The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales [Paperback]

Bill Willingham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Like his guilty pleasure par excellence, Fables (see Legends in Exile [BKL F 1 03] and Animal Farm [BKL O 1 03]), the stories gathered here are spin-offs of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. All feature characters from the Dreaming, the gestalt full of ancient deities and spirits, fairy-tale folk, and other superhuman beings that Gaiman created. The first story stars Merv Pumpkinhead, an animated scarecrow who is janitor at the lord of dreams' palace and an intrepid James Bond-type investigator, at least by his lights. The second discloses Sandman heir-apparent Danny Nod in his youthful avocation as overdues retriever for the Library of Dream. The next, four-part-long story features Thessaly, last of the Thessalian witches, facing down some minor death-deities. The concluding entry is a bag of short-shorts answering "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Dreams . . . but Were Afraid to Ask." Long, short, or short-short, each all-color piece is delightful, though library types may like Danny Nod's adventures, made all the better by switching artists every few pages, the best. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401201008
• ISBN-13: 978-1401201005
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some good stuff here, March 1, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales (Paperback)

This droll, witty collection is based -- very loosely and kinda sideways -- on Neil Gaiman's darker "Sandman" series. All the stories are themselves about storytelling, the first being the not entirely trustworthy account by Merv Pumkinhead (Dreamland's janitor) of his exploits in recovering stolen dream-dust and (of course) saving the world in the process. He's a James Bond clone in his own mind, with a bit of Agent 86 thrown in. The second piece, which should appeal to my fellow librarians everywhere, is "The Further Adventures of Danny Nod, Heroic Library Assistant," about the perils of recovering checked-out library books. It's kinda weak, though. The last piece is a catch-all sort of visual narrative FAQ about why dreams work the way they do. But in between is the meat of the book, a four-part yarn centering on the last of the Thessaliad witches, her quest to do unto the ancient death gods of various cultures before they do unto her, and her possible involvement with a nice-looking but ghostly fetch (called Fetch, naturally). On the surface, Thess is a cute, bespectacled college student in pink bunny-slippers and a teddy bear backpack, but underneath she's a cold-blooded survivor who's not afraid of anything. People tend to die around her, innocent civilians included, but that's not (usually) her fault or her problem. Willingham writes a good story and Shawn McManus is a terrific artist of the realist persuasion, just right for this sort of story.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stories From The Dreaming, October 29, 2003

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales (Paperback)

This is a collection of stories by various writers and artists set in the Sandman framework. Each of the stories is quite different.

First we have a spy thriller staring Pumpkinhead Jack. Is her really a hero or is he just pulling our leg? The answers might be surprising. The most entertaining story of the lot.

Next we have a tale of a young boy in the Library Corps. He must take his red wagon and retrieve book that were taken out the previous night. The weakest of the stories and far too cartoonish for my taste.

Next we have a three part story of a powerful witch who is the target of a group of death gods. She is joined by a Fetch (a type of ghost). Nice plotting and shows promise of further tales.

Finally we get a short collection of loosely-joined scenes meant to answer dream questions we were afraid to ask. This has its ups and down but is generally OK.

A reasonable collection that will hopefully be followed by more in a similar vein. We shall see.

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice variety of content for fans of the 'Sandman' series, April 18, 2010

By 

Sibelius (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales (Paperback)

Fans of Neil Gaiman's 'Sandman' series will find much to like in this spin-off collection of vignettes penned by 'Fables' creator Bill Willingham. Similar in tone to 'Fables' these tales have a lighter, airy tone in comparison to Gaiman's with a dark edge lurking at the periphery. 'Sandman' aficionados will be pleased with content featuring Merv Pumpkinghead, Danny Nod and the Thessaliad witch. Great variety of quality artists makes for an all-together enjoyable reading experience.