Bill Willingham, of Fables, has delved into the Sandman universe and written a series of stories about the supporting characters of the Sandman universe. The explorations are fun and whimsical, and a great addition to the Sandman legacy. “The Further Adventures of Danny Nod, Heroic Library Assistant” is my favorite story in the collection. We get to spend a day in the life of Danny Nod, assistant librarian in Dream’s library of imaginary books. On this particular day we follow him around as he retrieves volumes of folk and fairytale that were checked out the night before; each different fairytale has its own distinctive art style to match the story. If you’ve ever wondered why so many dreams are about sex, or why we sometimes dream in black and white and sometimes in color, or why we sometimes have the same dream night after night, then you need to read “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dreams . . . But Were Afraid to Ask.” The only story in the volume which didn’t completely grab me was “The Thessaliad”, which is a pity because its by far the longest story in the collection. I did enjoy learning more about Thessaly and seeing how she fits into the mythology that Neil Gaiman created for the Sandman universe, but I was never sufficiently creeped out by Bill Willingham’s version of Thessaly. She was one of the most mysterious and frightening characters of the Sandman books, and (for me) she was a little too cute here.
The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales
ISBN: 1401201008
By Bill Willingham
Art by Mark Buckingham, Zander Cannon, Duncan Fegredo, Peter Gross, Niko Henrichon, Adam Hughes, Phil Jimenez, Michael Kaluta, Marc Laming, Jason Little, Shawn McManus, Linda Medley, Albert Moneteys, Kevin Nowlan, Andrew Pepoy, Paul Pope, John Stokes, Daniel Torres, Bill Willingham
DC Comics/Vertigo 2003
