The Sandman (DC Comics Modern Age)

The Sandman was a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published 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 graphic novels. It is widely considered one of the most original, sophisticated and artistically ambitious comic book series of the modern age. By the time the series had concluded, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of comic books and had become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right.

Collections

The Sandman was first published as a 75-issue comic book series with one special edition. Issues were more or less published monthly and most were 32 pages long.

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Since its conclusion, The Sandman has been published in a series of ten collected editions, which have never been out of print. They are as follows:

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• ' (collecting The Sandman #1-8, 1988-1989): 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.
• ' (collecting The Sandman #9-16, 1989-1990): 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.
• ' (collecting The Sandman #17-20, 1990): 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 shapeshifting immortal longs for death.
• ' (collecting The Sandman #21-28, 1990-1991): Dream travels to Hell to free a former lover, Nada, who he condemned there thousands of years ago. There, Dream learns that Lucifer has abandoned his domain and given it to him, and he soon finds himself trapped with a tangled network of threats, promises, and lies as gods and demons seek ownership of Hell.
• ' (collecting The Sandman #32-37, 1991-1992): Barbie, a New York divorcee, 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.
• ' (collecting The Sandman #29-31, 38-40, 50, and Sandman Special #1, 1991, 1992, 1993): A collection of stories set throughout world history. Four of the stories deal with kings and rulers, while three others are based on fairy tales, and the Sandman Special assimilates the myth of Orpheus into the Sandman mythos.
• ' (collecting The Sandman #41-49, 1992-1993): Dream's erratic younger sister Delirium convinces him to help her search for their missing brother. 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.
• ' (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.
• ' (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.
• ' (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.