Graphic Novel: The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman
I’m in the middle of reading all five years of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series. It is blowing me away. There is not another graphic novel that I’ve read so far that comes close to this.
If you’re a literature snob who doesn’t get what the big deal with graphic novels (or comic books) is, give this series a try. Myth and storytelling are not dead.
The sandman of the title is Morpheus, Lord of Dreams. There is a huge mythic cosmology built into this world so I won’t ruin that for you, but if you are well-read, you probably already see the connection between dreams and stories.
Like the great works of literature, The Sandman series explores the never-ceasing philosophical questions of Man and god(s) while being absolutely entertaining. There are epic quests and worlds-shattering battles between good and evil. And there are the quieter, private moments, in which things like companionship and heartbreak may reside.
These stories are great, but Gaiman’s ability to tell stories about telling stories makes the series meta and so very post-modern. He blends the traditional and the beyond-the-edge to make one of the most respected works of the last two decades.