Hy Bender’s The Sandman Companion: A Dreamer’s Guide to the Award-winning Comics Series examines the original run of Gaiman’s Sandman in detail, beginning with the series’ creation through what was then its ending with the storyline “The Wake” and issue 75. Bender structures his book into three parts. The first discusses the formation of the series and DC’s Vertigo line, the second examining each of the major storylines in detail, and the third looking at characters’ origins, Gaiman’s use of language, and the series’ influence as of 1999, three years after the final regular issue.

In the second part, Bender first summarizes the major points of each storyline, then discusses “some things worth noticing,” before featuring an in-depth interview with Gaiman about that specific storyline – what inspired certain parts, things he’s proud of or would do differently, challenges from DC editorial. Being written in 1999, the only spin-off that Bender discusses (and that briefly) is the Sandman Midnight Theatre one-shot. Due to the book coming out in 1999, Bender can only make a brief reference to The Sandman: The Dream Hunters in his second appendix along with a quick discussion of the Sandman Presents mini-series about various characters, the Death spin-offs, and DC’s monthly series, The Dreaming. Were Vertigo Books to update this volume, they could discuss these in greater detail and include mentions of Jill Thompson’s Little Endless Storybook books (the Li’l Endless do get a mention on page 153 as they appeared in “Fables and Reflections”), the Lucifer series, Overture, and more. That said, Bender’s work is a must-read for all fans of Gaiman’s Sandman who want to know more about it and learn what literary works Gaiman referenced so they may find them at their local library. It deepens one’s understanding and appreciation of this ground-breaking comics work.

As Bender concludes of the character of Dream, “Like a dream, the Sandman’s identity and meaning depend on your own personal reading of him” (pg. 208). The same may be said of the Sandman comic book and Bender’s work will help readers to find new readings. ( )

More an interesting behind the scenes account, with interviews and amusing stories than a thorough exploration of the themes and symbology of the series. But as a behind the scenes text, it is amazingly thorough! ( )

Almost page by page examination of the Sandman as Bender interviews Gaiman about the artists, the art, the characters, the story line and just about anything else you could want to know about the series. Includes credits for each issue and information about related projects. For fans and probably academics. ( )

Kirja on todellinen aarre Gaimanin Sandman-sarjakuvien ystävälle. Kirja koostuu suurelta osin Gaimanin ja muiden tekijöiden haastatteluista, ja se onkin virallinen sarjan virallinen annotaatio- ja kommenttiteos. Kirjaan on koottu myös paljon harvinaisia tai aiemmin julkaisemattomia kuvituksia. Sandman-sarjan jokainen tarina käydään läpi, ja erityisesti käsitellään palkittua A Midsummer Night's Dream -kertomusta. Lisäksi tutkitaan symboliikan sekä historiallisten ja myyttisten hahmojen käyttöä tarinoissa. ( )

This companion volume greatly enhanced my enjoyment and understanding of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. There is a chapter dedicated to each one of the 10 Sandman volumes, as well as additional material. Each chapter associated with a volume includes a brief plot summary, comments from Bender on aspects worth noticing, and interviews with Gaiman himself.

I particularly liked the "things worth noticing" sections because some of the items were very subtle, things that I had completely missed on first reading. I got into the habit of reading the volume first so as to avoid seeing spoilers, then I would read the relevant section in the companion, and after that, I would return to the volume for a second look. Of course, some of the fun would be in discovering these things on your own, but I would probably have needed a second, third or even fourth reading to catch them all. ( )