Best comiXology Sales: Neil Gaiman's Sandman Edition
By Zack Quaintance — You know how you have been putting off reading Neil Gaiman’s classic Sandman comics? Well friend, put it off no longer, because this week’s best comiXology sales is the Sandman edition. The entire opus — which to be clear is actually Neil Gaiman’s and a dozen of the industry’s best artist’s Sandman — is on sale, along with some of the best comics that have come afterward, going back to visit the world.
Check out all our Sandman picks, as well as some others for extra fun, below…enjoy!
Best comiXology Sales: Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Edition
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Vol. 1 - Vol. 10
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artists: Mike Dringenberg, Malcom Jones III, Sam Keith, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli, Kelley Jones, P. Craig Russell, Colleen Doran, Shawn McManus, Jill Thompson, and more
A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, THE SANDMAN follows the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic--and human--mistakes he's made during his vast existence.
Why It’s Cool: While the book has started to show its age, it remains one of the best arguments for taking comics seriously as a literary medium. While there are plenty of comics that make this case (and make it quite well today), Sandman is also notable for leading the way at a time when the literary establishment was wont to dismiss graphic novels out of hand as not worth serious consideration. Highly literary and rooted in the grand storytelling tradition, this book is a must-read, one of the pillars of the format.
Price: $6.99 per volume, or $69.90 for the entire series
Buy Them Here: The full Sandman Digital Sale
Sandman, Vol. 11 - Endless Nights
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artists: Glenn Fabry, Milo Manara, Mugelanxo Prado, P. Craig Russell, Frank Quitely, and more
Publisher: DC Comics - Vertigo
The classic short story collection by Neil Gaiman and a host of renowned artists is back! Alternately haunting, bittersweet, erotic and nightmarish, the seven stories in this book-one for each of the Endless siblings, each illustrated by a different artist-reveal strange secrets and surprising truths about the Endless.
Why It’s Cool: One of the most captivating aspects in Sandman was Dream’s siblings and his relationships with them — the Endless. This book explores each of them in a separate, stand-alone short story, complete with an all-time great artist whose style is a thematic match. It’s not a continuation of, or really even that big of an addition to, the original comics, but it definitely fills in some space around the edges. On top of that, this is just a relentlessly-excellent looking comic book, a must-read for fans of the series.
Price: $6.99
Buy It Here: Sandman, Vol. 11 - Endless Nights
The Sandman: Overture
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: J.H. Williams III
Publisher: DC Comics - Vertigo
Twenty-five years since THE SANDMAN first changed the landscape of modern comics, Neil Gaiman's legendary series is back in a deluxe edition!
THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE heralds NEW YORK TIMES best-selling writer Neil Gaiman's return to the art form that made him famous, ably abetted by artistic luminary J.H. Williams III (BATWOMAN, PROMETHEA), whose lush, widescreen images provide an epic scope to the Sandman's origin story. From the birth of a galaxy to the moment that Morpheus is captured, THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE will feature cameo appearances by fan-favorite characters such as the Corinthian, Merv Pumpkinhead and, of course, the Dream King's siblings: Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny.
Why It’s Cool: This is probably the truest follow-up to the classic 75-issue story created by Neil Gaiman and his collaborators with Sandman. I’m very deliberately using the word follow-up and not sequel here because this book is actually a prequel. It follows Dream leading up to the imprisoned state we find him in when Sandman begins, and it’s rendered with absolutely exquisite boundary-pushing artwork from J.H. Williams III. To this day, this remains in my opinion the purest addition to that original story.
Price: $8.99
Buy It Here: The Sandman: Overture
Everything, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: I.N.J. Culbard
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics - Berger Books
EVERYTHING is a gleaming new mega-department store which arrives to extraordinary thrill—and rapidly escalates to inexplicable mania in the small town of Holland, Michigan. Who—or what—exactly is in charge here . . . and what insidious plans are in store?
Why It’s Cool: This is one of the hardest books to describe or write about, because it really defies any sort of neat attempt to classify it. There is certainly a bit of Twilight Zone-esque science fiction in here, as well as an equally Twilight Zone-esque conern with the pressing issues and trends of our time, a desire to drill down on the commerciality we participate in and ask, but why? At least I think so. You may get something entirely different out of this really well-done, madcap idiosyncratic comic, and that’s part of the beauty of the work.
Price: $5.99 each or $11.98 for both volumes
Buy Them Here: Everything Vol. 1; and Everything Vol. 2
Golden Kamuy
Writer/Artist: Satoru Noda
Publisher: Viz
In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi "Immortal" Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush on the wild frontier of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck -- and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa -- to survive.
Why It’s Cool: Every week (as I love to point out), I like to include at least one pick on this list that I have not yet read, and this week that includes the manga, Golden Kamuy. To be totally honest, my experience with manga is pretty limited, consisting mostly of having read Akira, a couple books by Urasawa, a few books by Ito, and Ping Pong, which I’m in the middle of now but have not yet finished. So, this one — which I’ve just constantly heard the best things about — seems like a great opportunity for me to expand my manga palette. It’s also historical fiction, which I absolutely love, all the time, always.
Price: $6.99 per volume, or $153.78 for the whole she-bang
Buy Them Here: The full Golden Kamuy sale
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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.