The Sandman: The Wake [Illustrated] [Paperback]

By this book in the series there was a part of me that was deeply in love with Morpheus. There's so much depth to this character, and the series up to this point has been about his journey, his growth, his realisation of emotions that had previously been unknown to him. He has become almost too human, a contradiction to his true nature, and he needs to be reborn. The part of him that cannot change has no choice but to die, and he welcomes it with a weariness that is misleading, for if you read the series carefully you get the feeling he planned this all along.

His "replacement" is perfect, and human enough to be a fresh, vibrant rebirth, one that promises to be less foolish, selfish, and cruel as the old.

Honestly, I cried when I read this. There was one particular confession during the Wake from a character we'd only seen briefly before that left me shaken. It's the most perfect off-hand reference and it cuts you to the core.

This is pure genius. If I ever meet Mr Gaiman I'll probably be reduced into a vacantly staring fool, so awed am I by his talent.

I'm ashamed to say that the name of the artists who created this book escape me at the moment, but the artwork in this one was some of the best in the series.

1: Preludes & Nocturnes

2: The Doll's House

3: Dream Country

4: Season Of Mists

5: A Game Of You

6: Fables & Reflections

7: Brief Lives

8: World's End

9: The Kindly Ones

10: The Wake - You're reading this review

11: The Dream Hunter's - Slightly different but still fantastic.

And of course there are two for his surprisingly spunky sister, Death:

1: The High Cost Of Living

2: The Time Of Your Life

Neil Gaiman's Sandman is the pinnacle of graphic novel writing - something you can't do without even if you don't normally read comic books.

The story is told on a massive scale (everyone in the world attends the funeral, plus others), and yet manages to be intimate. The characters of the Endless really come across, but their grief is told rather in how they say what they say, rather than cliched plaititudes.

This is the ultimate Sandman story, and brings an end to the modern mythology, and still, unlike most Hollywood stories and 'high culture' novels, leaves loose ends. As in life, nothing is tidy, nothing perfect. Questions are still unanswered, problems remain. The story continues. We just won't be there to see it.

Brilliantly, heart-achingly good.