Neil Gaiman’s complete Sandman set has a wild Dream-inspired package

The Sandman, the King of Dreams fashioned his inimitable helm from the skull and spine of a nameless god he’d slain. Fortunately for gods everywhere, DC’s new replica is made of resin. Fortunately for fans, it comes with a new “piece of epistolary fiction” — that is, a short Sandman story in letter form — written by Neil Gaiman himself.

Polygon is able to share with you the beginning of their story below, thanks DC Comics. And if you’re not enticed by a 15-inch-long bone helmet, you might be by what else comes with what the publisher is calling The Sandman: Morpheus Helm Masterpiece Edition. The resin helm can’t be worn over the head (alas), but it does function as a bookend and display for a truly stunning-looking new six-volume set of Gaiman’s Sandman work, bound in minimalist black leather with the foil-embossed sigils of the Endless on their spines.

“These six volumes collect stories from the entire Sandman saga,” says DC’s official description, “including The Sandman#1 through 75, The Comics and Prose Editions The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, The Sandman: Endless NightsPlease see the following: The Sandman: The Overture.” The set also comes with a series of art prints from Michael Wm. Kaluta, who most recently drew the covers of DC’s The Sandman paperbacks.

DC understandably wanted to keep the details of the set’s final piece — a new Gaiman story set in the world of Dream — under close wraps, but Polygon can share this much without spoiling things for anyone interested in the set:

October 15, 1840

Dearest Dora

I’m sending you the following package via separate courier. Please open this package and let me show you the peculiar circumstances in which it was obtained.

The sender continues to recount his experience with the contents, using a Sandman classic tale about the mortal world rubbing against the darker realms.

The Sandman: Morpheus Helm Masterpiece Edition will hit retail shelves on Nov. 14, for the hefty retail price of $500 — but even the most practical Sandman fans may not be immune to the lure of a complete leather-bound edition of The SandmanIt will grace their shelves. It’s certainly given this writer pause to think.