ShadowDance

The Sandman is one of the most widely respected English language comic book series of its time, finding recognition not only within the comic book industry but in the general literary world. It is generally ranked among such works as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen, Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Art Spiegelman's Maus in terms of critical acclaim and its conferring of respectability on comics. The Sandman supported the notion that comic books could be high-quality literature or art even in a long-running series.

Although The Sandman existed within the world of the superhero genre (DC characters — such as Doctor Destiny, the Justice League, and John Constantine — occasionally interacted with Morpheus, and characters like Green Lantern and Batman were seen in cameos), most of the main characters (save Lyta Hall and Daniel Hall) have no direct connections with it. Factual persons — such as William Shakespeare, Emperor Norton and Mark Twain — also made appearances. The first third of the series somewhat conformed to the horror genre, but it later grew into an elaborate fantasy series, incorporating elements of classical and contemporary mythology.

The Sandman also demonstrated that non-superhero comic books could be successful. Along with Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing stories and Jamie Delano's Hellblazer, Sandman helped establish "sophisticated suspense", a genre which is meant for older readers, includes elements of horror and fantasy, and tackles controversial topics. Sandman was one of the original Vertigo comics, an imprint which specialized in this genre and published some of the most acclaimed series of the 1990s, including Preacher and Animal Man.

The Sandman also strengthened the importance of the writer in comic books. Before Sandman, writers were often overshadowed by superstar artists such as Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee. Gaiman became one of the most popular comic book creators of the era (launching his career as a novelist).

The series paved the way for the long-form but finite comic book series as multi-layered serial fiction. Like a novel, and unlike all but a few prior comics series, The Sandman told a single complete story over seventy-five issues with a beginning, middle, and definitive end. Yet the book was also composed chiefly of a handful of story arcs that also moved from commencement to conclusion on a smaller scale, and these arcs consisted of individual issues of the magazine which themselves followed a finite narrative line within the context of the larger work surrounding them. Since The Sandman, this format has become increasingly popular and a staple of DC's Vertigo imprint, e.g., Grant Morrison's The Invisibles, Brian Vaughan's Y - The Last Man Vaughan's Ex Machina from DC's Wildstorm imprint, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's 100 Bullets, the aforementioned Preacher, James Robinson's Starman and the Lucifer series by Mike Carey, (a Sandman spin-off) which have all incorporated similar styles.


Popular culture

In addition to its impact on comic books, The Sandman has had a significant influence on pop culture. The series was mentioned in songs by Tori Amos, Alice Cooper and others, Sandman posters can be seen in the background of the sitcom Roseanne, and Extreme Championship Wrestling alumnus Raven is fond of wearing Sandman T-shirts. Dave Sim parodied the characters (Dream became "Swoon", Death "Snuff" and so on) in his comic book, Cerebus. Sam Kieth also parodied the character Death and Sandman fans in his comic, The Maxx.

The band Counting Crows have been avowed fans of the comic book for years, and some elements of the series can be heard on their songs, particularly Murder of One and Angels of the Silences.

The Sandman has also gained a decent amount of attention outside the comics world among other subcultures and has gained increasing popularity in the goth subculture.

Occasional covers and work with Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano has brought the title to the attention of fans of Japanese art and pop culture, as well as video game fans familiar with Amano's work through the Final Fantasy series, as well as other game and anime projects he has contributed to.

Richard Garfield, creator of the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering drew inspiration from Sandman #50 ("Ramadan") to create Magic's first expansion set: Arabian Nights. While the majority of the set involved Garfield researching the actual Arabian Nights stories, one card, named "City in a Bottle", was a direct nod to the ending of "Ramadan".

* Gaiman received a World Fantasy Award for short fiction in 1991 for the Sandman issue, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (see Dream Country) (Due to a subsequent rules change disqualifying comics for that category, Gaiman is the only writer to win that award for a comics script).
* He has won the Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer for the years 1991-1993, and received nominations from 1997-2000. His work on Sandman was awarded the Favourite Comic Book Story for 1991 and 1994.
* The illustrated version of Stardust won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature 1999.
* American Gods won the Hugo Award for Best Novel 2002, the Nebula Award for Best Novel 2002 and the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel 2001. It is among the most-honored works of fiction in recent history. [16]
* Coraline won the Hugo Award for Best Novella 2003, the Nebula Award for Best Novella 2003 and the Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers 2002.
* In 2004, his short story "A Study in Emerald" won another Hugo (in a ceremony the author presided over himself, having volunteered for the job before his story was nominated).
* Marvel 1602 Volume 1, written by Gaiman and illustrated by Andy Kubert, won the Best Graphic Novel at the 2005 Quill awards.
* Anansi Boys won him a second Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 2006. The book was also nominated for a Hugo Award, but Gaiman asked for it to be withdrawn from the list of nominations, stating that he wanted to give younger writers a chance, and it was really more fantasy than science fiction[17].
* Gaiman has won 14 Eisner Awards for his comics work.
* From the comics fans in the rec.arts.comics* newsgroups, Gaiman won the Squiddy Award for Best Writer five years in a row from 1990 to 1994. He was also named Best Writer of the 1990s in the Squiddy Awards for the decade.

Morwen wrote:Бтв, Шайхири, това вече с даването на квалификации от твоя страна е малко обидно. Престъпваш прословутите граници на добрия тон като обвиняваш някой, че мисли бавно.
Мисля, че изрично те попитах, кои са десетината фактора.

Roland wrote:За факторите - изброй ги, след това го направи с други произволни три филма от списъка на Морви и направи сравнителен анализ. ТОГАВА ще те взема насериозно. Ако не можеш, не, пардон, ако НЕ ГО НАПРАВИШ, просто приемам всеки следващ твой пост по темата като "Да, съжалявам, прави сте, говорих глупости, извинявам се за което".

Xellos wrote:млък бе

shayhiri wrote:Само след (някакво, бегло) извинение от страна на Роумър.

shayhiri wrote:Само след (някакво, бегло) извинение от страна на Роумър.

Yan wrote:Преди да искаш извинение от някого е по-добре ти да се извиниш за поведението си. Ей така за разнообразие...