Nerding it up in nerd town

Yes, this is part 2 of my graphic novel thingy, in which I talk about The Sandman.

Death. Destruction. Despair. Destiny. Delight. Delirium.

Dream.

Neil Gaiman was tapped to write a series of stories in this graphic format based on an old DC character, The Sandman. He came up with an epic tale of a far more powerful creature: Morpheus, Oneiros, Dream of the Endless. The Endless predate the fleeting gods and myths of humanity. They are family, with all of the love, support, and betrayal of any family, but their extremely long view of things make some of their actions seem strange.

This is a series of ten graphic novels, plus some non-canonical material. The set of ten tells an ultimately cohesive story, but seems quite fractured as you’re reading it. Each book has it’s own identity; partly due to the necessities of the book form, and partly because of the changing artists involved in the project. While a few of the books tell a relatively linear story from start to finish, others tell a series of seemingly unrelated stories. I found it to be frustrating early in the series (Dream Country), as Gaiman would introduce you to a group of characters who were having some sort of conflict, only to have it resolved by the deus ex machina appearance of the Sandman. As it turns out, most of those little stories are quite relevant to the final epic scene, which resolves over the course of the last 3 books.

The central conflict is an existential one for the main character, Dream. An Endless being is many things, but humble is not one of them. Dream is vain, petulant, haughty, and distant, but also compassionate, responsible, and loyal. You can tell a lot about a person by the company he keeps, and Dream is surrounded by many fantastic characters who provide a warmth to temper his cold demeanor. Over the course of the story, we see Dream at different points in human history, coming to grips with his relationship with humans. He depends upon us to help him travel and to build his kingdom, but he has the attitude of a benevolent despot. Over time, he develops relationships with some humans, and he begins to recognize that he is changing. This is a problem, since Dream is the ultimate idealist. He has set his own rules since the stars were born. He fights this change, and that’s when all the trouble starts…

The entire series is stunningly well done. As Peter Straub gushes in the liner notes of one of the volumes, “If this isn’t literature, I don’t know what is”. As for the artwork…the art is equal to the story. These are beautiful books, and I look forward to revisiting them often.

One final note: read these near a computer, because you’ll be needing to access Wikipedia to brush up on your Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology, as well as your Shakespeare and Chaucer. And perhaps a little on the faerie folk.

Morpheus needs a hug

Light reading

Back in November and December, Rachel hooked me up with a number of graphic novels from her collection. This is an incomplete list of what I read:

Watchmen by Alan Moore
Coming soon to theaters near you, this tale of "costumed vigilantes" is a dark mirror to the arc of history taken by the Western world since WWII. These heroes, variously employing gadgetry, acrobatic agility, above-average intelligence, and excellent hand-to-hand fighting skills, gained world-wide popularity and notoriety in the 40s and 50s. This story, set in the 80s, tells of the decline of this group from their glory days, as they went from heroes to pariahs, although the main action is about how they are being methodically being picked off by an unknown foe. It's a fascinating story with compelling (if mostly unlikeable) characters. The ending was very satisfying.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
Drawing heavily on the dystopic vision of George Orwell, this is set in England in the years following a fairly widespread nuclear exchange in Europe. England escaped relatively intact, but a fascist regime of necessity took control, restoring order to a society in flux. After enjoying several years of unimpeded security, the regime finds itself under attack by a very clever and destructive foe. Much of this superbly drawn novel is told through the eyes of a young woman who is taken in by "V", and who experiences quite a wild ride as she gets to know him. This book, more than any of the others in this post, made me see the real value of this medium. "V" wears a frozen mask throughout the novel, but the artist was nonetheless able to show a variety of emotions with a simple cock of the head or other change of angle. You couldn't tell that visual story in a standard novel, and you don't often have time to pause and reflect on an image in a movie. This was extremely cool, and you should read it.

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Rachel is really into Batman comics. These three stories provide compelling reasons. Year One is a reimagining of the origins of Batman, and the movie Batman Begins draws heavily from it. The artwork is a muddle of contrasts, with very little in the way of bright colors. Bruce Wayne is driven by a vision of rescuing his city from corruption and fear, and he joins forces with an even braver soul on the police force. The Long Halloween follows Batman over the course of a year in which the main mob family in Gotham experiences some high level assassinations, which ratchet up the tension in the city. There is a breakout at Arkham Asylum, where several classic Batman foes are released to wreak havoc on the city. I was a bit disappointed with that aspect, as Batman didn't seem to really struggle with these characters. I think that there may have been too much going on for me to get the main point, so I should probably re-read this one. The best one, however, was The Dark Knight Returns. This is essential reading. Batman has been retired for 10 years, and he's in his 40s. Circumstances force him to squeeze back into his costume again, perhaps for his swan song. This is a harsh, brutal story. There are so many great elements that interlock beautifully: the yin/yang relationship between Batman and the Joker, the unlikely showdown with a very surprising foe, and the very creepy relationship between Batman and a young protege who styles himself after Robin. Frank Miller gets this character.

I also read the 10-volume Sandman series, but that will have to comprise its own post.