The Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman
01/11/2003 . Source: Tomas L Martin 

The Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Glenn Fabry, Milo Manara, Miguelanxo Prado, Frank Quitely, P. Craig Russell, Bill Sienkiewicz and Barron Storey. Pub: DC Comics. 160 page graphic novel. Price: $24.95 (US). ISBN: 1-4012-0089-3.

Neil Gaiman writes brilliant, award-winning prose - his latest two books, 'American Gods' and 'Coraline', have won two Hugos and a Nebula amongst others and are fantastic works of fiction.

However, Gaiman started his writing in comics and is most famous for his work with DC comics re-inventing the Sandman legends. In this new graphic novel, he returns to the stories of the Endless: Death, Dream, Destruction, Despair, Desire, Delirium and Destiny.

'Sandman: Endless Nights' is a collection of seven short stories, each centring on one of the Endless and each drawn by a different artist, written by Gaiman, ably assisted by letterer Todd Klein and cover/title designer Dave McKean.
Every story is a delight in entirely different ways.

The style of each artist is so completely different that under a lesser writer things would be messy and confused but Gaiman's hand can be felt steadying the collection and giving it shape and depth. The stories really do feel like the Endless character featured, although this is also the reason some pieces are more enjoyable than others, it gives a wonderfully vivid picture of the seven immortals.

'Death's Story', drawn by P. Craig Russell, tells of an eighteenth century Venetian count who has escaped time and a death-obsessed soldier who helps Death break the spell. Like all the stories, it encloses in its short structure both a unique story in its own right, and an insight into the Endless character. Russell's art is probably the most traditional but the wonderful contrast between dark and rainy modern Venice and the Venice trapped out of time drive this piece forward.

'Destruction's tale centres around an archaeological dig where weapons and artefacts from the future are dug up and a woman at the dig is intrigued by the barrel-chested, pony-tailed man who suddenly appears before the destruction begins.

The art in this piece by Glenn Fabry does its job well, as does Frank Quitely in his short but satisfying sum-up: 'Destiny's Story'.

Ironically, the stories with the most ambitious, most beautiful art are also the hardest to read. Barron Storey's portraits of Despair and the confusing and blurred realm of Delirium that Bill Sienkiewicz draws are brilliant because they evoke so much of the characters.

Despair's story makes you feel sad and depressed and Delirium messes with your head. However, the very nature of the subject matter and the high quality it is represented by made me feel depressed and messed-up!

There are two real stand-out stories in this volume. The piece in which Dream takes his lover to a parliament of the planets is both inviting and incredible and the coupling of Gaiman's genius ideas with Miguelanxo Prado's scintillating art is at times mind-blowing.

The piece that stole the show for me was Desire's story, illustrated by Italian artist Milo Manara. His sensual images perfectly match the mood of Gaiman's story of a hunter-gatherer maiden who asks for Desire's help in catching the eye of a powerful warrior.

There is nothing to criticise in 'Sandman: Endless Nights'. Time and again, Neil Gaiman has shown he can produce great works and he does it again here. Just the way each piece reflects so much of the characters of the mysterious Endless in everything. The content of the script, the storyline and the art all create a complete immersive experience.Recommended.

Admirers of Gaiman's work are also advised to check out '1602', his new series of comics set in an alternate Marvel universe.

Tomas L Martin