Lessons were learned,’ said the pale king. ‘Events occurred as it was proper for them to do. I do not perceive that my attention was wasted.’”

For the 20th anniversary of Sandman, Neil Gaiman announced at Comic-Con 2007 that P. Craig Russell would illustrate a comic adaptation of the story. [2]As a lover of Japan and everything mythology, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned the plot was about both. I went into this graphic novel blind, having not previously read the famously acclaimed Sandman books and knowing virtually nothing about the story. So I can only speak for this one installment. It's a tale from the Realm of Dreams, which took place in ancient Japan, a monk who lived in a small temple must face the tests of seduction, deadly spells, and the threat of death. A green-eyed fox wanted to help him through the crisis, but things are complicated when spells and the Realm of Dreams are involved. Gaiman's afterword states that it was based on an old Japanese folk tale, drawn from Y. T. Ozaki's Old Japanese Fairy Tales and retooled to fit in the world of the Sandman, but no such tale is to be found in Ozaki's work. Gaiman has since stated that the story was entirely of his own devising, most recently in the Foreword to The Sandman: Endless Nights. In December 2007, Gaiman noted on his blog, "I learned from Wikipedia that Sandman: The Dream Hunters was actually based on Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, which I thought I ought to read." Plot [ ]

Master of Illusion: The kitsune uses magic to make the onmyōji believe she lives in a grand house with dozens of servants. When he comes to, it's in the ruins of an old estate.Bold Inflation: In the original novella, Morpheus's speech is rendered in bold text to emphasize his power. Apparently Russell himself believed Dream Hunters wasn't an original story but rather a Sandman re-writing of a classic Japanese parable. But, in reality this story was created purely from Gaiman's imagination. I feel like there is a strong connection to Aesop's parables and even Jim Henson's The Storyteller (but don't quote me on that one).

En esta ocasión, el formato (relato ilustrado) me ha funcionado mucho mejor que en mi anterior experiencia con la historia de Sandman: Muerte, además de haberme gustado mucho el argumento general de la historia, la ambientación en Japón, y el apartado gráfico del ilustrador japonés, como comenté al inicio. Ha sido una historia que me ha recordado a la animación de Studio Ghibli, y creo que me fue fácil conectar con el relato por esa razón. Aun si no sois enamorados de Sandman este relato es muy recomendable, no tanto por la propia historia, sino por lo bonito de la edición ilustrada. Morpheus, Lord of the Dreams, will have to intervene in this tragedy since their actions put them right in Morpheus’ realm. With cool cameos of Cain and Abel, and one of Morpheus’ ravens, but the real identity of this particular raven isn’t clear, definitely isn’t Matthew or Lucien, but due a clue in the narrative and the time period of the story, I supposed that it must be Aristeas. I don't know whether Mr. Gaiman had mentors to instruct him about Japanese cultures or not, but I like how Japanese traditional cultural elements, folklore, and demonic mythology are sewn seamlessly with the plots and the mythology of The Sandman.

It’s yet another story of sacrifice and obligation, of love and honor and commitment, set amidst high fantasy and dark dealings and the shifting veil of the world that lies beyond sleep. La storia era però destinata ad altro, a essere un racconto in prosa illustrato dal disegnatore giapponese, quindi non se ne fece di nulla. The Dream Hunters focuses on a monk and two spirit creatures in the form of a badger and a fox who want to oust the monk from his abode. They set up a bet that they both lose, but the fox also loses her heart to the monk in the bargain. The master of demons also wants to usurp the power of the monk, and the fox-spirit intervenes on the monk’s behalf, but Morpheus, the Dream Himself (from the Sandman) intervenes. The Sandman: The Dream Hunters is a novella by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. The story is tangential to The Sandman comic book series and can be read without prior knowledge of the main sequence. It won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative. In 2008 it was adapted by P. Craig Russell into a four issue comic book mini-series also called The Dream Hunters.

I was not very familiar with this Japanese illustrator’s work, as I am a complete dilettante when it comes to video games and anime, until I got my hands on this book. But from what I can see in my copy of “Dream Hunter”, he is an incredible artist who truly captured the essence of this story. Although technically a Sandman story, this can certainly be read without involving that lengthy series. It could be considered a story in that universe, and not an essential piece of it. But the pale king chose not to answer and remained wrapped in silence,” writes Gaiman. “…and after some time the raven flapped heavily away into the sky of dreams, and left the king entirely alone.” Edit: dopo avere letto il fumetto che adatta la storia in prosa, si scopre che Gaiman si era totalmente inventato la genesi di questo racconto, dovendo riempire diverse pagine di postfazione poi diventato un trafiletto scritto piccolo piccolo per via della mole di illustrazioni.The King of All Night's Dreaming tells him what the fox had done, and that if he rescues her, her efforts will have been in vain. The monk insists and is allowed to meet the fox, who is now trapped inside a mirror. He frees her against her wishes, and the King of All Night's Dreaming allows them time for farewells. The monk then takes the fox's place, giving her the advice, "Seek not revenge, but the Buddha." The fox informs Morpheus of this advice, then tells him she will seek the Buddha after seeking revenge. She awakens and stays with the monk until he dies the next day.