I read the comic series by Neil Gaiman eons ago, and my memory of the series is fairly hazy. I know I loved the comics. I also remember that I probably haven’t finished the series. A quick note to myself: hunt around in book stores to see if I can purchase the complete collection.
So, when I saw The Sandman appearing on my Netflix, I was super-excited and pretty much binge-watched the entire series in the space of a couple of days.
What’s The Sandman About?
It’s very hard to explain the series. Technically, it’s about Morpheus – the Lord of Dreams who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
When a magus in the waking world traps him, he loses key objects of power – his sand, his ruby, and his helm. The rest of the Netflix series is about him getting these objects back.
However, the story is much more than that. From what I remember, the Netflix series so far just focuses on the story in two of the Sandman books – Preludes and Nocturnes and The Doll’s House.
But remember, my memory is hazy, and I can’t be 100% sure of the comic book stories.
Review of the Netflix series
Like I said, my memory of the comic book series is a bit hazy, but the vibe I get from the show is quite different. I don’t think the show captures the books’ despondency, beauty, and all-pervasive creepiness. And definitely none of the pathos.
Shots of a couple of The Sandman comics
That said, after the first couple of episodes, I could settle down, enjoy the show for what it was, and sometimes even appreciate the differences.
Tom Sturridge who plays Morpheus is awesome. He really captures the vibe of Dream. I also loved some of the other portrayals such as Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine (although very different from the books), and Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian is also very good, even if he displays only flashes of creepiness. In the books, he is a right nightmare!
So, the casting and the acting are spot-on. The storylines deviate a bit (at least I think so, as I said earlier, I need to reread the books). The cinematography is literally a dream!
Swipe right to see some of the visuals from the show.
I am not sure about how approachable the show is for people who haven’t read the books. At the office, I was the only person talking about the show while everyone else discussed the latest Bollywood offering. The Sandman doesn’t seem to have made much of an impression at all!
Too bad, because it’s definitely worth the watch!
I only read “Preludes and Nocturnes”; I’m not sure why, but I found the comic off-putting (unusual, for Neil Gaiman material) and didn’t continue with it. Maybe it was the artwork. Anyway I like the series so far, especially Jenna Coleman ― whose Clara was my least favorite modern “Who” companion ― as Johanna Constantine. I even have my wife watching it, although she’s kind of meh on the whole thing, but at least she doesn’t find it objectionable … 😬
I have only a hazy memory of the comics, but I remember really liking them. It’s time for a reread for me.
I agree that it’s not as spiky as the comics, although I’m not sure which of the changes I’d have cut out in order to make it work. Like, I greatly prefer the version of the diner scene that appears in the show vs the comics — I think it’s more ideologically and thematically coherent, and I like that it’s not as nihilistic, ultimately. But I’m glad it exists, and I’m enjoying it more than I expected to, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.
Yes, it’s different from the comics, but in ways I can accept and enjoy. I see you are doing an in-depth breakdown of the series on your blog. Can’t wait to read them all!
I am watching Sandman and enjoying how it is different from the comics. At first I was confused if my memory was playing tricks on me (John B , car driver) but I realised soon enough that both have differences. Really enjoying it, and hopefully i’ll finish the series this weekend
yes, the differences really confused me at first (especially the Johanna Constantine one), but that’s ok. I think the differences worked better for the on screen adaptation.