The Sandman, The Kindly Ones, Vol. 9

Now I know how it ends. Sigh.

The Kindly Ones is the grand finale of an intricate and fantastic masterpiece crafted by Neil Gaiman. It makes a reader want to stop and gape at the scope of his imagination and his craft in putting it altogether.

I am still missing pieces of this jigsaw: Season of Mists and Fables & Reflections. Neither have I read the two that come after The Kindly Ones—what a misfit for a name!—The Wake and Endless Nights. But I will get to it soon enough.

I don't particularly care for the style of artwork that is predominant in this volume. It is the kind of artwork that is more abstract that realistic, using bright colours and two-dimensional shadowing to evoke emotion. It is a bit like Japanese anime with the !!!! above the heads, if you know what I mean. Regardless, the pictures still made me want to cry.