Today is the day that the first adaptation of Sandman is released.
It's the first three graphic novels, PRELUDES AND NOCTURNES, THE DOLL'S HOUSE and DREAM COUNTRY, released, as full-cast audio drama, on Audible. The adaptation was written and directed by audio genius Dirk Maggs, and only it's taken 28 years to happen -- since Dirk first pitched Sandman to BBC Radio 4 in 1992. (They said no.)
For years, blind and partially sighted people, or people who for whatever reason couldn't read comics but wanted to still get access to the stories, have asked me if there would ever be an audiobook of the Sandman books. It took a long time, but this is the closest we could come to giving the world the original graphic novels, bumps and all. You don't have the art, alas, but I hope that the performances and the music give you something that translates it to another place.
It should be out now on all the English-language versions of Audible. There should be versions in other languages coming relatively soon.
(It will be out in a few months on CD -- https://www.brilliancepublishing.com/title/50614/alt -- and I like that they begin their entry: This content is not for kids. It is for mature audiences only. Just like the original graphic novels, this audio adaptation contains explicit language and graphic violence, as well as strong sexual content and themes. Discretion is advised.)
Sandman was always "For Mature Readers" and this is no different.
Here's an interview with me (and an extract from "The Sound of Her Wings") at the EW site: https://ew.com/books/neil-gaiman-sandman-audible-adaptation-netflix-show/
So many talented actors and voices are involved.
I'm the narrator -- often reading descriptions of places or characters I wrote in the original scripts long ago for artists to draw, which Dirk has cunningly snuck into the script.
There are hundreds of characters in these eleven hours, brought to you by 68 actors (well, 67 actors and me):
