Week 5: The British New Wave Comics

The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

When I have read graphic novels, I am usually particularly selective about what I choose to read. I am more open to content but tend to shy away from the overly fantastical, religious, or violent. I am rather picky when it comes to visual style, I am not drawn to overly sketchy, high contrast, or dark material.

This is exactly what Sandman was. More uninviting than the abstraction of the content, I had a lot of trouble getting past my deep aversion to this comic’s artistic representation. The heavy use of blacks with bright colors, filling the entirety of the panel weighs heavy on my eyes-paired with the sketchy line quality, the input was off-putting.  One artistic element I did appreciate was the inclusion of a back panel as a piece of the story, creating a page setting upon which the other frames were placed.

I found the story very slow to begin with, and after 110 pages of divergent attention, I decided to take a break from the comic. I will not say that I will never read this comic again, because I am open to it and know that my likes and dislikes are flexible, but did not have an enjoyable experience reading it at this point in time.