artistic devices. One scene is framed in the Book of Destiny whilst it is being held by Destiny, and another, concerning a character by the name of George Portcullis, is illustrated with the panels being arranged within the portcullis of a castle’s gate. At the moment I’m unsure whether Williams will be a permanent feature or the Overture series will be rotating artists like in the original Sandman, but I personally hope he will return for future issues.
So basically, it’s more Sandman. It’s got great writing, very nice art, it’s more Sandman, there are interesting plothooks, there are some old favourite characters back and it’s more Sandman. Seriously, what more do you want?
Verbal Fisticuffs 