The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published in the United States by DC Comics for 75 issues from 1988 until 1996. It became the flagship of DC's Vertigo imprint, and is kept in print as a series of ten trade paperbacks. It is widely considered one of the most original, sophisticated and artistically ambitious comic book series of the modern age^{[citation needed]}. By the time of the series's conclusion, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of English language comic books and become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right. Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Dream is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaimans comic book series, The Sandman. ... The Endless, as a family The Endless (Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium) are a group of beings who embody various aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. ... Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960, Portchester, Hampshire) is a British author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many graphic novels. ... Death, from The Sandman #8, drawn by Mike Dringenberg Mike Dringenberg is a French/American comics artist best known for his work on DC/Vertigos Sandman series with writer Neil Gaiman. ... Sam Kieth is a writer and illustrator of comic books. ... Malcolm Jones III (born 1970, died 1996) was an American comics artist best known as an inker on The Sandman, where he added his illustrative line and textures to the work of pencillers such as Mike Dringenberg, Kelley Jones and Colleen Doran. ... Cages (1998) by Dave McKean David Tench McKean (born 29 December 1963 in Maidenhead, England) is an illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, filmmaker and musician. ... Charles Vess (born 1951) is an American illustrator. ... Jill Thompson (1966 - ) is a comic book writer and illustrator. ... Michael Zulli is an American comics artist best known for his work on The Sandman with writer Neil Gaiman. ... Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960, Portchester, Hampshire) is a British author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many graphic novels. ... Death, from The Sandman #8, drawn by Mike Dringenberg Mike Dringenberg is a French/American comics artist best known for his work on DC/Vertigos Sandman series with writer Neil Gaiman. ... Sam Kieth is a writer and illustrator of comic books. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960, Portchester, Hampshire) is a British author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many graphic novels. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ... In comics, a trade paperback (TPB) specifically refers to the periodic collections, published in book format, of stories published in comic books, usually capturing one story arc in the series. ... Wolverine, a member of the X-Men, a popular franchise in the Modern Age, and an anti-hero, a popular character type The Modern Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period of American comic books generally considered to last from the mid-1980s until present day. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ...

The protagonist of Sandman is Dream, the immortal anthropomorphic personification of dreams and story telling. He is known by an array of names, most often Morpheus, but also Oneiros, Lord Shaper, Lord Kai'ckul, the Prince of Stories, the Carrion King, and, rarely, "The Sandman". He is one of a family of seven siblings known as the Endless, each of whom personifies some aspect of reality, such as Death or Desire. The protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. ... Dream is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaimans comic book series, The Sandman. ... ASIMO is an anthropomorphic robot created in 2000 by Honda Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, natural, or supernatural phenomena. ... A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep. ... Morpheus (he who forms, shapes, molds) is the principal Greek god of dreams. ... In Greek mythology, the Oneiroi were the sons of Hypnos, the god of sleep. ... The Sandman is a character in popular Western folklore who brings good sleep and dreams by sprinkling magic sand on to the eyes of children. ... The Endless (Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium) are a group of beings who embody various aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. ... Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman (1988 - 1996). ... Desire is one of the Endless, a fictional character from Neil Gaimans comic book series, The Sandman. ...

Gaiman has summarized the plot of the series (in the foreword to Endless Nights) as: "The king of dreams learns one must change or die and then makes his decision." The character's initially haughty, and often cruel, manner begins to soften after his years of imprisonment at the start of the series, but the challenge of undoing past sins and changing old ways is an enormous one for a being who has been set in his ways for billions of years. The Sandman: Endless Nights is a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman as a follow-up (but not a sequel) to his ground-breaking Sandman series. ...

Unlike most popular US comic books of its time, The Sandman existed almost completely outside of the superhero genre (although other DC characters—such as Doctor Destiny, the Justice League, and John Constantine—occasionally interacted with Morpheus, and characters like Green Lantern and Batman were seen in cameos). Factual persons—such as William Shakespeare, Emperor Norton and Mark Twain, also made appearances. The first third of the series somewhat conformed to the horror genre, but it later grew into an elaborate fantasy series, incorporating elements of classical and contemporary mythology. The series is occasionally labeled as "Sophisticated Suspense", a small genre that also includes Swamp Thing (particularly after Alan Moore took over writing it in the 1980s), and Jamie Delano's Hellblazer. Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ... Dr. Destiny (aka John Dee) is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics. ... Built in the 1987 company-wide crossover limited series, Legends, this new Justice League was given a less America-centric mandate than before, and was dubbed the Justice League International (or JLI for short). ... John Constantine (born May 10, 1953 in Liverpool, England) is the fictional protagonist of the comic series Hellblazer. ... Hal Jordan is a DC Comics superhero, the Silver Age Green Lantern, and arguably the most famous hero to bear that name. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Joshua A. Norton Joshua Abraham Norton (January 17, 1811 - January 8, 1880), also known as His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, was a celebrated citizen of San Francisco who famously proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico in 1859. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... Classical or Greco-Roman mythology usually refers to the mythology, and the associated polytheistic rituals and practices, of Classical Antiquity. ... // The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μύθος mythos, a story or legend, and λόγος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. ... The Swamp Thing is a fictional character created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson for DC Comics, and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy comic book series of the same name. ... Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton) is an English writer most famous for his work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... Jamie Delano. ... Hellblazer is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, which features the central character John Constantine. ...

Setting

The story-lines primarily take place in the Dreaming, Morpheus's realm, and the waking world, with occasional visits to other domains, such as Hell, Faerie, Asgard, and the domains of the other Endless. Many used the contemporary United States of America and the United Kingdom as a backdrop. The DC Universe was the official setting of the series, but well-known DC characters and places were rarely featured after 1990, with one exception: Lyta Hall, formerly Fury of the 80s super-team Infinity Inc., figures prominently in the "Kindly Ones" story arc. The Dreaming is a fictional place, the domain of Dream of the Endless in Neil Gaimans The Sandman comic book series. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is a place or a state of pain and suffering. ... It has been suggested that Trooping fairies be merged into this article or section. ... In Norse mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: Ásgarður) is the realm of the gods, the Æsir, thought to be separate from the realm of the mortals, Midgard. ... Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ... Fury was the codename of two DC Comics superheroines, who are mother and daughter. ... Infinity Inc. ...

Most of the story-lines take place in modern times (presumably the late 1980s and early 1990s), but many short stories are set in the past, taking advantage of the immortality of many of the characters to deal with historical individuals and events.

Art

Also unlike most comic books, The Sandman did not feature an ongoing illustrator; instead, different artists were hired for each new storyline, sometimes for only a single issue. Aside from co-creator Sam Kieth, artists who illustrated a significant number of issues include Colleen Doran, Mike Dringenberg, Marc Hempel, Kelley Jones, Jill Thompson and Michael Zulli. Their styles ranged from cartoony expressionism (Hempel) to detailed, delicate realism with a hint of the Pre-Raphaelites (Zulli). The lettering for each issue was done by Todd Klein, save for a handful of issues during the book's second major storyline, where John Costanza filled in while Klein was away on honeymoon. Sam Kieth is a writer and illustrator of comic books. ... An example of Dorans artwork: the cover to Orbiter, published in 2003 by DC Comics. ... Death, from The Sandman #8, drawn by Mike Dringenberg Mike Dringenberg is a French/American comics artist best known for his work on DC/Vertigos Sandman series with writer Neil Gaiman. ... Marc Hempel is an American cartoonist/comics artist best known for his work on The Sandman with Neil Gaiman, Breathtaker with Mark Wheatley, his own characters Gregory and Tug & Buster, and the anthology series Marc Hempels Naked Brain. ... Kelley Jones (born July 23, 1962 in Sacramento, CA) is a comic book artist best known for his runs on Batman with writer Doug Moench and on Sandman (DC Comics/Vertigo) with writer Neil Gaiman. ... Jill Thompson (1966 - ) is a comic book writer and illustrator. ... Michael Zulli is an American comics artist best known for his work on The Sandman with writer Neil Gaiman. ... The Scream by Edvard Munch (1893) which inspired 20th century Expressionists Portrait of Eduard Kosmack by Egon Schiele Rehe im Walde by Franz Marc Elbe Bridge I by Rolf Nesch On White II by Wassily Kandinsky, 1923. ... Realism is commonly defined as a concern for fact or reality and a rejection of the impractical and visionary. ... Persephone, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... Todd Klein is a well-known and respected comic book letterer. ... John Costanza is an artist who has worked in the comics industry. ...

Each issue featured a cover created by Dave McKean. McKean’s approach combined painting, photography, pencil and ink drawings, collage, digital art, found objects and even sculpture, resulting in distinctive, often abstract or surreal, images. Cages (1998) by Dave McKean David Tench McKean (born 29 December 1963 in Maidenhead, England) is an illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, filmmaker and musician. ... The Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable artistic paintings in the Western world. ... Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ... Drawing is the act of defining (or delineating) the outlines of a figure against a background, using any of a wide variety of tools and techniques. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Computer-generated image created by Gilles Tran using POV-Ray 3. ... An Italian Futurist sculpture by Umberto Boccioni at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (MoMA). ... Black square by Kazimir Malevich Abstract art is now generally understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses color and form in a non-representational or subjective way. ... Surrealism[1] is a movement stating that the liberation of our mind, and subsequently the liberation of the individual self and society, can be achieved by exercising the imaginative faculties of the unconscious mind to the attainment of a dream-like state different from, or ultimately ‘truer’ than, everyday reality. ...

Collections

The Sandman was initially published as a monthly serial, in 32-page booklets (with some exceptions to this pattern). As the series quickly increased in popularity, DC Comics began to reprint them in hardcover and paperback editions, each representing either a complete novel or a collection of related short stories.

DC first published "The Doll's House" storyline in a collection called simply The Sandman. Shortly thereafter, the first three volumes were published and named independently and also collected in an eponymous boxed set. (Death's debut story, "The Sound of Her Wings" from issue #8, appeared both at the beginning of The Doll's House and at the end of early editions of Preludes and Nocturnes, creating overlap between the first two volumes. This overlap isn't present in newer editions.) Further collections would then be released shortly after their completion in serial form.

A total of ten collections contain the full run of the series, and have all been kept in print. They are as follows:

• Preludes and Nocturnes (collecting The Sandman #1-8, 1988-1989, ISBN 1-56389-011-9): Dream is imprisoned for decades by an occultist seeking immortality. Upon escaping, he must reclaim his objects of power while still in a weakened state, confronting a dream junkie, the legions of Hell, and an all-powerful madman in the process. Guest starring several DC Universe characters including John Constantine, Scott Free, J'onn J'onzz, Scarecrow and Doctor Destiny.
• The Doll's House (collecting The Sandman #9-16, 1989-1990, ISBN 0-930289-59-5): Morpheus tracks down rogue dreams that escaped the Dreaming during his absence. In the process, he must shatter the illusions of a family living in dreams, disband a convention of serial killers, and deal with a "dream vortex" that threatens the existence of the entire Dreaming.
• Dream Country (collecting The Sandman #17-20, 1990, ISBN 1-56389-016-X): This volume contains four independent stories. The imprisoned muse Calliope is forced to provide story ideas, a cat seeks to change the world with dreams, Shakespeare puts on a play for an unearthly audience, and a shape-shifting immortal (obscure DC comics character Element Girl) longs for death.
• Season of Mists (collecting The Sandman #21-28, 1990-1991, ISBN 1-56389-041-0): Dream travels to Hell to free a former lover, Nada, who he condemned to torment thousands of years ago. There, Dream learns that Lucifer has abandoned his domain. When Lucifer gives the Hell's key (and therefore, the ownership of Hell) to the Sandman, Morpheus himself becomes trapped in a tangled network of threats, promises, and lies as gods and demons from various pantheons seek ownership of Hell.
• A Game of You (collecting The Sandman #32-37, 1991-1992): Barbie, a New York divorcée, travels to the magical realm that she once inhabited in her dreams, only to find that it is being threatened by the forces of the Cuckoo. This series introduces the character of Thessaly, who will play a key role in Morpheus' eventual fate.
• Fables and Reflections (collecting The Sandman #29-31, 38-40, 50, Sandman Special #1 and Vertigo Preview #1, 1991, 1992, 1993): A collection of short stories set throughout Morpheus' history, most of them originally published both before and after the "Game of You" story arc. Four issues dealing with kings and rulers, were originally published under the label Distant Mirrors, while three others, detailing the meetings of various characters, were published as the Convergences arc. Fables and Reflections also includes the Sandman Special, originally published as a stand-alone issue, which assimilates the myth of Orpheus into the Sandman mythos as well as a very short Sandman story from the Vertigo Preview promotional comic.
• Brief Lives (collecting The Sandman #41-49, 1992-1993): Dream's erratic younger sister Delirium convinces him to help her search for their missing brother, the former Endless Destruction, who left his place among the "family" three hundred years before. However, their quest is marred by the death of all around them, and eventually Morpheus must turn to his son Orpheus to find the truth, and undo an ancient sin.
• Worlds' End (collecting The Sandman #51-56, 1993): A "reality storm" strands travelers from across the cosmos at the "Worlds' End Inn". To pass the time, they exchange stories.
• The Kindly Ones (collecting The Sandman #57-69 and Vertigo Jam #1, 1994-1995): In the longest Sandman story, Morpheus becomes the prey of the Furies, avenging spirits who torment those who spill family blood.
• The Wake (collecting The Sandman #70-75, 1995-1996): The conclusion of the series, wrapping up the remaining loose ends in a three-issue "wake" sequence, followed by three self-contained stories.

In addition, the cover images from The Sandman have been compiled into one volume: Preludes and Nocturnes is the first graphic novel collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. ... John Constantine (born May 10, 1953 in Liverpool, England) is the fictional protagonist of the comic series Hellblazer. ... Mister Miracle is a DC Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby, originally as part of The Fourth World series of titles. ... now. ... The Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane) is a DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Batman. ... Dr. Destiny (aka John Dee) is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics. ... Dream Country is the third graphic novel collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. ... Detail of painting The Muses Urania and Calliope by Simon Vouet, in which she is supposedly holding a copy of The Odyssey In Greek mythology, Calliope (Kaliope or Kalliope) (Greek: Καλλιόπη, beautiful-voiced) was the muse of epic poetry, daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and is now best known as Homer... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Element Girl is the name of a DC Comics superhero. ... Season of Mists (1992) is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt and P. Craig Russell, coloured by Steve Oliff and Danny Vozzo, and lettered by... Lucifer, as depicted in Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire Infernal (1863). ... A Game of You (1993) is the fifth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. ... Fables and Reflections (1993) is the sixth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. ... The head of Orpheus, from an 1865 painting by Gustave Moreau. ... Brief Lives (1994) is the seventh collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. ... The Kindly Ones (1996) is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. ... In Greek mythology the Erinyes or Eumenides (the Romans called them the Furies) were female personifications of vengeance. ... This article is about The Wake, the graphic novel in The Sandman series. ... A wake is a ceremony associated with death. ...

• Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers (1998): Dave McKean's covers use techniques such as painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, and computer manipulation.

In 1999, some years after Gaiman completed The Sandman, he wrote a lavishly illustrated Sandman novel, Sandman: The Dream Hunters with art by Yoshitaka Amano. Like many of the single-issue stories throughout The Sandman, Morpheus appears in Dream Hunters, but is a supporting character at best. In Gaiman's afterword to the book, it is claimed that the story was a retelling of an existing Japanese legend. However, the books he cites as sources for it do not exist, and when asked Gaiman has stated that he made up the "legend" out of whole cloth. Cages (1998) by Dave McKean David Tench McKean (born 29 December 1963 in Maidenhead, England) is an illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, filmmaker and musician. ... Sandman: The Dream Hunters is a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano. ... Yoshitaka Amano (February 24, 2006) Yoshitaka Amano (天野 喜孝 Amano Yoshitaka, born July 28, 1952) is a Japanese artist, best known for his illustrations for Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs for the video game series Final Fantasy. ...

As the 10th anniversary arrived, Gaiman wrote several new stories about Morpheus and his siblings, one story for each, which were published in 2003 as the Endless Nights anthology. The Sandman: Endless Nights is a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman as a follow-up (but not a sequel) to his ground-breaking Sandman series. ...

Neil Gaiman, on his blog, announced plans for an Absolute Sandman, a new oversized edition of all 10 volumes [1]. In October 2006, the first of four volumes of the Absolute Edition Sandman was released, collecting the first 20 issues. The issues in the first volume of Absolute Sandman have been recolored with reference to the original prints. The volume also features a copy of the original series outline and other bonus features. In celebration of this reissuing DC also issued a refurbished edition of the first issue of the series. DC Comics Absolue Editions are a series of archival quality printings of graphic novels published by DC Comics and Wildstorm Productions. ...

Other books and series

Because of the amount of critical acclaim Sandman received and because of its commercial viability (at the time of its conclusion, it was DC’s best-selling series), a number of spin-off volumes have been produced. Fans of the original series disagree as to the quality and legitimacy of these volumes. Subsidiary works include: The DC comic book series The Sandman may have concluded with Issue 75, but numerous comics, novels and spin-offs continue to make use of its characters, concepts and universe. ...

• Death: The High Cost of Living (1993), a three-issue, Gaiman-penned limited series starring Morpheus’ older sister.
• Sandman: Midnight Theatre (1995), in which Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman, meets Lord Morpheus of The Endless, the Modern Age Sandman.
• Death: The Time of Your Life (1996): another three-issue, Gaiman-penned Death limited series, also featuring supporting characters from A Game of You.
• The Sandman: Book of Dreams (1996), an original anthology of prose short stories co-edited with Ed Kramer, featuring the world of The Sandman in some way. It contains work from some notable contributors, among them Caitlin R. Kiernan, Tad Williams, Gene Wolfe, Tori Amos and Colin Greenland. Publisher DC Comics imposed restrictive copyright terms on contributing authors, leading to a few withdrawing their stories.
• The Dreaming (1996 - 2001), a monthly series set in Morpheus’ realm but featuring none of the Endless. It was written and illustrated by a variety of writers and artists; Caitlin R. Kiernan wrote the largest number of scripts for the series.
• The Sandman Presents (1999-2001): a collection of limited series by various authors and illustrators featuring secondary characters from The Sandman, such as The Corinthian and The Furies.
• Sandman: The Dream Hunters (1999): a prose novella that incorporates a so-called Japanese folk tale into the Sandman mythos, written by Gaiman and featuring illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano. It is not actually based on any existing Japanese folklore, but rather incorporates elements of Chinese and Japanese folklore and mythology into a new "myth".
• The Sandman Companion by Hy Bender (2000), a non-fiction work providing extra information about the series. Its first section discusses the ten Sandman collections sequentially, analyzing their meaning, explaining some of Gaiman's myriad references and sometimes providing information on the writing of the comics. It also features a lengthy interview about the series with Gaiman himself.
• The Little Endless Storybook (2001), a one-shot comic/story book which depicts The Endless as toddlers and follows Delirium's dog Barnabas as he attempts to find the missing Delirium, written and illustrated by Jill Thompson.
• Lucifer (2001 - 2006): a monthly series written by Mike Carey continuing the story of Lucifer following the events of the fourth collection, Season of Mists.
• Sandman: Endless Nights (2003): a graphic novel with one story for each of the Endless. They are set throughout history but two take place after the final events of the monthly series. It was written by Gaiman and featured a different illustrator for each story. This collection is notable as it is the first hardcover graphic novel ever to appear on the New York Times Hardcover Bestseller list.
• Death: At Death’s Door (2004): a manga-style graphic novel, written and illustrated by Jill Thompson, showcasing Death’s activities during Season of Mists. This may become part of a series of manga novels starring Death.
• The Dead Boy Detectives (2005): a sequel to Death: At Death's Door, also by Jill Thompson, featuring the two young ghosts from Season of Mists. (The title was previously used for a The Sandman Presents limited series about the same characters.)

Death as illustrated by Chris Bachalo. ... The limited series is a term referring to a comic book series with a set finite number of issues. ... The story Death: The Time of Your Life was written by Neil Gaiman, and is one of many spinoffs from his graphic novel series The Sandman. ... The limited series is a term referring to a comic book series with a set finite number of issues. ... Edward E. Kramer was born on March 20, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York. ... Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan (born May 26, 1964 in Skerries, Dublin, Ireland) is the author of numerous science fiction and dark fantasy works, including many comics, more than seventy published short stories, and numerous scientific papers. ... Robert Paul Tad Williams (born March 14, 1957) is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchasers Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers. ... Gene Wolfe (born May 7, 1931) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. ... Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos on August 22, 1963) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. ... Colin Greenland (b. ... The Dreaming is a fictional place, the domain of Dream of the Endless in Neil Gaimans The Sandman comic book series. ... Sandman: The Dream Hunters is a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano. ... Yoshitaka Amano (February 24, 2006) Yoshitaka Amano (天野 喜孝 Amano Yoshitaka, born July 28, 1952) is a Japanese artist, best known for his illustrations for Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs for the video game series Final Fantasy. ... Hy Bender is an author who has written or cowritten 14 books. ... The Little Endless Storybook is a graphic novel by Jill Thompson published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. ... Lucifer is a comic book published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics. ... Mike Carey is the writer of the Eisner Award nominated Lucifer and Hellblazer, comic book titles published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. ... The Sandman: Endless Nights is a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman as a follow-up (but not a sequel) to his ground-breaking Sandman series. ... Cover to the Comic Death at Deaths Door is a comic penned and inked in the manga-style, by Jill Thompson, author of the Little Endless. ... 2nd English edition of InuYasha Vol. ... The Dead Boy Detectives are fictional characters that have appeared in comic books published by DC Comics Vertigo imprint. ...

Neil Gaiman–written Stories

The following list contains all original stories involving the Sandman universe written by Neil Gaiman. It excludes any "spin-offs" that were not written by Gaiman. It can be used by those who feel that unless it was written by Gaiman himself, it should not be considered a part of the Sandman universe.

Comic books

• Sandman, #1-75
• Sandman Special, #1
• Death: The High Cost of Living, #s 1-3
• Death: The Time of Your Life, #1-3
• Vertigo: Jam
• Vertigo: Preview
• Vertigo: Winter's Edge, #1-3

Graphic novels/Prose

• Sandman: The Dream Hunters
• Sandman: Endless Nights

Impact

The Sandman was one of the most widely respected American comic book series of its time, finding recognition not only within the comic book industry but in the general literary world. It is generally ranked among such works as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen, Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Art Spiegelman's Maus in terms of critical acclaim and its conferring of respectability on comics. The Sandman supported the notion that comic books could be high-quality literature or art even in a long-running series. Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton) is an English writer most famous for his work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... Screenshot of Beneath a Steel Sky, backgrounds courtesy of Dave Gibbons. ... Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. ... Frank Miller in an interview about the Batman character. ... The premiere issue of the series Spoiler warning: The Dark Knight Returns (known as DKR by fans) is a superhero comic book story published by DC Comics between 1985 and 1986, starring Batman. ... Art Spiegelman (born February 15, 1948) is an American comics artist, editor and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning comic memoir, Maus. ... Maus: A Survivors Tale is a memoir presented as a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman. ...

The Sandman also demonstrated that non-superhero comic books could be successful. Along with Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing stories, Sandman helped establish "sophisticated suspense", a genre which is meant for older readers, includes elements of horror and fantasy, and tackles controversial topics. In 1993, the success of Sandman inspired DC comics to launch the Vertigo imprint, which specialized in this genre and published some of the most acclaimed series of the 1990s, including Preacher and Animal Man. The Swamp Thing is a fictional character created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson for DC Comics, and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy comic book series of the same name. ... Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ... Preacher is a comic book created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, with painted covers by Glenn Fabry. ... Animal Man is a fictional superhero in the DC Universe. ...

The Sandman also strengthened the importance of the writer in comic books. Before Sandman, writers were often overshadowed by superstar artists such as Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee. Gaiman became one of the most popular comic book creators of the era (launching his career as a novelist). Spawn #1 (1992), featuring one of McFarlanes most popular creations Todd McFarlane (born March 16, 1961 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a cartoonist, comic book writer, artist, and media entrepreneur. ... Fantastic Four #1 (1996) cover by Jim Lee. ...

The series paved the way for the long-form but finite comic book series as multi-layered serial fiction. Like a novel, and unlike all but a few prior comics series, The Sandman told a single complete story over seventy-six issues with a beginning, middle, and definitive end. Yet the book was also composed chiefly of a handful of story arcs that also moved from commencement to conclusion on a smaller scale, and these arcs consisted of individual issues of the magazine which themselves followed a finite narrative line within the context of the larger work surrounding them. Since The Sandman, this format has become increasingly popular and a staple of DC's Vertigo imprint, e.g., Grant Morrison's The Invisibles, Brian Vaughan's Y - The Last Man Vaughan's Ex Machina from DC's Wildstorm imprint, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's 100 Bullets, the aforementioned Preacher, and the aforementioned Lucifer series by Mike Carey, a Sandman spin-off. James Robinson also used this style in his comic Starman. Grant Morrison (born January 31, 1960, Glasgow) is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. ... Cover to The Invisibles (v2) #1. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Y: The Last Man is a comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan and published by Vertigo, about the sole survivor of the spontaneous, simultaneous death of every male on Earth. ... Ex Machina is a creator-owned comic book by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Tony Harris, published by Wildstorm Productions beginning in 2004. ... WildStorm WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, is an American publisher of comic books. ... Brian Azzarello is an American comic book writer. ... Eduardo Risso (born on November 23, 1961 in Córdoba, Argentina) is an Argentine comic book artist. ... 100 Bullets is an Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic book written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso. ... James Dale Robinson, usually referred to as just James Robinson, is a British writer of comic books and screenplays and known for his interest in old collectibles and memorabilia. ... Starman is Jack Knight, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. ...

Todd Klein's distinctive lettering on The Sandman also helped popularize individual typescripts for the word balloons of certain characters, a technique that had been used in Cerebus and scattered other places. Gaiman and Klein particularly used unique styles for the Endless, such as Morpheus’ word balloons being black and irregular with white lettering and Delirium’s being irregular, abstract and multi-colored. Todd Klein is a well-known and respected comic book letterer. ... Cerebus the Aardvark (or simply Cerebus) was an ambitious monthly independent comic book begun by Canadian artist Dave Sim in 1977, and running for 300 issues and 6,000 pages, through March 2004. ...

In addition to its impact on comic books, The Sandman has had a significant influence on pop culture. The series was mentioned in songs by Tori Amos, Alice Cooper and others, Sandman posters can be seen in the background of the sitcom Roseanne, and Extreme Championship Wrestling alumnus Raven is fond of wearing Sandman T-shirts. Dave Sim parodied the characters (Dream became "Swoon", Death "Snuff" and so on) in his comic book, Cerebus. Sam Kieth also parodied the character Death and Sandman fans in his comic, The Maxx. Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos on August 22, 1963) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. ... Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948), is a rock singer and musician, whose work spans four decades. ... Roseanne Roseanne (born on November 3, 1952) is an American actress, writer, talk-show host, and comedian. ... Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon, and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001. ... Scott Levy (born September 8, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Raven. ... David Victor Sim (born May 17, 1956 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian comic book writer and artist, best known as the creator of the 6,000 page graphic novel Cerebus the Aardvark. ... Cerebus the Aardvark (or simply Cerebus) was an ambitious monthly independent comic book begun by Canadian artist Dave Sim in 1977, and running for 300 issues and 6,000 pages, through March 2004. ... Sam Kieth is a writer and illustrator of comic books. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The Sandman has also gained a decent amount of attention outside the comics world among other subcultures and has gained increasing popularity in the goth subculture. NYC goth band The Naked and the Dead (1985). ...

Occasional covers and work with Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano has brought the title to the attention of fans of Japanese art and pop culture, as well as video game fans familiar with Amano's work through the Final Fantasy series, as well as other game and anime projects he has contributed to. Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a cultural phenomenon. ... Final Fantasy ) is a series of computer and console role-playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square Co. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) Anime ) (IPA pronunciation: in Japanese, but typically or in English) is an abbreviation of the word animation. Outside Japan, the term most popularly refers to animation...

Richard Garfield, creator of the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering drew inspiration from Sandman #50 ("Ramadan") to create Magic's first expansion set: Arabian Nights. While the majority of the set involved Garfield researching the actual Arabian Nights stories, one card, named "City in a Bottle", was a direct nod to the ending of "Ramadan". Richard Garfield Richard Garfield (born 1966) is the billionaire game designer who created the card games Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, BattleTech, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (originally known as Jyhad), The Great Dalmuti, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and the board game RoboRally. ... Magic: The Gathering (colloq. ... Fables and Reflections (1993) is the sixth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. ...

Awards and recognition

The Sandman issue #19 "A Midsummer's Night Dream" won the World Fantasy Award in 1991 for Best Short Fiction. The following morning, the rules of the award were changed to ensure no other comics could get that award. As a result, it is the only comic that will ever win a World Fantasy Award unless the rules are again changed. First awarded in 1975, the World Fantasy Awards are handed out annually at the World Fantasy Convention (WFC) to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy. ...

See also

• Characters of The Sandman
• Sandman spinoffs

This is a list of characters appearing in The Sandman comic book, published by DC Comics Vertigo imprint. ... The DC comic book series The Sandman may have concluded with Issue 75, but numerous comics, novels and spin-offs continue to make use of its characters, concepts and universe. ...

References

• Bender, Hy (2000). The Sandman Companion : A Dreamer's Guide to the Award-Winning Comic Series. DC Comics. 1-56-389644-3.
• Gaiman, Neil, Sam Kieth (Illustrator), Mike Dringenberg (Illustrator), Charles Vess (Illustrator), Michael Zulli (Illustrator), Kelley Jones (Illustrator), Chris Bachalo (Illustrator), Malcolm Jones (Illustrator), Danny Vozzo (Illustrator) (November 1, 2006). The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 (in English). Vertigo Comics -(imprint of DC Comics). ISBN 1-401-21082-1.
• Stephen Rauch, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and Joseph Campbell: In Search of the Modern Myth (2003)
• The Sandman Papers: An Exploration of the Sandman Mythology, by Joe Sanders and Neil Gaiman (2006)

Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Sandman

• Video Interview with Neil Gaiman on the origins of Sandman at Spacecast.com
• The Nearly Complete List of Sandman Frequently Asked Questions
• A short summary of the main Sandman series
• Summaries of many issues of the Sandman
• The Fantastic Sandman Annotations
• The Sandman Continuity Pages
• The Gaiman Archive: Sandman Timeline
• Gaiman's The Sandman - an introduction
• The Sandman Timeline (a different one)