Absolute Sandman Volume Two: 02 : Gaiman, Neil, McKean, Dave: desertcart.in: Books Review: More tales of the Sandman - Neil Gaiman's shorter Sandman stories are like gems. But honestly, I've always preferred the longer arc-stories that fill out an entire collection -- and "The Absolute Sandman Vol. 2" brings together two of those stories, full of the richness of Gaiman's imagination and his entrancingly vivid characters. "A Season of Mists" opens with a meeting of the Endless going wrong when Morpheus is challenged about his past treatment of his lover Nada. Chastened, he decides to go to Hell and free her. But when he gets there, Morpheus learns that Lucifer is tired of being the lord of Hell, and is busy shutting the whole place down. Unfortunately, this means leaving the souls of the damned to wander the Earth. He gives ownership of it to Morpheus, but unsurprisingly Morpheus isn't interested. And soon various powers begin appearing to claim it -- ancient gods, demons, Order, Chaos, and Faerie. Who will become the new lords of Hell? "A Game of You" picks up with Barbie, a very minor character from "The Doll's House," who has broken up with her husband and moved to New York. There she lives in an apartment building with her M-to-F buddy Wanda, a lesbian couple, a weird prim lady named Thessaly, and a weird guy. But then she has a run-in with an imaginary creature from her childhood, who gives her a magical jewel with his dying breath. Soon Barbie is pulled into the fantasy world of her childhood, where she battles a mysterious enemy called the Cuckoo. But Thessaly and her neighbors set out to rescue her before she is lost forever -- and New York with her. "Absolute Sandman Vol. 2" shows how incredibly versatile Neil Gaiman's writing can be -- it encompasses different worlds, dimensions and lands in a seeemingly endless, wondrously terrifying universe. But at the same time, it can delve into the infinite complexities of a single human mind. Gaiman is absolutely brilliant at conjuring the exquisite and the grotesque, the eerie and the strange -- and he manages all of those here. There are childlike imaginings, the twilit realm of the Dreaming, and the visceral grotesqueness of the demons (one is a lumpen creature with a melting eyeless head and toothy mouths for nipples). It fascinates, even in its ugly moments. My only problem, really, is in "Season of Mists." It bases itself on Christian theology that many people actually believe in (heaven, hell, Satan, angels, God, etc). But it isn't in line with those beliefs, so some parts of it come across as... uncomfortable to devout people. Morpheus undergoes some truly enthralling character development. He's given a realm he doesn't want, but doesn't seem to have any good way of ridding himself of it (at least, not at first). And the Lord of Dream has to face up to his own misdeeds -- namely, he FINALLY figures out that he was horrible to Nada, and that his punishment of her was cruel. But "A Game of You" also shows that even the most minor character becomes a fully realized, multidimensional character in Gaiman's hands. Barbie becomes a fragile, rather uncertain young woman, along with Foxglove, Hazel and the gold-hearted Wanda. "Absolute Sandman Vol. 2" is a must-have for the die-hard aficionados who have some cash burning a hole in their pockets. Truly spellbinding. Review: It's a very beautiful book.
| Best Sellers Rank | #262,863 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #9,863 in Comics |
| Country of Origin | India |
| Customer Reviews | 4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars (424) |
| Dimensions | 22.81 x 5.61 x 37.59 cm |
| Hardcover | 616 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 140121083X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1401210830 |
| Item Weight | 3 kg 400 g |
| Language | English |
| Net Quantity | 7.00 Kilograms |
| Publisher | Vertigo; Slp edition (31 October 2007) |
| Reading age | 16 years and up |
E**S
More tales of the Sandman
Neil Gaiman's shorter Sandman stories are like gems. But honestly, I've always preferred the longer arc-stories that fill out an entire collection -- and "The Absolute Sandman Vol. 2" brings together two of those stories, full of the richness of Gaiman's imagination and his entrancingly vivid characters. "A Season of Mists" opens with a meeting of the Endless going wrong when Morpheus is challenged about his past treatment of his lover Nada. Chastened, he decides to go to Hell and free her. But when he gets there, Morpheus learns that Lucifer is tired of being the lord of Hell, and is busy shutting the whole place down. Unfortunately, this means leaving the souls of the damned to wander the Earth. He gives ownership of it to Morpheus, but unsurprisingly Morpheus isn't interested. And soon various powers begin appearing to claim it -- ancient gods, demons, Order, Chaos, and Faerie. Who will become the new lords of Hell? "A Game of You" picks up with Barbie, a very minor character from "The Doll's House," who has broken up with her husband and moved to New York. There she lives in an apartment building with her M-to-F buddy Wanda, a lesbian couple, a weird prim lady named Thessaly, and a weird guy. But then she has a run-in with an imaginary creature from her childhood, who gives her a magical jewel with his dying breath. Soon Barbie is pulled into the fantasy world of her childhood, where she battles a mysterious enemy called the Cuckoo. But Thessaly and her neighbors set out to rescue her before she is lost forever -- and New York with her. "Absolute Sandman Vol. 2" shows how incredibly versatile Neil Gaiman's writing can be -- it encompasses different worlds, dimensions and lands in a seeemingly endless, wondrously terrifying universe. But at the same time, it can delve into the infinite complexities of a single human mind. Gaiman is absolutely brilliant at conjuring the exquisite and the grotesque, the eerie and the strange -- and he manages all of those here. There are childlike imaginings, the twilit realm of the Dreaming, and the visceral grotesqueness of the demons (one is a lumpen creature with a melting eyeless head and toothy mouths for nipples). It fascinates, even in its ugly moments. My only problem, really, is in "Season of Mists." It bases itself on Christian theology that many people actually believe in (heaven, hell, Satan, angels, God, etc). But it isn't in line with those beliefs, so some parts of it come across as... uncomfortable to devout people. Morpheus undergoes some truly enthralling character development. He's given a realm he doesn't want, but doesn't seem to have any good way of ridding himself of it (at least, not at first). And the Lord of Dream has to face up to his own misdeeds -- namely, he FINALLY figures out that he was horrible to Nada, and that his punishment of her was cruel. But "A Game of You" also shows that even the most minor character becomes a fully realized, multidimensional character in Gaiman's hands. Barbie becomes a fragile, rather uncertain young woman, along with Foxglove, Hazel and the gold-hearted Wanda. "Absolute Sandman Vol. 2" is a must-have for the die-hard aficionados who have some cash burning a hole in their pockets. Truly spellbinding.
A**R
It's a very beautiful book.
A**L
After reading all of the Sandman series I am struggling to find a graphic novel that can hold my attention. This series is literally one of the best graphic novel stories of all time.
Y**N
La boite est toujours aussi fragile ( mais heureusement les paquets amazon sont bien emballés ). Les bonus sont d'un interrêt moyen. L'édition est absoluement magnifique ( et comme dans toutes les versions US, le choix du papier et des couleur donne un rendu infiniement meilleur que l'édition française). Dans ce volume, l'histoire commence à prendre toute son ampleur : Dream commence à subir les conséquences d'actions racontées dans le premier récit, la mécanique de l'histoire se dévoile. Lucifer décide de quitter l'enfer et laisse à Dream le soin de gérer sa succession. C'est là ( même si on ne le sait pas encore ) que le destin de sandman est scellé et c'est aussi là que neil gaiman commence à nous parler de son sujet favoris : la liberté, la responsabilité, dans quelle mesure notre identité est-elle lié à notre apparence sociale.
N**N
Sandman ist eine Legende. Das hat sich vermutlich auch schon außerhalb der Comic Szene herumgesprochen. Die Insider brauchen hier keine Kaufhilfe, aber für Neulinge ein paar Worte zu der langsam unübersichtlichen Vielfalt. Ursprünglich wurde die Sandman Serie als einzelne Comic-hefte monatlich verkauft. Diese sind längst heiß begehrte Sammelstücke, und werden teuer bei Ebay versteigert. Dann gibt es die Sammelbände dieser Hefte. Diese sind thematisch nach einzelnen Zyklen geordnet, und sind hier auf Deutsch oder Englisch erhältlich, entweder als Hardcover oder Softcover. Sie haben einen ergänzenden Namen, wie zB Season of Mists, oder The Kindly Ones, etc. Wer nur mal wissen will, ob ihn Sandman überhaupt interessiert, sollte dort zugreifen, denn die Preise sind moderat und die Qualität ist ok. Last but not least gibt es aber auch noch die absolute Luxusversion, zum Luxuspreis. Pro Band werden dort ca. 20 Hefte in hochwertiger Qualität mit ein paar Extras angeboten. Die definitive Sammlerversion einer der komplexesten Comicerzähungen, die man erwerben kann. Dieser Band hier VOL 02 enthält die Originalhefte 21-39, also Season of Mists, Distant Mirrors, A Game of You und ein paar Einzlhefte. Dazu wie üblich ein ausführliches Bild für Bild Expose von Gaiman, Seite an Seite mit den original Bleistiftskizzen des Künstlers (hier Heft 23). Dazu noch diverse Biografien, Vorwort von Gaiman etc. Für wen lohnt sich die Investition in dieses Buch? Nun, für jeden Liebhaber dieser wunderbaren Comicserie von Neil Gaiman auf jeden Fall. Dies ist ein Buch für die Ewigkeit. Hochwertig gebunden, schwer, beeindruckend, als ob man das dicke Buch von Sandman's Bruder Destiny in den Händen hält, geschützt nochmals in einem dicken Schuber. Das Format ist XXL, also deutlich größer als die Hefte oder die Sammelbände, was das Lesen natürlich zu einer wahren Freude macht. Die Qualität des Papiers ist ausgezeichnet, die Farben leuchten, kurz hier wurde mit viel Liebe zum Detail ein hochwertiges Buch abgeliefert. Das Buch kann man noch an die Enkel und Urenkel vererben. Es ist natürlch auch ein super Geschenk, für jemanden, der auf diese Serie steht. Nicht ganz billig, aber für besondere Anlässe sicherlich die perfekte Wahl. Noch ein Tip. Die Preise hier schwanken. Es lohnt sich, mal eine Weile zu beobachten, und dann aber schnell zu kaufen, denn der Preis kann auch wieder nach oben gehen! In den USA kostet jeder Band 99 USD, also je nach Wechselkurs und je nach Lagerbestand werden die Bücher hier zwischen 80 und 50 Euro angeboten.
O**M
I'm italian. Fantastic story and beautiful drawings, incredible book. The price is too low to this graphic novel because it is so beautiful.
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