The Sandman: Overture
Save for the “Endless Nights” graphic novel in the early aughts, Neil Gaiman has been away from “The Sandman” for quite some time. When a creator is away from their signature creation/character/series for an extended period of time, some people always start to worry about how any kind of revisitation of that material is going to turn out. People like to cite Frank Miller and “The Dark Knight Strikes Again” as being an example of how bad this can go in comics — though I’m willing to bet they’ve never had the displeasure of following up Kenichi Sonoda’s “Gunsmith Cats” with its disparaging sequel “Burst.”
However, Gaiman’s talent has continued to burn brightly in the years since he stopped chronicling the adventures of Dream of the Endless on a monthly basis. Aside from going on to become a bestselling novelist, his comics work in the intervening years has been pretty entertaining as well. So when it was announced that Gaiman was going to return to “The Sandman,” with story illustrated by J.H. Williams III, there was good reason to be excited for it. Excitement that turns out to be fully justified in the end. “Overture” is proof that sometimes you really can go home again and find it just as welcoming as when you left.
Gaiman has actually had the idea for this story ever since he started writing “The Sandman” back in 1989. After all, we were introduced to Morpheus when he was captured after returning from an endeavor that left him tired beyond all reason and imagination. So what exactly happened to the character that allowed him to be imprisoned by mere mortals? “Overture” is that story and it turns out that the incident was nothing less than the imminent destruction of the entire universe. After an aspect of Morpheus is killed in a galaxy far away, he finds out that the end of everything that is has finally come. Though Dream is aloof enough at first to take it all in stride, he soon finds out that the reason for this is something he didn’t do many millennia ago. It may not be his responsibility, but it’s that feeling which drives the Sandman across reality, to the city of the stars, to the realms of his parents, and to remake reality all in order to make things right again.
What follows is a deeply immersive epic that is grander in scale than any previous “Sandman” story, yet still manages to maintain the title’s distinctive feel. From the obtuse beginnings that make beautiful sense in retrospect, to the fantastic concepts that come up over the course of the story, and the digressions that turn into stories themselves, they’re all here. A flower’s dream turns to flame, Dream meets all of his different aspects at once, and we get to see how Destiny reacts when he finds something that isn’t in his book of everything that is and will be. It’s part war story, trans-reality road trip, family drama, and a few more genres thrown in for good measure. Yet Gaiman stitches them all together with ease, creating a twisting narrative that rewards close attention and features a memorable cast of characters old and new. The writer’s willingness to puncture the high-minded nature of his story is also present, and (as always) keeps things from spiraling into pretentiousness.
“Overture” also serves as an effective summation of Dream’s character, in line with the previous ten-volume series. He’s an entity who knows a lot of things and is capable of dealing with whatever falls within his knowledge. But this is one of those times where he’s working without a net and is forced to rely on and seek the help of others. This leads us to some great scenes where we get to meet the Endless’ parents and marvel that they turned out as well as they did. We also get to see Dream make his journey alongside Himself Who is Also a Cat and Hope Beautiful Lost Nebula who prove to have critical and surprising roles in the story.
On one level, the story is all about how Dream is forced to accept the help of others in order to make up for a mistake he made. It makes for an appropriate arc after we see him realize early on how self-centered he can be when dealing with his early aspects and something that ties in with the “Sandman” saga as a whole. After all, the original series is about how Morpheus realizes that he has to change or die and how he comes to terms with that decision. It’s further underlined by Daniel’s appearance fairly early on and how he effortlessly works with Mad Hettie in order to secure an item of great importance.
In fact, the way “Overture” ties into the series as a whole is another of its great strengths. That the whole of the narrative is something that was mentioned in the monthly series is only the start of things. You’ll find out where Dream’s helm came from, along with the origins of the gates of Horn and Ivory, who the owner of dream skerry at the heart of the “A Game of You” arc was, why “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” is significant, and more over the course of this story. It’s not simple fanservice either. Gaiman has created a renewing narrative here that adds additional significance to events that were already interesting in the original series. You’re left wanting to go back and re-read the entire series to see how all of this new information plays into the existing stories. Frankly, this is the best kind of result I could’ve hoped for from this series. It’s entertaining on its own terms and adds notably to the overall saga.
This is before I start talking about Williams’ art. “Overture” is the best-looking comic book I’ve read all year. Full stop. His talent and versatility have been evident on every project he’s worked on and even if Gaiman hadn’t stuck the landing here, there’s a pretty good chance that Williams could’ve salvaged it all with his visuals alone. That he’s working with a very imaginative and involving script has clearly inspired the artist here.
The first issue alone has many compelling visuals to draw in and amaze the reader. From the introductory sequence with the Corinthian that is drawn on teeth, Destiny’s sequence drawn as pages from his book, or the stunning quadruple-page spread of Dream’s many aspects meeting themselves for the first time, it’s an astonishing visual feast. Also, only the tip of the iceberg for the series as a whole where the art is concerned. Williams has also indicated that this will be his last project for DC before he strikes out for creator-owned work, and he has certainly wrapped up his time with the publisher on an impeccably high note.
“Overture” was originally promised as a bi-monthly series that was originally scheduled to be completed in 2014. That it went a year over schedule came down to Gaiman’s lateness with the script that furthered delays with Williams getting the art done in a timely manner. Reading through this all in one go, I can say that all of the delays were worth it. “The Sandman” is one of my all-time favorite series and this new volume stands as a worthy addition to it. Brilliantly written and illustrated, it’s a story that was worth waiting for and one that further cements the reputations of both creators. Sure, I wouldn’t mind more “Sandman” stories from Gaiman (like the one about the man who killed the first Despair), but if this is the last one we get from him it’s a hell of a finish to have.