Customer Reviews

The Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll's House

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

 

 

I loved these stories in the trade paperback form, and I really looked forward to them on the Kindle Fire. The new Kindle Fire Comics with the pop-out panels are a surprisingly nice way to read comics; and I thought Watchmen in this format was a masterpiece. But I also knew Watchmen had a significant advantage in this regard: the entire series was drawn with an extremely regular panel grid, with only rare deviations. So pop-up rectangular panels suited it well. I expected the format to be more challenging for something with more panel variety -- especially something as downright experimental as Sandman.

So I expected some of the pop-out choices to be difficult. I was ready to tolerate some unusual choices. And for the most part, they handled it well. They did a nice job with challenging panels like wide or tall panels with dialog balloons in many places. They even did an OK job with some of the rotated panels.

But in a few places, they just plain got it wrong. In some places they got the dialog order wrong, so an response pops out before the statement that prompted it. And in a few cases, they missed a dialog balloon entirely; and the only way I could read it was to switch to page mode.

So I knocked off a star for the imperfections. I hope DC takes the time to fix these after the mad rush of releasing 100 Kindle Fire Comics at once.

I read volume 1 of the Sandman series and didn't understand the hype that surrounds the series at all. I luckily decided to give Sandman another go and read Volume 2 which is really great. I found the character development to be a thousand times better than it was in the first volume and the stories connected to one another more coherently.

The Sandman has returned to his country of dreams, but his long absence is still showing -- he's gotten his magical items back, but not all of his followers. "The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House" picks up some threads from the first collection of Sandman stories, and while the story is often confusing and scattered, Neil Gaiman's writing is a glittering jewel of sadness, horror and beauty.

Among the current-day stories, we get some Dream backstory. As part of his coming-of-age ritual, a young boy is told of how a beautiful woman fell in love with Lord Kai'ckul, king of the dream realm. And we see a story of a man untouched by Death, and his ups-and-downs over the centuries as he keeps meeting with his Endless friend.

In the present, Dream learns that a dream vortex has appeared. That vortex is Rose Walker, the granddaughter of Unity Kinkaid (who has slept most of her life), who is searching for her imprisoned little brother. She goes to live at a boarding house full of eccentrics, and is taken under the wing of the mysterious Gilbert (who looks a lot like G.K. Chesterton, and is named "Gilbert").

Additionally, some of Dream's creatures have escaped -- the horrifying Corinthian, who is the guest of honor at a serial-killer convention; Brute and Glob, who have made their own "New Sandman" out of a dead superhero; and Fiddler's Green, who is already close to the dream vortex...

"The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House" is a somewhat messy story -- the two "past" stories feel disconnected from the rest of the book, and it takes awhile for some of the subplots to fully flower. Additionally, I was a little confused by the sudden inclusion of a pair of DC superheroes who have been folded into the world of Dreams -- although their story is the beginning of a much larger, more pivotal one.

And as the story winds on, Neil Gaiman's spellbinding style draws you in -- he fills these pages with bloody horror, love, sorrow, and the occasional glimpse of the lonely lives of the Endless. His style that is all glassy edges and lush poetry, and he pops in some moments of ghastliness (the Corinthan finally taking off his glasses, revealing empty sockets lined with teeth) as well as some moments of warmth (Unity's final shared dream with Rose).

Similarly, Gaiman's characters are a mixture of the lovable and the horrifying -- we get to see Morpheus as he has been throughout the centuries, as well as his flaky, devious sibling Desire (whom I desperately want to sock in the mouth) and the ghastly Corinthian. And he spins up the down-to-earth Rose, as well as a motley band of eccentric characters -- the lace-shrouded lesbians and the creepy yuppies spring to mind, as well as the genial Gilbert.

While some parts of it are clunky, "The Sandman Volume 2: The Doll's House" gradually twines together its many subplots, and sets the stage for what is to come.

I am slowly making my way though this series. It is a fun ride and the illustrations are fab. Have the next two books on my nightstand.

This is one of the most interesting works that I have read. Gaiman's mastery of the English language, his creation of complex characters, and ability to weave stories throughout space and time is almost unmatched in recent years. This volume has aged well and had me catching my breath throughout.