Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781563892790
ISBN: 1563892790
Label: Vertigo
Manufacturer: Vertigo
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 192
Publication Date: 1997-07-01
Publisher: Vertigo
Release Date: 1997-07-01
Studio: Vertigo

This is the conclusion to the much talked about Sandman series. It may be best to start your Sandman acquaintance with earlier episodes, but The Wake stands as one of Neil Gaiman's strongest and most consistent Sandman volumes to date.

Customer Rating:
Summary: excellent condition
Comment: It took a bit to arrive but that's usual with bulk mailing. The book arrived in excellent condition.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: It's so hard to say goodbye
Comment: Once in a while there comes a series that you honestly don't want it to end... ever. This is the case with the Sandman. I was a late bloomer and discovered Sandman very late but I simply DEVOURED these graphic novels and have gained a newfound level of respect for Neil Gaiman with each Sandman I've read. I classify literature into blah, mediocre, barely worth your money, readable, quite decent, impressive, holy smokes and life changing and to me, the entire Sandman series is life changing. The way you look at life changes if it gets to you as deeply as it got to me and I can only give thanks for Gaiman and the extremely talented artists that brought forth one of the most mesmerizing series in any medium. Like some of the characters though, I had to take a while to mull over the end of this series and the passing of one of the most special characters I've ever wanted to share a beer every hundred years. For lack of a better word, amazing. There is no detail overlooked regarding character development, storyline, loose ends, explanation, ideas, creativity or bringing forth a brand of dreams we gladly share as our own.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Graphic SF Reader
Comment: Morpheus of the Endless is dead. Anyone and everyone is gathered in dream for his wake, and for his funeral. The person having most difficulty coming to terms with all the events surrounding his passing is his Raven, Matthew.

At the end, we see a previous discussion of his with William Shakespeare, at the end of a career, and a commission for the Lord of Dreams, about the nature of his existence.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous
Comment: The Wake, the final book in the Sandman series, epitomizes the entire series. The artistic style is eclectic and the narrative dances from character to character and setting to setting, just like a dream. The entire book is elusive but satisfying. And gorgeous. For me, that's the series in a nutshell.

The Wake is Gaiman at his best.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Fitting Finale for A Series of Serious Quality
Comment: First of all, The Wake is a gorgeous volume. Perhaps the best artwork of the series.

It gives a fitting send-off for Morpheus, and for the series, as we get to revisit characters and themes, with just a touch of humor to lighten the otherwise bleak landscape. (Would you believe that Superman and Batman put in a cameo?--Well, if you're going to write for DC, how can you resist? :)

While there are good stories here, perhaps my one complaint is the placement of the two short stories after the appropriate conclusion of the work (an epilogue featuring everyone's favorite, Hob Gadling). These are good short stories (or, at least, The Tempest is good... the other left me a little cold), but their placement was completely unfair to them and didn't leave me much emotional capacity to appreciate them as they deserved.

The Wake isn't so much a plotted adventure, like so many of the Sandman volumes; it is more of a coda. Like a Wake should be, it is an opportunity for reflection. Sadness and nostalgia and moving on. It is a fitting, and touching end for a series that has been nothing but class and quality, all the way through.

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