The Sandman: The Wake - Neil Gaiman

Advantages: First half is a surprisingly good ending.
Disadvantages: Second half of unrelated stories is a disappointing waste of time.

...that Neil Gaiman's saga of The Sandman came to a satisfactory close eight years after its first issue hit the shelves. This final paperback collects the three issues comprising 'The Wake' epilogue and three supplementary, independent stories tying up some of the more obscure loose ends before the series is finally put to rest... you know, aside from the other couple of Sandman books Gaiman has written since, and the numerous spin-off comics continuing ...
...The previous book 'The Kindly Ones' was a long and winding road to the Sandman's inevitable death, and 'The Wake' deals with its consequences while also providing a sentimental farewell for the comic series itself. Fortunately, this amounts to more than just a bittersweet parade of favourite characters saying their goodbyes (though it is partly that), with Gaiman and returning artist Michael Zulli working to create something original and distinctive ... Read review

Advantages: A moving testament to a much loved character
Disadvantages: Morpheus is finally dead

...I hadn't read many of the other Sandman books and so got very confused. Anyone whose new to Gaiman should try to read most of the rest of the series before this one as it isn't easy to understand otherwise. The main charater of the Wake is once again the Sandman. The book details his funeral and the emergence of a new Sandman. Within this structure it ties up many of the loose ends from previous novels, although some questions are never answered. ...
...book should be seen as the ending of all the previous stories rather than as a stand alone book. The pictures are as always superb and Gaimans text makes you feel genuinely sorry for Morpheus. There is a magic to these books and I was sorry to read this knowing it would be the last one( It isn't really, The Dream Hunters was published later but it comes last in the entire sequence) Anyone whose read previous installments should read this. It gives ... Read review

Advantages: Beautiful, deep fantasy comic, mixing ordinary characters into the lives of beings older than gods.
Disadvantages: The main character's already dead!

...gathered at his funeral. All the mere mortals whose lives he briefly touched, as well as superheroes, gods and his 5 remaining siblings. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the Dreaming deal with their new master, Daniel - and he deals with his reincarnation as a being older than stars. Finally, there are epilogues tying up the tales of some long-running characters - Rose Walker, Hob Gadling and William Shakespeare.The tone is bittersweet - they're saying ...
...is the tenth installment in the 'Sandman' series of comics, and to be honest, you really need to read some earlier ones first, or you'll have no idea what's going on. Basically, Morpheus is Dream, one of seven basic forces in the Universe, the others being Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium and Destruction. It's hardly a happy family - Desire really has it in for Dream, Destruction has recently gone AWOL and Delirium is.. well, delirious. ... Read review