Dec 09 2008
The Absolute Sandman
The Absolute Sandman collects the comics into four over-sized hardcovers instead of the 10 slimmer paperbacks. In spite of the books’ weight, I don’t like the quality. The books pop and snap disturbingly when they’re opened, and even though the paper looks gorgeous, it smells new and chemical. One of my books was discolored by the dye on the bookmark ribbon, and another one came to me with a poorly glued cover. The covers don’t look as nice they should because of the bad imitation leather with overwrought silver ink. I expect more from books with a $100 price point.
Inside, the retouches to the art help justify the price. The larger pages make the details in the art come through better, and the new colors look much nicer. The brown stories that I remember are replaced by a more vibrant palette, and DC has corrected the occasional mistakes in the coloring. Each chapter opens with the Dave McKean cover illustration without any of the logos and credits over the art. They look lovely with far more detail than I remember.
At the end of the books, DC includes a number of extras. Several, like the scripts and book credits appear in the older collections. DC reprinted the pinup art from some of the specials that came out during the nineties, and I enjoyed seeing them after years of having the issues boarded up at my parents’ house. The sections with the Sandman merchandise look silly to me now, and I guess I’ve lost my taste for Sandman pocket watches and PVC figurines.
After taking a hard look at the Absolute Sandman, it’s very difficult to recommend them to anybody but hard-core fans. The improvements to the art probably justify the price, but the quality could have been better. The extra bits don’t add that much to the total package. I’d honestly have to recommend the paperbacks to most readers.
Back when record stores were still around, I used to see people get this odd look on their faces whenever a deluxe boxed set came out. That look mixed joy and regret in pretty equal measure. They liked the object they were holding, but they knew it could never live up to the first time they heard those songs, even with all the included B-sides. I understand that look better now. I’m sure I had the same look on my face when I started reading the Absolute Sandman.
I also learned that there’s something else behind that look. Whenever you hold the deluxe rerelease of that ONE thing that made your teenage years bearable, you know you’re getting old.
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