The Sandman book 1 explained

Quick Summary: if you aren't familiar with reading comics, get the audio drama. If you are familiar with reading comics, get the first three collections from your library, local comics shop, local bookstore, or online vendor.

“We meet weekly to discuss science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comic books.”

Our group has met (roughly) every month for (roughly) the past 25 years to read and discuss works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. We've never read and discussed a comic book—until now.

Several of our members deeply love comic books; I remember one member holding out to make sure that an earlier version of this group specifically included “comic books” in its constitution (Hi Jeff!). But there's a perception that reading comic books can be a challenge for people who haven't been doing it for years.

On July 15, 2020, Audible—perhaps the highest-profile audiobook publisher as I write this—released The Sandman as a dramatized audio production. This will hopefully make it more accessible for people who would have difficulty reading the comic book.

So: There are two different ways to experience the title our group is discussing on November 18 2021:

As an audio drama

Listen to The Sandman book 1. It's available exclusively from Audible and is a full 11-hour audio production adapted and dramatized by Dirk Maggs, with an all-star ensemble cast. It's co-executive-produced by Neil Gaiman, who wrote the entire comic book series, and who acts as narrator.

As a graphic novel (or “comic book”)

The Sandman book 1 corresponds to issues 1-20 of the original comic book.

Collections

Issues of The Sandman have been assembled into several collections. The Sandman book 1 corresponds to the first three collections: Preludes & Nocturnes (which collects issues 1-8), The Doll's House (which collects 8-16), and Dream Country (which collects 17-20).

Your local public library almost certainly has these (though there may well be a waiting list), or you can purchase them in paper from your local comics store (in Bloomington I recommend Vintage Phoenix), local book store (in Bloomington I'd try Morgenstern Books).

You can also buy the collections in electronic form from Amazon's Kindle store or Amazon's Comixology subsidiary. The collections are priced at about $10 each.

Individual issues

You may be able to buy used issues 1-20 from your local comics store (in Bloomington I recommend Vintage Phoenix).

Alternatively you can buy ecomics issues thorough Amazon or Comixology. As I write this, individual issues are $2 apiece, so it would be cheaper to get the collections.

Raja Thiagarajan,
2021-11-03 07:57 EDT
(updated 2021-11-03 09:52 EDT)


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