Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House

The Doll's House is the second volume in the Sandman series and has more of the quirky and dark tales from the first. There's a story in the second volume that involves serial killers having a convention; I mean, who thinks of that?! While I'm not enough of a comics expert to comment on the art itself (my husband reckons the art is shit, which is the reason why he's never read this series) but the storytelling is what's captivating to me. The way that Gaiman weaves the different tales into the mythology of the Sandman itself is masterful and leaves me wanting more. I can't wait to borrow the rest of the volumes from the library and continue with this series.

Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

I have never really been inclined to read comics although I do read some Japanese manga. That said, I have been very interested to read the Sandman series because they are Neil Gaiman's creations and I do love Neil Gaiman. I borrowed the first two volumes from the library and got stuck into them. Although I had an inkling of what to expect, I was still quite surprised when I read them. I guess being a novice with comics, while I wasn't expecting fluff (certainly not from Neil Gaiman!), I didn't expect the stories to be that dark. These tales were intoxicatingly wicked and strangely compelling, as I would expect from Gaiman. I don't see myself suddenly wanting to read the other 'classics' (such as Superman, Batman etc.) but I would definitely want to continue with this series, especially when it's so highly regarded in the world of adult comics.