The Sandman is an Audible original production from Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs. It is a very dark dive into the DC Comics Universe’s supernatural side. Voice actors include, but not limited to Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Neil Gaimon, James McAvoy, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Andry Serkis, and Michael Sheen. I will say my favorite performance was Kat Dennings as Death. Lets be honest, if Kat Dennings showed up when I die with the empathy of this Death, it would be as pleasant of an experience as you could get.
The story is broken up into multiple arcs revolving around The Sandman directly or indirectly from the events at the beginning of the story. If one is not familiar with the character in DC, which I was only vaguely, you don’t need to be to enjoy this listen. You will learn as it goes. I will warn one though this is quite dark so beware there is child abuse, rape, orgy, mind control, violence, drug abuse, and serial killers. It has many storylines that can be triggering. I just want to make sure no one goes into this expecting a Zack Snyder dark DC movie; this is way beyond that.
The Sandman goes by the name Morpheus, for the most part, voiced by James McAvoy. His official name though is Dream; one of the Endless responsible for existence. Obviously, the name Sandman isn’t hiding what his responsibilities are in this universe, the dreamscape. It’s his domain. Even though he is an immortal being, Morpheus has interesting perspectives on the mortal realm that evolves as the story unfolds. Much of the issues caused in these plots was caused in the first chapter that had a domino effect on the dream world and in the waking world. You will also get to meet other Endless as well as DC characters such as Constantine. I really do enjoy how Morpheus interacts with others of his stature all the way down to regular humans. Being alive since the beginning of existence makes him quite capable and sure of himself. Though at the same time even with someone as powerful as he is, the story stays quite engrossing.
Often there are other characters PoV you will get to read from. Some of them are quite twisted and very uncomfortable, but so well done. The performances along with the story are almost pure perfection in how its crafted. The voice actors bring these characters to life or death depending on which character you want to discuss! There are story arcs I loved and some I found okay. None were bad though. I was definitely glued to this production from beginning to end. This was a great way to bring a graphic novel to life without spending money to make a movie that would have to cut so much stuff. This story works perfectly for an audio production and is well directed.
When I started listening to this, I thought it was a one-shot deal, but I see ACT II is coming out this Fall and I am excited. I will be using a credit on it easily. If you like the darker side of comic book universes, then this is for you. Just be mindful of the warnings I stated above. I do not want to stay more because of spoilers and mostly because this story is too wild to explain. Its something to experience for yourself.