Early this week, those absolute bastards over at Vertigo (please excuse the pun) figured out a new way to get money out of me for something that I already own several times over. Remember when they collected the entirety of Neil Gaiman‘s Sandman series into four over-sized ‘Absolute’ slipcased hardcover collections? That was great, wasn’t it? I mean, it cost me $400 dollars to get them all, and I’d already bought ever comic in single issue format, and then again in TPB format, but the big hardcovers look so nice on my shelf!

Well, it seems that DC/Vertigo were not content to leave me be, and they are now releasing a fifth Absolute Sandman collection, which collects together all of the Sandman spin-offs, crossovers, and mini-series that have been done over the years. Below, I have listed everything that you will find in the collection, and yes, I own all of these, and yes, of course I am going to buy this… damn you Vertigo, damn you to Hell!

The Absolute Sandman Book 5 will be released in October 2011, containing 512 pg, for $99.99 US.

The Sandman: Endless Nights – The Eisner Award-winning collection of SANDMAN stories written by Neil Gaiman and featuring breathtaking art by P. Craig Russell, Milo Manara, Frank Quitely, Miguelanxo Prado, Bill Sienkiewicz, Glenn Fabry, Barron Storey and a Dave McKean cover.The

Sandman: the Dream Hunters – Both the prose novella written by Gaiman with art by superstar Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano, and the 2009 comic adaptation by P. Craig Russell.

Sandman Midnight Theatre– The hard-to-find crossover featuring Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, and with art by Teddy Kristiansen.

You know, thinking about it, they could do a sixth volume, containing The Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives, The Sandman Presents: Thessaly - Witch for Hire, Lucifer, Love Street, Petrefax, Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of Dream, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Dreams…But Were Afraid To Ask, The Corinthian, The Thessaliad, , The Furies Bast, Marquee Moon, The Sandman: Book of Dreams , The Dreaming, Taller Tales… and more! Where does it all end?!

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1. Four Gorgeous Death Pin-ups from $99 Absolute Death Collection
2. Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman to Be Adapted as a TV Show?
3. Azzarello and Risso to Create Spaceman for Vertigo
4. Neil Gaiman and Jim Lee’s Collaboration, 100 Words, Now Available Digitally
5. Vertigo Announces Strange Adventures #1, Feat. Milligan, Snyder, Lemire, and Debut of Azzarello & Risso’s Spaceman!