The much awaited “The Sandman” series premieres in August

On June 7, 2022, Netflix announced the release date for their upcoming The Sandman series. The show will premiere on August 5 and will star Tom Sturridge, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, and Mark Hamill, among others.

The show is based on the popular comic book series by Neil Gaiman that debuted in 1989 and ran till 1996, encompassing 75 issues. The comic book was published under DC Comics' Vertigo line. A fun fact here: Gaiman was initially hired by DC to publish his graphic novel, Black Orchid. However, before its release, they also wanted the writer to create a monthly comic series to familiarise the audience with the author first, so he ended up writing The Sandman, which went on to become a huge hit. 

No one was prepared for the absolute success that The Sandman would garner, and the rest, as they say, is history. The critical success of The Sandman (the comic) meant that it wasn't very long before ideas for adapting it into a movie were being pitched. Unfortunately, the project was constantly moved between different production houses and shelved every few years.

Gaiman, on multiple occasions in the past, has referred to the state of the The Sandman adaptation as being in "development heck"—a place that gives you a bit more hope than if it would in "development hell", but this little taste of optimism is what eventually crushes your soul even harder.

Thankfully, after almost 30 years of the comic's debut, Netflix officially—and finally—announced that it would be adapted into a TV show. As someone who is a big fan of The Sandman series, I was ecstatic at the announcement, with only a little bit of dread over whether the adaptation will do right by the comic series, something that held the hearts of fans all over the world.

On that front, the fact that Neil Gaiman himself is directly involved in the project should give fans a sense of optimism. After all, the New York Times Best Selling author has had a pretty good record in terms of adaptations.

The movies and TV shows for Coraline (2009), American Gods (2017), and Good Omens (2019) amongst others, have done well to please fans, and hopefully, The Sandman will continue that trend. 

For those unfamiliar with the comic series, it follows the story of Morpheus, The Lord of Dream, ruler of the realm of the dreaming. Throughout the series, we follow Morpheus as he escapes after 70 years of being imprisoned by an occult group. He then goes on a journey of fixing the realm which, in his absence, has fallen into peril.

If you've never read The Sandman, but are a fan of fantasy or mythology, you should give the comic series a try. It goes through a different selection of artists over each arc, and it's amazing to see how beautiful comic art was back in the 90s.

And if you're still not convinced, then wait for the launch of the TV series to come out in August, and if the show lives up to even the lowest expectation, then I am sure you'll not be able to help yourself from immediately getting your hands on the comic books or graphic novels.

Aaqib Hasib will someday finish writing his book. But not today. Write to him at aaqib.hasib@thedailystar.net.