Sandman was the most successful recent entry in this struggle, a subtle and intelligent contribution to an art form normally associated with Spandex costumes and testosterone-laden fistfights. Although Sandman's publisher, D.C. Comics, is better known for mainstay characters like Batman and Superman, Sandman has been one of D.C.'s top sellers for years now. Sandman's success was not always so assured. D.C. Never a big fan of the superhero genre, he suggested Sandman instead, and D.C., which has historically been more willing to explore fantasy than other mainstream competitors, gave Gaiman the comic. Sandman's creator, however, started with the impression that the book would be a minor critical success, sell poorly, and then be canceled after the first year.
Sandman is a contemplative, heady book.
It stars Morpheus, the lord of all whimsy and imagination. In the stories, which range from the fantastic to the horrific, Morpheus is sometimes at the forefront of the action, and sometimes his powers and knowledge provide only a backdrop for more intimate, mortal occurrences. Lance Smith, who works at the Dreamhaven comic shop in Dinkytown, says that there have been a lot of readers who buy only Sandman and no other comics. In addition, Sandman attracted an unprecedented number of female readers. They have problems, but they're real problems, not the kind of problems you see in X-Men.