the sandman: preludes and nocturnes

the little brother of death: the sandman.
typically busy with ruling his realm of dreams and nightmares, but someday unfortunately he gets caught by a human devil worshipper (who, by the way, was trying to capture death). dark, but truly entertaining are the further stories, when sandman fights back and is looking for his important tools of power, which also got stolen. therefor some demons in hell have to be visited and convinced as well as psychic characters fled out of arkham asylum. "preludes and nocturnes" is the first part of the sandman series, and i'm more than excited to find out which adventures SANDMAN will experience in the future, as neil gaiman's way of storytelling is masterful.

the german edition of part 2 ("the doll's house") will be released by panini-comics these days and hopefully will be featured on this site soon.

"Wake up, sir. We're here." It's a simple enough opening line--although not many would have guessed back in 1991 that this would lead to one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comics of the second half of the century.
In Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman weaves the story of a man interested in capturing the physical manifestation of Death but who instead captures the King of Dreams. By Gaiman's own admission there's a lot in this first collection that is awkward and ungainly--which is not to say there are not frequent moments of greatness here. The chapter "24 Hours" is worth the price of the book alone; it stands as one of the most chilling examples of horror in comics. And let's not underestimate Gaiman's achievement of personifying Death as a perky, overly cheery, cute goth girl! All in all, I greatly prefer the roguish breaking of new ground in this book to the often dull precision of the concluding volumes of the Sandman series. --Jim Pascoe

publisher: dc comics (english), panini comics (german)

batman - the dark knight returns

I am reading this comic for the second time right now - and it is as mind-blowing as it was more than ten years ago. Great story, great pictures - just awesome.

If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre then "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller - known recently for his excellent Sin City series and, previously, for his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil - is probably the supreme contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. In his introduction the great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argues that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task.

Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, streetgangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. (Mark Thwaite)

publisher: dc comics, panini

300

As the film adaption of Frank Miller's comic "300" will start in cinemas across Europe at the beginning of april I want to offer an impression on how the movie will be - and the first glimpse is really, really promising I think. As I want to be prepared properly I also read the comic last weekend and I have to admit that it's simply great. Exciting story and awesome drawings (colored by Frank Miller's wife Lynn Varley). From Spartan King Leonidas' early adventures to the presentation of the battles and the brave soldiers, a lot of dramatic and impressive pictures were drawn. High quality as accustomed by Frank Miller!!



The Battle of Thermopylae ranks as one of the ancient world's most important events, where Spartan King Leonidas and his 300-man bodyguard met the massive army of Emperor Xerxes of Persia, who intended to add Greece to his empire. To no one's surprise, the Spartans were destroyed. While the battle bought the Greeks enough time to defeat the mighty Persians, it was more important for the metaphor it created: occasionally one has to lose to win. This is clearly the inspiration behind Miller's attempt to place this epic tale in the context of a graphic novel. A renowned comics artist and writer known for hard-boiled stories of almost operatic intensity and stylishly overwrought violence, Miller (Sin City) injects his own brand of graphic sensationalism into this ancient tale of national survival. Miller clearly isn't as interested in being a historian as he is in telling a story, but his portrayal of the ancient world is compelling. His drawings of the bearded Leonidas are pensive and starkly imperial. The Persian King Xerxes is represented as majestically African, his body covered in a gaudy and bejeweled network of meticulously rendered chains and bracelets. Form and content are ideally wedded: Miller's writing is stark, his drawings moody and dramatic, and intensified by Varley's grimly appropriate palette of earth and blood. The reader can see and feel the harshness of both the Grecian landscape and Sparta's battle-worshipping culture, as Miller presents the complex historical moment facing the 300 (Copyright by Reed Business Information)



publisher of the comic: dark horse (english), cross cult (german)