Dust Covers: The Collected Sandman Covers 1989-1997

When I had collected the original Sandman issues, I was always intrigued by the cover art as well as the story and illustrations inside. Sometimes, I would find myself staring at the covers for minutes before reading the actual story. This was the only time I had ever really done that. And now you can own this book full of those intricate, detailed, and amazing art pieces, along with commentary by McKean and Gaiman.And there's a Sandman story that I have never read before! If you're a Sandman fan, buy this book.

If you are reading this, I will assume that you are already a fan of either Dave McKean in particular or Sandman in general.Included are all the covers from the Sandman series minus the logo, publisher and price indicia, UPC codes, etc., thus showcasing these wonderful works of art in the format they deserve. Also included are some extra pages of art used to fill out the Sandman trade paperback collections. Even if you own the whole series, it is a worthwhile buy. But what makes the collection particularly unique is the inclusion of a brand new true story by Neil Gaiman and McKean about how the ficitonal world of the Sandman intruded upon their lives during the planning stage of the series.As other reviewers have noted, the artwork is worth viewing on its own merits and deals with universal themes from the unconscious, so even if you don't know what the heck Sandman is it is worth a look. This is surrealism at its height by a master of many artistic media including painting, collage and computer graphics.

This book might be one of the better art books I've ever laid my hands on. It has it all! The first pages contains a, as usual, weird Sandman story, never released before. Dave and Neil also sets the standard for the rest of the books comments, ironic and sarcastic. Then from there on and out, the amazing covers, but that's not all, its also got comments on each cover by Dave and Neil, and the covers are printed without any logos or titles on them! Interior art is also included. The layout by Dave McKean is also beautiful, and at the end of the book, you can see some nice art from his studio in England. This book is a must for anyone who likes art in general, maybe especialy the mystic and dark genre. Dave McKean has reallly shown us that he is maybe one of this decades most talented and creative artists!

"The Last Sandman Story" is the hook that got me interested in purchasing Dust Covers. I have the original issues of Gaiman's entire run on the Sandman, (so, very little of the art was completely new to me) but I was skeptical about dropping 20 bucks just to get that last little story. Believe me, it was well worth it. Not for the story, mind you, (which is good also), but for the overall design of the book. McKean has created something here that is an incredible sight to behold. As a professional graphic designer, I'm personally floored by his layout technique. I've always been impressed with McKean's covers and graphic novels, but this collection leaves me speechless with admiration. It's not just good art, it's good book design... and that's pretty rare. If Dust Covers could be considered a comic, it would be my favorite comic ever. Please believe me when I say that this book is well worth it.