The Sandman: Neil Gaiman's Magnum Opus May Be the Most Faithful Comic Adaptation Ever
By John Kirk
Rating: A
Change is hard for some people and this includes comic readers. Pre-release, the Internet was deluged by criticisms of Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s legendary The Sandman.
To wit: Why is Constantine played by Jenna Coleman? Why is Death a Woman of Colour (Kirby Howell-Baptiste)? Strangely enough, the criticisms mostly seemed to revolve around gender and race, and even Gaiman himself felt compelled to weigh in and address them.
Cue the popular lament: “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
Tom Sturridge is Dream, the powerful titular character of The Sandman
There are two types of viewers who will make themselves heard when The Sandman drops on August 5.. The first is the generation of comic-readers who eagerly devoured, worshipped and then later venerated Gaiman’s magnum opus. The Sandman was either the greatest piece of comic literature spawned by DC Comics’ Vertigo line in 1989 or it was a sign of the Second Coming and Gaiman was its herald. Sadly, this group will likely be responsible for the bulk of complaints.
The second will be a younger generation who have either read the books in the last ten years, or will have read Gaiman’s other works, created after his comic-writing days.
Within this latter group will be a pocket of people who will be lucky enough to watch the story unfold for the first time. To them, the changes will be more in line with the attitudes and morals of this decade rather than that of the late 80’s in which the series was created.
I envy this group, because I would love to see it told for the first time again, and isn’t that what both groups want: to see a loving visualization of this story?
Morpheus, a.k.a. Dream, is the King of Dreams, the Sandman. He is one of the Endless – the entities that govern so much of human experience, like Death, Desire, Despair, and others. The story begins in the early 20th century with Morpheus’s accidental capture by a prominent occultist, Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance), who sought to capture Death.
Dream must then obtain his freedom from a century of imprisonment, regain the tools of his trade (his sand pouch, his helm and his Dreamstone) and then restore his kingdom. The structure of the story is remarkably in line with the comics, and has to be, in my opinion, the most faithful televised adaptation of a comic story I’ve seen in my years as a comic historian. It’s an enormous undertaking and trust me: I’ve seen a lot of comic-to-TV adaptations.
I think either group of fans should actually be relieved at how accurate the show is to the original story. The slight differences that garnered initial criticism don’t affect its integrity at all. This even includes missing characters like Etrigan the Demon, Mr. Miracle, members of the Justice League, etc. Though their appearances are minor, devoted comic readers will note their absences. After all, the story is a DC Comics property.
But, to obtain all the permissions for the limited use of those characters would not only be time-consuming, it would be difficult to keep track of, for those who didn’t grow up with comic arcana.
As a loyal comic fan, it’s hard for me to admit it makes more sense to subtract characters to improve the storytelling. But there is a great deal of fun to be had looking for comic “easter eggs” in the show like Dr. John Dee, Lyta and Hector Hall or even the altered version of John Constantine, Johanna. Hint: look at the background props in scenes carefully.
The substitution of John for Johanna is probably the most noticeable difference. After all, John is a beloved character of the DC Comics pantheon who not only had prominent roles in titles like Swamp Thing, Justice League Dark but even his own incredibly successful book, Hellblazer.
But given that there are rumours of Constantine appearing in his own television series, to obtain the rights for this character for only one episode is problematic. However, Jenna Coleman is not only a delight for any faithful nerd, she acquits herself marvellously as a distaff version as “the Working-class Warlock”.
Tom Sturridge is Dream incarnate. He is the complete epitome of the memorable character who, in 1989, was rumoured to have been inspired by Peter Murphy of Bauhaus. His image is consistent with the character. Long-time fans of the comic will also recognize biblical brothers Cain and Abel (caretakers of The Houses of Mystery and Secrets – original comic titles in their own rights), respectably played by Sanjeev Bhaskar and Asim Chaudhry.
Other familiar recognizable characters are Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie), and the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook). Fan-favourite characters like Matthew the Raven and Merv Pumpkinhead are welcomely played by Patton Oswalt and Mark Hamill.
Other major characters who differentiate from their original imagery are Death (Howell-Baptiste) and Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong).
It’s important to realize that Gaiman’s work was decades ahead of its time. The characters are not people, per se, they are The Endless, and the Endless are fluid concepts. What we see in the comic and the show are the personifications of Dream and his siblings, interacting with humanity.
As such, these characters can be anything they want – and this includes gender, race or even species. For instance, Dream (or Morpheus) appears before J’onn J’onzz, aka the Martian Manhunter as a recognized deity in his own culture.
Fans complaining that Death is Black or that Desire is played by non-binary performer, Mason Alexander Park, really don’t either know the story as well as they thought or are simply worried too much about change.
The Sandman should delight either group of fans. Most importantly, they will instantly recognize the familiar storylines that gave comic fans cause to instantly love the comic.
The detail in this show also explains why Gaiman has waited so long to adapt this story into another medium. I strongly recommend reading the issue titled “24 Hours” and immediately comparing it to the episode of the same name to get a sense of the difficulty presented by themes in that story. That alone will give viewers an idea of the complexity of storytelling and detail in this tale.
Not to sound too critical of original readers – after all, they are the audience who bought and loved this story in the beginning. And to be fair, it’s been a long wait to see this story take flight in another format. It is sacred to them. But the chance to see it continue so faithfully is not only a testament to Gaiman’s work but to the timelessness of the story itself.
Gaiman has delivered what fans want: a near-perfect rendering of his original story lovingly crafted for another medium for past and future generations to enjoy.
Like Dream, this story is Endless. And it will thrive.
CLICK HERE to read Bonnie Laufer’s Q&A with Neil Gaiman and Sandman series developer Allan Heinberg.
The Sandman. Executive produced by Neil Gaiman and David S. Goyer. Stars Tom Sturridge, Boyd Holbrook, Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, Jenna Coleman. Debuts on Netflix, Friday, August 5th.