The Sandman, Vol. 1

Title: The Sandman Preludes and Nocturnes
Author: Neil Gaiman
Other books in the series: The Sandman series contains 9 titles.
Publication Info: DC Comics, 1998
ISBN: 1563892278
Pages: 240
Price: 19.99
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Plot Summary: A group of dark magicians get a hold of a book that they believe will help them capture death. They hope to capture death and therefore control it but things do not go as planned and they capture Morpheus, also known as Dream. Morpheus, the brother of death, is then imprisoned by the magicians for 75 years. Morpheus finally frees himself only to discover that his absence has changed the world and it is no longer how he left it 75 years ago. His world has fallen into ruins in his absence and Morpheus looks to make it right again. But he need his tools in order to do this. He finds that his three tools: his helm, his bag of sand and his ruby have been stolen from him. The story follows Morpheus on his quest to locate and take back his three tools and regain is strength and power that he lost from his long imprisonment. 
 Review: The story weaves in many other characters, like the Justice League and John Constantine but Neil Gaiman does it in a way that the reader doesn't feel lost. Rather the pieces fit together quite nice. The story line is dark but the artwork is beautiful and captures the story well. Morpheus is in interesting character who walks the line between good and evil. He provides both dreams and nightmares and has no problem using his power to seek revenge. The story will appeal to DC comic fans since it references well known DC characters but it will also appeal to fans of folklore. Like much of Gaiman's writing his story is based of some well known folk tales, this one focusing on the Sandman. Of course the story has Gaiman's dark and magical twist.
Reader's Annotation: Morpheus was held captive for 75 years. But now Morpheus, or Dream, is out to seek revenge on those who held him captive.
Main Themes: dreams, death, revenge
Bibliotheraputic Usefulness: The story is based on myths and legends that teens will be able to lose themselves in. The story also exposes the dark sides of human nature that teens can explore through the story.
Book Talk Ideas: For the book talk it might be good to introduce the folklore and myths that the story is based on like the Sandman. This will give the reader an idea of what is in storm for them with the story and perhaps get them interested in folk lore and legends.
Issues: The novel is graphic in it's story and it's artwork. There is sex, death, Satan and demons, dark magic and violence. While beautiful written there is likely to be some objection to the material due to it's mature content.
Read Alikes: Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman
Author Websites: http://www.neilgaiman.com/
Professional Reviews: Publisher's Weekly
Why chose this book? Sandman is considered groundbreaking for its time. The story is quite complex for a graphic novel and it shows that just because something is a graphic novel doesn't mean it can't have intricate stories and well developed characters.