Thirty years ago, the first Sandman comics introduced readers to Dream of the Endless and the denizens of the fantasy realm where he ruled. Neil Gaiman said goodbye to writing Sandman stories three years ago, but he's coming back to oversee a bunch of new spin-off series published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint.

Comic books can seem intimidating. If you go into a comic book store, you’re confronted with walls and walls of paper and no road map that tells you where to start. If you’ve never read a comic before and want to dip your toe in the ink-filled waters, here’s a few recommendations that blend excellent storytelling and incredible illustration.

This Wednesday, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo will finally begin their utterly bizarre-sounding new comics event, Dark Nights: Metal. It's already promised crazy armour and even crazier Batmen, but now DC has revealed that the series is going to plunge into the deep depths of the publisher's own back catalogue.