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.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Sorry to bump and old thread, I've just gotten into reading comic books (started with media tie ins, and have since read Watchmen, Batman Year One, Astonishing X-Men, and some Hellboy) and want to try out the Sandman. I'm not really into collecting (so the Absolutes are out), so just getting the books is most important. Do you think the new release of the TPB is worth 2x the cost? (just checking right now and I can buy the old version used for about 6.50 used and the new for about 13.50) The coloring change example on Amazon doesn't really look 'better' just different, but it's different on print I know.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

The coloring and the print quality is much better on the new paperback editions. The new books are printed on slick glossy paper and utilize the recoloring from the Absolute editions. I think they've only redone the first three volumes (which benefited from being recolored) with the other seven presumably to follow in the coming months.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

But, on the other hand, the old paperback editions aren't terrible by any stretch, and if it's easier to read the whole run by getting the older versions, by all means do so. And this is coming from someone who owns all the Absolutes (even Absolute Death), and is about to fly to Wisconsin for an American Gods-themed event.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Thanks guys. I think I'll just order the new one, as it looks like it's only V1 I can get for the really cheap cost anyway at this time. I'll keep an eye out for the absolutes though too, as it looks like that cost isn't too much higher when it's all said and done. (Is it a must to read these in order? I'm seeing the reviews for the first volume suggest that it might be a little sluggish to begin with)

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

I would strongly recommend reading the books in order... there's a really cool twist in issue eight (the final story in the first book) that, if you don't already know about, is something you probably wouldn't want spoiled.

Be aware that the first storyline, issues one through seven, is pretty much an attempt to mimic Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run, from Sam Kieth's organic, stylized art (reminiscent of Bissette and Totleben) to the array of guest stars. Issue eight, the final story in that book, takes a completely different tone than the first seven issues that will continue and expand throughout the rest of the run.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Thanks Josh, will do. I'm pumped for this series.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

I'd be curious to hear how the event went?

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It was absolutely fantastic! Friday night Gaiman did a reading from American Gods (the chapter about The House on the Rock, obviously), answered questions, and did a signing. I made a pinky swear with him about something I'm now not allowed to talk about. :lol:

The House on the Rock itself is crazy. Took me over 4 hours to get through all of it, and I took about 2600 pictures over the two days. On Saturday night was a costume contest and a party where they opened up the house to us and had bands playing, tarot card readings, magicians, and other cool stuff. I got Shadow's fortune card from Esmerelda (the "Your lucky number is Dead" one) and met some great people. Wisconsin was also wonderful, and I'm going to have to go back there and stay longer next time.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

I think that only the first eighteen or twenty issues of Sandman were recolored for the Absolutes, so the next seven books should have the same coloring, but, presumably the new editions of them will be on the glossier paper.

Another thing to consider is, if you're concerned about having a matching set of books, then buying used might make it difficult to do so since there have been four or five different designs used.

(I'm one of those people who absolutely hates it when publishers switch design elements on books mid-run. Come to hink of it, the original run of Sandman TPBs didn't have any kind of unifying design, did it? My original run of hardcovers didn't... two of them even came without dust jackets!)

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

I hope it's that he's going to do that Sandman prequel and Endless miniseries sometime in the near future.

ETA: Shit, I forgot about <s>Miracle</s>Marvelman... and finishing up the Silver Age and Dark Age.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Well...I can't say. :)

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Thanks :):up:

I went to the House when I was a kid, but really don't remember much about it.

It's still weird to know my favorite comic book writer lives in the same state as I do. :lol:

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Yeah, it is a bit bizarre to think of Neil living in Wisconsin. If anything you'd think he'd be living in the English countryside, but there's obviously something about America that he finds fascinating. And I have to say, from my short time in Wisconsin, I can understand.

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Come back in January and you'll probably change your mind. ;)

Re: Affordable sandman...?
 

Yeah, well, coming from Los Angeles you're probably right about that. During the Q&A Neil mentioned the winters. "Are we mad?" I think was his response to living in Wisconsin in the winter. :lol: