In fact, you get the impression that artists are being auditioned and selected for the roles they are to play and the stories they have to tell.

However, it's nonetheless really good storytelling with a few sublime moments, such as the battle with the demon and 24 hours [9/10]. At the end of the book, alongside the original proposal for the series by Gaiman, is a printing of the pencilled Midsummer Night's Dream with notes from the man himself. This issue is the only comic book ever to have won the prestigious World Fantasy Award for a short work of fiction.For non-comic readers, it is recommended that you decide on a format/edition and stick with it to avoid confusion as different editions cover varying amounts of content per volume. The Midsummer Night's Dream issue is illustrated by the great Charles Vess, the perfect choice of illustrator.

McKean has also designed the covers and slip cases of these Absolute editions and they too are a wonder to behold, dark, mysterious, enticing. I wish that there had been a more accomplished or detailed artist to have drawn some of these brilliant concepts, but the art does not hinder the story and in certain places helps to emphasize the dream state of the situation. While I agree with this article that the coloring in Sandman needed to be touched-up for this definitive edition, I was very disappointed at the direction they decided to go with it. Aided by some of the finest artists ever to grace the medium, Gaiman crafts a fantasy epic as unconventional as it is fascinating. Written by Neil Gaiman Art by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli, Steve Parkhouse, Kelley Jones, Charles Vess and Colleen Doran Cover by Dave McKean THE SANDMAN, written by New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman, was the most acclaimed comic book title of the 1990s.

Each day I pick up a slipcase, tip out an absolute edition, sit down on the bed and read no more, no less than one chapter, put the volume back in the slipcase and stand it back with the others in its pride of place on a very sturdy shelf.