Comic books don’t come much more acclaimed than Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. The original series ran for 75 issues between 1989 and 1996, landed on the New York Times Bestseller List, and is still widely regarded as one of the greatest works ever published in the medium. Now, Gaiman is overseeing a revival: four new comic-book series published under the banner The Sandman Universe, with the first issue set to arrive next week.

But it’s hard to jump into a big, complicated series without a road map—and as someone who has read through the Sandman series more than a few times (and bored all my friends to tears by talking about it), I think I’m qualified to be your tour guide. If you’re curious about The Sandman—but don’t know where to start—let me try to break it down for you:

So: What is Sandman all about, anyway?

It’s… hard to summarize! When asked to describe Sandman in under 25 words, here’s what series creator Neil Gaiman came up with: "The Lord of Dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision."

Which is succinct and poetic—but honestly, not that helpful. So let me explain in a little more detail. The Sandman tells the story of Dream, who is the personification of all dreams and stories. (He can make himself look like pretty much anything, but generally appears as a pale, mopey guy with dark eyes and a shaggy head of hair.) The story begins in 1916, when Dream is captured and imprisoned by a group of black magic occultists. In 1988—the year Gaiman began working on the series—Dream escapes and spends the remaining issues trying to regain control of the world of Dreaming and the powers he once possessed. Once that story is resolved, The Sandman leaps around in space and time, following Dream as he travels around fulfilling the his job: overseeing and influencing the dreaming, storytelling, and inspiration for every living being in the universe.

I’m… not sure I get it.

Don’t worry. Sandman is a pretty complicated story, but it doesn’t ask you to wrap your head around everything it’s doing right away. When you need to understand something, Sandman will make sure you understand it.

I’ll take your word for it. So where can I read this thing?

The Sandman was originally published as a monthly comic—but today, you’ll have a better time reading it in book form. If you want to read the whole series, there are a few easily available options: