Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Sandman Overture #4Sandman Overture #4 of 6
Vertigo (DC Comics)
Gaiman, Williams III & Stewart

Sandman returns with another strong issue. This particular comic advances the plot and reveals a little bit of insight into the inner workings of the lead character. This is a fantastic comic and while it might cater towards the long-time Sandman fan I believe that someone that is looking for a deeper comic book read can pick this up and thoroughly enjoy it. I recommend checking this out.

Dream, with child and cat of course, visit his father. This sets in motion the plot and motivation for this particular issue. Essentially, Dream visits a star within the city of stars to plead his case to end the pain he believes he's caused. However, things do not go as planned.

The beauty of the issue is that Gaiman deals almost entirely with things that exist outside of the realm of "real". His father talks about things in the past tense then corrects himself that they are things that have yet to occur. Also, his father changes age and appearance throughout their interaction. Further than that, Dream deals with the stars while bringing along a small child. This requires him to explain the mortal to the stars in a very eye-opening, descriptive manner that provides insight into how Dream sees the ordinary being. This sets up the pointed dialogue the child has with Dream where she reveals his cold exterior is not all that it seems.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork is nothing short of stunning. The comic flows with mostly double page spreads with smaller panels to help set the scene. Each double page spread seems to hit a different topic in the comic making the reading experience a very unique one. The coloring and the dialogue boxes are also stunning. Somehow, each component adds depth to the book that makes the reading experience a layered one. The downside is when the pages require turning at ninety and one-hundred and eighty degree rotations to read the dialogue. At one point (a very key point) I read the dialogue boxes out of order as a result. I am not a fan of this rotating style. I can only imagine how it must read on a digital device. Beyond that, the artwork is nothing short of brilliant.

Sandman is a quite an experience to read. This issue shows a side of Dream we all probably knew existed but were waiting for the revelation. I won't spoil the end but things do not end happily in this issue. I recommend checking this out.

4 out of 5 Geek Goggles