Is ‘Sandman’ just for comic fans?

The Kingdom of Dream finally arrives at the catalog of Netflix series with the long-awaited ‘Sandman’, adaptation of the immeasurable work of art in vignettes signed by Neil Gaiman and a huge list of cartoonists which, from 1989 to 1995, became one of the most exuberant collections of stories published by DC Comics, always with the permission of his colleague Alan Moore.

Terror, romance, obscurantism, mythology, classical history, gothics who share a flat, William Shakespeare, Lucifer… everything seemed to find a place to belong to one of the tales of tales that made up ‘The Sandman’, the compilation of stories that had Morpheus, Lord of the Dream, as the central axis of dozens of fables that were intertwined as if in an eternal sleep.

Adapting this was not easy and, after years of productions for the big screen that did not end up getting the green light, it was the distribution of Netflix that ended up defining this change of format that, luckily for everyone, has been supervised by Neil Gaiman himself.

“’Sandman’ is a rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend seamlessly intertwine,” explains its author. “It introduces the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he repairs the cosmic -and human- mistakes he has made during his vast existence”.

The high expectations endangered the appearance of the production in the list of the best Netflix original series but, luckily for everyone, Its creators have found the key and, always with Gaiman at the helm together with David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg, the result has managed to dazzle even the most skeptical.

The critics of ‘Sandman’, from Netflix, have achieved the impossible by achieving applause and good reviews from the “connoisseurs” of the original, a work considered practically inadaptable that, however, has faithfully and daringly managed to transfer the world of ‘The Sandman’ into a format it wasn’t designed for but, what about the Eternal of Dreams neophytes? Can a non-reader approach this series without fear? Did we need to do ‘Sandman’ (Netflix) season 1, ending explained?

Yes, of course. At least the first two.

The first season of ‘Sandman’ presents us with the first two story arcs of its not always likeable yet magnetic protagonist as, taking advantage of the episodic nature of its new serial condition, it introduces its condition as a storyteller as if each episode were a staplea new adventure with “monster of the week” in which we will see the plethora of sidekicks run into Dream of the Eternal at some point in its (the) story.

This not only makes the experience more entertaining and captivating for those who did not know the original comic but, in fact, it becomes a golden opportunity to discover the virtues of a story that, to sink deep into the viewer, it can be enjoyed in all its printed glory later.

With the alleged formal fidelity of ‘Watchmen’ (Zack Snyder, 2009) but the true knowledge of the work of the infinitely superior ‘Watchmen’ (Damon Lindelof, 2019), one of the best series on HBO Max, ‘Sandman’ is an immediate joy for fans of cartoons but, to a greater extent, it is the ideal vehicle for imminent followers to go to the world of dreams.