After the initial run of the comics had ended, I first read the Sandman series. I couldn't find omnibus editions at my library. I immediately fell in love with the series' blend of short stories of single- creator runs and larger narrative arcs that can be found in collected editions. The world is sometimes randomly shit and we all have to work hard to keep our dreams and hopes alive.
The Sandman doesn't hit as hard as the other one. It was smoothed over for the show to show the horrible realities of life. I liked the show and thought it was well written and acted. It is a good show at times. It's hard to believe that someone will watch the show and understand why the comics became such a phenomenon, why those designs and characters have lasted 40 years, and why people credit Gaiman with actually inventing.
The Sandman is a great show, but it doesn't have the same edge that made the comics stand out to me. This was a DC/Vertigo comic and the comics walked this fine line with a lack of grace. Constantine had to find his ex-girlfriend who had kept the pouch of Morpheus' sand. The sand is compared to a drug and his ex counts down from 100 before she rubs it on her skin. She is shown starving and hurt but in ecstasy. It shows the wicked dichotomy of this writing, where the fantasy of drug use is made real, but it is worse than anyone can imagine. In the show, Constantine's ex still has the sand, but she doesn't use it to fuel an addiction, she just holds it and dreams. The softer version of the story is what it is today.
I don't want my shows to be boring. The Sandman isn't needed to be nice. Sometimes the show can balance grim reality with a desperate feeling of unfair circumstantial horror. There was still a reservation on the screen when Death gathers the baby in his crib, when Jessamy is shot, and when Jed Walker gets abused by his foster parents. Thehorror has been diverted. The version in the Worlds' End collection of the comics was more callous. There was still a sense of being on stage. The world is brutal, but the show doesn't appreciate it like the comics did.
This side-step can be seen when Morpheus goes to the home of Gregory and his family in order to get him back. Morpheus only replied, "No, it's not." He killed their pet. In the comic books, Morpheus only destroys the brothers' contracts and not their guard-gargoyle. Even though the show was playing with unfairness, it still felt like it. The moment was drawn out and made into a selfish act. There is something comforting about the fact that a beloved pet is gone. It is simple to watch. It makes sense. The series doesn't want to disgust you.
Sometimes life is just how it is because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, as shown by the comics. Neil said life sucks. If you can locate it, I hope it is out there. I wanted the show to be similar to Legion. The comics were grounded in a different way. It had to be because you can't afford to make something that explores the mundane, normal, typical horrors of assault, addiction, suicide, and serial killers and just do a tap dance, screaming "That's right" There needs to be a way for The Sandman to be understood. So it does.
There is a bit of narration from the Dreamlord at the beginning of the series. It's a world where you can face your fears and fantasies. Morpheus says that he needs to control both dreams and nightmares.
This is an apt description of what has been done in the series. He left something far dreamier, far more in step with today's audiences, and far more digestible after he excised the truly terrifying parts of his creation. The edges of the film have been blunted. The hits don't bite into you the same way as the original did. You can still feel the impact if you hit the end of the hammer with either end. The way that upset stuck to the roof of my mouth was the claw that bit into me. I felt angry. I didn't allow The Sandman to go. I wish the show would hurt more. It didn't do.
The absence of something that makes me nostalgic for The Sandman of the ‘90s is what people like about this version. Watching a nightmare is enjoyable. The version of the comic book that we have in the series is wonderful. I don't mind if we watch a dream. This show is the product of an enduring hope that this will live on for many years. It's correct. Matthew said don't fuck die dreams.
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