Well, I did it. I finally broke down and did it. I've been resisting the urge for months now, only buying Neil Gaiman's books, non-Sandman comics (in collected trade paperback form) and graphic novels. I got Neverwhere, Angels & Visitations, and Smoke & Mirrors. I got Black Orchid, Mr. Punch, Stardust (novel and comic), and The Last Temptation. Then, one day, I picked up a copy of Sandman: The Dream Hunters and was blown away by the story and the art. Soon after, I bought Death: The High Cost of Living and Death: Time of Your Life. I was sucked in. I went on ebay and won a copy of Gaiman's rare spoken-word CD, Warning: Contains Language. I'm planning on buying Gaiman's early graphic novels, Signal To Noise and Violent Cases. But I kept telling myself, as long as I don't buy the Sandman trade paperbacks (the 75-issue series collected in 10 beautiful trade paperback or hardcover editions), I was okay. As long as I didn't succumb, I wasn't a complete maniac.

I was in a Borders bookstore near my apartment tonight. I bought volume one of The Sandman, called Preludes and Nocturnes.

I'm doomed.