Last week I wrote about sampling new Vertigo titles. Well, I’m also currently reading some older Vertigo books as well, namely Sandman and Preacher.
I know, I know; those two books are two of most well regarded comic series ever, not just from Vertigo, why haven’t I read them yet? How have I gone this long without read them? How can I consider myself a comic fan when I haven’t read those books?
Allow me to explain.
I can remember when Sandman launched. I was reading comics back then and it’s actually a pre-Vertigo book, so it was promoted with house ads in DC books back then. I remember the house ad and it did very little for me. “I will show you terror in a handful of dust.” Horror has never really been more favorite genre, so I didn’t have any interest in trying the book out.
Of course Sandman went on to become a huge and influential title. It made Neil Gaiman a megastar and inspired a ton of creators. It also got quite a few non-comic fans into comics.
Could it possibly live up to the hype?
I honestly didn’t think so and I’d never planned on reading the series. But then I heard that Lucifer trades were going out of print.
See, I’d heard good things about Lucifer from some of my Comics Nexus writers, plus I was a fan of Unwritten, which was by the same creative time, so I really wanted to try it out. So I began picking up Lucifer trades, strictly for future reading.
But since Lucifer was a spin-off of Sandman, I’d sort of have to read Sandman to get it, right? At least to fully appreciate it and some of the nuances and character bits. So I made the decision to invest in and read Sandman.
(I’d had the trade for Dream Country, because of the sample comic script that it contained, but I’d never really invested any time in reading it.)
And since I was jumping into Sandman, I opted to give Preacher a go as well. They were the two pretty much universally praised books that I’d never read, I figured I’d go through them together.
I have to say, it’s pretty fun reading them together. The two books are almost opposites. Sandman is very much a cerebral book while Preacher is action packed. They actually sort of compliment each other. At least that’s what I’ve found while reading them together.
I’m enjoying the journey I’m taking with both of them. But I’m still really on that journey so I can read Lucifer.
Anyway it’s Wednesday which means fresh new comics. Go and pick some up from your friendly local comic book shop.
