Comics Korner: Vertigo- The Sandman: Overture Special Edition

Neil Gaiman returns to one of the books that made him famous as not only a comic book creator, but also one of the best writers of out time, Sandman.

The Sandman: Overture gives fans what they have been asking for, the answers to what happened to the Sandman. Vertigo has also given fans a special edition, which not only gives fans a great story, but a comic book equivalent to a special edition DVD set with tons of extras.

Part one of this six book bimonthly series starts off to explain the origins of the character.

“People have often asked me what happened to Morpheus to make it possible for him to be captured in THE SANDMAN #1,” Gaiman said. “And now they get to find out. And finding out, they get to learn secrets of the Endless that I’ve kept to myself for 25 years. Family secrets. And I should warn you: one of the Endless dies on page five.”

What is the real draw for this special edition is the extras. When you pick up a regular comic book you forget everything that goes into making a book. In this issue the creators go into detail on making the book from the old days to today. Learning about the different fonts in the book is fascinating read, as Todd Klein goes through the process of coming up with the unique fonts in the books over the years. There is also a great Q&A with JH Williams III and editor Shelly Bond. Bond Interviews JHW about his art and love of the character, and goes into a playlist for reading the book.

If you have to choose between the standard edition and the special I would pick the special, even with the higher price tag. This is once case where if you are a fan of The Sandman you won’t be disappointed.