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Sandman Preludes and Nocturnes

The first volume of the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. This is the second time I am reading Sandman and I am still blown away. It is a fantastic beginning. I suppose the stuff of dreams has become much more tangible thanks to Inception but Sandman came out in 1994 of all years and they actually published something like this when comics were all about Superheroes. Kudos to DC and I sincerely mean that. I cannot imagine what people who picked up the first issues must have thought of Sandman.
Dream is the protagonist and not a heroic one by any measure.
Dream is captured by mortals for decades. Of course he makes the inevitable escape. There is a quest for getting his tools back which is where Gaiman really flexes his muscles writing some of the most lucid prose I have ever seen. I guess comics allow you that freedom, the freedom to get away with writing less because the artwork is there to compensate.
A few quotes
"All Bette's stories have happy endings. That's because she knows where to stop. She's realized the real problem with stories – if you keep them going long enough, they always end in death."
"The Hellfire Club." It feels like a bad joke. And like everything else in hell, it is deadly serious.
"What power would HELL have if those imprisoned here would not be able to dream of heaven?" is one of the lines that I find impossible to get rid of.
Must Read Must Read Must Read for everyone. Note to self, Also take your time while reading Sandman, otherwise you will miss a lot of stuff and it won't be half as enjoyable.

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