The Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman and Various Artists



I'm finishing up The Sandman: Endless Nights, the recent comic book by Neil Gaiman and various artists. Generally, good stuff. It's made up of seven short stories, one for each of the Endless. This isn't an epic story line, nor does it relate directly to any of the stories Gaiman told before.

Perhaps the most interesting story is "Heart of a Star," a story that takes place far in the past. Dream and the other Endless are invited to convention of celestial objects. What's interesting about this piece is that it actually deals with the continuity of the DC Universe (Superman, Green Lantern), something that Gaiman stopped doing as soon as he could, some anomalous appearances by DC heroes at Morpheus' wake aside.

I think my favorite story so far was the one featuring Destruction, the member of the Endless we saw the least of in the regular series. "The Peninsula" is about archeologists who find a mound that contains artifacts from the future, and one young woman who dreams about how things will end for humanity.

Gaiman's ability to manipulate my emotions remains intact. The story "15 Portrait of Despair" is nothing but short prose pieces about depressing things. I got to about five before I gave up and decided to read something more upbeat.

Posted: Mon - October 20, 2003 at      

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