The Sandman: Overture

The Sandman: Overture
Cover of The Sandman: Overture
Publication information
Publisher	Vertigo
Schedule	Bi-monthly
Genre	Dark fantasy, supernatural fiction
Publication date	October 2013 – September 2015
No. of issues	6
Main character(s)	Dream of the Endless
Creative team
Written by	Neil Gaiman
Artist(s)	J.H. Williams III Dave Stewart

The Sandman: Overture is a graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman with art by J.H. Williams III. It is a prequel to Gaiman's Sandman series, and debuted in 2013, about 17 years after the end of the regular comic. It was originally published as six issues with two-month intervals in between. A deluxe edition combining all six issues was published in November 2015.

Plot

On an alien world, an aspect of Dream senses that "something is very wrong", and dies in flames. In 1915 London, while intending to deal with the troublesome nightmare The Corinthian, Morpheus is alerted to the same wrongness and investigates. He is summoned to an isolated rock galaxy away from earth, where all aspects of him have been gathered to investigate the "wrongness". In the future another aspect of Dream is shown searching for a magical clock called the Saeculum; he finds it in the custody of Mad Hettie, a 272-year-old street person.

In the meeting of aspects of Dream, they consult with the oldest aspect of Dream who tells them that the source of the wrongness lies in a fundamental law of reality. The aspects of Dream start to disappear, leaving Morpheus. Morpheus talks with a being named "Glory of the First Circle" who tells him that the source of error lies with the madness of the star which will ultimately cause the end of the universe in an enormous war The mother of Dream is shown reacting rather calmly to the news of the demise of the universe only remarking that it will be good for her as the anthropomorphization of the night.

Morpheus realizes that the cause of the crisis was his mishandling of a vortex previously hinted at in the original Sandman series. He resolves to fix his error and embarks on a journey accompanied only by a giant cat, apparently another aspect of Dream. A montage of various species gathering for the final battle is shown. Over the course of their journey the meet the Fates who give cryptic clues about coming events, and they are attacked by bandits who they manage to subdue. Inside a cabin occupied by the bandits, they discover a girl, Hope, whose father had been killed by the bandits. Initially reluctant to allow her to accompany them, Morpheus relents after the giant cat offers to carry her. Later on while resting on a campfire, the cat tells Hope the story of how he forged his mask and the Gates of Dreaming from dead gods; he also tells of a lover given to him by Desire who aided him in his battle against them but neglects the mention her discomfort from residing in his realm.

Upon reaching their destination Dream remarks that it is too late to save the universe before being transported into his father Time's realm. He attempts to ask him for aid to prevent the destruction of the universe but is rebuffed and sent-back empty-handed after being chided for losing the last gift given to him. In a parting shot he asks his father if he has spoken to Dream's mother Night lately. Teleported out of the dimension, he appears along with his companion in the city of the stars, where they are questioned and ultimately granted entrance into by a gate-keeper. He enters a cell where the mad star is kept, who refers to Dream as his "brother". Dream explains the story behind the original vortex and how his reluctance to kill caused the entire world to be destroyed, after having destroyed the world he spared the sun of their planet which is the cause of the current madness. The prison cell then transforms into a throne room revealing that the madness of the sun has spread to all stars and the gate-keeper states that they will all be deleted. Hope defies the order but before Morpheus can protect her, he is teleported back into his father's dimension. Time offers advice and help in exchange for sending a message to Night. Back in reality, Hope is killed by the star while Dream is thrown into a black-hole.

Inside he makes contact with his mother Night, who offers to create a special dimension where he may be happy for him but after he declines the offer, refuses to help and is thrown back into the black-hole. In Destiny's Garden, a ship appears that belongs to Dream, which surprises Destiny as the event is not written in his book. He summons Dream out of the Black-Hole to explain the situation. In the afterlife, Hope is offered an escape by the Cat-Dream and accepts. Inside Dream's Ship various refugees from the ongoing galactic war are housed. Cat-Dream is revealed to be Desire who has gathered the beings in an attempt to prevent the end of the universe by dreaming of an alternate reality.

Dream and Hope manage to convince the mass of refugees gathered on the ship to dream of an alternate reality without the galactic conflict, after being told that is the solution by Delirium. Morpheus then uses their dream to change their reality into one lacking the madness. He succeeds, but is greatly weakened. He is complimented on Succeeding by Glory. He gathers his helmet and other tools and embarks on the journey home. However, in his exhausted state he is captured by a petty spell, setting up the events of the original Sandman comic.

Recognition

The Sandman: Overture was awarded the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. It received critical praise from IGN . It was awarded the 2016 Hugo Prize for Best Graphic Story, but the award received controversy due to the involvement of the far-right group Sad Puppies in supporting it's nomination, which Neil Gaiman expressed displeasure with after fans asked him to withdraw it from consideration. It remained on the ballot and ultimately won however due to its status as a joint award preventing him from withdrawing it.