All this sandman talk got me interested. Though I'll read some of the comic volumes first. Always wanted to read those anyway and it sounds like that's still the essential version
Actually probably the opposite where you want to watch the show before the source material. That way you can enjoy the show and then enjoy the comic more. The show is still a good adaptation but coming straight from comic there will be some changes that are a bit disappointing and certain scenes don't hit the same way in the show.
Plus, gotta feed that Netflix algorithm if there's any chance for a S2 and Netflix only gives a shit about views in the first week or two before deciding whether to cancel or renew.
Just finished it and had a pretty good time with it.
I didn't quite listen to your advice since I was already about halfway through volume 1 when I saw the post so I thought I might as well finish it. I didn't read anything past that though which made watching the show fairly interesting as it became clear to me that it is pretty much split into two halves, with the second half covering volume 2 I guess (or maybe even a little beyond?).
In general, I think I liked that first half a little more, as it felt a bit more focused with Dream collecting all his stuff and introducing the various worlds, while also keeping the episodes relatively self contained. My favorite sequence was probably Dream visiting the immortal guy every 100 years. I wouldn't even mind if that had been the whole show, just self contained bits about Dream's strange adventures. In comparison the second half suddenly introduced such a large collection of new characters + a more overarching plot that it almost felt a bit rushed.
Casting was generally pretty good, though I can see why there were some complaints about the guy who plays Dream. I don't even mind his acting but it's his face that just feels a little off. It's as if he knows that his cheekbones aren't quite sharp enough so he tries to make them more prominent with his expression. Also they could have totally used that glowy eye effect on him more. That seems pretty iconic to the comic character and the time they did it in the show it looked pretty good.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZucPrzXoAAaSl7?format=jpg&name=4096x4096As for the visuals, I was at first a little disappointed that it didn't quite have the same grime and dirty artstyle of the comic but thinking about it I can't quite imagine how you could truly recreate that kind of art in real life and, after all, it still managed to bring in enough surreal elements. The dream surfing sequence was quite nice, for example, though unfortunately a tad short.
As for the narrative changes, I have a suspicion that there were more changes in the second half than the first half. Of the ones that I'm aware of none bothered me too greatly though here and there I wondered why you'd change that (like for example in the comic Dream punishes the son of his captor with the pretty horrific eternal waking whereas here it was just... eternal sleep? That sounds quite comfy actually)
Overall I'd say this one of the better Netflix shows and I'm curious to get deeper into Sandman. I'm guessing a second season is also pretty certain by now.
