Sandman gets better and better as we return to Barbie, a character from Book 2.

This time Barbie is trying to live her life the way she wants. With her best friend she travels the streets of New York being free. However, the Cuckoo wants revenge and sends its creatures to try and get Barbie back into dream land. In doing so Barbie and her whole building of neighbors have to step into the dream world again to survive.

This is basically a rescue mission but with a lot of interesting twist and turns. People seem shocked Sandman is almost a background character but a almighty god is only so interesting, it's better he's the surrounding the main characters so he gives a bigger impression of "super" powered. I also really enjoyed the supporting cast. From two lesbian characters who are figuring out their relationship, a trans character who will do anything to save a friend, and a witch, everyone has time to show off their skills and background.

Sandman is a slow burn. There's not major fights or big climatic showdowns. Despite being in the DC universe, it doesn't feel anything like a DC book. It took me years to read this. In fact I read volume 1 around age 16 and didn't like it much. At 31 I appreciate the slow burn storytelling and deep look into multiple character's lives. This was a fantastic volume with a somber but touching ending. A 5 out of 5.