My Weekly Book

The Sandman: Season of Mists - Neil Gaiman et al

Volume four of Neil Gaiman’s comic-book epic The Sandman opens with the sort of family party we all wish we could avoid - bickering siblings who know exactly how to tug each other’s leashes. Only when it’s happening among a group of anthropomorphic personifications covering the big issues like Death, Destiny and Desire, the consequences spread a little bit further than cousin Deirdre’s wedding next summer.

This is the first time we see all the Endless siblings gathered together in one place - with one important exception, the missing “prodigal” who is referred to but not explained (that’s one for later episodes). Inevitably they can’t stay civil for more than five minutes and a bust-up between Dream and Desire, egged on in a very passive-aggressive fashion by Destiny, throws cold water over the proceedings.

Unfortunately, as is so often the case with family gatherings, Dream’s had to hear a few home truths about his character and conduct that he really doesn’t like - and it takes a homily from his favourite sibling, Death, to convince him it’s not all hot air and noise. This sends him on a journey to right an injustice that will have profound implications for many different tribes - humanity for one, angels for another, several pantheons of deities and, not inconsiderably, the legions of the damned and the ruler of Hell itself.

This is an epic and, with one brief and astonishing digression, a very linear quest narrative. Dream wants to accomplish something, he goes to look for it and he deals with the fall-out from his actions. It’s a deceptively simple story where everything appears to be drawn with a few bold strokes which suggest much more than they actually portray. (That’s metaphorical, by the way; I had a few issues with the actual art for this episode, feeling that it lacked a little of the subtlety of earlier volumes, especially in the inking. But given some of the scenarios that artists Mike Dringenberg and Kelley Jones were asked to realise… well, I wouldn’t say they did a bad job, on the whole.)

It’s often described as one of the best volumes in the Sandman series and I would agree - there’s a simplicity and cohesiveness to the story which makes it very satisfying, especially when combined with the ambitiousness of the author’s mythic vision. Perhaps that would mean it would work if read as a standalone volume; as the fourth instalment in the series it’s a triumph.

Some links:

• Wikipedia: Season of Mists
• Good Reads: Season of Mists
• Silver Bullet Comics review
• Rumbles review

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 5:06 pm and is filed under 2007 reading challenge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.