The Sandman Overture, the deluxe edition

In this irresistibly lavish volume, Gaiman, perhaps the premier mythmaker of our time, returns to the series that built his reputation, penning a Sandman prequel that will bring new shades of color to any future rereading of the beloved original. Morpheus (aka Dream, the personification of dreams) is summoned across the universe, where he finds that to redress a mistake he made in his youth, he must undertake a quest, with allies few and unlikely, to somehow prevent the death of everything. Master tale-spinner Gaiman takes readers on an extraordinary adventure, peopled by fan favorites from the original series (including Dream's lovely sister Death) and remarkable new characters (including hitherto unrevealed members of Dream's family), plus alien races of marvelous variety, sentient stars, and many alternate versions of Dream himself. All of this is depicted with astonishing and sumptuous splendor by Williams (Batwoman) and colorist Stewart. They employ a wide spectrum of art styles with masterly sophistication-often juxtaposing an array of styles in a single panel-giving the visuals an unparalleled textural richness. VERDICT An unmissable addition to one of comics' greatest series.-SR © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.