Sandman: Dream Hunters HC [Hardcover]

Neil Gaiman (Author), P. Craig Russell (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 3, 2009 | Series: Sandman

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Neil Gaiman's Sandman, THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS is a hardcover comics adaptation of Gaiman's original prose novella by the same name illustrated by Yoshitako Amano.

The world was different in old Japan. In those days, creatures of myth and legend walked upon the earth, swam in the sea, flew through the air. Some were wild and some, at great cost, could be tamed. So it was that a wily fox made a wager to dislodge a humble young monk from his home--and lost her heart in the betting. So it was also that a master of the demons of this world set his own eyes on the monk, seeking to seize the pious man's inner strength for his own. And so it was, the King of All Night's Dreaming would find himself intervening on behalf of a love that was never meant to be...

Adapted by P. Craig Russell from the award-winning story by NEW YORK TIMES best-selling author Neil Gaiman, THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS is a richly evocative return to the world of The Dreaming, seen through entirely new eyes.

Collects the entire 4-issue series as well as a sketch section by P. Craig Russell. Also included is a cover gallery that includes work by P. Craig Russell, Yuko Shimizu, Mike Mignola, Paul Pope and Joe Kubert.

"THE DREAM HUNTERS is a lovingly-crafted piece of work. Russell produces...as faithful an adaptation as one could ever hope for."--IGN

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gaiman's novella The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, previously illustrated by acclaimed Japanese artist Yoshitako Amano, has been reimagined by award-winning artist Russell. This new release celebrates the 20th anniversary of Gaiman's Sandman and turns the original prose from 1999 into a graphic novel. The original blended Gaiman's mythology of the Dreaming with traditional Japanese myths and legends to tell the tale of a fox who makes a wager to dislodge a young monk from his home, losing her heart in the end and causing the intervention of the King of All Night's Dreaming. The pairing of Gaiman and Russell—previous collaborations between the two have won four Eisner Awards—is as strong as ever; together they develop the tale further, visually expanding upon Amano's original designs. The hardcover—sure to please the legions of Gaiman and Sandman admirers—also includes commentary and a cover gallery including variant covers by Russell, Yuko Shimizu, Mike Mignola, Paul Pope, and Joe Kubert. (Nov.)
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From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—A fox and a badger wager to see who can drive a monk from his temple. After they both try and fail, the badger departs in disgrace and the fox falls in love with the monk. When she learns that his life is in danger, she calls upon the King of All Night's Dreaming to help her save his life. If the story sounds familiar, that's because this book retells Gaiman's 1999 award-winning novella as a graphic novel. While the original story was illustrated with breathtaking watercolors by Yoshitaka Amano, this new adaptation looks more like the rest of the original "Sandman" series. It is divided into panels, characters speak in word balloons, and the artwork (especially that of the fox) is more cartoonlike. There are several advantages to this new approach—readers can see the characters and the action in better detail, the graphic-novel format may attract reluctant readers, and readers get to see Dream speak in his white-on-black word balloons again. But the disadvantage of this version is that its presence eclipses the awe-inspiring beauty of Amano's work. The Dream Hunters is equally powerful as straight text or broken up into panels, but hopefully readers will be inspired by this book to seek out the earlier version (which thankfully is still in print) and enjoy another interpretation of the artwork for this story.—Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo; First Edition edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401224245
• ISBN-13: 978-1401224240
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 0.6 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #796,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The monk and the fox November 3, 2009

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Neil Gaiman's Sandman series ranks among the best graphic novels ever written -- and its spinoff materials aren't bad either.

Among those spinoff materials is "The Dream Hunters," a gorgeously illustrated novella about the love between a beautiful kitsune and a Buddhist monk, and the part that Gaiman's legendary Dream plays in their story. Now it's been reworked like fine modeler's clay into an even more exquisite graphic novel, with lushly shaded artwork based on traditional Japanese art. It's a stunning piece of work.

A young monk takes care of a tiny temple by himself, until the day a fox and a badger pass by. They make a wager about who can drive him out of his temple, and who will get it as a new home once he's gone. Using their transformation powers, both the fox and badger try to trick the young monk into fleeing his temple... but they fail miserably. And after the monk drives away the badger, the fox asks to remain in the temple with the monk -- and the two of them fall in love.

But then the fox overhears the Baku -- dream eaters -- talking of their onmyoji master's scheme to destroy the monk through his dreams. Living in perpetual fear, the onmyoji was told (by a freaky multibreasted woman) to kill the young monk without pain or fear -- and this will give him the monk's peace of mind. The fox doesn't intend to let the monk be killed, and when she lapses into a coma, he ventures into the Palace of Dreams to save her life. But asking for help from the King of Dreams has a price...

The "Sandman: Dream Hunters" graphic novel is a very different experience from the original novella -- the novella was a prose story enhanced by Yoshitaka Amano's darker illustrations, while the graphic novel is all about the exquisite images and colorful art. But the story is just as powerful as in its other form, with its haunting forays into a world of dreams that lingers beyond life and death.

The story is actually a rather simple one: monk meets fox and they fall in love, only to become ensnared in a selfish man's plot, and the young monk is forced to go on a journey. It's like a Japanese-flavored version of the Orpheus legend, except that the monk doesn't go into the land of the dead -- his quest takes him into the world of Dream (yes, the dude from the "Sandman" series). And the story takes a darker turn in the last quarter when the omnyoji becomes ensnared in an elaborate scheme to give him what he deserves.

In fact, the story is all the more tragic because Gaiman's quiet, simple prose makes you like the monk and fox immensely -- she's a basic trickster who learns to passionately love someone else, and he's a saintly young man whose caring for animals leads to a romantic love.

And the artwork is simply exquisite -- P. Craig Russell takes his cues from traditional Japanese artwork (lots of maple leaves and flying swallows), with plenty of soft muted colors and elaborate backgrounds. He swirls his realistic designs together with wastelands of bone, dragons of fire, houses sitting in the clouds, and a lord of Dreams who walks in a vast celestial robe of sleeping faces and green fire. Even without the story, this would be a visual feast.

Neil Gaiman's beautiful tale of love, dreams and loss is no less exquisite for being reimagined -- "Sandman: Dream Hunters" is like a beautiful painting of a little prose gem. A must-see.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent work, but not nearly as good as the original. May 29, 2010

By A. Landry

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Incase you haven't noticed, there exist two versions of Gaiman's Dream Hunters. One is illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano (paperback, originally released in 1999), and the other (the product you're currently viewing) by P. Craig Russell. Russell's version is rendered in comic book fashion, while Amano's plays out like a classic fairy tale book (think picture book).

I was not very impressed with Russell's artwork for this book, it doesn't have the detail and style that is featured in the original sandman series or the original version of Dream Hunters. Those works feature a detailed, unique, and ultra stylized type of artwork. The newer version of Dream Hunters feels somewhat flat and bland, it almost has a B grade feel to it. If you are not a hardcore fan of Gaiman's Sandman series, and/or are short on money, I would highly recommend the original over this purchase. The story for Dream Hunters was based on an old Japanese fairy tale, and the original version of this book features one of Japan's finest artists, Yoshitaka Amano. If you want the full experience, buy the original first.

And with a flick of her tail, she was gone.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Be wary that there are two versions to The Dream Hunters!! October 5, 2011

By Sean Mackey

Format:Paperback

Here is a story that delves into perhaps one of my favorite eras of myths and legends, an ancient Japan. It is the tale of a humble monk and a fox spirit who develop an impossible love that is further complicated by a plot on the monk's life. Truly it's a heart-felt story which I shall not further delve into lest I compromise important details!

But.... Through no one's fault but my own I failed to notice that this version of The Dream Hunters is fully illustrated by P. Craig Russell and is much more in the vein of what you'd expect of Gaiman's Sandman works. But before buying this book, I had, through perhaps *cough* illegitimate means *cough*, read the version written in prose with beautifully abstract illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano on every other page to accent the story. I had in reading this significant departure from what may be considered an average graphic novel, come to enjoy the storybook feel to the Yoshitaka version which left much to the imagination and as such for me was far more touching. Contrasting this is Craig Russell's illustrations which act as the narrative device and as such must become far less abstract in their representations of characters and scenery alike given things a very grounded feel which I don't feel adequately does the overarching themes of this story justice. Needless to say regardless of the version you pick up you're in store for a fantastical and very emotional tale but I must say that I much preferred Yoshitaka's version to Russell's (though to him I mean no offense, he did a superb job illustrating my favorite Sandman issue 'Ramadan').