Once upon a time, a pale and dignified king was imprisoned by a sorcerer, who was more pathetic than he was evil. The sorcerer had meant to capture Death, so that he might enslave him and live forever. Through some unforeseen error, his spells had not ensnared Death at all, but her younger brother, Dream.

Is this story at all familiar to you? No? It's the beginning to one of the most groundbreaking comic book series of all time, Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Dream ultimately escapes his prison and his painstaking resurrection of the kingdom that languished in his absence spanned several comic books which have since then been compiled into ten graphic novels, capturing the imaginations of fantasy fans, comic lovers and dreamers everywhere.

Sandman, which was written in the late 80's/early 90's broke many rules in story-telling and the world of comic books. Unfortunately for the fans, the series ended, for as Gaiman himself hinted in the very first book, if you let any story continue for long enough, there is only one way in which it can logically end. I was fortunate enough to read the series one graphic novel after the other in one long sleepless day and night, and when I had finished I cried, affected I think, more from the fact that it had ended, rather than what had actually happened. Many fans felt the same way. Life went on, Gaiman and the artists that had worked on Sandman moved onto new projects and for a little while, that looked like the end.

Until two years ago.

Two years ago was the 10th anniversary of the Sandman series. To celebrate this event, renowned Japanese illustrator Y-o-s-h-i-t-a-k-a (please excuse the way that is written, the Epinions auto-editor thinks that I am trying to be linguistically crass) Amano painted a gorgeous watercolor of a Sandman that no one had ever seen before: beautiful, terrible, darkly elegant - and Japanese. Seeing this poster, Gaiman realized that of all the dreams he had written, there had never been a Japanese Dream.

Gaiman asked Amano if he would possibly be interested in wroking on a Sandman story together. Amano replied that he would, but he did not draw comic books. He would, however, be happy to illustrate Sandman. Gaiman wrote the prose, Amano painted it, and together the two artists created one last bittersweet Dream.

A fox and a badger, tired of their humble dens, sit outside a dilapidated little monastery and make a wager: whoever can drive off the lone monk living there can claim the monastery for his new home.

They each take turns at trying to evict the monk, assuming shapes and forms while attempting to appeal to the monk's ambition, fear and lust. Unfortunately for the two, the monk is young and clever and each time he sees through the ruse and refuses to leave the monastery.

The badger finally runs away, but the fox stays; she has fallen in love with the monk.

One night she overhears some demons discussing their master's plot to kill the young monk. So that he will not have the murder on his conscience, their master plans to kill the monk using dreams.

The fox, determined to save her love's life at any cost, makes an offering and a prayer. That night, her prayer is answered - by the King of All Night's Dreaming.

This tale is a retelling of a Japanese folktale. Gaiman is fond of rewriting fairy and folktales, for as he once commented, "We have a right to retell stories, for they are our stories." His efforts have been included in several anthologies, such as the "Year's Best Fantasy & Horror" anthology edited every year by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling, and the adult fairy tale compilations beginning with "Snow White, Blood Red" edited by the same two ladies.

Many Buddhist legends tell of foxes who take on human shapes in order to trick humans, only to be betrayed by the tail protruding from underneath their clothing. Gaiman takes this element and several others from Japanese mythos along with the Sandman and a few of his own other characters in order to weave an enchanting story. His prose always reads smoothly and his stories often have a soothing sense to them, letting the reader sink into them as easily and pleasurably as into a warm bath.

Although his stories often have a fantastic element to them, Gaiman also has a keen eye for detail and an understanding of the human nature which make his stories believable even while they convince the reader that the holy grail can end up in a pawn shop ("Chivalry"). Every time he writes a story he researches his subject matter thoroughly by reading anything that he can lay his hands on. While he is not always entirely faithful to the subject, he is faithful to the story. As a grandfather tells his granddaughter in "Fables & Reflections", although we cannot always trust the writer, we, as readers can trust the story.

Amano's artwork complements Gaiman's work so perfectly that it is hard to believe that this is their first time working together. Amano commonly works in soft colors and his watercolors communicate a softness and, depending upon their subject matter, sensuality as well. In "Dreamhunters", the characters wear robes which overflow over the pages in soft folds. The character's faces are beautifully detailed, featuring narrow eyes and full lips.

Amano's paintings are so beautiful that they practically tell a story in themselves, without the aid of Gaiman's words. When the monk finally meets the "King of All Night's Dreaming" in human form, the book folds out on both sides so that Dream is painted on four pages, making a lovely print in the middle of the book. When they say that "a picture is worth a thousand words", these are the pictures that they were referring to.

Some of you may actually already be familiar with Amano's work without even knowing it. If you own the Playstation game "Final Fantasy IX", look at the back of the instruction booklet. The illustration of Zidane and Garnet is Amano's work. He designed all the characters for the game, as well as many others in the past. He also designed the characters for the cult favorite, "Vampyre Hunter D", a Japanese animation or anime.

One of the best things about this book in my opinion, is that the reader does not necessarily need to know everything about the Sandman in order to understand and enjoy the story, nor do they need to be well-versed in Japanese folklore. Sandman fans may in fact be a little disappointed by this book. If they are expecting to see blatant appearances by their beloved characters, then they will be dissatisfied. While there are some recognizable characters, such as the Kindly Ones, Cain and Abel and the Chimera, they have been translated into the story and do not look as they might have in the past. Death and the other Endless are not involved in an obvious way.

But true Sandman fans know that Dream did not always appear in the old stories; in fact story after story was told in which he did not appear except in an obscurely associated fashion. Unlike super-hero comics in which the protagonist is featured on every page, if not every panel, Sandman was more than just one character. Even the covers, designed by artist Dave McKean never featured his face.

If more works were like this one, then perhaps people would cease to scoff at the graphic novel as a serious form of literature. On the other hand, if more graphic novels were like this one then perhaps I would not appreciate this story as much as I do. I highly recommend this not only to the Sandman lovers who can remember sweet dreams of the past, but also to anyone who loves stories that help us to find magic in the ordinary and bring the past back to life.

If you would like to read more works by Gaiman:

"Smoke & Mirrors" is a short story collection which gathers up his short stories and poetry, some fantasy, some fiction, all wonderful.

"Neverwhere" is a novel chronicling the adventures of Richard Mayhew, a Londoner who discovers a world quite unlike his own, even though the two worlds are one and the same.

And of course, there are the ten Sandman graphic novels, beginning with "Preludes & Nocturnes" and ending with "The Wake".

If you would like to see more beautiful pictures by Amano, it is a bit more difficult to obtain his work. Japanese bookstores are a good source, try to find art books for video games. There are some for Final Fantasy VIII, IX and Vampyre Hunter D as well. You can also try searching for him on the net.



Recommended: Yes