The ten chapters of The Sandman series have one quality that readers will appreciate: they are faithful to the comics even when they deviate from them.
The Sandman comic ended 26 years ago, but The Sandman isn’t over, and the Netflix series is an example of this. It is also demonstrated by the constant presence of his 14 compilation volumes on the shelves of bookstores and department stores. Even its current podcast adaptation by Audible. Or the constant expansions of his fantastic world that DC constantly faces, like the line of stories gathered in The Sandman Universe.
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In the already distant December of 1988, issue #1 of The Sandman appeared, with a cover date of January 1989. And like the instant classic that it was, it has lost none of its original strength. On the contrary, it seems that Neil Gaiman and his allies Allan Heinberg and David S. Goyer have understood how to bring The Sandman experience to a wider audience, and they do it through an excellent series.
Gaiman and company give us ten faithful chapters – obsessively faithful – to the first two arcs of the original comic. They are the first 16 copies known as “Preludes and Nocturnes” and “The House of the Doll”. And it is inferred that they know that the changes they introduce are necessary to be able to continue telling a current story without interference from the past and for a new narrative platform. I explain it.
The changes between The Sandman series and the comic
Some of the first news of the series that caused negative attitudes among the public had to do with Death’s skin color (the enormous Kirby Howell-Baptiste), with the gender of the person who plays Lucifer (this time the actress Gwendoline Christie ), that of John Constantine (replaced by Jenna Coleman’s Johanna Constantine) or by the non-binary actor for Desire (Mason Alexander Park).
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However, it is clear that these changes are introduced because the Netflix series aims to say something interesting (the story of the Eternals and Morpheus) in a world that strives to be fairer. And we have to recognize more than 30 years later that if Sandman were published in the present day, it would have too many fair-skinned characters and too many men. Also, we have to be fair in saying that Sandman was always a title for social justice, as evidenced by the inclusion of several LGBT characters, such as Hazel and Foxglove.
Other novelties have to do with new characters (few) or with changes in history, but none of the latter is radical. Perhaps the most notable is the reimagining of the cruel and magnificent horror story “24 Hours.” These changes are introduced to belong to a story. While the 24 pages of each issue of The Sandman allowed for the creative freedom to tell “independent” stories (albeit part of the overall narrative), television cannot afford that. It is another language for another platform.
The truth is that the series of The Sandman changes are introduced for The Sandman does not change.
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The Eternity of the Eternals
Through the years of knowing and revering the Sandman, his brothers, the inhabitants of Dreaming, it has become clear to me that the fascination he awakens in his readers, regardless of the academic degrees they boast, lies in his concepts and in his characters. And although not all of them appear in the first season of The Sandman series, there are glimpses of their future presence. And we are essentially shown its social dynamics.
That dysfunctional family of characters whose name begins with D (Dream, Destruction, Delirium, Despair, Destiny, Desire and Death), the Eternos (The Endless) are the anthropomorphized personification of abstract concepts, of life forces that alternately dominate our days earthly.
The Eternals are a very attractive idea that moves away from psychological and philosophical theories of “the human”. Through his actions, Gaiman makes us believe that behind the daily chaos, not everything that governs us is completely random. As if our lives were part of a larger plot, of a larger narrative.
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And that is precisely what the Netflix series captures or preserves, through the confinement, the liberation and the new adaptation of the Lord of Dreams, who must rebuild what was lost, we begin to soak up the problems of the Eternals, the forces that dominate us and that for the first time we have eyes to understand them.
By the way, the production values are very high, the acting is great, the animation is top notch, and the visual design is true to the comic. But that’s what the rest of the reviews will say.
The Sandman series synopsis
There is another world that awaits us all when we close our eyes and sleep: a place called the Dream, where The Sandman, Lord of Dreams (Tom Sturridge), shapes all our deepest fears and fantasies. But when Dream is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for a century, his absence sets off a chain of events that will change both the dream world and the waking world forever. To restore order, Dream must travel through different worlds and timelines to repair the mistakes he has made during his vast existence, revisiting old friends and enemies, and meeting new entities – both cosmic and human – along the way. .
The Lord of Dreams has been summoned and captured by mortal men. Once freed from his captivity, this eternal ruler of the Dreams will realize that his troubles are just beginning.
Based on the award-winning DC comic book series written by Neil Gaiman, The Sandman is a rich mix of mythos and dark fantasy woven through ten epic chapters that follow Dream’s many adventures. Developed and produced by Gaiman, Allan Heinberg and David S. Goyer, The Sandman stars Boyd Holbrook, Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, Jenna Coleman, David Thewlis, Stephen Fry, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, and Vanessa Munyai.
The 16 copies that inspired the first season await you in a single volume with:
DC Black Label – The Sandman: Deluxe Edition Book One
One of the most popular and critically acclaimed graphic novels of all time, Neil Gaiman’s award-winning masterpiece The Sandman has set a standard for mature, lyrical fantasy in the comics field. Illustrated by an exemplary selection of the medium’s most celebrated artists, the series is a rich blend of ancient and modern mythology, with contemporary fiction and historical drama in an almost effortless way.
The Sandman: Book One collects issues 1-16 of The Sandman original series in conjunction with Sandman Midnight Theatre. This volume begins as an epic and unique saga in graphic literature, as well as introducing readers to a dark and enchanted world, full of dreams and nightmares… the home of Morpheus, the King of Dreams, and his brothers, the Eternals.
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