The Sandman/YMMV

• Archive Panic
• Ensemble Darkhorse: Lots and lots, though given the size of the cast that's not surprising. Lucifer, Death, Hobb, Matthew, Mervyn, and Fiddler's Green all have particularly noteworthy fanbases.
• Growing the Beard: Gaiman's editor has said that she believes issue #8 ("The Sound Of Her Wings") to be this.
  • Also Gaiman himself; he had a hard time figuring out the characters early on, and found the need to attach the series to the DC Universe very awkward. Issue 8 was the first time he really felt he'd gotten it right.
• I Am Not Shazam: A strange case. "The Sandman" is just one of countless names that Morpheus is known by, but he's never actually called this except for one brief instance in issue #3. The name is mostly just used to maintain a tenuous connection to the original superhero from the 1930s. Strangely, he is always called "The Sandman" in the script of each issue.
  • In "A Tale of Two Cities", Gaiman specifically explained that the black haired woman was not Death.
• Nightmare Fuel: Made with real nightmares!
• Older Than They Think: The series started as an attempt to reinvent the Golden Age superhero, the Sandman, but went on its own merry way. Its popularity led to a revival for the original hero, though (Sandman Mystery Theatre ran almost as long as the Gaiman Sandman did).
• Rewatch Bonus: Plenty. Most readers find that the number of characters and sidestories are really well-planned-out upon rereading the tales.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Line Art: Applies to much of the art, but most especially the amazing artwork from "The Season of Mists"; Ty Bender's non-fiction "Sandman Companion" featured excepts of the same artwork without the hideous colouring, and the difference is astonishing.
• What an Idiot!: Cluracan pretty much runs on this trope.
• What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?: Okay, so Volumes 1-10 can be pretty surreal, but the Delirium and Despair chapters of Endless Nights are barely comprehensible.
• The Woobie: Poor Nuala; sold out by the fairies, summarily ignored by Morpheus, dismissed peremptorily with a broken heart, treated like crap, and then the poor thing goes and accidentally helps her crush kill himself.