Chances are good you already know that the first issue of Neil Gaiman’s new Sandman series was released this past October; as one of the best-selling comics of 2013, it created quite a splash. What you may not know (I didn’t, but I’m easily distracted) is that for every issue of the series, one month later a “Special Edition” copy will be released, with bonus materials and a better look at the original art.
I bought both issues, and you may be wondering if it’s worth it to buy the extra copy (which will be slightly more expensive than the regular issue.)
My answer is: yes and no. It depends on who you are, what you know, and what you think is important. Vague enough for you? Read on!
The Sandman: Overture – Special Edition #1 features the same pages, art, and story as the regular issue, but the art has been left, for the most part, in the original black and white. Letterist Todd Klein also made the speech bubbles translucent in the Special Edition. Both these features allow you to see J.H. Williams III’s art a little more clearly. I can easily see why Gaiman was so excited to work with him; looking at these pages makes me want to track down every comic he’s ever drawn. His talent with faces was my favorite feature of the art; each of the familiar Sandman characters were instantly recognizable, but different and original in a beautiful way.
For me, though, coloring is important. On rare occasions I do like the original black and white art better (Phil Foglio’s Myth Adventures and several issues of Wendy Pini’s ElfQuest were much better before they were colored) but not in this case. Colorist Dave Stewart has done a masterful job with this issue. Looking at each issue side by side, in my mind there’s no comparison. Williams’ art is stunning, but with Stewart’s colors it’s literally breathtaking.
And not that it pertains specifically to the Special Edition, but f I start talking about how amazing Neil Gaiman’s writing is, I’ll never stop. It’s safe to say in a few short pages he reminded me of why I loved Sandman, and how much I can’t wait for the next issue.
The bonus materials in the Special Edition #1 were: a Process Piece, featuring annotations that Williams added to Neil Gaiman’s script to help organize the artwork; an exclusive interview with Williams; a playlist of what Williams was listening to while drawing the comic; several photos from the press check at the printers, and an article by Todd Klein on the use of his translucent word bubbles.
I couldn’t make up my mind on the word bubble article. Having the word bubbles be slightly translucent may seem like an odd thing to focus on, but not everybody does that, and Todd Klein was one of the first people to start doing it. It allows the word bubbles to work with the art instead of always covering it over.
But I’m not sure everyone will be interested in him describing how he took the word bubbles from 50% down to 45% opacity. Or how he decided to keep the words at 100% opacity and just make the bubble itself translucent. I work in Photoshop every day (though on nothing nearly so cool as this) and I don’t know if being familiar with the field means I’m interested because I understand what he’s talking about, or uninterested because a lot of it is information I already know. Probably both. If you like the minutiae of comic book creation (and it’s a fascinating field) you’ll enjoy the article. He also talked about creating the iconic white-text-on-black-bubbles for Morpheus’ speech bubbles, and how much harder that was in pre-Photoshop days.
On the whole I’m happy to have bought both books, mostly because I love Neil Gaiman’s work and I will happily throw money at him. At his work I mean. (He’s a married man, behave.) And seeing as how this is the first issue of the first Sandman series we’ve seen in a long time, from a collector’s standpoint it’s definitely worth having. I’m usually more interested in the final project than in the earlier stages though; I don’t have to see how the magician does what he does. I’ll probably just buy the regular issues next time, and revel in the amazing story, gorgeous art, and the absolutely beautiful colors.