Dreams n Sandman

These are the times of endless aisles, endless scrolls, endless choice & in Sandman we have the realm of endless dreams. I think it was 2010 when I was exploring graphic novels - So it started with the usual Maus, Persepolis, (a relatively unknown) but equally pathbreaking Vanni which is about the Sri Lankan civil war. I never got to read Sandman because the vol 1 cost 2k & there were no 2nd hand editions in Blossoms. I guess whoever bought it bought it for keeps.

So, when news of Sandman being made was in the air - it was the obvious choice to see the series. I have a very limited interest in series as it’s like a vortex which sucks you in and time tags along happily and before you know it precious life-time is wasted to finish a series. 

Sandman was not different, I came out with a mixed feeling as this is not a genre I am comfortable with - mythology, gods, demons, dark magic and everything around it. Especially the ghastliness about it - we had people having human eyes & using human skin to make etc. 

If you have seen Inside Out by Pixar which is a very educational film about what goes in your mind then Sandman is what happens in your dreams / nightmares & their relationship with destiny, death, despair, desire, destruction & delirium. Desire & Despair are twins. Siblings of Dream.

Like Inside Out - Sandman has a parallel to our life as we go through all the above - why each of us experience the above is different for each of us. But the search for an answer is always there in our mind and probably one of the reasons why Sandman has a cult-like following but I think also when it came out in 1989 and went on till 1996 - it was one of the first in this genre. It published 75 issues. You can read more about it (as always) here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(comic_book) 

The Sandman comic book series falls within the dark fantasy genre, albeit in a more contemporary and modern setting - this is how wiki defines it & like me there would be many who will not identify with it - but we will end up seeing it because of its legacy and fame. 

At the core of it is the creativity in creating a parallel universe, a universe full of imaginations. Isn't it why we like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and all other fantasy series & the science fiction. For me that’s the pull - imagining a whole new universe. But Sandman is different because it meshes the imaginary world with the real world & the imaginary world i.e. dreams is also in a way reality because your brain conceives it. Your subconscious is responsible for the same which is again driven by your thoughts & experiences. 

Confusing & Difficult to define, see it to figure it.