Even so I have read this series a thousand times, I always pick one of Neil Gaiman's comics for a little inspiration.
Neil Gaiman may be the Shakespeare of comics. Not that he's as good as Shakespeare, necessarily, but he may end up having a similar kind of impact. Before Shakespeare, plays were not really considered literature. They were regarded by the literary establishment of the time about the same way today's academics regard, say, television sitcoms. Or comic books.
During his life, William Shakespeare's reputation as a poet lay primarily on his sonnets, which today are considered pretty good but not as great as his plays. It was only after he died that his very popular plays began being taken seriously as literature. It is largely because of Shakespeare that dramatists are accorded high honors in the field of letters. Ironically, Ben Jonson, who was thought of as a superior poet during Shakespeare's day, is now primarily remembered as one of the "other playwrights" of the English Renaissance.
Gaiman has gotten more attention from the mainstream press than anybody but Art Spiegelman, and while articles about MAUS tend to treat it as a unique object, articles about Gaiman usually mention other "new voices" in comics, and point out that his major work, SANDMAN, is by no means his only contribution to the field. Some might argue that Gaiman is undeserving of such attention, that this or that favorite writer, artist or writer/artist should be hailed as the greatest, should be getting the attention. One of my English teachers thought Christopher Marlowe was twice the writer Shakespeare was, but whose name is synonymous with literary greatness?
.. In any case, the important thing is that Marlowe's plays still live today - and modern playwrights like Arthur Miller are taken seriously as literary artists - because Shakespeare lifted up the whole medium through his reputation. Arguments about whether the reputation was deserved are almost pointless.
In my opinion, though, my literature teacher was wrong. Sure, there are a couple of masterpieces among Marlowe's handful of plays. Perhaps if he hadn't been killed he would have been what Shakespeare was. But the breadth and depth of Shakespeare's life's work is astonishing. And it's also remarkable how few clunkers there are among his three dozen or so plays (scholars argue the exact number).
Gaiman exhibits the same kind of sure-handedness. Everything he puts his hand to seems to come out, at the very least, interesting and enjoyable. Below there are a few times when I disparage this or that individual story as being "weaker" than the rest. Be sure to keep in mind the context that the very worst Gaiman story (and nothing in SANDMAN represents Gaiman at his worst) still rises head and shoulders above almost all the work in his field. No, dammit, it's more than that: the worst Gaiman still rises above most published short stories, most best selling novels, most movies. He can write anything. He has written journalistic articles, television screenplays, short stories and novels, but his medium of choice is comics.
MY FAVORITE:
Season of Mists..
The Sandman, Dream of the Endless, girds himself for battle with Lucifer, the great fallen angel who rules Hell. After preparations worthy of a Homeric epic - or a superhero comic - Dream arrives in Hell to find it empty. Lucifer has decided he no longer wants to rule in Hell and has sent all the souls and demons elsewhere. He gives Dream the key to Hell and departs the realm, forsaking his duty as Lord of the Underworld, and leaving Dream with an unwanted burden: deciding what to do with Hell. The burden becomes even more challenging when everyone from Norse and Egyptian deities to angels and devils want to be chosen as Hell's new rulers. This book starts with a family dinner that is probably the best single introduction to the Endless as a group.
~closed~
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