The Sandman was a
comic book series from
1989 to
1997 written by
Neil Gaiman with a host of talented artists throughout its run. Lasting seventy-five issues in total, it has spun off two mini-series about
Death, the legendary older sister of
Morpheus, King of
Dream and also other series like
The Dreaming. The Sandman told the story of
The Endless' existence, focusing on the life and times of Dream himself. It was a melodramatic epic tragedy of macabre environs and universe shattering proportions, where Morpheus was forced to come to terms with his own faults and frailties despite his near god-like status. His actions led to the death of his own
offspring, due to a complex set of events which included
the fall of Rome, the exodus of
Hell, a
murder of crows, and far more elements to detail here. A breathtaking tale both visually and for the mind, which took the reader everywhere from the distant past to the uncertain future at
the end of the universe as we know it. Quite enchanting. Should be a classic praised among
Mark Twain and
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but even though it has recieved many awards and positive criticism, it's just a comic book so most dismiss it without proper consideration.
Sandman was originally a two-bit costumed vigilante in comic books back during World War Two. Neil Gaiman was asked by DC Comics to revitalize the character because they stilled owned the copyright and wanted to modernize it to make it a financial commodity, and he took it in a completely different direction which led to it being more rewarding than they had originally anticipated. Even though Gaiman has not worked directly on anything Sandman-oriented in years, the story's popularity is still strong and other talents have carried on the tradition of storytelling as rekindled from Gaiman's work.