What I really remember about Sandman was not only the fantastic stories and images I so lovingly read and stared at for hours, but the world I was currently in while reading them.

These were nights of hot cozy dorm rooms, a mix of smoke swirling around our collective heads, coffee, dim christmas lights, pizza boxes, and coca-cola splayed out on the floor, and of course, Portishead playing in the background.

I am not sure which came first - the Sandman trades or the Portishead album - but the two merged with my memories to create the perfect marriage.  Sad, slow, electornic notes flowed together with a crooning melodic female voice to images of dark, drastic, edgy colors and dialogue straight from the masterstorytelling abilities of Gaiman.  The images of his characters in NYC, living the 20 something squallid life, resonated with me so deeply and romantically that I have always found myself drawn to the yearings of it.  While my early years in boston represented a portion of this lifestyle I found it unappealing.  ON the page, it was magic.


 I write this because I found myself listening to Portishead again (Dummy is by far the best album imo) and it similarly reminds me of my youth and my freshness with everything around me, but also of my love of Sandman and comics.  I am curiously reminded of them equally.  And I find that it still remains a perfect partnership.