Having just finished the 10-volume epic SANDMAN saga, it’s hard to imagine anything that can top this achievement. In aggregate, it is certainly the most ambitious comic of its time, and having depicted the character arc of Dream, also known as Morpheus and the Sandman, there is isn’t much to add to that. At the same time, since the Endless have lived for the lifetime of the current universe (and perhaps previous iterations), there are an infinite number of side-stories that Gaiman could conceive. So it was inevitable that he would choose to pen some stories that featured each of the Endless - this project itself could be endless, if there’s enough demand from Sandman fans. Going Inside, Delirium’s tale, was marginally more readable than Despair’s chapter, but I still find Delirium the most tedious of the Endless. The game just isn’t worth the candle, trying to read through Gaiman’s attempt at creating a tale about madness — too much work for too little payoff. Bill Sienkiewicz’s art, at least, is interesting. In the introduction, Gaiman says that the thought of Manara illustrating a tale of Desire was one of the things that propelled him into making Endless Nights a reality, and I can see why; everything from his line-work to the coloring is beautiful and sensual. This story appears to be set in pre-Roman Britain, and follows the life of a woman who bargains with Desire to win the hand of her handsome neighbor. This volume is basically detailing seven chapters that deal with the seven siblings of the Endless and how they meet up with several unsuspecting characters in their stories. The chapters are as follow:

In the Introduction, Neil Gaiman states that he had originally planned to write twenty-five "Portraits of Despair", but said "I think, on reflection, that it is probably a good thing that we only created fifteen". I have a love hate with this one. Love the Death / Dream / Desire stories. Hated the Destiny / Delerium stories. The Destruction story was... sort of just there. The Delirium story was really quite charming. It's actually the funnest in the bunch because it's her calling a bunch of crazies to come and rescue her. Dream is a story of a heartbreak and the not too subtle hints of superman world and many others was great and i think i finally notice Dream's story was always a tragedy it was never meant to be a comedy...Milo Manara, creator of brilliantly erotic illustrations, appropriately did the art for Desire’s story, What I’ve tasted of Desire. Loved the sexy artwork, and it was my favorite of these tales.

Speaking of side characters, how do you craft a story focused on Destiny? I mean, he knows everything, kinda IS everything, so where do you get a story? And that’s the problem with his tale, Endless Nights. As Gertrude Stein would say, “there’s no there there.” The art, by Frank Quitely, was more interesting than the story. Death was a story That shows us you just can't escape death even if you seal the island magically and stop time you will still die at the time you were assigned Near the beginning of the habitability of the universe, Dream and his new paramour Killala of the Glow travel to a meeting of astronomical phenomena, wherein Killalla is astonished to identify the delegates as the very stars, galaxies, and dimensions which comprise the cosmos. At an encounter with her world's own sun, Sto-Oa, Killala and the star fall in love at the behest of Desire, while Dream watches. Here, Death is an unmerciful character and Delight has not become Delirium; whereas the defection of Killala begins Dream's long-standing rivalry with Desire. The first aspect of Despair also appears in the story, quite different in appearance and more sociable than her latter aspect.Near the beginning of the habitability of the universe, Dream and his new paramour Killalla of the Glow travel to a meeting of astronomical phenomena, wherein Killalla is astonished to identify the delegates as the very stars, galaxies, and dimensions which comprise the cosmos. At an encounter with her world's own sun, Sto-Oa, Killalla and the star fall in love at the behest of Desire, while Dream watches. Here, Death acts cold and imperious and Delight has not become Delirium; whereas the defection of Killalla begins Dream's long-standing rivalry with Desire. The first aspect of Despair also appears in the story, quite different in appearance and more sociable than her latter aspect. Preludes and Nocturnes • The Doll's House • Dream Country • Season of Mists • A Game of You • Fables and Reflections • Brief Lives • Worlds' End • The Kindly Ones • The Wake

Last is Destiny, who mostly gets a character description. This is a shame, because I think there could have been a great story about how Destiny, like Gaiman, knows all, and choses that which he opts to share, just as a writer chooses what to write. This is what I mean when I said I don't think his heart was completely into the writing--none of the stories really push the boundaries the way that Gaiman does when he's in his stride. The name is derived from Thomas Mann's 1912 novella Death in Venice. The magician's desire on how to die from the beginning of the story was originally stated by Boris the bodyguard in Death: The Time of Your Life. The events in this story seem to be heavily influenced by Edgar Allan Poe's short story " The Masque Of The Red Death". The island itself seems to be partially based on the real abandoned island of Poveglia. This short story is simply a wander through Destiny's garden of forking paths. Based on the clothes of Delirium's statue in one of the panels and the posture of Dream's statue, it seems to be taking place during The Kindly Ones. My favorite stories were about Death (“Death and Venice”), Desire (“What I’ve Tasted of Desire”), and Destruction (“On the Peninsula”).This story is about several mentally unbalanced people who are brought together on a quest to save Delirium from herself. It's possible at the end of this story that Delirium is somewhat healed in some fundamental way; at least two of the people involved in her rescue are also at least partly healed. Daniel/Dream, Dream's raven Matthew, and Barnabas (Delirium's dog protector on indefinite loan from Destruction), also appear as part of the rescue mission. One of the adventurers is based loosely on Henry Darger. The meaning of the patterns of the spots of each leopard is written there, along with the truth of the shapes of clouds, and the strange, funny song-lives of the bacteria-folk and the secrets the wind whispers when there is no one there to listen. She does, however, display some attachment to Dream. She fondly calls him “darling” and various other monikers, and offers to provide him sanctuary and happiness in her realm as the universe ends, saying that he would be able to see her whenever he wants. She is angry when he refuses, calling him selfish. Neil Gaiman, the writer of The Sandman said that Night plays favorites with her children. Alternately haunting, bittersweet, erotic and nightmarish, the seven stories in this book-one for each of the Endless siblings, each illustrated by a different artist-reveal strange secrets and surprising truths about the Endless. Seven siblings that are each more powerful than gods in their own way make for one rather odd and insane family. Who wouldn’t want to be part of it?