Re: Best Sandman Volume? (Was: Allan Moore Rocks)

"Michael Alan Chary" <mchary@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:dgpdtl$t3b$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> In article <WqWXe.5277$6e1.1981@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> R Crouse <robert.crouse@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >
> ><
> >>
> >> I'm not sure what that means, as Alan Moore's Swamp Thing was the
> >> ground breaking work that inspired Gaiman.  Sandman took it to the
next
> >> level, but "he was the first to do what he did" doesn't describe
> >> Sandman at all.
> >>
> >> Many elements of Sandman were inspired by Swamp Thing, and the
> >> depiction of hell and Cain and Abel in a dream world environment are
> >> taken straight from Alan Moore.
>
> Well, not exactly, Cain and Abel were taken from the 1970's DC horror
> titles House of Secrets and House of Mystery. Eternity was also a
> preexisting DC character.
>
> >> It's also probably no coincidence that Alan Moore's Constantine shows
> >> up in issue 2, early Sandman was horror in the Swamp Thing style, and
> >> both feature nearly omnipotent lead characters.
>
> To be fair, the Justice league and Dr Destiny also show up, and the
> Justice League was in it's Bwahahaha stage at the time.
>
> >
> >-- For a newbie to Gaiman, which would you say is the best Volume of
the
> >Sandman series?
> >Should they (do they need to be) read in order? My local library has
all
the
> >volumes but I have a lot
> >on my plate to read and would like to focus on what would give me the
best
> >taste of what Gaiman is all about.
>
> The second volume might be the most palatable, but I'm not the best
judge.
> I started reading with issue one before Vertigo was a glimmer in karen
> Berger's eye.

Were I you, I'd start with Swamp Thing and then read
> Morrison's Animal Man, and then read the Giffen and DeMatteis Justice
> league, then I'd read Walt Simonson's Thor and then maybe some
Spider-man.
> That will give you a running jump into the tradtions that Gaiman is
> folloing around with.

-- Exactly what I don't want to do, but thanks.  If I can't get at least a
"feel" for what Gaiman is about from one or two volumes, I don't think
he's
worth the investment for me. I understand about reading past works for
context and believe in that, but so far, I've seen more hype for Gaiman
than
substance.  But I do need to delve a little more to be fair.

-R.