The Sandman audio drama tops New York Times bestseller list
By Ashley Hurst
Audible’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is a hit, getting listened to faster than even Audible’s versions of the Harry Potter books!
Many fans were apprehensive when they found out that Audible was going to adapt Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed comic The Sandman as an audio drama. Despite all the worries and questions we had going into it, no one could have dreamt it would be as big a success as it has been so far. In fact, the dramatization has even managed to conquer The New York Times bestseller list!
Audible’s The Sandman released July 15 to glowing reviews from fans and critics alike. So far, it has an impressive 4.8/5 rating from 1867 reviews on Audible. Produced by Dirk Maggs, the audio drama boasts a terrific cast, including James McAvoy (Dream), Kat Dennings (Death), Andy Serkis (Matthew), Michael Sheen (Lucifer) and Taron Egerton (John Constantine). And it’s narrated by Gaiman himself.
The dramatization is a faithful adaptation of the original Sandman run with very few things changed. If you can’t read the original comics, this is a great alternative.
The Sandman came in at number one on The New York Times category for Best Sellers in “Audio Fiction,” with Peace Talks by Jim Butcher and The Guest List by Lucy Foley coming in second and third. This is an incredibly impressive achievement for Gaiman, Dirk Maggs, and all involved.
Never thought I’d see this. #TheSandmanAudio is New York Times Number One Bestseller.
— Dirk Maggs (@DirkMaggs) August 5, 2020
What a moment for all the teams at @audible_com, @DCComics and @audibleuk. Huge thanks to @neilhimself and DC’s #SandyResnick, who started the ball rolling. https://t.co/CcecHGAEfs pic.twitter.com/Cb5cZmQXt1
And it sounds like everyone is down to continue adapting the series in the future. As good as the audio adaptation was, it only adapted Preludes and Nocturnes, The Doll’s House, and Dream Country; that’s only three of 10 volumes (consisting of 75 issues).
When a fan asked Gaiman on Twitter if the cast and crew were up to record more, he seemed confident that it would happen. What’s more, Gaiman also revealed that Audible Sandman was listened to “by more people faster than any fiction they’ve released before,” which includes the Harry Potter books!
That's what we want. That's what Audible wants too. It was listened to by more people faster than any fiction they've released before, I was told, including the Harry Potter titles. So everyone is on board with us makng the rest of it. https://t.co/xjww8h8KUX
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) August 9, 2020
Finally, if you can’t get enough of the Audible Sandman adaptation, producer Dirk Maggs recently revealed that himself, Neil Gaiman and Michael Sheen will have a presence at DC FanDome on August 22. What exactly will be going down, we don’t know, but it’s sure to be interesting.
You can listen to Audible’s The Sandman here. If you don’t have an Audible account or you’d rather have a physical copy, a CD edition is slated to release later this year.
dark. Next. A Beginner’s Guide to Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman
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