Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Modern Mythology
Review: Upon my first reading of this story of The Sandman series, i was struck by how simply and profoundly Gaiman interwove so many mythologies, all the while writing the most original modern myth of our time -- dare i say _all_ time -- something that a dust cover blurb would say "if William Blake and Mark Twain colaborated on the story of what Lucifer is doing these days..." Everything from the Angels, Duma and Remiel (quite wonderful choices -- check out G. Davidson's "Dictionary of Angels" for how accurate!), to the enraged expelled demons, Azazel and company, and the self-admitted profound absence of the Greek dieties. With each successive reading, i found these threads are strung together into an amazing story of what might happen should the Ruler of Hell abdicate. Told through the perspective (and responsibility) of the Prince of Stories, the Lord Shaper Morpheus himself. i found this to be a as great a starting point as any for the series, if for no other reason, because of the wondrous introduction of Dream and his family, The Endless. The resolution of plot and every subplot, is quite tasty, and having Lucifer acknowledge the beauty of sunsets that The Creator (and his nemesis) provides daily, gives me chills just to think of it. And the bookended cliche phrases of "Once Upon A Time" and "Happily Ever After. In Hell." Give this esoteric mythos tale the finishing air of mundanity (?) that place it within the realm of each and every one of us. Aside from being my own personal favorite longer story within the series, it is in my opinion, the best. ["The Kindly Ones" would be a close second.]
Rating:
Summary: This book has made me a Gaiman addict!
Review: Well, what can I say about it? It was the first Sandman book I ever read, and I think it's wonderful! The characters are well defined, all different, extremely imaginative, real to the point of being frightening and always fascinating. I'm ashamed (but not very) to admit that I'm in love with Dream (but then I would say so is everyone) and in this book he has everything...strength, anger, weakness, bewilderment, vulnerability...this book is amazing. Go read it.
Rating:
Summary: The best in the series
Review: When I first read the book years ago I was completely blown away with the way things panned out in this chapter of the entire sandman series. this is really the chapter that basically set everything else up, gets everything moving.I think its fantastic when stories are written because there's a story to be told, and the storyteller already knows there is going to be an ending in sight. The entire sandman series is just that, and not just some needless need for the publisher and the author to make more money with the next chapter. That said, i think on its own A Season of Mists has bears little meaning and consequence, beautiful as it is. But taken into context of the entire series, this is a personal favourite.
Rating: 
Summary: Where Dream Meets Myth
Review: With this fourth instalment to the Sandman series, Gaiman finally takes the time to introduce us to Dream's elusive siblings, the Endless. Although we briefly encountered several of them in The Doll's House, Gaiman allows us to spy in on the family dynamics as all six (or is it seven; note the one empty chair) sit around the table together and bicker and argue as most families are wont to do. The brief little write up for Desire, Despair, Destiny, Delirium, and Dream in the introductory chapter is most welcome, but why not one for Death? Although the art was generally good, I found it a little off, at times. In particular, I didn't like the depiction of Dream or Death. I much better preferred how they appeared in Preludes and Nocturnes. To compound this problem, the text oftentimes had inconsistent images of both Dream and Death. I'm not sure why Dream sometimes appeared strikingly different in different cells on the same page, and I must say I found such occurrences distracting. I have no complaints on the story, however. Gaiman raises the bar here, and deeply immerses the text with the various myths held by civilizations past and present. Gaiman is obviously very familiar with these themes; his firm control of the narrative and adept insertion of these various complicated mythologies provides the reader access to people and places no other graphic novel does. Further, only someone with as puckish a sense of humour as Gaiman could contrive a situation where the Norse God Thor would put the moves on the Egyptian cat Goddess, Bast. Thor appears to be quite the party animal, too: drinker, swearer and maker of rowdy jokes. Like the other texts in the Sandman canon, I highly recommend Season of Mists. It is with this tome that Gaiman flaunts his 'literariness' and proves that comics are capable of high art, too.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent...as usual from Gaiman
Review: _Season of Mists_ (volume 4 of 10) isn't my favorite installment in the Sandman series, but it's a very good one. The story is exciting, cool, and intelligent, as expected, and the ending made me cry. I like the way this story introduces some important themes (like the beginning of the change in Dream's character, Lucifer abandoning Hell...) which you probably won't see the significance of until much later. There's always more to discover... The only thing I don't like about this story is the art. While the prologue and epilogue are very well drawn, and the interlude is okay, Kelly Jones, who drew the rest of the story, is my least favorite Sandman artist. In one panel Dream grins like a chimpanzee. Death is just weird, and bears almost no physical resemblance to her usual self. And what happened to the Lucifer from issue 4? He was cool, but I don't like the way he looks now. BUT...none of this should impact your enjoyment of the story. Can't judge by appearances, and all that, yes? Season of Mists remains one of the best Sandman story arcs (aren't they all). And *you* may like the art; some people consider it the best in the series. I just don't, that's all. Definitely, whether you're new to Gaiman or already a fan, pick up Season of Mists; you're in for a really great read.
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