A review by eternitylaep
Sandman, Vol. 8: Worlds' End by Neil Gaiman

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

World's End takes a status quo of the Sandman series and morphs it. None of these characters really have any similarities other than that they've found themselves mysteriously stranded in the World's End tavern. We follow their varied collection of stories through Faerie, alternate versions of America, and Lovecraftian cities. Consistently through this tale we are told nested tales. This is the most present in the story Cerements, wherein we're told multiple tales within the tale of the apprentice and then to find out in the final pages of the comic, that was all within the story that Brant Tucker was telling to the barkeep. It's hard to tell what is really happening such as when Cluracan tells his story of the destruction of the ruler of Aurelian. He openly claims to be a liar. Much as Jim's story feature plenty of characters who have experienced many things but refuse to share it because of their fear of being ridiculed and not believed. It creates a kind of suspicion of belief whenever listening to these tales despite the fact that we are familiar with beings of fae and myth and multiple are consistently on screen. As well there's great feats of art with unique styles that compliment the individual moments of the story.