In 1989, a comic book hit the shelves that would change the way fans, critics, and even the indifferent, would view the industry. Its title was Sandman, its hero Morpheus. At the height of its popularity, sales of Sandman rivaled, and frequently exceeded, those of individual Superman or Batman titles, the two reliable top-sellers for its parent company, DC Comics. The series and its author, Neil Gaiman, won praise from critics both within and without the comic book industry; even Norman Mailer hailed it as a literary achievement. Among its many awards, the most notable might be the World Fantasy Award, which no comic book had ever won before, and which—as a result of rule changes after Sandman's win—no comic book is likely ever to win again. The publication consistently sold over a million copies a year and remained one of the most stable modern titles in...