Customer Reviews

The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 3

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have the Sandman trade paperbacks 1-6. I decided I was willing to take a gamble with the Absolute edition. It was a great choice. The Absolute edition surpassed my expectations. It is significantly larger than the trade paperbacks, which makes it instantly more fun to read, and the text being larger means it is easier on your eyes. The colors look a lot more vibrant. The paper is thick and feels good to touch. The price is the only undesirable portion of this book, but even with that being what it is, I think it is worth it.

And, just to make an attempt to justify the price, consider this:
A hardcover graphic novel that is the size of a Sandman trade paperback usually costs around $20. Absolute Sandman Volume 3 includes about 2.5 trade paperbacks (Brief Lives, Worlds End, and part of Fables & Reflections). 20 times 2.5 equals $50. And then you factor in the extras, the larger size, the higher quality coloring and paper, the impressive cover, and the slipcase...which more than justifies the other $14. So, is this really expensive? Yes. Is it unreasonably expensive? No. Is it worthy purchasing? ABSOLUTELY!

This book is a joy to read, just as wonderful as the previous two. Bryan Talbot's pencil details pop out the in larger scale volume and McKean's covers shine. "Ramadan" is in this addition with P.Craig Russell's beautiful illustrations as well as the "Brief Lives" run, the "Death Gallery" stand-alone issue, "Fear of Falling" and more. Enjoy!

The Sandman is a series so unbeatable in storytelling (maybe a little of an overstatement) and so beautiful to look at that it should be read by anyone who's a comic fan, or a great literature fan for that matter. There's more random short stories in this section, but the stories that follow the main Endless family canon are amazing.

It's just as good as the 2 preceding, with beautiful art and a story script for Ramadan as bonus material, and will keep you reading for a bit. The price Amazon asks for is very reasonable, and is about 35 bucks cheaper than I could ever get it anywhere else. Buy it, and buy it here. (Now I sound like I'm an advertisement....)

Unless you can get it cheaper somewhere else. (Does that make up for it?)

I give the story 5 out of 5 stars, however, the quality of the books themselves is wanting: All four volumes came to me inside their sleeves and shrink wrapped, yet there was slight scuffs to the covers! Also, volume four had one page folded over and miscut. For books that cost $99 each, there should have been more attention to detail/quality control. One last thing, although the story is one of if not the best comics stories out there, the art was sometimes not to my liking at all.

Even if you own the trade paperbacks of the Sandman series, purchasing the Absolute editions will not disappoint you. The recoloring is impeccable, and the artwork is magnificent in this oversized format.

Here I am only writing about how the Absolute Sandman Volume three (ISBN 978-1-4012-1084-7, © 2008) doesn't thrill me by it's printing & bookbinding standards (both done in China). It's the only volume I possess so far.

(1) First and worst: the ribbon page marker has very visibly stained the pages 206/207 and 256/257. (2) The printing doesn't seem to be too great either, eg. on page 246 in the white area on the bottom of the page you can clearly see how the printing of the back page shows through (also, the bottom half of the page is crinkled). (3) Many pages stuck together on the bottom edge because (I guess) the cutting blade had a bad spot. (4) On the right paper edge there is some glue residue. (5) Quite often the surface of the paper isn't clean. (6) And last, but not least, the endpaper is flawed/has a prominent white spot on it's righthand side.

And I haven't even really begun to read it yet...

The real reason I bought it is that even though I read The Sandman first run, I have the issues scattered throughout uncounted files and boxes. Couldn't pull them out to read them without a major overhaul. This book is big and gorgeous and once shelved, will be there when I need it. Well made compendiums are for keeping and using. This one is worth its weight. All I can hope is that when I'm old and frail, I'll still be able to lift it.

this is by far the best way to read sandman, a required edition to any serious library

These books are fantastic. Well worth the money I spent for it. The graphics are beautiful and the story is fantastic as ever. I have trouble putting it down.

sandman is a great series, and should be read by all. the absolute edition does it justice with bigger print and high quality finish. even if you have original edition i would recommend supplementing your collection with this.