Sandman, Band 4 - Die Zeit des Nebels

Von Neil Gaiman und Mike Dringenberg

SANDMAN ist aus gutem Grund die meistgelobte und mit vielen Preisen ausgezeichnete Comic-Serie der 90er-Jahre: Die intelligente, tiefgründige Story, elegant geschrieben von Neil Gaiman und abwechselnd illustriert von den gefragtesten Künstlern der Comic-Branche, bietet eine reichhaltige Mischung moderner Mythen und finsterer Fantasy, in der zeitgenössische Literatur, historisches Drama und Legenden nahtlos ineinander übergehen. Die Saga des Sandman enthält eine Reihe von Erzählungen, die in der neunten Kunst einzigartig sind, und die Geschichte als solche wird man nie mehr vergessen. Vor zehntausend Jahren hat Fürst Morpheus eine Frau, die ihn liebte, in die Hölle verdammt. In DIE ZEIT DES NEBELS überzeugen ihn die übrigen Mitglieder seiner Familie, der Ewigen, davon, dass dies nicht gerechtfertigt war. Um es wiedergutzumachen, muss Morpheus in die Hölle reisen und seine verlorene Geliebte retten. Doch Luzifer, der Herr der Hölle, hat geschworen, Morpheus zu vernichten, und seine Pläne sind fein gestrickt... DIE ZEIT DES NEBELS ist das vierte Buch aus der 10-bändigen SANDMAN-BIBLIOTHEK. Die SANDMAN Bücher können sowohl in der Reihenfolge ihres Erscheinens als auch einzeln gelesen werden.

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: DC COMICS bei Panini Comics
• Erscheinungsdatum: 28. Jan. 2020
• ISBN: 9783736711549

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling and multi-award winning author and creator of many beloved books, graphic novels, short stories, film, television and theatre for all ages. He is the recipient of the Newbery and Carnegie Medals, and many Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards. Neil has adapted many of his works to television series, including Good Omens (co-written with Terry Pratchett) and The Sandman. He is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and Professor in the Arts at Bard College. For a lot more about his work, please visit: https://www.neilgaiman.com/

Buchvorschau

Rezensionen für Sandman, Band 4 - Die Zeit des Nebels

[fancypantalons · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

In my mind this is the cycle where Gaiman really starts to enrich the mythos he's created, pulling in gods and myths from around the world into an intriguing storyline that amounts to a supernatural political thriller. About my only complaint, here, is that, much like The Dollhouse, the ending comes way too easily, in this case with a literal deus ex machina.

[pdcread · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

An endless family meeting has been called. Soon after they all arrive, Desire taunts Morpheus about the way he treated a former lover, Nada and condemned her to hell. His sister Death agrees, and he decides there and then to visit hell to bring her back. On his arrival, Lucifer expels all demons from the domain and gives Morpheus the key.

As soon as it is know, other immortals journey to Morpheus at the dreaming to plead for control. They offer certain thing in exchange; Morpheus hears them all, and makes them wait for his decision as to who will govern this place.

Probably the darkest set of stories yet, this is almost an aside to the main storyline from the previous books, but it does pick up on a thread from an earlier book. There is not as much black wit as the earlier ones either, but Gaiman has exercised his imagination to the full. Well worth reading this, and onto the next soon.

[tobinelliott · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Though I've really enjoyed volumes two and three, this one, Season of Mists, blew me away. The absolute brilliance of the story ideas, the characters, and how it all rolled out and fell together under Gaiman's sure and steady hand? Amazing.

[booklove2 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Another great entry in the Sandman series. Though it FEELS like a fourth book.. not so much world building but there are so many characters in this book, some of them returning from the first three books of the series, it's almost a CHARACTER building book. And the drawings of these characters are almost always as imaginative as possible. Gaiman and his angels....

[drfuriosa · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Dream/Morpheus unexpectedly inherits the keys to Hell. All hell breaks loose. It's supposed to be one of the most pivotal books in the series, but I didn't like it nearly as much as the episodic Dream Country.

[cromanelli927 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!Okay, I am royally pissed now because I wrote a whole blog for this book, and I thought it was quite cute if not really good, and now it is lost! So, I am going to try to remember what I wrote and recreate it, but who knows how that will go. It will probably sound forced and annoying. Blah.I really see the value of writing these blogs right after I finish the books because I finished Season of Mists last night, and already it is getting confused in my head with A Game of You, which I started today. And that’s no good because Season of Mists was my favorite of The Sandman series so far, although I really liked the first book as well.So yeah...I finished Season of Mists last night. Let’s start with the introduction this time just for variety’s sake and because…well, it’s at the beginning. When I sat down to read the book, my boyfriend told me that Harlan Ellison was a jerk, and on the second page I knew he was right. I don’t admit this often, so something must have triggered it. Ellison’s comments, like “if you’re one of the few surviving atavists who still read for the pure pleasure of intellectual invigoration,” were really condescending. As I am one of those “atavists,” I can only imagine how an Average Joe would feel when he picks up this book for pleasure and finds the introduction chocked with smatterings of Latin and French. Who needs it? Not me. And furthermore, the introduction seemed to do little besides stroke both Ellison’s and Gaiman’s egos. I failed to see a message besides the fact that Ellison thinks Gaiman is as brilliant, or almost as brilliant, as he finds himself.Enough though, because I really liked this book, and I really don’t want to get stuck being snarky about the introduction. The overarching storyline (I believe it’s called an arc, for whatever reason) is that Dream has to return to Hell after a family meeting because his siblings feel he was unjust to a former lover, Nada (which he WAS). Nada means “nothing” in Spanish, and it means “dew” in Arabic, but this is totally useless and unrelated knowledge that only makes me more like Ellison. Anyway…apparently, Dream pissed off Lucifer in book one (I don’t remember him being pissed off and I haven’t gone back to check), and Lucifer has a very original way of getting revenge. He abdicates. He kicks everybody out of Hell and gives Dream the key. So the story really ends up being about the groups of beings that travel to “The Dreaming” to obtain the key to Hell from Dream.The factions are: Thor, Odin, and Loki; Anubis, Bast, and Bes; Susano-O-No-Mikoto; Azazel, the Merkin, and Choronzon; Lord Kilderkin (the manifestation of order); Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade (a princess of Chaos); and Remiel and Duma (angels). Remiel and Duma are just there to observe (haha). Hopefully at least some of these names are familiar as all of the characters are famous mythological deities/creatures from around the world. The borrowed characters aren’t really a problem though, possibly this is because of the medium (I’ve already come to expect that some of the characters will be visitors from other stories). But mostly, I think it’s because like most good artists, Gaiman creates his own mythology as he goes along. This particular story is the mythology of how the war between Heaven and Hell ends. I won’t tell you how it ends, but I will say that I was not happy about who obtained the keys to Hell. Gaiman may be a religious man after all, despite the “r” rated nature of his books.To return to the beginning (this is becoming an issue for me I fear—this circular writing thing), the family meeting affords the opportunity to meet all the Endless, except Destruction, who is on holiday. I am looking forward to getting to know Delirium better, but she’ll be hard pressed to replace Death or Dream as my favorite character. Death is great! I really hope Gaiman is divinely inspired in this mythology so that when I die an adorable brunette shows up to take me on.Oh, and did I mention this was my favorite so far? Thank goodness I have seven more to read! :)

[adam.d.woodard · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

So far, this is my favorite volume. The story is fantastic in this one and the characters are varied and enjoyable. We learn more about Dream and how he has changed a well.

[kaj_12 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

This Sandman book is again one long story rather than a collection of shorts. And this is the way I like it!Sandman has to travel to Hell and challenge Lucifer, but the response is not was he was fearing. The plot ending is the only one thinkable, but still manages to feel surprising.

[deslni01 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

What happens when Lucifer decides to leave hell? Season of Mists, the fourth volume of The Sandman answers that question as Dream heads to Hell to release a former lover who has been imprisoned and tortured for thousands of years. Upon arrival, he finds Hell empty, and Lucifer hands him the key to the kingdom.Gaiman draws a multitude of mythology and mythological characters into this volume, as representatives of many mythological groups seek the key to Hell from Dream. This provides an interesting look at the interactions between them (Thor getting ridiculously drunk and hitting on women during the banquet, for example). The character of Lucifer is excellent as well, and God's reward to the two angels who oversaw Dreams decision? Well, that's up to the reader to decide.This is the best of the first four volumes in the series, and should not be missed by fans, nor casual observers.

[roguebelle · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Among my favourites of the Sandman volumes -- it's so wonderfully mythological, from Gaiman's Endless to his interpretations on so many classic pantheons. His Lucifer is a devil it's somewhat hard to hate. This volume also really brings down the weight of Morpheus' responsibilities and how seriously he takes them (and, it must be admitted, himself).

[iftyzaidi · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Season of Mists is the fourth collection of The Sandman, and the strongest yet. The 3rd volume had been disappointing on three levels - firstly because it only collected 4 issues, secondly because it only had stand-alone stories that did not tie into a larger story arc, and lastly because none of the stories really developed the histories or characters of the endless. None of these issues plague Season of Mists.(Minor Spoilers follow:)The story arc here follows the consequences of what might be seen as Lucifer's second rebellion against God - he decides he no longer wants to reign in hell and abandons it - kicking out all of its denizens and handing the keys over to the Sandman. Of course once the rest of the various supernatural/divine pantheons learn of this, they alternately try to woo, bribe, flatter, intimidate or deceive Morpheus into handing them the key to this prime spot of real estate.(End spoilers)All in all this collection has all the ingredients of what makes The Sandman such an outstanding series. Imagination, the macabre, weird and bizarre, humour, horror and that wonderful knack Gaiman has to taking myths and symbols that we think we know so well and making them just that extra bit uncannier. I look forward to the next volume.

[theboylatham_1 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

Seven out of ten.

Dream travels to Hell to free a former lover, Nada, whom he condemned to torment thousands of years ago. There, Dream learns that Lucifer has abandoned his domain. When Lucifer gives the Hell's key (and therefore, the ownership of Hell) to the Sandman, Morpheus himself becomes trapped in a tangled network of threats, promises, and lies as gods and demons from various pantheons seek ownership of Hell.

[readingover50 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Morpheus travels to Hell to rescue a woman he condemned there thousands of years ago. He finds that the devil has decided to leave hell, and he leaves the key to hell with Morpheus. The rest of the book is a bunch of entities trying to get the key from Morpheus. Pretty good story line and some interesting new characters.

[gbill_7 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

It looks like The Sandman series really hit its stride with volume 4, ‘Season of Mists’. At the outset, we are introduced more completely to the characters which make up the Endless family at a reunion of sorts: Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. (The ‘prodigal son’, Destruction, remains missing). Each is well crafted and interesting in its own right, but Dream and Delirium are particularly fun. Because of this opening to the story, you really could start the series with this volume, and then catch up with the first three volumes as ‘prequels’ later.Anyway, Dream then goes off on a mission to Hell to rescue Nada, a lover who was sent there 1,000 years ago because of him. At this point in this story, it could simply turn into a battle between The Devil (and all his minions) and Morpheus, but Gaiman does a clever thing in having Lucifer simply close up shop, and abdicate his realm to Morpheus. Holding the key to Hell, Dream then finds out just how many desire it, as they come out of the woodwork from various cultures and religions to attempt to get it for themselves: a contingent from Aesir (Odin, Thor, and Loki), ancient Egypt (Anubis, Bast, and Bes), Japan (Susano-O-No-Mikoto), demons from Hell (Azazel, Merkin, and Choronzon), “Chaos”, “Order”, and angels from Heaven (Remiel and Duma). With such a rich cast of characters present at a dinner party, all either offering Dream things or threatening him, and knowing he must make a choice that will anger all the others, all while wondering what will become of Nada, it makes for a very enjoyable read.

[xirxe · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Even The Lord of Dreams is not without fail. And so he has to admit, it has been a mistake to damn a young woman into hell, who rejected to stay with him to all eternity. So he sets of to hell to unchain and to release her, being prepared that it will be a quite difficult problem. And thus it happended, but entirely different than he has imagined...
Great, a 'Sandman-book' again with a continuous story, which also refers to former books. It's exciting and the chronicle stimulates thinking about the existence of hell: How would it be without hell? What would be about heaven? And what about all the unfortunate souls?
It's a fantastic story with a surprising twist, which in my opinion slides a little bit too much towards Happy-End. Someway I have imagined the solution will be more dramatic. But maybe this depends on the other books I've read in the weeks before. Too many bloodthirsty thrillers :-)
The drawings are - like always - exceptional good, so you really sink into the atmosphere of this book. Great stuff!

[sammii507 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I like these more and more every time I read one. This is one of my favorites so far. :) Love the Heaven and Hell stuff, and meeting all of the Endless.

[xicanti_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Dream travels to Hell to free an old lover, with unforseen results.This was my favourite SANDMAN collection for a long, long time. It's the volume in which we finally meet the rest of the (active) Endless, the volume in which Gaiman pulls out all the stops with the mythology, and the volume where we finally see the Dreaming in all its glory. While the previous volumes were rooted quite firmly in horror, this one falls more into the realm of dark fantasy. A sketchy distinction, but a distinction nonetheless.Above all else, I love what Gaiman does with the mythology here. We get little snippets of Norse, Japanese and Egyptian mythology, with a bit of Faerie thrown in and a liberal dose of Heaven/Hell. It's great stuff, and makes for addictive reading. As another reviewer mentioned, the gods are instantly recognizable to anyone who's delved into the mythology surrounding them. Gaiman also continues to plant clues and build up the overarching story surrounding Dream; many things herein with have great repercussions throughout the rest of the series. As wonderful as it was to read this for the first time, I've enjoyed it even more on subsequent rereadings, armed with full knowledge of how events play out from here. I highly recommend you try it.This time through, I also found myself noticing the way this volume highlights all the little technical details that make SANDMAN so special. That initial meeting of the Endless subtly shows us just how these six character differ by utilizing different lettering for each of them. Destiny speaks in italics; Dream has his familiar white-on-black; Despair's bubbles waver; Desire's words spike cruelly and curve seductively in equal measure; and Delirium's dialogue is characterized by uneven lettering and a multicoloured background. Little differences like this really help set this series apart and make it something special, not only as a story but as an example of graphic literature that uses the medium to the fullest extent possible.Highly recommended. You really ought to read this.

[lostfrog_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

This is one of the best volumes of The Sandman comics. The plot is amazing and imaginative, as is the artwork and characterization. Plus, Delirium!

[stipe168 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

is this one my favorite? i don't know.. but it just might be the most gripping and extensively absurdly rich.

[ragwaine · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The Hell stuff was great, the school stuff was boring. Giving it to the angels sucked. There should have been some fighting.

[crowyhead · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

One of my all-time favorite Sandman story arcs. Lucifer decides that he's sick of being the lord of Hell, so to relieve himself of his duties and cause Morpheus some trouble as well, he closes down Hell and gives Morpheus the key. Now Morpheus must contend with the hordes of supernatural delegations who have come to him to petition for this most valuable real estate. The Faeries want Hell permanently shut down, so that they will no longer have to pay their tithe to Hell. Odin and his compatriots view Hell as a possible refuge post-Ragnorak. Azazel and the other demons want it returned to them, to be reopened under demon rule. Each delegation has something Morpheus wants or needs -- and no matter who he chooses, he's going to piss off some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. Lucifer has had his revenge.This is a really important story in terms of Morpheus's development as a character. He has claimed on more than one occasion that the Endless are unchanging, but this story sees Morpheus actually admit that he may have been wrong in the past. The scene where he finally apologizes to Nada (after saying, "I should apologize" in as many ways as he can without actually apologizing) is one of my favorites in the series. The storyline also has some really fantastic humorous moments, as all of the various gods and supernatural beings encounter each other in the realm of Dream. My favorite is Thor's overbearing attempts at flirting with Bast, as he asks her if she would like to see his hammer ("it gets bigger when you rub it"). Definitely good stuff.

[kivarson · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Great story. Great art, but this comic from the 90's printing/coloring process could use more depth.

[booksfordinner · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The series is really getting good now, my favorite book so far. Creative storylines, and I think the best artwork yet.

[coach_of_alva · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I could hunt for hidden meanings and depths in any story told in a dense, subtle manner. If I did that, I would come to a whole bunch of wrong conclusions while destroying the pleasure I had in reading it. So I will enjoy it as a story told with rare creativity, great feeling, and a nearly complete absence of clichés.

[zoes_human · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Season of Mists gives you a complete multi-issue storyline within a full and complex world. You're introduced to the heaven and hell, well mostly the hell, of the Endless universe. The hell concept presented is fascinating and examines the morality of humanity and the power of belief. The story itself takes a harder look at the somewhat ambiguous morality of the Morpheus.

[mickyfine · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

This collection of issues sees Dream being gifted the key to Hell by Lucifer and dealing with the many offers that come in for the realm as a result.Dark, bleak, and with inconsistent art I was left feeling that this volume was really not my jam. That said, it is interesting to read to see Gaiman's fascination with certain types of characters and mythologies peek out in advance of his other works on the topics. I'll be continuing with the series for now but I may be ultimately deeming it as one of the Gaiman narratives that just isn't for me.

[benkline · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

This was probably the best of the Sandman stories/series so far. A wonderful story from beginning to end with how Sandman unfairly punished Nada for her not wanting to love him in his own realm, and then Lucifer finding the perfect way to try and defeat/torture Sandman by giving him the key to Hell and having him run it. And in typical Gaiman fashion, all of the different mythologies and pantheons and mythos converging in the Sandman's realm - Norse, Japanese, Faerie, Christian, Chinese, Chaos, Order; etc - all coming and wanting Lucifer's Hell. This time he also delves deeper into the Endless ones - the D's - Dream, Despair, Death, Destiny, Delirium. My only complaint was the art used for episodes 0 and 8; not a fan of that art style but the episodes 1-7 artwork was crisp and clean like in previous works, I much more prefer that style.

[ltjennysbooks · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Aw, Season of Mists is great. I like it so much. It makes me nostalgic for Past Jenny, who was young and dumb and had yet to discover most of her now-favorite films and music and TV shows (including, of course, the other six volumes of Sandman). Oh, wow, that’s really, really true. I hadn’t discovered Joss Whedon yet, or The Office, or Doctor Who; I hadn’t yet seen any of my current five desert island DVDs (fifth series of Buffy, MirrorMask, Empire Records, Angels in America, and Before Sunrise); I didn’t know the Decembrists, the Shins, Neko Case – I’m amazed at Past Jenny. What did Past Jenny do to pass the time? Sheesh.Anyway – wow, I’m just amazed at how many awesome things I have discovered since I left high school – anyway, this is the fourth Sandman book, and it starts out with Dream’s family getting together and sniping at each other until Dream finally decides that it was unfair of him to condemn his ex-lover to hell forever, just because she didn’t want to be his queen. So off he goes, to fight the hordes of hell and get her back – it’s so Dream – and when he gets there, Lucifer has decided to shut down hell. He gives the key to Dream, and takes himself off; and suddenly Dream is the center of attention from every deity and supernatural power ever, because they all want Hell.I really don’t like the story where all the dead people come back to the public school. I seem to recall someone telling me that Neil Gaiman went to Whitgift, in Croydon – it has peacocks and wallabies and flamingos (hee hee hee), but I am beginning to wonder whether it was possibly COMPLETELY SCARRING. British public schools sound awful. And not-public schools don’t seem to be any better.Neil Gaiman’s obsession with gods, which will come to a head in, no surprises, American Gods, is all too evident here. You have the Egyptian pantheon, a delegation from the faerie, the Norse lot of Odin, Thor, and Loki, angels from heaven in a supervisory capacity, and demons from hell; they all have things to offer Dream. Neil Gaiman’s obviously having fun with all of them, and it is fun – Thor’s hitting on Bast, and two of the hell demons are having an affair, and a sinisterly lettered little girl from the hordes of chaos giggles when someone gets made into sausages. It’s fun, and it wraps up tidily at the end. Except for the bit about Loki. That’s going to turn out worse than you think.

[poonamsharma_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

After collection of short stories in part 3, finally a complete one. So, our sandman is not above fault either. You meet his family and realise he has been unjust to am mortal woman. Sandman set to right an old wrong and visits Hell, where prince Lucifer awaits whom he had insulted in Part 2. Nice novella.

P.S: Oh, have I ever mentioned that Morpheus has a crow called Mathew that serves and calls Boss. Part 1-2. Now 4-5.

[anniik_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I like these more and more every time I read one. This is one of my favorites so far. :) Love the Heaven and Hell stuff, and meeting all of the Endless.