The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1

In 1916, the occultist Roderick Burgess performs a ritual meant to trap Death and win himself immortality. It works on the wrong target. He captures her brother Dream, also called Morpheus, and keeps him locked up.

Dream stays a prisoner for more than seventy years. He gets out only after his jailer dies, and he emerges weakened. The three totems that hold his power are gone: a pouch of sand, a helm and a ruby. They lie scattered across the world and the afterlife.

Getting them back drives the story. Dream descends into Hell to bargain with Lucifer Morningstar. He then faces a demon who wears his stolen helm. The last stretch leads to a diner, where the deranged Doctor Destiny has been using the ruby to warp reality, with horrifying results.

Once his tools are restored, Dream has time to think about everything he missed while he was held. Despair settles on him, and his sister Death coaxes him out of it. The question that carries the arc is what kind of ruler a recovered Dream will choose to be.

This deluxe Absolute edition collects the opening arc of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series in newly recolored form. The tone is dark fantasy, moving between occult ritual, infernal negotiation and a nightmare set in an ordinary diner.