The Sandman has scattered his sand on Netflix

Book adaptations come in many forms and certainly don't please everyone. With comic book series, it's even worse. Why? Simply because you already have a set visual, and you're not just comparing the result to your own imagination, but also to the boundaries already set by the artists. There had been whispers about a film adaptation of one of the most famous comic series of all time, The Sandman, for quite a while. Honestly, if it had just been a feature film, I'm not sure how it would have turned out.

By the way, it's interesting that the only successful adaptation to appear so far is the student short film Orpheus' Song (2013), directed by Roman Gregorička. In this case, the creators focused only on two of the many short stories you can find in the Sandman universe. These were the stories Orpheus and Fear of Falling from the comic book collection The Sandman: Fables & Reflections. Film buffs and Sandman fans are purring with delight. On the other side of the audience, however, sit casual viewers who might be slightly confused by the film, as they don't know the context.

That's also why I was ultimately glad that Netflix, which got its hands on the Lord of Dreams, chose a series format. Moreover, in the first season, which we are talking about now, they only adapted the first two books, which you can find in our shop under the titles Preludes & Nocturnes, and The Doll's House.

To be clear from the start, I count myself among the fans of the original comic series, which I consider one of the best of all time. Something almost sacred. I also count myself as a fan of Neil Gaiman, and I consider The Sandman, along with Neverwhere and American Gods, to be his writing peak. These three titles launched him into the heavens of fantasy authors and wrote his name in gold. My opinion of this author and his work is by no means unique; there are many who think like me, like grains of sand in the desert…

That's why I approached the series with humility, knowing that when you look forward to something too much and have certain expectations, you might start to feel bitter disappointment while watching the screen. Honestly, American Gods as a live-action series didn't captivate me much, and I turned it off after the fifth episode to keep the feeling of enthusiasm for the exceptional book alive inside me.

What catches your attention immediately about the series is the visual style. A feast for the eyes attacks you from every shot, and you slowly develop an addiction to the series. Of course, the main thing is the character of The Sandman himself. Those who don't know the source material or grew up on other types of comics might be surprised that he isn't some fearless hero performing incredible feats at every possible and impossible moment.

The Sandman is, in fact, a man of few words, a thoughtful, calm guy. He is more of an observer and only nudges the plot when it is absolutely necessary and some danger threatens. He takes care of his realm and respects the laws of the Endless. He has been here since time immemorial, so he perceives time in a different dimension. Even in the moment when a group of fanatical occultists accidentally summons and subsequently imprisons him during their ritual. That is actually where the story begins. And believe me, imprisoning the Lord of the Dreaming has consequences for many, because what would humanity be without its dreams? For this character, the series' Sandman, Tom Sturridge, fits perfectly. His eyes have that right infinite depth, and his cold expression adds another dimension to many scenes.

As for the casting of other roles in the series, that's a topic for a much longer discussion than we have space for. So I'll keep it short. Although the original Sandman is a pioneer of a gender-conscious perspective in its own right, the Netflix production wasn't afraid to go even further here. Personally, I don't care. For example, Vivienne Acheampong as the librarian Lucienne is great and absolutely convincing. And that's even though I still have her comic book counterpart in my mind, which is visually somewhere else entirely. Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian is absolutely mesmerizing. This is truly a villain who makes your skin crawl. On the other hand, I didn't like Lucifer at all, played by the Game of Thrones-hardened Gwendoline Christie.

I don't mind that it's a woman. After all, even the devil can change his forms. However, she isn't very convincing as an actress, and instead of the ruler of hell, she reminds me more of a young Marika Gombitová. Her big duel with The Sandman doesn't come across as emotionally as it is depicted in the comic.

Every character in the story could be analyzed similarly, but I promised to keep it brief. I'll just point out the excellent casting of Stephen Fry (Gilbert), Asim Chaudhry (Abel), and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Death). All in all, someone had a lot of fun with the casting.

It is also remarkable how the series quietly tries to ignore the entire DC Universe and tries to be an independent comic book entity. For me, that's not a bad idea, but there didn't have to be such clumsy "workarounds," like when Johanna Constantine, alias Hellblazer, arrives in the story instead of John Constantine. I must admit, however, that I had to get used to Keanu Reeves, who played this character in the film Constantine, for a long time, because the original visual model was the singer Sting, and Keanu is a hell of a long way from that. Plus, that poker face of his under all circumstances…

The camera work and editing are also worth mentioning. "In one shot," we can be transported from a medieval tavern to the modern world of today. Similar to comic book panels, individual scenes can flow through environments and time here as well. The editing can then be very brisk and dominates the gradation of tense and exciting moments of the narrative.

Morpheus, as The Sandman is also called, goes through individual episodes without hesitation, but the same cannot be said for the overall pace of the series. Up to the fifth episode, 24/7, the plot graduates significantly. However, in the seventh and eighth episodes, the plot slows down too unexpectedly, and for the first time, the viewer has the feeling that the creators are unnecessarily dragging the story out. It reminds one of that proverbial calm before the final storm. And that, of course, arrives. Much of what the first season is about culminates in the ninth episode, Collectors, where we look at a convention of serial killers. And it is truly as obscure as it sounds. I'll just reveal that the main guest of this unusual con will be The Corinthian. The last episode, Lost Hearts, as expected, opens space for further continuation, but it does so very emotionally and with grace. You simply don't want to say goodbye, and at the same time, you are already full of anticipation for what comes next.

The Netflix series The Sandman is one of the best comic book adaptations ever. Sure, it has its downsides; it might disappoint someone who expected a "literal" retelling, and maybe someone will get lost in the series, but most fans will give it a thumbs up. I count myself among them, even though I could also "take a kick" at it. But in the never-ending megalomaniacal wave of shallow entertainment that is rolling over us from everywhere, this is a shining pearl that deserves respect. Moreover, the series managed to grasp what makes Gaiman's work attractive to fans and built its foundations on that. It incorporated those fantastic, religious, and mythical elements that attract readers to Gaiman like moths to a flame, and most importantly, it managed to present and sell them.

Neil Gaiman himself participated in the creation of the series, but we can only guess what that exactly means in practice. The screenplay itself is mainly signed by David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg. I was also pleased with the involvement of Gaiman's creative scheme, where a character just flashes by in a certain episode and you don't consider them important at all, only to find out a few episodes later that their role is, on the contrary, crucial. The series can also move you, but it tries not to overdo it, and for the most part, it succeeds. If it maintains the high bar of quality set by the first season in the future, we certainly have something to look forward to. For now, we can close our eyes, scatter some sand, and dream.

author Roman Bílek