There were some that I hated to give up, notably Dave Sim's Cerebus. Since then, I've convinced myself that buying the "collected" volumes of comics isn't the same as actually following comics, but falls into the realm of books.

Which leads me to Neil Gaiman's Sandman, which started appearing shortly after I had made my decision. Lucky for me the collections started appearing right on the heels of the comic, so I didn't have too long of a wait to see what everyone was talking about. Gaiman's comic is like Jonathan Carroll's novels, except Gaiman is more fantastical and less real, but more abstract and philosophical. In a sense, what Gaiman is achieving in Sandman is the creation of a new mythos, but one born of ancient ideals mixed with modern concepts. Actually, come to think of it, Ovid probably was doing the same thing in his time. Comparing Gaiman to Ovid may be going too far, but then he does reinvent the Orpheus myth in this collection, so who knows?

While I'll never be one you can trust to pick art work, this volume does contain a story illustrated by one of my favorites, P. Craig Russell, whose ornate style works well with Gaiman's poetical flourishes. This isn't the best introduction to the characters if youive never met Sandman before--I've also got The Doll's House, which probably fits that bill better.


Sandman's uneven tour of history   December 29, 2003
 4 out of 7 found this review helpful

One of many things that separated Neil Gaiman's Sandman from other comic book characters is that the foreboding but likable king of dreams has existed since the beginning of time and is supposed to be an archetype common to all cultures. Gaiman was free to visit any time and place he wanted to. However, he set all of Sandman's long story arches in the present. Tales from ancient Rome or Elizabethan England were limited to single issue stories bordering bigger epics. Fables and Reflections, placed sixth in the Sandman library, collects most of these.

Another thing that separates Fables from other Sandman volumes is that it is a hodgepodge. These stories are from different points in the series' development and are collected here only because there is no other place for them. Due to this, Fables and Reflections is hit-or-miss. It contains some of Sandman's best moments and some of its worst.

The collection starts off on a high note "Three Septembers and a January." The story shows the role of Sandman's family in the life of Joshua Norton, a San Francisco man who declared himself emporer of the United States in 1859. The story features terribly underdeveloped versions of Sandman's family (Despair talks like some Spiderman villain) but Gaiman's treatment of Norton (a real life person) is funny, heartfelt and wholly entertaining.

In the next story, "Thermidor," Sandman hires Johanna Constantine, an ancestor of John Constantine of the DC series Hellblazer, for a rescue mission during Revolution-era France. Sandman's occasional overlapping into other DC series is usually awkward and this is no exception.

After that is "The Hunt," in which an old man annoys his teenage granddaughter (and readers) with a banal fairy tale about a savage who finds one of Sandman's lost books.

Next is "August," in which Sandman instructs the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, to spend a day disguised as a beggar. This story does not have the depth Gaiman obviously intended for it.

The duds keep coming with "Soft Places," in which explorer Marco Polo finds a desert oasis where space, time and reality loose their meanings. The tale crumples into postmodern mush.

Fables picks up again with "Song of Orpheus," which positions the Sandman mythos in ancient Greece for a haunting retelling of the myth of Orpheus.

Fables' sole present day story, "Parliament of Rooks," is another winner. The tale sheds light of three denizens of Sandman's realm: the sadistic Cain, the stuttering Abel and the reclusive Eve, all of whom may or may not be the actual Biblical figures (as the story says, "the mystery endures, not the explanation"). Each character in the dream realm is half deeply symbolic specter and half twisted Disney character. In this story, Gaiman maximizes both their poignancy and their comedic value.

The last story is "Ramadan," in which a king of ancient Baghdad becomes bored with riches, sex and opulence and considers making a deal with Sandman. This issue is justly considered one of the series' best. Gaiman's ability to assimilate the story-telling traditions of other cultures is always amazing and the illustrator's cities and castles are gorgeous. Add in lush computerized coloring and you have an extraordinary comic book.

Because of its inconsistency, Fables and Reflections is a low point in the Sandman library (most volumes are wholly excellent). Yet some of these tales represent Sandman at its best so, for true aficionados, Fables and Reflections is a reluctant must.


Absorbing and Enthralling...an extraordinary collection   July 12, 2001
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is definitely a good one to read if you are new to the Sandman series, because there is a little bit of everyone and everything in this book. It rotates among many unique illustrators and every story is a different time, different characters, and a different bizarre and entrancing mood. The first story is titled "Fear Of Falling", and is the shortest story in the book, which simply includes a man having a dream in which Morpheus gives him a bit of advice that gives him a better perspective of things upon waking up. After the introduction is "Three Septembers and a January". In this story, Dream finds himself involved in a little game between Delirium, Despair, and Desire, in which they are all competing to "win" a certain man who is having a problem. In the end... a lesson is learned by both him/her and the reader. After that is "Thermidor", a story involving a whitty heroin who braves the law to save-our favorite talking head- Orpheus, and in the end turns out to be very haunting. Next, "The Hunt", a story told by a man to his grand-daughter, about a young man who encounters Dream during his search for something which, he learns in the end, is not quite what it seems. The next story,"August," is an unusual day in the life of a ruler whose intentions are not revealed until the end of the story, with a surprising conclusion. "Soft Places", one of my favorites, deals with Marco Polo crossing the Desert of Lop, tragically losing his way, and only by a merciful encounter with the Dream King, being able to find his way back. "[The Song Of] Orpheus" tells the sad story of Orpheus, revealing more than we might have allready known. "The Parliament of Rooks" is a very chilling story involving a young infant's dream, which reveals interesting information about Eve, Cain, and Abel. The final story, Ramadan, has beautiful illustrating, and a powerful unforgettable message behind it. Though some of the stories prove to be a little dissapointing, the ones that don't are worth ten times the money of this book.


What They'll Read in Classrooms in 30 or so Years   October 25, 2005
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Like Dream Country, Fables and Reflections is a series of short stories that involve famous personages who get embroiled in the dreamscape of Morpheus and the Endless. My personal favorites in this collection include two tales of Emperors--Caesar Augustus, of Rome, and Norton I, of America. With the former, we get an interesting suggestion as to why, perhaps, the wholly unsuitable Tiberius was selected as successor to the larger-than-life Octavian, and with the latter we get a touching insight into one of the most colorful and interesting people ever to grace San Francisco (and you know that's saying something!).

Fables and Reflections is excellent. Every volume of The Sandman is excellent. This deserves to be on your bookshelf, and it deserves to be passed down to the next generation. This will be classic literature as soon as the approbation of the future allows it.


More wonderful stories   June 27, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Collected from a number of non-sequential issues of the Sandman comic, Fables and Reflections does a wonderful job showing the reader the variety of story telling styles Gaiman undertakes in this wonderful series. Using real figures and events from history (The Emperor of the United States, Augustus, The French Revolution, Marco Polo) Gaiman shows the reader the effects of dreams on their lives and what shape history took because of these dreams. It also contains the story of Dream's son and the consequences of that story's ending have long term effects on the series and its eventual close. The art and subject matter are perfectly matched each time, and a better representitive of a graphic short story collection would be very difficult to find.