Affordable sandman...?
 

I'm interested in acquiring all four volumes of the Absolute Sandman series, but the cost (@ $65 on Amazon) is incredibly steep. Anyone know of a reputable source for used comics/graphic novels? Thanks.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Amazon is usually the cheapest place to get it, but you may get lucky on eBay. Also know that Volume 2 is out of print and it's fetching over $150 in the secondary market. I just sold my Vol 2 for $200.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

$65 per volume is affordable given the size and list cost of these oversized editions. If you really want to read Sandman but pay less then there's always the trade paperbacks.

Volume 2 of Absolute Sandman has been reprinted, but it's taking a while to get shipped over here from China.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Please explain how $65 for a $100 book is "incredibly steep"? I mean what are you expecting.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

If you want the series cheaper, just buy the standard softcovers. You aren't going to do much better than that price on Amazon.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Looks like Volume One is out of print now, too. (Or, at the least, is currently unavailable through Amazon.)

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Still available at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Absolute-Sandm...0054522&sr=8-1

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

+1 on the what are you expecting. I mean, it's your money and you could certainly hold out for a Don Martin-kind of deal, but it seems like a long shot to me. (I missed out on Don Martin :( )

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

FWIW, the Sandman absolutes are really nice, with plenty of content, and some of the issues have been re-colored for better clarity. $65 per book is a perfectly decent price to pay, if you ask me.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

I bought volume 1 on Half.com for 50 cents. It didn't have a slipcover but it was in perfect condition.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Thanks for the input. I broke down and got Vol 1 from Amazon--friggin amazing production on all fronts. Vol 2 is en route from Hastings for $35 during their recent sale. While GNs are still new to me I'm down for collecting all of Sandman and The Walking Dead, w/ less emphasis on Sin City and a few other horror titles.

I was into Preacher but Vol 3 of the collected softcovers was printed on shitty newspaper stock, unlike Vols 1, 2, 4, etc. Anyone know why?

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

^ Because DC stopped giving a shit about their soft-cover (and some hard-cover) collections - saving a buck...

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Earlier printings of the collections were printed on better paper, I believe.

I never bought any of the Preacher collections since I bought all of the original comics. The comics were printed on nice paper stock up until issue #49, when they started using that awful paper that's rough, off-colored, and makes the colors look muddy.

I'm guessing they save a few pennies per unit printing the books on shitty paper, so they use that on almost everything now.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

The new recolored editions of the TPB's will start being released in October. They use the same recolored pages from the absolute editions

http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/grap...vels/?gn=14398

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

I have all the paperback trades in good to nearly new condition. The one reason I considered getting the Absolutes was for the recolored pages. I held off because of the cost and they would be too large to display in my apartment. I know that DC doing alternate covers for the recolored trades, but I really like the covers for the 90s trade paperbacks.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

I was fortunate enough that my local Library carried all the entire Sandman collection. I've been planning to read it all over again, but I'll be using my own copies this time around. $65 sounds a lot better than the $100 I paid for mine. :-p

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Volume 2 is back in print.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Anyone know why Volume 2 is under review at Amazon?

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

That means that either Amazon isn't packing the orders well and they are arriving with some damage or that there is a problem with the new printing they received.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Half the big hardcovers I get from amazon arrive damaged because they're packaged like shit (bubble packs placed on top, with none on the side, allowing the books' sides and corners to easily get damaged during shipping). The bigger/heavier the book (like Absolutes and Omnibuses), the more likely the damage. I always have to return them, and the replacements aren't packaged any better, I just get lucky that they didn't get dinged up.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Amazon packs these books terribly. I have noticed packaging does depend on the warehouse they come out of though.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Well worth the money. For me Sandman is the greatest story every told in comic book form.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Agreed. What Gaiman did in that book is far beyond 95% of all the comics I've ever read.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Got all four Absolute editions, one used, the others at modest discounts, plus the Japanese spin-off, the book jacket art, and the mythos evaluation. A headfirst dive into The Sandman. Finished Vol 1 and enjoyed it immensely, though I understand that the horror elements so well depicted in the Dr Destiny story will be lessened in future volumes. Nonetheless a superlative "comic" which someone like Peter Jackson needs to make into a multi-film extravaganza....

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

And here I thought I was just unlucky with Amazon shipping comic stuff. I stopped ordering trade paperbacks from them because their shipping process is obviously not designed to leave the books in pristine condition, almost always leaving creases and bends on the covers. I have a little better luck with hardcovers, just because they happen to be sturdier and less prone to bending.

Amazon needs to rethink how they ship these things. Comic buyers want their stuff in pristine condition, and it looks like they treat them no different than the standard cheap $5.99 novel paperbacks.