Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Sandman: The Dream Hunters #3 (of 4)

I'm glad to say that the third issue of this series, Sandman: The Dream Hunters, maintains the incredibly high quality of the previous two issues.

You can read my take on those issues right here, if you're so inclined. Neil Gaiman's a great writer, Craig Russell is an amazing artist, blah blah blah, gush gush gush. We've heard it all before - it's just a matter of waiting to see if the last issue can complete the storyline with the same amazing skill.

While we're waiting, allow your old pal Chuck here to wander completely off topic and explain something never before explained: namely, how the comics reviewed in this space are chosen.

It's not complicated at all. I go to the comics shop each week and pick up the comics that interest me, and try to grab one or two that I might not have chosen otherwise, just for variety. When I get home, I try to come up with a good mix for the week, with mostly Marvel and DC (it should be obvious by now that my tastes are pretty mainstream), with occasional Dark Horse, IDW, Boom or Image comics (among others) thrown in for good measure.

The first comic I review each week is the one that rises to the top - the one I want to read first. From there I try to mix them up, alternating companies. Of course, sometimes I throw that out the window and just review what I feel like reading. It's good to be the king.

And we have quite a few readers from other countries, so I should explain the grades awarded - they're the ones teachers use in most American high schools:

- "A" is excellent
- "B" is above average
- "C" is average at best
- "D" is pretty bad
- "F" is awful (Glad to say I haven't given any "F's" yet).

I throw in pluses or minuses depending on which way the comic leans - plus is better, minus is worse. You get the drift.

So there you go. Now where was I? Oh yeah, "Sandman."

Great comic. If you're not reading it, you suck. Nothing personal.

(Oh, calm down - I'm kidding!)

Grade: A

2 comments:

Cephas said...

Yeah I was wondering what those A B C things meant at the end of your reviews... thanks for the explanation! :D

Chuck said...

Pete, Hey, the comics companies are lucky I don't hand out grades like my old math teacher, Mrs. Lewis - they'd all be flunking out! (She was one tough mamma!)