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The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition
The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition, Book Five
One of the most popular and critically acclaimed graphic novels of all time, Neil Gaiman’s award-winning masterpiece The Sandman set the standard for mature, lyrical fantasy in the modern comics era. Illustrated by an exemplary selection of the medium’s most gifted artists, the series is a rich blend of modern and ancient mythology in which contemporary fiction, historical drama, and legend are seamlessly interwoven.
Get lost in the mystical art and stories of the Sandman. Both from the original collection of tales and from the adapted prose mini-series! The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition Book Five is a collection unlike anything else. Containing the story that forever changed the face of the Dreaming—a wake in which all mourn their loss. And a humble young monk and a magical, shape-changing fox who are romantically drawn together. Find stories like these and more in this incredible deluxe edition containing The Sandman #70-75, The Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1-4, Sandman: Endless Nights {New Edition}, Sandman: Dream Hunters 30th Anniversary Edition (Prose Version), and Dust Covers: The Collected Sandman Covers.
Get lost in the mystical art and stories of the Sandman. Both from the original collection of tales and from the adapted prose mini-series! The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition Book Five is a collection unlike anything else. Containing the story that forever changed the face of the Dreaming—a wake in which all mourn their loss. And a humble young monk and a magical, shape-changing fox who are romantically drawn together. Find stories like these and more in this incredible deluxe edition containing The Sandman #70-75, The Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1-4, Sandman: Endless Nights {New Edition}, Sandman: Dream Hunters 30th Anniversary Edition (Prose Version), and Dust Covers: The Collected Sandman Covers.
632 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2022
32 people are currently reading
507 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 15, 2023
স্যান্ডম্যান সিরিজের শেষ হলো 'দ্যা টেম্পেস্ট' নামের অপূর্ব গল্পটা দিয়ে। পড়তে গিয়ে পাঠকের মনে হয়- এর চেয়ে সুন্দর করে সমাপ্তি টানা কোনো ভাবেই সম্ভব ছিলো না।
June 26, 2022
(Zero spoiler review) 3.5/5
I must admit, I do feel a little cheated by this one, for whilst there will be absolutely no spoilers relating to the content of the stories here, I can't express my frustration and disappointment without commenting on the mapping of this book, which appears to have robbed me of a fitting finale, a sublime swansong to The Sandman series proper. The series is essentially over after the first three issues of the book, though this isn't exactly apparent until you push through towards the end. What we get for the majority of this book, is more random Gaiman tales, either closely or tenuously linked to The Sandman universe. Essentially, the same complaint I've had since book one rears its head once again here. Sometimes its works, sometimes it doesn't but it still feels like a slap in the face, with some 500 or so pages worth of stories, with the main story, the best part of this ongoing narrative, having already concluded. And to make matters worse, the final 200 or so pages is the same story told twice, albeit in two different formats. I pulled up a chair outside in the sun to crack into the last part of this book, only to find it was a story I'd already read. And that was that, really. Sandman done, not with a some beautiful, evocative bang, but with a sullen, cantankerous whimper. I suppose its a fitting farewell to this series in away, though. For as amazing as some of this was (The bits focusing on Morpheus and The Endless), the bits that didn't ranged from pretty damn good, to bland, bloated and boring. Gaiman can certainly tell a story, but it all comes across as overly long pretentious waffle when its not really working. On a reread of this (whenever that happens), I'll only be reading half of these issues again. And as high as the highlights of this series were, that kind of says it all really. My disappointment might be tainting this volume a little, but its still a touch raw at the moment. A sad end to an occasionally stunning series, but not the quite the revelation I expected it to be going in. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
I must admit, I do feel a little cheated by this one, for whilst there will be absolutely no spoilers relating to the content of the stories here, I can't express my frustration and disappointment without commenting on the mapping of this book, which appears to have robbed me of a fitting finale, a sublime swansong to The Sandman series proper. The series is essentially over after the first three issues of the book, though this isn't exactly apparent until you push through towards the end. What we get for the majority of this book, is more random Gaiman tales, either closely or tenuously linked to The Sandman universe. Essentially, the same complaint I've had since book one rears its head once again here. Sometimes its works, sometimes it doesn't but it still feels like a slap in the face, with some 500 or so pages worth of stories, with the main story, the best part of this ongoing narrative, having already concluded. And to make matters worse, the final 200 or so pages is the same story told twice, albeit in two different formats. I pulled up a chair outside in the sun to crack into the last part of this book, only to find it was a story I'd already read. And that was that, really. Sandman done, not with a some beautiful, evocative bang, but with a sullen, cantankerous whimper. I suppose its a fitting farewell to this series in away, though. For as amazing as some of this was (The bits focusing on Morpheus and The Endless), the bits that didn't ranged from pretty damn good, to bland, bloated and boring. Gaiman can certainly tell a story, but it all comes across as overly long pretentious waffle when its not really working. On a reread of this (whenever that happens), I'll only be reading half of these issues again. And as high as the highlights of this series were, that kind of says it all really. My disappointment might be tainting this volume a little, but its still a touch raw at the moment. A sad end to an occasionally stunning series, but not the quite the revelation I expected it to be going in. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
December 27, 2022
Excepting Endless Nights, an effective ending and revisiting.
June 23, 2022
I enjoyed the extra stories especially Dream Hunters.
August 2, 2023
I hate to say it, but this volume was difficult to get through. The stories felt anticlimactic and only vaguely tied to the Sandman universe.
November 28, 2024
2.25⭐️
Again. Not for me. Not a worthwhile series (to me). There are more stories in this having nothing to do with Dream than there stories of his. But there’s more to why this isn’t worth it. It’s beyond dated, the main character is a self-insert in a way recent revelations just supercharge the ick. It’s meandering, problematic, pretentious, anticlimactic and simply not well executed most of the time.
Or perhaps Gaimans writing does not gel with me. Good riddance to my exposure to it.
Again. Not for me. Not a worthwhile series (to me). There are more stories in this having nothing to do with Dream than there stories of his. But there’s more to why this isn’t worth it. It’s beyond dated, the main character is a self-insert in a way recent revelations just supercharge the ick. It’s meandering, problematic, pretentious, anticlimactic and simply not well executed most of the time.
Or perhaps Gaimans writing does not gel with me. Good riddance to my exposure to it.
November 11, 2022
This bind up book is amazing containing sandman issues 70-75 and the stories of the dream hunters 1-4 and sandman endless nights. The thrilling conclusion to this amazing dark fantasy saga, shocked by the ending of the previous book with the death of Morpheus and Lyta’s son Daniel assuming the mantle of dream of the endless, the rest of the endless are notified by the death of Morpheus. Rose Walker pregnant, I loved how the characters came together for the wake and funeral for Morpheus even the Corinthian and Lucifer and Mazikeen attends along with so many others including Batman, zatana, the Angel Duma and many more. Daniel struggles to adapt to the knowledge of being an endless a being existing since the beginning of time and is nervous to meet his siblings for the first time. Lyta meets up with the new dream her son and learns that her actions which led to Morpheus Demise to protect him has cost her to lose him complete no longer is he her so but dream of the endless, he lets her go in peace and meets his siblings for the first time despite the fact that he inherited Morpheus memories of them. I loved that death visited Hob and confirmed his suspicion of his friend’s death and that he was dream of the endless. I am so happy I decided to read the sandman comics I absolutely adore the characters, the storyline’s and the artwork is breathtakingly beautiful. I love Neil Gai man’s world of the endless. I adored all the characters I loved dream, death, desire, despair, delirium, destiny. I certainly hope Netflix keeps renewing the sandman series I want to see the rest of these amazing stories come to life on the screen. I definitely recommend reading the sandman comics and this large bind up edition is a great collectors item definitely worth reading it was highly entertaining and enjoyable book to read.
August 20, 2022
This volume contains:
1) Vol. 10 - The Wake (Issues #70 to #75): 5/5.
2) The Sandman: Endless Nights: 3/5.
3) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Prose version): to read.
4) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Issues #1 to #4 of the Dream Hunters collection): 3/5.
----
And just like this, Morpheous' story is over. The art for 'The Wake' was beautiful but I can't help but think the ending for such a wonderful series felt pretty anti-climatic (I didn't really care for the extra stories). For me The Sandman finished in the previous volume and this felt more like an epilogue.
My main complaint though is that Morpheous didn't properly say goodbye to the castle staff (other than Matthew) after billions of years of being their lord and I hated that. I hate it when I feel characters didn't get a proper closure and I also hate not knowing what happened to Morpheous after his death (did he actually disappear? Is he somewhere with his son or in other place where he can finally rest?). I don't think he led a happy existence and that pains me a lot, but I did know this would have been a tragedy before starting the first volume, I just hope that, wherever he is, he's content with himself now.
Things I did like: the new Corinthian (and how he cared for baby-Daniel) and also Daniel himself, you can feel he too is Dream but at the same time he's different from Morpheous (and I absolutely loved his all-white design with his green gemstone, it's great).
Don't know what else to say, it's been good.
1) Vol. 10 - The Wake (Issues #70 to #75): 5/5.
2) The Sandman: Endless Nights: 3/5.
3) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Prose version): to read.
4) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Issues #1 to #4 of the Dream Hunters collection): 3/5.
----
And just like this, Morpheous' story is over. The art for 'The Wake' was beautiful but I can't help but think the ending for such a wonderful series felt pretty anti-climatic (I didn't really care for the extra stories). For me The Sandman finished in the previous volume and this felt more like an epilogue.
My main complaint though is that Morpheous didn't properly say goodbye to the castle staff (other than Matthew) after billions of years of being their lord and I hated that. I hate it when I feel characters didn't get a proper closure and I also hate not knowing what happened to Morpheous after his death (did he actually disappear? Is he somewhere with his son or in other place where he can finally rest?). I don't think he led a happy existence and that pains me a lot, but I did know this would have been a tragedy before starting the first volume, I just hope that, wherever he is, he's content with himself now.
Things I did like: the new Corinthian (and how he cared for baby-Daniel) and also Daniel himself, you can feel he too is Dream but at the same time he's different from Morpheous (and I absolutely loved his all-white design with his green gemstone, it's great).
Don't know what else to say, it's been good.
July 26, 2025
A lot of great stuff in this final collection. There is the Wake - which has some of the best art of the entire series (and that is saying something) by Michael Zulli. It is the perfect end to one of the best comic book series ever. You have a beautiful Japanese tale illustrated by Jon Muth. You have one of my favourite Sandman collection The Endless which has a tale for each of the Endless illustrated by different artists. It really highlights how varied the stories Gaiman could tell using these characters. Each tale is so different and creative and unique. I had read all of these stories before and still enjoyed rereading them.
It also contains two versions of Dream Hunters - one a prose version with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano and one a comic book version done ten years later by P. Craig Russell. This was the one story I had never read before so it was fun to see it for the first time. One side note: Neil lied when the original version came out and said he was adapting an old Japanese folktale. Not sure why - other than to make himself look smarter for having found it and researched it. He fessed up when the comic book version came out (ten years later) but even P. Craig Russell thought it was an old folktale when he was doing his adaptation. Really solid tale and I will say the comic version is by far the better version. The art by Amano is not to my tastes and many of the pictures look like a first year art student was doing it.
All in all - such an amazing volume - so happy I have it in my collection.
It also contains two versions of Dream Hunters - one a prose version with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano and one a comic book version done ten years later by P. Craig Russell. This was the one story I had never read before so it was fun to see it for the first time. One side note: Neil lied when the original version came out and said he was adapting an old Japanese folktale. Not sure why - other than to make himself look smarter for having found it and researched it. He fessed up when the comic book version came out (ten years later) but even P. Craig Russell thought it was an old folktale when he was doing his adaptation. Really solid tale and I will say the comic version is by far the better version. The art by Amano is not to my tastes and many of the pictures look like a first year art student was doing it.
All in all - such an amazing volume - so happy I have it in my collection.
June 21, 2023
Dream is dead. Dream is Endless. Long live Dream.
The last volume collects three very different things, the first being the end of the first run of comics--which include several surprises even as the story comes to one ending (and a new beginning). This is a story that clearly gains layers of connections with multiple readings. There is also a follow-up series with stories focused on each member of the Endless family, and then the prose and comic versions of a short story. The story also metes out yet another story about its own creation, collected in this single volume, but originally told over several decades in the Afterword sections. And then, there are more bonus materials to fill out the volume.
I wanted to read this because it was a (relatively) self-contained story. Picking this up 30+ years after publication means that the success of the original leaves me with many extra stories that I can choose to follow that flowed from the panels and pages of the original work. I'm fairly certain I'll read the relatively recent prequel Overture and the two standalone books about Dream's sister Death. I have a lot of other books and series on my list to read, so I'm not sure that I'm going to dive into Daniel's Dreaming, Lucifer, and the rest. Perhaps only Destiny and Death know how far I'll make it through the rest of the tales.
The last volume collects three very different things, the first being the end of the first run of comics--which include several surprises even as the story comes to one ending (and a new beginning). This is a story that clearly gains layers of connections with multiple readings. There is also a follow-up series with stories focused on each member of the Endless family, and then the prose and comic versions of a short story. The story also metes out yet another story about its own creation, collected in this single volume, but originally told over several decades in the Afterword sections. And then, there are more bonus materials to fill out the volume.
I wanted to read this because it was a (relatively) self-contained story. Picking this up 30+ years after publication means that the success of the original leaves me with many extra stories that I can choose to follow that flowed from the panels and pages of the original work. I'm fairly certain I'll read the relatively recent prequel Overture and the two standalone books about Dream's sister Death. I have a lot of other books and series on my list to read, so I'm not sure that I'm going to dive into Daniel's Dreaming, Lucifer, and the rest. Perhaps only Destiny and Death know how far I'll make it through the rest of the tales.
November 5, 2025
[Whole serie]
Art: a couple of interesting tidbits ("Ramadan", "The kindly ones", some watercolour stuff) floating on top of a dumpster.
Story: milquetoast and running on vibes, just like every other Gaiman work I read so far. A "Disneyland dark ride" of a story, if you will: you are surrounded by artful animatronics of those same old princesses in brand new dresses but actually, you're just being dragged along the tracks to the gift shop (they have chibi toys!!1 No, for real).
There's a couple incidental mentions of the one good idea the guy ever had, i.e. gods being sustained by human worship and all the implications thereof; there's an interesting episode in a diner; and... that's it, that's all I will remember out of 75 fucking issues two days from now. I don't care for any of the (weird) sex stuff, I don't find metatextuality groundbreaking and I certainly don't give a shit about the ton of references or the lectures on the meaning of life, so what else is there that is supposedly worth the ride? "Death is a goth girlie"?
Besides, it relies a bit too much on walls of text and takes minimal advantage of the peculiarities of the comic medium. Too bad.
Art: a couple of interesting tidbits ("Ramadan", "The kindly ones", some watercolour stuff) floating on top of a dumpster.
Story: milquetoast and running on vibes, just like every other Gaiman work I read so far. A "Disneyland dark ride" of a story, if you will: you are surrounded by artful animatronics of those same old princesses in brand new dresses but actually, you're just being dragged along the tracks to the gift shop (they have chibi toys!!1 No, for real).
There's a couple incidental mentions of the one good idea the guy ever had, i.e. gods being sustained by human worship and all the implications thereof; there's an interesting episode in a diner; and... that's it, that's all I will remember out of 75 fucking issues two days from now. I don't care for any of the (weird) sex stuff, I don't find metatextuality groundbreaking and I certainly don't give a shit about the ton of references or the lectures on the meaning of life, so what else is there that is supposedly worth the ride? "Death is a goth girlie"?
Besides, it relies a bit too much on walls of text and takes minimal advantage of the peculiarities of the comic medium. Too bad.
March 28, 2023
A gorgeous volume with gorgeous storytelling.
This volume collects the last issues if the original Sandman run, as well as the mini-series "Endless Nights" and "The Dream Hunters" (both the original ilustrated prose version, as well as the comic book adaptation by the excellent P. Craig Russel). These two minis are brillaintly realized, and really creatively push the boundaries of whats expected of a comic book, and its storytelling techniques.
Some readers seem to be put off by the fact that some of the volume is made out of the same story in two different formats (The Dream Hunters), but I loved that it contained both versions, as their inclusion makes the a much more definitive adn complete collection of The Sandman.
I actually made sure I didn't rush through this volume, in order to not run out of Sandman issues to read. Altough I am slightly saddenned that I have finished this amazing colleciton of volumes, I do still have Overture and Books of Magic to look forward to, as I haven't read neither of these.
ALtough a reread of the contents of these 5 amazing volumes is sure to happen soon.
This volume collects the last issues if the original Sandman run, as well as the mini-series "Endless Nights" and "The Dream Hunters" (both the original ilustrated prose version, as well as the comic book adaptation by the excellent P. Craig Russel). These two minis are brillaintly realized, and really creatively push the boundaries of whats expected of a comic book, and its storytelling techniques.
Some readers seem to be put off by the fact that some of the volume is made out of the same story in two different formats (The Dream Hunters), but I loved that it contained both versions, as their inclusion makes the a much more definitive adn complete collection of The Sandman.
I actually made sure I didn't rush through this volume, in order to not run out of Sandman issues to read. Altough I am slightly saddenned that I have finished this amazing colleciton of volumes, I do still have Overture and Books of Magic to look forward to, as I haven't read neither of these.
ALtough a reread of the contents of these 5 amazing volumes is sure to happen soon.
July 24, 2025
A beautiful and heartbreaking ending to Sandman.
The last vol. was really nicely drawn and added a lot of emotion to the farewell. However, the stories that followed were really boring for me and I couldn't relate to them, since we already had the end.
Sandman was an amazing journey through dreams, full of human emotions and unfair life suffering.
I wish the last book was just the ending and it would be longer. If it weren't for the chapters that followed the end, I would have given this part 5/5.
Since 400 of the 600 pages were the other stories, I have no choice but to be unhappy with how I rate the book.
3/5 and thank you for the vivid dreams.
Goodbye Sandman. (but not for long)
The last vol. was really nicely drawn and added a lot of emotion to the farewell. However, the stories that followed were really boring for me and I couldn't relate to them, since we already had the end.
Sandman was an amazing journey through dreams, full of human emotions and unfair life suffering.
I wish the last book was just the ending and it would be longer. If it weren't for the chapters that followed the end, I would have given this part 5/5.
Since 400 of the 600 pages were the other stories, I have no choice but to be unhappy with how I rate the book.
3/5 and thank you for the vivid dreams.
Goodbye Sandman. (but not for long)
August 16, 2022
'The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition Book Five' by Neil Gaiman.
1) The Wake (Issues #70 to #75): 5/5.
2) The Sandman: Endless Nights: 3.5/5.
3) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Prose version): Shall be read and reviewed later.
4) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Issues #1 to #4 of the Dream Hunters collection): 5/5.
Overall Rating for the Book: 9.0/10.
PS: For a detailed review, check out my reviews for the individual volumes on their respective Goodreads pages.
1) The Wake (Issues #70 to #75): 5/5.
2) The Sandman: Endless Nights: 3.5/5.
3) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Prose version): Shall be read and reviewed later.
4) The Sandman: Dream Hunters (Issues #1 to #4 of the Dream Hunters collection): 5/5.
Overall Rating for the Book: 9.0/10.
PS: For a detailed review, check out my reviews for the individual volumes on their respective Goodreads pages.
January 2, 2026
Well, that’s it. I havent read the extra stuff in this volume yet, but I finished issue 75. Overall, the Sandman was… goodI could tell that it was a very literary style book, and a lot of thematic stuff probably went over my head. I liked the mix of mythology and contemporary fiction that the Sandman was, and I loved all the numerous historical and religious allusions throughout the books.
This volume and the series as a whole gets 4 stars. A lot of it was boring as shit, but overall I recognize the quality of this series.
This volume and the series as a whole gets 4 stars. A lot of it was boring as shit, but overall I recognize the quality of this series.
November 2, 2022
[2.5 / 5 stars]
This book was so anticlimactic! I lost interest after having read three quarters of it. With such an amazing fourth book, I must say I expected so much more of the final one. Still, there were great parts which I thoroughly enjoyed, but they were few and intermittent.
In my opinion, the author could've just added the first part of it to the previous book and called it a day!
This book was so anticlimactic! I lost interest after having read three quarters of it. With such an amazing fourth book, I must say I expected so much more of the final one. Still, there were great parts which I thoroughly enjoyed, but they were few and intermittent.
In my opinion, the author could've just added the first part of it to the previous book and called it a day!
Read
February 24, 2024This one was interesting. It feels more like the fourth deluxe edition was the actual end and this one was more like the epilogue with some other cool stuff thrown in. I didn’t realize how little of the main story was left so I wasn’t mentally prepared for that to kind of just be it although it doesn’t feel more right upon reflection. The other short stories were really cool as well especially the one for each of the endless siblings and the dream hunters story/graphic novelization.
February 6, 2022
A beautiful denouement. Issue #75, with Shakespeare/Prospero doubling as stand-ins for Gaiman, is a series highlight.
December 19, 2022
Definitely better, and a solid finish (especially with the first three issues in here), but still not quite like the early/middle days.
February 3, 2023
I cried. Need I say more?
December 27, 2023
Sad to see it end, but it's just not the same without Morpheus anyway.
February 2, 2024
Loved The Dream Hunters!
January 1, 2025
The way I’m reading, not even funny
August 5, 2025
I like that this one is a bit different. Like we get some actual stories mixed in with the comic strips. It’s like a goodbye to your favorite characters.
October 18, 2025
Stopped after issue 72 as it felt like the true ending. 73-75 appear to be side stories/epilogues.
November 4, 2025
yep. That hurt.
June 27, 2025
3.5. The series concludes with something both special and not in this final Deluxe Edition—a fitting, yet ultimately underwhelming end to a saga that I’m oddly frustrated at myself for feeling the way I do about it.
The main story’s epilogue does just enough to justify its existence, but where this installment truly shines is in its supplemental one-off stories. Each tale centers around one of the Endless, interwoven with the character of Destiny’s book in a way that makes it feel like we’re reading these stories from said book. Additionally, the inclusion of The Dream Hunters, presented in two distinct versions—one with a more literary approach and another in a traditional comic format—made for an interesting juxtaposition. While both had their merits, I personally preferred the latter for obvious reasons.
There aren’t many books on my list where, by the end, I find myself frustrated for not loving them as much as others do, but this series joins those select few. And, as I’ve said before, I see what everyone is talking about—the themes, the masterfully nuanced characterization, the deep respect for storytelling itself. I get it. But for whatever reason, I just couldn’t connect with it in the way I wanted to. Unfortunately, this seems to be becoming a pattern for me with Neil Gaiman’s work (The Graveyard Book left me similarly underwhelmed).
That said, I’m glad I finally read it, and I absolutely recommend it for how well it bridges the gap between comics and literature. In that regard, it’s one of the closest I’ve seen to achieving that balance since I resumed reading graphic novels.
The main story’s epilogue does just enough to justify its existence, but where this installment truly shines is in its supplemental one-off stories. Each tale centers around one of the Endless, interwoven with the character of Destiny’s book in a way that makes it feel like we’re reading these stories from said book. Additionally, the inclusion of The Dream Hunters, presented in two distinct versions—one with a more literary approach and another in a traditional comic format—made for an interesting juxtaposition. While both had their merits, I personally preferred the latter for obvious reasons.
There aren’t many books on my list where, by the end, I find myself frustrated for not loving them as much as others do, but this series joins those select few. And, as I’ve said before, I see what everyone is talking about—the themes, the masterfully nuanced characterization, the deep respect for storytelling itself. I get it. But for whatever reason, I just couldn’t connect with it in the way I wanted to. Unfortunately, this seems to be becoming a pattern for me with Neil Gaiman’s work (The Graveyard Book left me similarly underwhelmed).
That said, I’m glad I finally read it, and I absolutely recommend it for how well it bridges the gap between comics and literature. In that regard, it’s one of the closest I’ve seen to achieving that balance since I resumed reading graphic novels.
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