Welcome to our new podcast where we will discuss the Sandman comic series. In this first episode we talk about how we first found the Sandman and then dive right in to the first volume. There are mild spoilers for future volumes, and plenty of spoilers for this one.
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Listening to this episode made me realize just how much of the early Sandman built on Alan Moore's work. Cain and Abel, the status quo in hell, John Constantine, Mathew the Raven. Obviously, Gaiman also drew on a lot of parts of DC Universe of the time and adapted them to his own needs - sometimes changing them pretty drastically (see Weird Sisters/Furies/Kindly Ones). And it's not that the borrowing diminishes his creativity. Sandman as a whole has loads of original ideas, and when he adopts ideas and characters created by others, he does it in pretty creative ways, ways that advance the characters and add something to them. Or, as I said, change them into something just as interesting - if not more interesting - than before.
ReplyDeleteAnd the best part is, whether creating his own ideas or borrowing other ideas, they all fit together seamlessly. You never get an impression that you're missing something. Which, to me, speaks to another facet of Gaiman's talent. Pulling off that sort of thing isn't easy.
Overall, I liked the first episode. You examined Preludes & Nocturnes pretty thoroughly, touching on plot, characters and themes and showing what made them work and how they contribute to the greater whole. It has been a while since I've reread Preludes & Nocturnes, but listening to this episode made me want to check it out again. I look forward to the next episode - and the episodes to come.
I agree with pretty much everything you said about Gaiman.
DeleteAnd I'm glad you enjoyed the episode! We've been having fun recording these and it's nice to finally get them out there for people to hear them.
Really enjoyed the first episode!
ReplyDeleteI first read the series around 2001-2002, when I was getting into comics in a big way. I knew about it for a while (my dad had the whole set in trades), and had read Gaiman's Neverwhere shortly before. I didn't love the opening volume (its juggling of tones hadn't quite settled in and I'm not a fan of the initial art) but it did grab my attention and I burned through the whole series in the next couple of months. Not sure where Dad's trades went since he moved, but I'll try to see if I can dig them up for a fresh read.
Strannik, regarding the amount of elements carried over from Alan Moore (especially Cain & Abel), I don't know if you're aware, but Gaiman was originally intended to take over the writing of Swamp Thing, so some of these elements may be recycled from that planned storyline. I believe he was supposed to take over following Rick Veitch's run, but because Veitch was being removed from the title due to a controversial storyline, Gaiman stood by Veitch and decided not to take the gig. Or something like that. I know Gaiman goes into it in Midnight Days, which reprints a Floronic Man story he did with Mike Mignola for one of the Swamp Thing Annuals.
Yay! :)
DeleteThat's interesting about him taking over Swamp Thing, I had never heard that before. I just assumed the Moore story ideas were there because Neil was his friend and also a big fan of his work.
It's a funny thing, particularly in the 80s, how Gaiman often zagged where Moore previously zigged: Constantine, Swamp Thing, Miracleman, etc. They're both often considered the standard by which the greatest of comics writing is judged, but those who've followed both know that stylistically they're quite different.
ReplyDeleteSandman is one of those series that I just love more and more every time I revisit it. I find that as I get older, I have a richer, more patient appreciation for it. I always seem to find something new.
As an artist and all around visual person, I've previously struggled with some of the Sandman artists in story arcs here and there...I'd say Sam Keith made for a good choice in the beginning, being someone with a relatively mainstream but versatile style for the early stories Gaiman was telling. I think he really came into his own by issue 4 - The hordes of hell surrounding Lucifer and Dream is a great double spread and all around an iconic visual. I've at times found Mike Dringenberg's art as kind of sloppy and haphazard. It took me a long time to warm up to it as I studied the finer points of storytelling in comics, and while my tastes have widened, I've gained a bit more appreciation for it. I actually still LOVE 24 hours - Gaiman once commented that it's probably the closest he's ever come to pure horror. I'm not sure I'd entirely agree, as The Doll's House was pretty damned disturbing as well, but he definitely did it quite well and made it look easy.
And, of course, there is Death. But I think you guys covered her pretty completely. This seems as good a place as any to ask - I was curious if you were also planning on covering a few of the offshoot Sandman miniseries (the Death one-shots, The Dream Hunters, Endless Nights, Lucifer, etc). Might make for some interesting discussion. Might also be that I'd like to see this particular podcast continue for as long as possible. :)
Can't wait for the next one.
I agree about the series changing as you age. Reading some of these volumes ten years later, I definitely have a different feeling and appreciation for some of the stuff that I didn't have before.
DeleteAt this point, I believe The Dream Hunters and Endless Nights are definitely on our list, and we've discussed possibly including the Death one shots and some of the others. This was definitely designed to be a temporary project rather than an ongoing, but we'll see how we feel once we get to the end. :)
Having now reread these issues, I gave the episode a fresh listen... and wow, I really am the gloomy gus in the room as I didn't like this opening sequence very much at all. I've never been a huge fan of Sam Keith, and his work here really turns me off. It's not the cartooniness I mind, it's the lumpy, ugly Wrightson cloning that I don't find appealing. Not even the gripping moments of "Passenger" were able to grab me much through that art.
ReplyDeleteI also think Neil hadn't yet gotten a handle on where he wanted to go with the book, as it frustratingly jumps around a lot, pinning the opening arc on a fetch quest through existing DC characters, who feel more like a set of who's-who cameos than integral parts in the story. I know some of them would become such down the road, but they don't do much for me here, and all of the threads that would later pay off felt so slight it doesn't have much impact to see how they were first hinted at. And then we get to the Doctor Dee arc, and it's just ugly and nasty and I don't want to go back there. "24 Hours" is a standout as it's exceptionally well crafted and would be a damn chilling story on its own, it's just a shame it's bookended by two chapters I actively disliked.
The final story, introducing Death, feels like a clearing of the table. He pushes all prior issues away in dialogue, finally settling into exploring the character of Dream as his family is starting to be established and the tone settles into mythical whimsy. A stellar issue, though I agree with Benjamin that Dringenberg's art can be messy at times. I'll still take it over Keith, though!
Looking forward to finally catching up with the rest of the episodes. My memory of those volumes is much more glowing than what I had of this one, so hopefully I won't continue being the grump of the comments section. :)
I don't know if it was an issue of Gaiman not knowing where he was going, as much as possibly that he originally wanted to do a horror comic, and quickly found out that he wasn't really enjoying that (hence many of the other future volumes going in other directions). I would also wager that the many cameos were probably something suggested by management - since the original Sandman comics were so long ago and this was so different from them, they wanted more well known superheroes there to help get people interested.
DeleteTo clarify, I don't just mean the superheroes, but all the old DC horror characters, too, like Cain & Abel and the Weird Sisters, etc. :)
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