The Sandman Companion by
Hy Bender
hbk out February 00
Published by Titan Books
at £13.99
From the Damn-but-it's-a-Small-World Dept., item # 2,647,397:
I know Hy Bender. At least, I used to. He was a friend of a friend in
high school and part of a group of us who used to go to movies
together in New York. He was also very deeply into comic books,
as was I at the time. Because this was more than twenty years
ago (ouch!), I feel perfectly comfortable reviewing his new book.
And also because it's a nice piece of work with undoubted appeal
to the many fans of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic series.
I've extolled Gaiman and Sandman on a number of occasions
here on Tangled Web, but let me repeat my basic position:
Sandman was the best serial comic ever produced, and a major
work of modern fantasy in any medium. The Sandman
Companion does exactly what it says on the tin: it's a story-by-
story guide through the history of Sandman, using a very
extensive interview with Neil Gaiman to trace the way. Indeed, the
book largely consists of this interview, interspersed with plot
summaries and light commentary by Bender about the series, brief
interviews with other creative personnel who worked on the comic,
and a fair number of black-and-white and colour illustrations, many
of which have not been previously published. It's all packaged in a
handsome hardback edition graced by a typically wonderful Dave
McKean cover.
It probably goes without saying, but despite Bender's
suggestion otherwise, this volume is for Sandman true believers
only. Those who know and love the series will enjoy the book very
much. Gaiman is as witty and engaging an interviewee as he is a
writer, and Bender is an able interviewer, though he occasionally
crosses the line into the obsequiously fannish. It has to be said,
though, that the book is a bit pricey for what it is: essentially, one
in-depth interview. (While the production values are lovely, there
was no reason not to publish this as a more affordable paperback.).
The Sandman Companion is attractive and engaging and
thoughtfully put together, but basically you'll already know if it's a
book that you want to own.
(
Jay Russell
- one of the greatest talents the horror industry has produced for some time… (Black Tears))
The Sandman Companion by
Hy Bender