| Title | : | The Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables \u0026 Reflections |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1563891069 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781563891069 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 263 |
| Publication | : | First published June 1, 1993 |
The critically acclaimed THE SANDMAN: FABLES AND REFLECTIONS continues the fantastical epic of Morpheus, the King of Dreams, as he observes and interacts with an odd assortment of historical and fictional characters throughout time. Featuring tales of kings, explorers, spies, and werewolves, this book of myth and imagination delves into the dark dreams of Augustus Caesar, Marco Polo, Cain and Abel, Norton I, and Orpheus to illustrate the effects that these subconscious musings have had on the course of history and mankind.
A new edition of this title collecting issues #29-31, 38-40, 50 and SANDMAN SPECIAL #1 with recolored pages.
The Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables \u0026 Reflections Reviews
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The sixth collection—as its title suggests—is a somewhat random grab-bag of tales, only tenuously connected with the Sandman story. Still, there are a couple of themes present here: 1) the fate of empires and emperors, and 2) the ways in which narrative—in dream and song—can sustain hope and foster illusion.
Four of the stories feature historical rulers—Emperor Caesar Augustus, revolutionary leaders Robespierre and St. Just, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, and San Francisco native Joshua Norton (self-proclaimed Emperor of America)—all of whom led lives profoundly affected by dreams. The best of these four—in fact, the best of the entire collection—is the story of the Caliph of Baghdad and the bargain he makes with the Lord of Dreams. Gaiman wrote it during Operation Desert Storm, and, although the tale is not only filled with magic but also inked in a marvel of colors suited to the city of the Arabian Nights, it is touched with melancholy and loss rooted in the devastation of war in Iraq.
The second most powerful story in Fables and Reflections is the life of the poet and musician Orpheus. In Gaiman’s mythology, Orpheus is the son, not of Apollo, but of Morpheus, and Dream’s entire family, who attends Orpheus’ wedding, are caught up in the tragic events surrounding the death of his wife Eurydice. Gaiman’s economic method of connecting Orpheus to the Sandman story is ingenious, but the real attraction here is the straightforward telling of the legend of Orpheus itself and the memorable illustrations of the wedding, the palace of Dream, the cottage of Death, the wraiths of Hades, and the rage of the frightful Maenads.
The other stories here are all enjoyable too (I particularly liked the lycanthrope grandpa telling his “old country” story to an inattentive granddaughter), and each acknowledges—sometimes grimly, sometimes sweetly—the power of narrative both to distort and to transform the world. -
I had a hard time with this one.
I was pretty bored by the time I got to the stories about Marco Polo & Caesar Augustus.
Not a lot of charm to those of the issues and I could not have possibly cared about the characters any less.
It just took me a while to get through some of the issues as I kept finding better things to do than finish.
However, Johanna Constantine, Orpheus, & baby Daniel are all characters that I wanted to learn more about, so those went down easily enough. And the story of the ruler of Baghdad who wanted his city to last forever was very good, even if it did have that rambling quality to the story that I've come to forever associate with Neil Gaiman.
This one really was about a 50/50 mix for me, and while it won't go down as one of my favorites there was some very enjoyable stuff mixed into Fables & Reflections. -
A priceless journey through history and folklore!
Creative Team:
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Illustrators: Shawn McManus, P. Graig Russell, Bryan Talbot, Kent Williams, John Watkiss, Jill Thompson, Duncan Eagleson & Stan Woch
Covers: Dave McKean
Letterer: Todd Klein
EMPERORS, CITIES, MONTHS, TEARS & SONGS
In this sixth volume, Fables & Reflections, you will find an illustrated short story right in the beginning of it, even before the introduction, written by Gene Wolfe (which by the way, no offense, but it’s quite spoiling, so in this ocassion, I recommend that if you still want to read the introduction, it’s better to do it after reading the TPB, to enjoy more the surprises contained here.
Hey, I don’t want to bore you. Are you interested in dreams?
You might say that.
There is nothing wrong is reading fiction, but having in mind that real life can be as fascinating, fantastic and almost impossible to believe than fiction.
Sometime we read fiction because we think that life is too ordinary, too real, but if you wander through history you will find so many chapters defying logic and common sense, and yet, they’re real.
Reality isn’t a bad thing, sometimes people find fiction like that land where any dream can come true, but reality has the same chance, if you embrace it as well.
What’s real? What’s fiction?
If something is real, does it really need fact to support it? It’s real, after all, therefore it is, not matter if you believe it or not. So, if you really believe in something that born in fiction, and may other do too, then isn’t that fiction become something real in this world?
You shouldn’t trust the storyteller; only trust the story.
That’s the power of believe.
And if you believe that a man can fly, there is no limits, boundaries, even thermidors, to stop anything to become real.
If it’s real in your heart, how can be less real in your mind? Does the mind any right to say what’s real in the heart?
If only you believe in something, is it less real? Galileo Galilei was the only one who believes the “insane” concept of that Earth was orbiting around the Sun and not the contrary. Who was right at the end?
His madness keeps him sane.
And do you think he is the only one, my sister?
Neil Gaiman shows us in this sixth volume, Fables & Reflections, how wonderful is real life, of course, why not adding some dreams into the formula, but at the end, at the bottom of the stories, they are based on real events, not matter if you can’t believe them.
An emperor in the United States.
Headless marionettes made of real bodies.
Calendars rebooted and months renamed.
Cities impossible to forget.
Are you always so pale?
That depends on who’s watching.
When a story tell you right away what to think of it, when it tells you in plain sight what’s the message of it, well, it’s not like it makes it wrong, but certainly keeps away the reader a bit from the story itself. Neil Gaiman is such master storyteller that in many cases (and you will find formidable examples here) that he won’t tell you what to think of the story, he won’t explained you the message of the story, he won’t print the morality about it. You will have to do it, and therefore, the story becomes a gift to you, the story will become of your own, since it will have your own interpretation, different from the one thought by anybody else, so those stories will become part of you, will have a piece of you.
Death was a little older than Dream. Things had the potential to die before they had the potential to dream.
Leadership never is easy. People tend to think, to hope, that their leaders know what they are doing. But aren’t they as human as their followers? And you will amaze how many leaders now watched as insane dictators, they thought that they were doing the right thing. Hell is paved with good intentions is the common saying, and it is right, since while some of those dictators were plainly crazy, they didn’t reach the top alone, many crazier people should help them to get there.
What’s wrong in a self-appointed mad leader who doesn’t do any harm to anybody compared with a mass-appointed mad leader who does fill the streets with blood?
Leaders, as any other person, they are hard to judge, since you may know what they do in public, but hardly you will ever know what they did in private, how were their days before of becoming leaders, and what kind of things they endure. It’s not a matter of justifying, but at least to understand.
If cities are full of people, how can’t they have a soul? The very name of certain city is able to feel with certain emotions the heart and mind of a person. Even those cities can be already far away from their golden ages, but the romance about them will be eternal. The emotion won’t die.
You are a god.
I am not a god. But I am here as a favor to a god.
A... favor?
All gods begin in my realm, Caius Octavius. They walk your world for a span, and when they are old they return to my world, to die.
You never know what tomorrow has for you. Today you may be well, having the time of your life, and tomorrow can be just the opposite, that’s why seize the day is so important, and also how you treat other people.
Parenthood is never easy. Children don’t come with an instructions’ book. And you never stop to be parent not matter how old are your kids, even if they got married and now they have kids on their own. Sometimes (if not always) they think that their parents never were as they, that their parents never had to endure what they are, so it’s important to let them know that parents know what they are dealing with, since parents very likely were in the same situation before.
Love is a matter of trust. Love doesn’t need eyes. Therefore, if you really love someone, you don’t need to try to look back. Love is there, right behind you. You have to trust, with close eyes on it, or...
...it isn’t really love. Maybe something else, but not love.
Neil Gaiman takes us in a fantastic journey melding lore and folklore, from many cultures, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Roman, American, European, and from many time periods, since the very beginning of history as well as visiting times of terror and times of wonder.
Neil Gaiman can be calm since the rooks will fly away without making any harm, and after that...
...he will fly too. -
Re-Read: 6/1/20
I still like all the things I've always liked about this volume, but with special emphasis on Fiddler's Green and Marco Polo. That one really got to me this time.
And strangely, The House of Mystery bits. The brothers always did have a special place in my heart, but it was the Rook that really sparked me up. :)
Original Review:
I'm really in the swing of my Sandman re-read and loving every second of it, now.
I love the retelling of Orpheus. Hell, that entire sequence sent chills down my spine and kept making me think along with the original storyline, making fantastic connections. It's not for the faint of heart. My only complaint was the script. It wasn't the easiest to read. Still, what lies underneath is the most important. French-revolution and the Furies, indeed!
I liked all the stories, really, and even while they don't come with the same kind of kicks I'm used to, quiet reflection isn't exactly a bad outcome. Watching Emperor Augustus play a beggar was priceless, as was the examination of what makes an everlasting empire. But the First and Last Emperor of America was brilliant. Nuff Said. :) -
Collects all of the single issues and short stories that occurred between issues #29-50. There are some real gems here. A standout for me was The Song of Orpheus retelling the Greek myth of Orpheus while making Orpheus Dream's son. The other one is Ramadan. This remains the best artwork of P. Craig Russell's long career. While some of these are just great stand alone stories on their own, others do add to the overall Sandman mythology.
-
My long overdue journey through Sandman continues (I’m not sure which streak lasted longer—my not reading Sandman or my virginity…well, no, that’s not true; we all know which streak lasted longer). Another excellent volume, though the one-off nature of each of the issues contained herein made the flow a bit more uneven than the past couple of volumes. Still, the series as a whole gets better with each volume, and my passion for it has grown considerably since the end of Vol. 2, at which point I wasn’t wildly enthused (not unlike my first lover, though, in her case, she felt that way halfway through Vol. 1).
Onward to Vol. 7! -
After the lukewarm quality of the
3rd Volume: Dream Country, I wasn't too keen to jump into yet another short story collection. However this volume ended up surprising me, and had me reconsider my preconceptions. Things that I expected to dislike turned out to be surprisingly interesting, while aspects I was looking forward to enjoy fell kinda flat.
My biggest disappointment with the series' progress, is the way Morpheus keeps taking more and more of a secondary role. On occasion I've even wondered if his presence could've been omitted altogether (eg: The Hunt). Yet somehow I didn't really mind it all that much, when the art and overall storyline would prove to be interesting enough even without the series' titular character.
On the other hand, while I generally loved getting more background information on Morpheus, the one story that featured his entire family (The Song of Orpheus) didn't really impress me all that much. Sure the panels depicting various realms of the antiquity were pretty enough, but Greek Legends have long since lost their appeal for me. That's what I get for obsessing over them since middle-school.
Given the brief length of these short stories, finding 5-star ones was a welcome surprise:
- Three Septembers and a January: the tale of a man, who managed to live a fulfilling life due to his delusion.
- Thermidor: the adventures of an English spy during the turbulent times of the First French Republic.
- The Hunt: a Russian fairy tale
Score: 3.85/5 stars
A big reason for the 4-star rating is thanks to the art. Even though I'm not good at drawing myself, I'm awfully picky about the style I like. Especially with my tastes not being particularly elevated. That's why I was doubly surprised by how much I ended up liking it in this volume.
==============
Review of volume 1:
Preludes & Nocturnes
Review of volume 2:
The Doll's House
Review of volume 3:
Dream Country
Review of volume 4:
Season of Mists
Review of volume 5:
A Game of You
Review of volume 7:
Brief Lives -
Fables and Reflections is the 6th volume in The Sandman series.
I really enjoyed this latest edition to the series. Neil Gaiman went in a different direction with story telling with this volume.
In this collection, it shows different tales and stories of people that have come into contact with the Lord of Dreams.
Morpheus is more of a secondary character in this volume.
He is in the reflection or fable, lurking in the background. Right at the edge of your dreams and consciousness. When the black and white world is actually grey, and you're not quite sure what is a dream or real life.
Looking forward to getting to the next volume! -
Absolutely LOVED The Song of Orpheus and Fear of Falling. A fun collection but I’m left wondering if the stories are meant to be connected or not? Who knows with Sandman 😂 Full review to come!
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Dreams are composed of many things, my son. Of images and hopes, of fears and memories. Memories of the past, and memories of the future...
Volume six is a collection of shorter stories, one-shot issues that may or may not be related to the main story arc, but they offer the author the chance to explore different aspects of the way Dreams shape our world and define our personalities. I actually believe Gaiman is better in this form than in the longer sequences, as he has more creative liberty and can concenrate better on the core message he wants to tackle with each issue. Another positive outcome of these innovative experiments is the invitation extended to guest artists to come and try their hand at illustrating the universe Gaiman imagined. The resutling diversity in subjects and visuals is rekindling my interest in the overall series by avoiding routine and predictability. Without further ado, let's look at each issue, in the order from the original run:
Thermidor - features Lady Johanna Constantine, who has graced the series with her presence previously, and who merits, as far as I am concerned, her own spin-off story arc. Set in the darkest hour of the French Revolution, the story is an adventure romp coupled with a look at how absolute power corrupts, and how the victors are attempting to erase the past and rewrite history in accordance with their own ideology. Despite praising liberty and fraternity, free thinkers and independent spirits are seen as dangerous enemies of the state.
August - Emperor Augustus spends one day each year disguised as a beggar, in the company of a dwarf actor / jester. More than trying to understand the lives of his subjects, Augustus is attempting to exorcise demons of his youth (Dreams as nightmares) and also decide about the benefits of absolute imperial power : is it a force of progress or a path to corruption, decadence, dissolution?
Three Septembers and a January - is the clear winner for me of this sixth volume, because it deals with a real character from late XIX century in San Francisco, not a prime mover of the wheels of History, but an oddball nobody whose only importance came from the yellow pages of scandal sheets looking for an unusual story. What's so special about Joshua Abraham Norton - the first, last and only Emperor of the USA? Gaiman answers the question by making him the subject of a wager with his fellow Endless, proving that our Dreams are stronger than Despair, Desire, Delirium and even Death. The Endless fight it out over the soul of Norton in a fashion that reminded me of the myth of Dr. Faustus, with each immortal trying to trick him, to steal his sanity, his amiable disposition. More than the battle between the Endless, the story of the Emperor of San Francisco is the story of his contemporaries, who instead of cruelly mocking him or locking him up in a mental asylum, played along with his delusions, offered him free meals and drinks, and proudly showed him off to visitors from out of town. Sometimes kindness is more important than sanity. For more about Joshua Norton, check out the great portrait of him in the fiction of Christopher Moore, which I read without knowing the character was based on a real person.
Ramadan - Harun al-Rashid, another ruler who likes to wander in disguise among his subjects, reflects on the transience of beauty, and makes an appeal to Morpheus to preserve the most magnificent city in all history (Baghdad) by moving it into his realm of Dream, becoming the stuff of legends and myths, the only form of beauty that transcends Time. I liked in paerticular the colour palette and the Oriental scrollwork of this anniversary issue (no. 50)
The Hunt - goes for inspiration to the Russian endless forests ( Trees there were, old as trees can be, huge and grasping with hearts black as sin. Strange trees that some said walked in the night ) and touches on the legends of Koschei the Deathless and Baba Yaga, as well as a variant of Sleeping Beauty. The sory has a personal appeal to me, as I grew up reading some of these Slavic fairytales, and recently the same subject came up in Deathless by Catherynne Valente. Gaiman explores here family relations, the call of the unknown (a princess in a tower, an adventure in far off lands, a magical artefact), the importance of traditions and of living among your own kin.
Soft Places - has Marco Polo as a protagonist and is set in a desert, where it is very easy to cross the border between Reality and Dream. It ties up with previous stories featuring Fiddler's Green and the initial imprisonment of Morpheus at the start of the series. This is the one issue where the artwork was below the high quality I have come to expect from the series, and it had the curious effect of making me less interested in the actual story told.
The Parliament of Rooks - follows the toddler Daniel Hall, who can cross into Morpheus Realm at will, as a consequence of being born there (his story is told in one of the previuos volumes) . Daniel gets to play with the tiny gargoyle while Eve, Cain, Abel and Matthew are telling him stories. Gaiman is at his best at these stories within stories, subtly altering the familiar ones and inventing weird new others, like the myth of the three wives of Adam. As a bonus, I loved seeing the denizens of Dream, and the endless portrayed as children. I understand Daniel will play an important role later in the series, so probably this issue is part of his build-up, training for what is to come.
The Song of Orpheus - closes the collection in a symetrical fashion, seeing as Thermidor is concerned with the recovery of Orpheus head. Here we learn how the head became separated from the body of Dream's son. Gaiman mixes the Greek Gods with the Endless in the story about the power of art to defy Death, but also the ultimate defeat of the artist in trying to rise above his limitations.
As with the previous volumes, I look forward to a re-read after I finish the series, eager to see how the isolated pieces of the puzzle will fit into the big picture Gaiman is telling here. -
I read a lot of graphic novels (Asterix, Tintin etc) as a child but this was probably my first adult graphic novel.I was seriously impressed. Despite the fact that it was a comic book, and I generally expect to see simple writing in those, the calibre of the writing was very high and the stories were quite intellectual and thought-provoking. The graphics were great too. And, as a history lover, seeing all the famous historical characters in this book was really quite cool.
Just one teensy little gripe: in one of the earlier stories, the cursive writing was extremely hard to read (and I have excellent eyesight).
I am definitely going to read the other books in the series. Speaking of which, I started the series on Volume 6 because I received this volume for my birthday (thank you Shirley <3) but I don't think that hurt my enjoyment of the book in any way. -
This is my least favorite volume so far, most stories bored me and I couldn’t care about the characters nor the conclusion of the story especially since they aren’t connected. The art is a bit tiring too.
Issues 29-31: 2 stars
The Hunt (#38): 4 stars
Soft Places (#39): 2 stars
The Parliement of Rooks(#40): 3 stars
Ramadan (#50): 3 stars -
Value’s in what people think. Not in what’s real. Value’s in dreams, boy.
Mythos upon mythos. Story upon story. -
***I read some of these stories in a different order to how they are arranged here, so this review is just the thoughts I put a previous review, that I've taken out and put under the book that they actually fit with!***
My omnibus also had the three issues between volumes 4 and 5, which I'll just mention quickly here because I'm not sure where else to put it. I loved these. I really enjoy the short story style issues, especially between the more grand stories told in each of the main books. They were:
Distant Mirrors: Thermidor
Distant Mirrors: August
Distant Mirrors: Three Septembers and a January
My favourite was the last one, I think it's one of my favourite issues so far. As ever, Death is joy, Desire and Despair continue to repel and intrigue me in equal measure and Delirium proves a welcome presence. After Death, she is the character I want to learn the most about. I find myself just wanting to give her a hug, and I'm not really the kind of person who typically feels like hugging people.
Sandman Special #1: The Song of Orpheus
"Dreams are composed of many things, my son. Of images and hopes, of fears and memories. Memories of the past, and memories of the future..."
I began this issue a little reluctantly because it is the last one in my omnibus, and finishing it meant the beginning of the wait for the next volumes to arrive. I'd considered leaving it for a while, but I couldn't resist knowing what happens, especially since the title made it clear that it centres around Orpheus, a mythological favourite of mine, whose presence in The Sandman was an unexpected thrill. I think this was the best take on his story that I have ever read. I'm not sure why I've always been so enthralled by this extremely tragic tale, but there is something about it that pulls me in every time.
The other highlight of this issue was Death. She's always the highlight really, but this one was especially great. There were several outfits, all of which I adored (especially the third one), and a glimpse of her house. Also, I got my first introduction to the missing sibling. He was not at all what I had expected! -
This 6th volume is, as the title suggests, a collection of fables and reflections. People remembering and reflecting upon certain events in their past; fables from all around the world that have to do with morpheus, the Lord of Dreams.
The individual tales are about:
1. the French Revolution => Orpheus’ (Morpheus’ sons’) head returned to Greece by one of Constantine’s ancestors
2. Augustus Octavius Caesar and his dreams/nightmares about the future of Rome that tie into the deeds of his long-dead uncle
3. the first and last emperor of the US
4. the „old people“ in the „old country“ and of dreams better left unfulfilled
5. Marco Polo and Rustichello in a soft place where dreams and reality whirl around and time runs differently - I loved the notions of such places being gone because explorers bound them on maps
6. three stories told to Daniel (a special child that had contact with the world of dreams in a previous volume) in the House of Secrets: one about Adam and his wives (yes, plural), one about the parliament of rooks and one about Cain and Abel themselves.
7. Baghdad back when it was the jewel of Arabia; it is Ramadan and we are taken to the palace of pleasure and wisdom where a very troubled ruler lives and makes an interesting bargain (Jafar was is vizier *lol*)
What they all had in common was that they are fables and tales of magic and wonder and the source of both: dreams. There was a definite parallel between the second and second-to-last story, which was kinda weird and also kinda cool. The best one, though (at least to me), as the 7th story about Baghdad. That one sent shivers down my spine.
One of the tales had one of my all-time favorite rhymes in it:
One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.
That, like many other mythological easter eggs and nods, was a delightful extra. It’s Gaiman’s ability to not only tell a great story but to pepper it with cultural context and oh so many details that make him a truly fantastic writer.
The art, it has to be said in every review, is still nothing too nice though I seem to find an improvement at least in some issues. Or maybe I’m just getting used to it.
This has easily been my favorite volume of the series thus far. The single issues / tales do not all take place after the 5th volume but since they are all self-contained and only have a few hints at previous events here or there, it really doesn’t matter. I love fairy tales and this volume definitely has the fairytale vibe to it. That plus all the magical elements strewn in to make the world(s) even more colorful and fascinating had me marveling at every page. -
So, thought when I initially read this years ago that this was a very good volume in one of the best comics series of all time, and now, reading it more slowly, I think it is even better than I initially thought. Modestly titled Fables & Reflections, it appears on the surface to be a possibly random compilation of a range of stories across time. A volume between arcs. But now that I have read it again and in the context of hundreds and hundreds of comics since first reading it I see that it is a very ambitious phase in this series about the process of exploring the importance of imagination and dreaming in the history of the world.
The range of tales ion this volume alone is impressive, encompassing a range of styles and tones, revealing the scope of Gaiman’s reach of interest in stories from the Bible to Greek mythology, to stories at Grandpa's knee, across history. The volume includes stories taking place in the French Revolution (Robespierre and St. Just); during the time of Augustus Caesar in Rome; Marco Polo and Fiddler’s Green; Adam and his three wives (and Cain and Abel) and a Parliament of Rooks, a story of the San Franciscan Joshua Norton (self-proclaimed Emperor of America)—and the last and best of which is one set in Baghdad, during Ramadan (Caliph Harun al-Rashid). I also love the retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, always powerful and affecting.
So it’s about rulers and empires, shaped by dreams, and by hope. But there’s also a wry and intimate story of a grandpa telling a story to his disinterested granddaughter, I liked that one, too. This volume is crazy ambitious and accomplished, more about history and fantasy than it is about horror, as some others are.and as the title suggests, more reflective. Amazing, really. -
Este volumen consiste en historias cortas que en su mayoría no están conectadas con la trama principal de la serie. Por lo tanto, es un volumen desbalanceado, y juzgarlo depende de la calidad de cada relato individual. Me gustó mucho "Tres Septiembres y un Enero": me sorprendió enterarme que la historia de Joshua Norton es verídica (el personaje existió) y fue interesante ver el duelo, con tonos de Fausto, entre Sueño, Deseo y Desesperación. "Termidor" también me gustó, y además nos presenta a Orfeo, el hijo de Sueño, por primera vez. Las siguientes ya me parecieron más dispersas, hasta que llegamos a "La canción de Orfeo". Es interesante ver historias donde Sueño aparece antes de su encarcelamiento, ya que nos muestra la evolución del personaje. Antes, era bastante desalmado: condenó a Nada al infierno por rechazarlo, no ayudó a su hijo cuando se lo pidió, ni siquiera se mostró un poco conmovido. Es recién después de estar 70 años preso que comenzó a ser más compasivo (después dicen que la cárcel no reforma a nadie). La última historia "Ramadán", se inspira claramente en los cuentos de "Las mil y una noches" y me gustó mucho.
-
Due to my decision to read The Sandman in original publication order, rather than the ‘shuffled’ order it’s presented in in these collections, I finished volume seven before volume six. I hope that hasn’t confused anybody (he says as though anybody is paying that much, or indeed any, attention to these ‘reviews’).
This volume collects a group of done-in-one issues, plus a very short story from an anthology book. They are all excellent stories. Neil Gaiman proves over and over that it is still possible to tell a complete story in one issue; something I wish today’s comicbook writers with their sprawling, decompressed writing styles would remember. In fact, my favourite story in this collection is Fear of Falling (the aforementioned tale from the anthology book), which is just eight pages long.
The artwork is mostly really good as well, particularly P. Craig Russell’s work on Ramadan from issue fifty. Absolutely beautiful work.
Right, now on to volume eight... (See what I mean about confusing people?) -
THE SERIES
When introducing people to graphic novels (especially those who think they're just comic strip superheroes for kids with no depth) I point them in the direction of this beloved series. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of Dream, an Endless being who is something like an Old God who is superior to most known godly beings. He operates in many worlds most specifically Earth.
The Sandman was one of Vertigo's flagship titles, and is available as a series of ten trade paperbacks. It has also been reprinted in a recolored five-volume Absolute hardcover edition with slipcase. Critically acclaimed, The Sandman is one of the few graphic novels ever to be on the New York Times Best Seller list, along with Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. It was one of five graphic novels to make Entertainment Weekly's "100 best reads from 1983 to 2008", ranking at 46. Norman Mailer described the series as "a comic strip for intellectuals." (Wiki)
The Sandman #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", won the World Fantasy Award in 1991 for Best Short Fiction. Also, The Sandman and its spin-offs have won 26 Eisner Awards, including three for Best Continuing Series, one for Best Short Story, four for Best Writer (Neil Gaiman), seven for Best Lettering (Todd Klein), and two for Best Penciller/Inker (one each for Charles Vess and P. Craig Russell). The Sandman: The Dream Hunters was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Related Book in 2000. BothEndless Nights and The Dream Hunters won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative in 2004 and 2000, respectively. Also in 2004, Season of Mists won theAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Scenario. IGN declared The Sandman as the best ever Vertigo comic. (Wiki)
There have been several attempts to bring this series to the screen yet none have been viable as of the writing of this review.
VOLUME 6 (“FABLES AND REFLECTIONS”)
This volume divides up into several tales which are mostly thematic rather than connecting to the overall story (though one could argue they are story related as there are many ties to Dream's son, Orpheus, and their dysfunctional relationship).
“Fear of Falling” (C plus to B minus story) (storyteller is afraid of failing at his storytelling).
“Three Septembers and January” (B plus to A minus story) (Dream and Despair go at it, using the Emperor of the United States as a playing piece in their competition. The emperor really existed, by the way).
“Thermidor” (B plus story) (the aftermath of the French Revolution with an appearance by the talking head of Orpheus. Gaiman's personal feelings jump into the tale.).
“The Hunt” (B story) (more interesting for the the people telling the tale and the “aha” moment rather than the past tale; Slavic Folklore with Baba Yaga).
“August” (A minus to A story) (a dwarf has intimate conversations with Emperor Augustus while they are both in disguise; answers given as to why the emperor never expanded the borders of the Roman Empire further. Most appreciated by enthusiasts of Roman History. References to “I, CLAUDIUS” and Suetonius' superlative “Twelve Caesars”).
“Soft Places” (B story) (Marco Polo runs into Dream while the latter is returning from exile).
“The Song of Orpheus” (B plus) (Orpheus marries and loses his wife and then goes to the Underworld to recover her).
“The Parliament of Rooks” (B minus to B story) (More interesting for the mythologies than the present time characters and arguably a setup for later in the series).
“Ramadan” (A story) (The caliph of Baghdad makes a deal with Dream to preserve the memories of his fabled city for all times showing that stories will be told and retold forever. Wonderful artwork presentation).
ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B to B plus; STORY/PLOTTING: B plus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B plus to A minus; INTELLECTUAL FOCUSES: A minus; OVERALL GRADE: B plus to A minus; WHEN READ: 2005 (reread and reviewed end of September to early October 2012). -
4,5*
Άλλος ένας τόμος με short stories, τον οποίο και ξεκίνησα με επιφύλαξη αλλά τελικά μου άρεσε ακόμη περισσότερο από τον αντίστοιχο τρίτο!
Ουσιαστικά σε όλες τις ιστορίες πρωταγωνιστές είναι τα όνειρα και οι επιθυμίες των ανθρώπων που μπλέκονται με την πραγματικότητα και επηρεάζουν τις ζωές τους. Όλες οι ιστορίες μου άρεσαν αν και βρήκα τις August και Ramadan λιγάκι πιο φλύαρες από ότι θα ήθελα, ενώ η δεύτερη είχε και κάπως περίεργο σχέδιο, διαφορετικό από τις άλλες ιστορίες, το οποίο δεν μπορώ να πω ότι με ενθουσίασε.
Μου άρεσε επίσης ιδιαιτέρως αυτό το κάπως ασαφές τέλος που μπορεί να είχαν! Ήταν όνειρο ή συνέβη στ' αλήθεια; Ήταν απλά ένα παραμύθι ή πραγματικότητα;
η άποψη μου για όλη τη σειρά εδώ:
https://wordpress64426.wordpress.com/... -
Fables & Reflections contains a number of short stories, some of which are really great, while some are just so-so.
But the stories that really stand out are 'Ramadaan' and 'The Song of Orpheus'.
'Ramadaan' is a story that is nothing short of being genius. The reveal at the end of the story, was very powerful. The story is the sole reason why this book gets 4 stars, instead of 3.
'The Song of Orpheus' is a retelling of the classic mythological story. Very well written and poignant. -
Fables & Reflections was probably my least favorite Sandman volume so far. While I delighted in the single-issue stories in Dream Country, the ones contained in this one didn't thrill me as much. I lost my focus a few times and wished there weren't so many grouped together without a common theme. Dream Country, on the other hand, was the perfect taste of outside-the-plot mini tales.
The stories about Orpheus were the most interesting, being the most relevant to Dream, and I found myself wishing more issues were devoted to his story. -
Un volume di storie a sé stanti, storie che vedono protagonisti personaggi più o meno famosi, tutti bene o male alle prese con Sogno.
Molti momenti memorabili, molte frasi da incorniciare, e nel retelling della storia di Orfeo scopriamo chi sia il settimo Eterno (o almeno ne scopriamo il nome greco).
Essendo un volume composto da numeri sparsi (compresi tra il 29 e il 50, oltre a due speciali) la qualità ovviamente è varia e altalenante.
Comunque si tratta pur sempre del signor Neil Gaiman, quindi si rimane su livelli più che accettabili. -
Like Dream Country, Fables & Reflections is a collection of unconnected stories of dreamers throughout history. I really liked that a number of these stories included real historical figures and connected their lives to an interaction with the Sandman. Beyond just showing a different idea of history, they reveal an interesting side of Morpheus. I feel like I tend to think of him as a neutral figure—one who doesn't intefere and make dreams come true. I'm wrong to think this, because it is repeatedly shown otherwise, but particularly here in Fables & Reflections, a relatively benevolent side to Morpheus is revealed.
(Another random thing I've been wrong to think: in my head, Morpheus is this kind of asexual entity. So it was kind of weird for me, reading about his son and ex-wife in The Song of Orpheus.)
Art-wise, this definitely wasn't my favourite instalment. I never like criticising the art in graphic novels, because I am certainly not a gifted artist, but I just noticed that I didn't enjoy this art nearly as much as in previous volumes. The exception, of course, is the last story, Ramadan, which was colourful and vibrant and gorgeous (and served a narrative purpose, too).
All up, I enjoyed this volume and am very excited for what is hinted to happen in volume 7! -
Ο μόνος λόγος που δεν βάζω 5 αστεράκια —αν κι οι ιστορίες για τη Γαλλική Επανάσταση, την αρχαία Ρώμη και τον πρώτο και τελευταίο αυτοκράτορα των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών είναι του ονείρου— βρίσκεται στο ότι τα εξώφυλλα υπόσχονται ίσως το πιο ωραίο σχέδιο της σειράς, υπόσχεση όμως που δεν ευοδώνεται. Μιας και πρόκειται για specials, τους έπαιρνε να τεντώσουν λίγο ακόμη τα όρια του μέσου.
Για να εξηγήσω τι εννοώ, δείτε:
-
A wonderful pallet cleaner of little tales that build the world.
World: The art is just as beautiful as the rest of the series, so good. The world building here is great, after the huge arcs we've had it's a great little change to have small little intimate character stories that build on the world as a whole. I like the characters we meet and Dream showing up and the interactions are just brilliant, then we get the son and the Greek myths and it's fun. Fantastic.
Story: Little tales that were character based and a step back from grand arcs makes it a fresh nice palate cleaner. I really like it, I can't express that enough. Then we get the nice little tale of Dream's past and his family and it's poetic and beautiful, I don't want to spoil it. It's both empathetic and distant like Dream as a whole.
Characters: Dream is Dream and he's perfect, a manifestation and a force of nature, distant and close and emotionless and full of heart at the same time, fascinating. The characters we meet in this arc are great, historical and a new spin on them that made it fun and unexpected. Good stuff.
I liked this beautiful palate cleans of an arc.
Onward to the next book! -
Her "Sandman" okuduğumda aynı cümleleri kuruyorum sanırım; müthiş, çizgi dışı, kesinlikle dahice vb... "Sandman: Fabllar Ve Yansımalar"da bu haklı sıfatların, tamlamaların zirvesine yakın bir noktada. Okumaktan, çizimlerde kaybolmaktan büyük lezzet aldım. Her biri bambaşka öykülerden oluşan nefis bir derleme diyebilirim. Eğer "Sandman" seviyorsanız bu cilde muhakkak göz atmalısınız. İthaki'nin emektarları harika bir iş çıkarmışlar, tabii çevirmen Elif Ersavcı'yı da unutmamak gerek. Beş üstünden altı yıldız!
-
Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections: Luminous tales of rulers, adventurers, dreamers
After Vol 5: A Game of You, my least favorite Sandman volume so far, I’m happy to report a resounding return to form in Vol 6: Fables and Reflections, a collection of stand-alone stories centered on various prominent figures in different periods of history, including the Emperor of the United States in 19th century San Francisco (“Three Septembers and a January”), Robespierre in early 18th century revolutionary Paris (“Thermidor”), a mysterious huntsman deep in the forest (“The Hunt”), Augustus Caesar in ancient Rome (“August”), Marco Polo roaming in the desert (“Soft Places”), Orpheus and Eurydice in the Underworld (“The Song of Orpheus”), Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden (“The Parliament of Rooks”), and finally Haroun Al Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad (“Ramadan”).
It’s hard to easily summarize the disparate stories of this collection. I found the quality of the narratives and artwork to be very high, but the themes were so rich and varied that it would wrong to say what, as a whole, the collection is “about”. As with all of Gaiman’s SANDMAN series, the art of story-telling itself is a central feature, along with various mythologies, dreamers, powerful rulers, and of course dreams. The way these themes are interwoven is what gives the collection a unified “feel”, even though each story is unique. Frequently there is a framing device, an overt narrating voice, that sets the stage for the stories, but some of my favorite stories keep the identity of the story-teller deliberately concealed in order to be revealed at the end and force us to rethink the story’s overall message.
My particular favorites in this collection were “The Hunt”, which has a timeless appeal as a grandfather tells a story to his teenage granddaughter, who would rather watch MTV. The longest story is “The Song of Orpheus”, which takes the traditional tale and incorporates The Endless into the story for a very different interpretation. It is quite a powerful story with a shocking ending. Morpheus has a major role to play here, as do his siblings.
“Ramadan” is the centerpiece of the collection, an amazingly illustrated story that is so beautiful to look at that you simply have to read it more than once. The artist’s name is P. Craig Russell, and his drawing of the towers, mosques, minarets, and markets of Bagdad are strongly reminiscent of the art of Moebius. It’s story of the mighty King of fantastic Bagdad, who despite his limitless power and wealth is troubled deep in his soul. It is very much in the vein of The Arabian Nights, but once again Morpheus is a seamless part of the tale, and the ending…ah, that is truly sublime.
Interspersed within and between these stories, we continue to learn more about the nature of The Endless, including the missing sibling who makes his first appearance in “The Song of Orpheus”. So in that sense it has more continuity with Vol 4: Season of Mists than Vol 5: A Game of You. One of the best things about SANDMAN is how Gaiman can explore traditional mythology in such fresh and unique ways by overlaying The Endless and their heretofore hidden roles in the stories that humankind has created throughout history.
There are so many tantalizing hints dropped by Morpheus and his siblings about their various roles and duties, which again begs the question of “Who made these rules and why?” If The Endless came before the gods, then who created them? Clearly these questions point us to the Creator, who remains behind the scenes even in Vol 4: Season of Mists, when his Angels are they to represent his will. Will he ever make an appearance before this series ends? Only one way to find out… -
Being the sixth volume in the Sandman series, "Reflections and Fables" takes a different twist than readers are accustomed to - a volume entirely of the past. There are nine stories in the volume, each relating to the Sandman universe in its own way, yet each remarkably different and unique in their own way (minus the Orpheus volumes).
The opening chapter, Fear of Falling, really a prologue, is in itself wonderfully written and in only a few pages it packs a powerful message. Other notable chapters include Ramadan, August, Parliament of Rooks, Three Septembers and a January, and The Hunt.
Gaiman's short stories are always well written, you can tell Gaiman does his historical homework. He always weaves Dream into that tale splendidly, and he touches on myth, fable, and legend that most readers might know a little about, or have heard about somewhere, and expand and teach the readersomething; moreover, the deviation from a direct story line in this collection may appeal to some readers, as it did me, but then again it may not to all. Gaiman enriches the universe and the power of Dream, without using Dream as a main character, as he has done before in volumes like "Dream Country." Some readers will enjoy this aspect, and perhaps enjoy the historical aspect of the stories; whereas, others may wish to stay on track with the Dream as the main character. I am not the latter, I love these short stories, and how Gaiman weaved Dream into them in very clever ways.
Regardless, Fables and Reflections is a volume that should not be missed, and is one of the better Sandman volumes so far. Excellent work by Gaiman. I also thought the art was great in this volume, maybe the best so far, it was nice to see Dream's brother Destruction for once instead of just hearing about him and to get some background for the Calliope story that was in a previous volume. I also loved the chibi Death and Dream in "The Parliament of Rooks," and I'm always fascinated by how different artists represent Dream and his family. -
قسمت آخرش، رمضان، با اختلاف بهترین چیزیه که توی کمیک ها دیدم و خوندم. حالا که بیشتر از نصفِ سندمن رد شده دارم تصویری که نیل گیمن ساخته رو میبینم. اولش خیلی از چیزها بهم ربطی نداشتن، ولی حالا متوجه شباهت هاشون میشم. نیل گیمن واقعا به خواننده هاش اعتماد کرده که داستانی به این پیچیدگی رو نوشته.
