Sandman really is a great work, and that individual volumes are astonishingly close to perfect. I think Gaimon was too interested in experimenting and pushing himself into new areas to sustain that level of achievement beyond a single chapter, or at most, volume, but it was always interesting to see where he goes next, and the setup allows him the perfect amount of flexibility to do so. For me the high point comes early on, with the serial killer convention. Many great moment’s afterward, but that was a great setpiece. Funny, creepy, surreal, everything all at once.

I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who doesn’t like Dave McKeon’s cover art. It incloses everything in a really pretentious, self-serious air. The stories themselves are always much more fun and funny and interesting. I’d prefer to see cover art that reflected those qualities, and the diversity of tones of the stories inside.