Acknowledgments
... ix
Introduction ... xi
PART ONE: OVERVIEW
1. Getting Started with Sandman ... 2
2. A Dream s Born ... 12
PART TWO: THE
SANDMAN COLLECTIONS
3. Preludes & Nocturnes ... 28
4. The Doll's House ... 41
5. Dream Country ... 62
6. Season of Mists ... 89
7. A Game of You ... 110
8. Fables and Reflections ... 131
9. Brief Lives ... 159
10. World's End ... 176
11. The Kindly Ones ... 186
12. The Wake ... 203
PART THREE: BACKSTORY
13. Secret Origins ... 232
14. Music, Poetry, and Patterns ... 250
15. Struggles and Triumphs ... 258
APPENDIXES
A. Sandman Credits ... 264
B. Additional Sandman Tales ... 271
C. For More Information... ... 272
It was no
surprise to find that Bender has written several
“Dummies” books; by page two of the introduction, I
was asking myself “Who
is this idiot?” He actually has a section entitled
“The Purpose of
This Book.” Bender appears to have a huge database
of epigrams (enough
for every chapter and all the
“appendixes” [sic]) and no idea who
the audience for this book might be.
No reader drawn to
Gaiman’s multi-leveled dark fantasy title needs to
be convinced that “comic books are just as legitimate a
medium for expression
[as film].” Yet Bender seems to find it necessary to
address “Why
should I read a comic book?” in a section full of
over-generalizations
about American comics (and seemingly ignorant about comics in the rest
of the world). He even implies that it was only Sandman’s
success which gave DC the idea to collect individual issues.
Bender’s interviews
with Gaiman tell us far too much about the interviewer, sometimes
leaving
Gaiman with a single word answer. Insultingly, interviews with
Sandman
collaborators, like Dave McKean and Todd Klein, are reduced to tiny
sidebars. Way too many pages are wasted on Bender’s
awkward prose recapitulations
of Gaiman’s memorable stories.
The amateurish
typography adds a sense of busy claustrophobia. The art
reproductions fail miserably: the black and white art looks like
Xeroxes;
the color, too dark. No novice will pick up this book and be inspired
to
seek out Sandman. Any Sandman
fan who buys this book
will feel patronized—and ripped off.