Sandman or Watchmen?

[Zhaun's_Shade]

I enjoyed Sandman more personally. However, it comes with the caveat that you actually have to read the whole first run or whatever and it will make you go "wow" a bunch. But I also think you need have read a few books in your life to understand who some of these people are and some of the ideas they are referencing.

One could say Sandman is much more targeted towards people of a more intellectual bent perhaps.

[Havelock]

Originally Posted by Daven

Brat pack

Wow, that's a long-lost memory. Now I'm going to have to poke around and see if those are out in a collected format.

[AtwaKom]

After reading this thread I figured I would check Amazon to pick this up for after I finish the few books I'm on at the moment. To my surprise, this Absolute editions ( 1-4 ) are 70 bucks a peice. This better be worth it =(

[Simas]

The absolute editions are really nice. Hardcover, large pages, ribbon book mark sewn in etc. Its worth it. But if you dont want to drop the cash you should be able to get the softcover trades for like $10 each, think theres 9 or 10 of em.

[Vorph]

Well, it's either $250 for the four Absolute editions or about $140 for all ten volumes of the regular graphic novel. The Absolute editions really are worth it if you're a Gaiman fan though. They're over-sized, hardcover with a slipcase, recolored, and they have some extra stuff that you can't really get anywhere else. I definitely would have bought the Absolutes if I didn't already have first editions of all the TPBs. :/

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

That's the difference in quality, pretty much. The TPBs are all washed out by comparison. The 'prestige' format was still pretty new in 1989 and it was far from perfect compared to the printing processes they have now.

[Heylel Teomim]

I have volume 1 of the hardcover, and it's astounding. Just the large print size alone makes reading it twice as nice.

[Grimmlokk]

I love Sandman, but Watchmen was the first thing I ever read like it and will always stick with me. The closest thing to it I had touched before was The Dark Knight Returns, but that wasn't quite the same. Watchmen is the one that changed how I view and read comics.

That all said, I think I may have to go out of left field and pick MiracleMan. I only read that in the past year or two at the suggestion of someone from here(Ishad). To me those first 16 issues were Alan Moore at his best. The Neil Gaiman follow up issues were getting to be really kickass too before they stopped making them.

I can't really pick a best though, on any given day I could happily pick any of the 4 I mentioned as the best and just sit and read them for hours.

[Vorph]

Marvel now fully owns Miracleman so I wouldn't be too surprised to see an announcement soon that Neil Gaiman is finally going to pick up the series where he left off. He's been saying ever since the lawsuits with that asshole McFarlane began that he intended to finish it as soon as he had the rights.

[Lusiphur]

I have only been waiting nearly 15 years for Gaiman to get those rights back

[Grimmlokk]

Originally Posted by Vorph

Marvel now fully owns Miracleman so I wouldn't be too surprised to see an announcement soon that Neil Gaiman is finally going to pick up the series where he left off. He's been saying ever since the lawsuits with that asshole McFarlane began that he intended to finish it as soon as he had the rights.

I just hit half-mast.

[Zhaun's_Shade]

Just went and read Miracleman due to the good reviews on this thread.

Goddamn was 1-16 a great piece of work. Incedibly smart and well put together, deserving of being a "classic" in comics.

At the same time, it seems so self-contained, not that being self-contained is a problem, it just doesn't seem like something worth elaborating on in many ways. Even the Gaiman issues 17-21 were interesting but almost felt like fan-fic.

I guess I'm not sure what a "new" Miracleman series would bring to the table is what I am saying.

[Auren]

I just ordered the first 6 paperbacks after reading through this thread. I remember reading a few issues of Sandman back in the day and remember enjoying the artwork but I think alot of the plot was way over my head back when I was a young teenager. Hope I enjoy them now as much as some of you guys.

[Knucklehead]

Another vote here for Sandman. Gaiman's stories are nearly as dark as Moore's but tinted with hints of whimsy and irony; Moore paints a bleaker picture of humanity. They are both masters at not shoving a point down your throat, though I think Gaiman is a touch more deft -- and a ton more hopeful. Also, with Gaiman, be prepared for references to everything from Shakespeare and Nordic Mythology to G.K. Chesterton and Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. In a few words: keep Wikipedia handy. You may find yourself happily surprised.

I have the first two volumes of Absolute Sandman (one a year on my birthday), and they really are impressive books. I have a small library of about 100 books, and the Absolute Sandmans are, without a doubt, the heaviest and sturdiest books I own. They are like mini-Gutenberg bibles. One could probably kill an intruder with one.

[Screamfeeder]

Pretending Sandman was the greatest comic of all time helped me get lots of sloppy blowjobs from insecure goth chicks so it gets my vote.

[SceleriS]

sandman pretty much, i liked Watchmen but out of those 2 i'd pick sandman.