Reddit mentions of The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1

I have the Absolute Sandman edition and it's gorgeous. However, they are fairly expensive, so if you're unsure about the series, the trade paperbacks would be a reasonable way to start until you're sure it's worth investing in.

Also, check if your local library has them available, or if not, if you can ILL them.

They are ABSOLUTELY worth it for a nongraphic novel type of person. The stories are deep, and the art is always exquisite. I think Sandman really shows why graphic novels are 'graphic novels' and not 'comic books' (not that there's anything wrong with comic books).

Depends on the hardcover, which one are you talking about?

Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1? Probably not. Amazon has it for $58:
https://www.amazon.com/Absolute-Sandman-Vol-1/dp/1401210821

Sandman Omnibus, Vol. 1? $87 on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Sandman-Omnibus-Vol-1/dp/1401241883

I found a hardcover of "World's End" going for $160 on eBay, but I think that price is out of bounds. The individual issues it reprints are about $3 each at your local comic shop or online or $18.

World's End reprints 51-56, which Amazon has for $45:
https://www.amazon.com/Sandman-Worlds-End-8/dp/B004L6MJ9E/ref=sr_1_4

I don’t have the Omnibuses, I have the Absolute editions, so I can only speak to them. I can say that they are absolutely worth the money. The pages are bigger, so you get to see more details, the covers are hardy, and I’ve had 0 problems with the bindings almost a decade later. You can’t read them in bed due to the size, but that’s literally the only negative thing I can say about it.

I met Neil Gaiman a few years ago. He was doing a book reading and then signing autographs. I brought The Absolute Sandman Volume 1 with me to get it autographed. He opened the book to a page of trace paper, made a comment about how much he enjoys drawing on trace paper, and then drew a full page sketch of the main character of the series. This was the exact same face I made while he was drawing.

If you have the cash, I love my Absolute Editions. There is an Omnibus as well, I do not know what the difference is.

Otherwise, I believe there are 10 trades.

[These editions] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Absolute-Sandman-Vol-1/dp/1401210821/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342203402&sr=8-1&keywords=sandman+absolute) are more expensive but are totally worth it in my opinion

Just bought myself a fancy edition of a neat comic book. Buying a first volume implicitly holds the promise of buying the - in this case four - subsequent volumes as well, making this a rather costly affair. Looks like rice is back on the menu, boys!

For this type of stuff I tend to just check Amazon. If you look at the first review for the omnibus on Amazon the person spends time comparing the omnibus and absolute. And similar deal with Absolute reviews where you will see people discussing the pros and cons with some talking about stuff like binding issues. As far as cheaper there is always digital that you can look into and then the regular trades can be pretty cheap; especially if you are willing to buy used.

Ah, the older stuff. Unfortunately, no, I have not had the chance to read any of the classics. Which is a real shame, because that was when X-Men was off the rails. I only started getting into X-Men last year, so I still have a lot of history to catch up with.

I didn't realize they were so hard to find. Here in Singapore, we only have one decent comic book store, and it's pretty easy to find what you're looking for. Even if they don't have it, they would probably ship it in. Maybe you could find a local store that provides the same service?

I can't help much, but I can suggest you check out your local library. That's where I started my comic book obsession. At one point of time, I even found the Absolute Sandman Vol. 1. Yeah, this thick sonuvabitch.

But I dunno. Maybe I'm talking out of my ass here. It's 2:30 in the morning, and I'm tired as hell. The gist of it is, it's worth the effort if you're a comic book history buff. Otherwise, check out the cliffnotes online.

Sorry I can't help out more.

Any interest in The Absolute Sandman: Volumes One and Two? They are the ~600 page hardbound collector's editions of the graphic novels.

I have them; Used, in well-cared-for, rarely read, have-been-sitting-in-a-box-for-long-enough-that-I-may-as-well-get-rid-of-them condition. I was about to put them up on ebay, but I'd rather sell locally, and would prefer them in the hands of a redditor than just some random human/pawnshop/whatever.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Absolute-Sandman-Vol-1/dp/1401210821/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382067699&sr=8-1&keywords=absolute+sandman
http://www.amazon.com/The-Absolute-Sandman-Vol-2/dp/140121083X/ref=pd_sim_b_1
http://www.amazon.com/The-Absolute-Sandman-Vol-3/dp/1401210848/ref=pd_sim_b_1
http://www.amazon.com/The-Absolute-Sandman-Vol-4/dp/1401210856/ref=pd_sim_b_1
http://www.amazon.com/Sandman-Companion-Hy-Bender/dp/1563894653/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_har?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382067770&sr=1-1&keywords=sandman+companion

Start Here or if you have more money to spend on nice books the whole series was recolored and put in a very pretty binding Here.

This will get deeply buried here, but I highly recommend you get the first volume of Absolute Sandman. It's a color re-master of one of the greatest graphic novel series. It looks beautiful, and the story is truly engaging and epic. I'd say it's one of the best achievements in entertainment - in any format.

1st volume of the Absolute Sandman coming on Monday!

xkcd.com is fantastic, and one of the first comics I ever started reading.

Scott Pilgrim is a great series. Fables is fun. The Sandman series is incredible (I love both Neil Gaiman and the gorgeous artwork), Blankets is good, French Milk is one of my favorites, anything by Liz Prince is hilarious/very true-to-life, but my all-time, end-all be-all favorite is Local

PS: I told my husband, who initially got me interested in comics, about this /r/askreddit/ post and he said, "well, is it a boy or a girl asking?" I don't know the answer to that, but just FYI - I'm a lady and some of these choices may be too girly for you if you're a dude.

Dude. I fucking own all five volumes of this. Don't fucking lecture me.