Author: Neil Gaiman
Artists: Michael Zulli, Jon J. Muth and Charles Vess
Genre: Supernatural / Horror / Fantasy
Year Published: 1996
Year Read: 2012
Series: The Sandman #10
Publisher: Vertigo Comics
Source: Library
Content Rating: Ages 16+ (Strong Language)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
Who would have ever thought that one volume from a fantastic
graphic novel series would be one of the most memorable and tear jerking
stories ever written? That is what the
tenth volume in Neil Gaiman’s
brilliant “Sandman” series “The Wake” is all about! Long time fans of the fantastic “Sandman” series will mourn along with
the main characters over the death of Dream while experiencing the different
emotions running through the characters along the way.
After Morpheus (Dream) ended up sacrificing his own life to
save the Dreamworld from collapsing in “The Kindly Ones,” a ceremony that takes
place in the Wake is held to honor his memory and all the characters including
Dream’s siblings, all ended up coming to his ceremony. Also, the story goes on about how Daniel,
Hippolyta Hall’s son, ends up taking over Dream’s former position as Lord of
the Dreamworld and how the other characters, mainly Matthew the Raven react to
the new lord.
After reading this heartfelt volume about the characters
agonizing over the death of Dream, I found myself feeling sad too, for not only
Morpheus’ death, but also because of the fact that this might be the last time
we see more adventures from Neil
Gaiman’s “Sandman” series. Neil
Gaiman has brilliantly wrote a touching and heartfelt volume that provides
as a sort of conclusion of the “Sandman”
series and seeing all the characters we have known over the years such as
Rose Walker and Dream’s siblings mourning over the death of Dream was a truly
memorable experience for me. I loved the
way that Neil Gaiman detailed the
reactions from all of the characters when they found out that Dream died,
especially with Matthew the Raven who refused to accept the new Dream, who is
Daniel, and blamed himself for the death of Dream, which showed us how close
Matthew was to Dream. I also loved
seeing the sad reactions from Dream’s siblings (Death, Despair, Delirium,
Destiny and Desire) and how they were forced to move on and greet the new Dream
lord, even though they miss their brother dearly. The acknowledgement that Neil Gaiman presented at the end of the
volume was truly heartwarming as he expresses about how the “Sandman” series strongly relates to
himself and how much he really enjoyed working on the series. The artwork done
by the combined forces of Michael Zulli,
Jon J. Muth and Charles Vess greatly brought out the beauty in this volume,
especially Michael Zulli’s artwork
in the story arc “The Wake,” which
the characters look much more realistic and the artwork seems to have a classic
Renaissance feel to them as the characters look like they were paintings that
came from the Renaissance era. Jon J. Muth’s artwork in the short
story “Exiles” was brilliantly done
as the artwork seems to come out of an abstract artwork that you would find in
an art museum as most of the coloring are in black and white while there are
some coloring that emphasizes a certain scenario that the characters face. Charles
Vess’ artwork in the final story “The
Tempest” was beautifully done as the artwork has a sophisticated and old
fashioned feel that greatly complements the characters including William
Shakespeare.
Overall, “The
Sandman: The Wake” is everything I ever hoped for in a volume that sort of
concludes the series (and I say sort of because there is an eleventh volume called
“Endless Nights” that comes after
this volume, which I will be reading!) All the characters’ story arcs are
wrapped up nicely and I love the idea about a new lord of the Dreams coming to
take over the Dreamworld. “The Sandman: The Wake” is definitely a
brilliant end to the “Sandman” series
and I would highly recommend this volume to anyone who is a fan of Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series!
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