The book that, in many ways, started it all and remains a high point for Vertigo Comics and DC as a whole, Sandman brought a level of intelligence, beauty and self-awareness to mainstream American comics that even Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing and Watchmen hadn’t quite managed, and its success was enough to allow Vertigo founding editor Karen Berger to convince the ‘Powers The Be’ to greenlight the imprint.
But there’s something else that Sandman introduced to the US comic industry that has become so well-accepted as to be overlooked in recent days: Vertigo (and Berger) allowed the comic to finish when Neil Gaiman was done with it.
No new writer and new status quo, despite its immense success, Sandman brought a new understanding of the importance of the creator to company-owned comics, and a reminder that, sometimes, it’s best to get offstage while people are demanding more.
Of course, Gaiman eventually revisited the characters with the anniversary series Sandman Overture and most recently with the Sandman Universe ‘Pop-Up’ imprint of titles set in that world.