REVIEW: The Books of Magic Omnibus Vol. 2 (The Sandman Universe Classics)

An omnibus tends to take awhile to get through, but in the Sandman Universe that can only be a good thing. Please read this at your own pace and savor the fact that “The Books of Magic Omnibus Vol. II” puts Peter Gross back in the director’s chair with assistance from other groundbreaking artists, not stopping short of the series’ creator Neil Gaiman. Where the first volume was more masculine – by giving an introduction to Timothy Hunter, his father, and giving way to action sequences as magicians like Mr. E & John Constantine debated on who to guide him in a psuedo-paternal sense, the second volume is more focused on the feminine as Timothy loses his love in Molly, Titania’s story is expanded on in multiple Faerie shorts, and Tim’s stepmother (along with her stepson) end up playing an integral role in the war Tim has against himself.

This is a Vertigo book from the 90’s : so there is a load of philosophy, mythology, and campfire-style storytelling all rolled into one. Pepper this with the sarcastic humor and cold real life situations (miscarriages, adultery, molested children that grow into sex workers .., and here you have what made die-hard readers like myself want to jump off a building when Vertigo closed it’s doors in the late 2010’s – vertigo be damned ! As it is an omnibus, this book could be read in a sitting or it could be spread out and read in months or even years. It took me two years, with the first volume included, to finally get through Gross’ run and I have to say – this has been quite the magical experience. And it has been nice to have Tim and the rest of his Universe as travel companion’s throughout my journey in various stages of life through when I picked up the first volume to when I put down this one.

The real beauty of “The Books of Magic Vol. II” is that I am not the same person that I was when I first picked this tome up, and as I move forward in my life I know that I will take the imprint of this story with me wherever I go. And there is the beauty of the printing press, which has now been converted to digital distribution : this story can be shared. And there’s no excuse to not pick it up.

If you love the Sandman Universe, this is a can’t miss. And if you never heard of The Endless or Lucifer and you just love mythology, then prepare to get lost in Gross’ tale of Tim. But if you care about none of that and just want a good read? Well, “The Books of Magic Omnibus Vol. II” is just for you.

Score: 4/5

by Peter Gross (Author, Illustrator), John Ney Rieber (Author)