The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes

I reread this after first reading it about four years ago. The first time I couldn't really follow the plots and rated it only 3 stars due to this confusion. This time through it all made a lot more sense and was easier to follow. I don't know if that's because I paid more attention, or if it already existed in my memory a bit. I think it is muddled storytelling, but it sets up the series using classic comic book conventions.

First off, I'm indifferent to Neil Gaiman. He has some great books (Coraline) and he's got plenty of average or forgettable books (Norse Mythology). When I pick up one of his books, I never know which version I'll get.

Preludes and Noctures was just OK. The story jumps around a lot. It was very Stephen King esk. Bob chopped some onions, Helga was watching tv, Sally and Billy were..... you get the point. The character is rather mopey, and IMO looks exactly like Neil Gaiman. He even acts exactly like I'd expect Neil to act. To me, the character wasn't original. It was the chance for the author to write himself into a comic book character. Maybe that's the fault of the artist, idk. But to me, it really detracted from the story.

I did like some of the realistic aspects. Ex: dangers of picking up strangers with your cars. It doesn't sugar coat the real world like so many other stories do. But like most of Gaiman's books I just don't get the fanaticism.