The Sandman: Overture

Sandman
Cover of The Sandman No. 1 (January 1989). Art by Dave McKean.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics (1989-1993) Vertigo (1993-present)
Schedule	Monthly
Genre	Dark fantasy
Publication date	The Sandman January 1989 - March 1996 The Sandman: The Dream Hunters January 2009 - April 2009 The Sandman: Overture October 2013 - November 2015
Number of issues	The Sandman 75 plus one Special The Sandman: The Dream Hunters 4 The Sandman: Overture 6
Main character(s)	Dream of the Endless
Creative team
Writer(s)	Neil Gaiman
Penciller(s)	List The Sandman Sam Kieth Mike Dringenberg Chris Bachalo Michael Zulli Kelley Jones Charles Vess Colleen Doran Matt Wagner Stan Woch Bryan Talbot Shawn McManus Duncan Eagleson John Watkiss Jill Thompson P. Craig Russell Alec Stevens Mike Allred Shea Anton Pensa Gary Amaro Marc Hempel Glyn Dillon Dean Ormston Teddy Kristiansen Richard Case Jon J Muth The Sandman: The Dream Hunters P. Craig Russell The Sandman: Overture J. H. Williams III
Inker(s)	List The Sandman Mike Dringenberg Malcolm Jones III Steve Parkhouse Charles Vess P. Craig Russell George Pratt Dick Giordano Stan Woch Shawn McManus Vince Locke John Watkiss Alec Stevens Mark Buckingham Mike Allred Steve Leialoha Tony Harris Marc Hempel D'Israeli Glyn Dillon Teddy Kristiansen Richard Case Michael Zulli Jon J Muth The Sandman: The Dream Hunters P. Craig Russell The Sandman: Overture J. H. Williams III
Letterer(s)	Todd Klein John Costanza
Colorist(s)	List Robbie Busch Steve Oliff Danny Vozzo Lovern Kindzierski / Digital Chameleon Jon J Muth Sherilyn van Valkenburgh
Creator(s)	Neil Gaiman Sam Kieth Mike Dringenberg

The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics imprint Vertigo. Its artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, and Michael Zulli, with lettering by Todd Klein and covers by Dave McKean. Beginning with issue No. 47, it was placed under the Vertigo imprint. It tells the story of Dream of the Endless, who rules over the world of dreams. The original series ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996, with Gaiman's contract stipulating that the series would end when he left it.

The main character of The Sandman is Dream, also known as Morpheus and other names, who is one of the seven Endless. The other Endless are Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium–who was once Delight–and Destruction–who turned his back on his duties. The series is famous for Gaiman's trademark use of anthropomorphic personification of various metaphysical entities, while also blending mythology and history in its horror setting within the DC Universe.The Sandman is a story about stories and how Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, is captured and subsequently learns that sometimes change is inevitable.The Sandman was Vertigo's flagship title, and is available as a series of ten trade paperbacks, a recolored five-volume Absolute hardcover edition with slipcase, in a black-and-white Annotated edition, and is available for digital download. Critically acclaimed, The Sandman was one of the first few graphic novels ever to be on the New York Times Best Seller list, along with Maus, 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 No. 46.Norman Mailer described the series as "a comic strip for intellectuals." The series is noted for having a large influence over the fantasy genre and graphic novel medium since then.