I've never been that into comic books, but the first two volumes of the Absolute Sandman blew my mind. The storytelling is simply incredible. So, I was excited for Volume 3 to release. Now having read about 3/4's of the new volume, I find that the stories are not as entertaining as those in Vol 1 and 2. It still hits some high points and is certainly worth reading, but those high points come more infrequently than in the previous volumes. If you're a newcomer like me to the series, I'd still recommend buying it, but if your expectations were as high as mine, you may come away disappointed.

If for whatever reason you get bored with the brief lives story arc, which would make no sense then there are some really good single tale stories in the Inn at the end of the World stories which is tied to the Zero Hour event which killed off some alternate realities in the DC universe.

The only negative is I have to wait 5 months to figure out how Sandman dies since i am only reading the Absolute Editions. I did buy the Wake book and the Fables and Reflections book which started me off in this addiction almost wish I haven't read these books because these editions are not cheap and it did spoil it for me since I will know what will happen next. If you have not read the Ramadhan story then you should buy it alone for that story.

So here's the thing - Sandman is hands-down the greatest comic book series of all time. Combine that with an oversize, remastered version of the stories and you have a sure thing. Buy this now. If you don't already own volume 1 & 2, buy them as well.

This book is a joy to read, just as wonderful as the previous two. Bryan Talbot's pencil details pop out the in larger scale volume and McKean's covers shine. "Ramadan" is in this addition with P.Craig Russell's beautiful illustrations as well as the "Brief Lives" run, the "Death Gallery" stand-alone issue, "Fear of Falling" and more. Enjoy!

Great Comic. Unfortunately, the hard cover shipped with a tear on it. Poor class on Amazon's part!