With the 25h Anniversary of The Sandman coming up and a NEW Sandman prequel on the way, SF’s Cartoon Art Museum has just announced a retrospective exhibit of more than 75 pieces of original art from the seminal fantasy series. The show will run October 5, 2013 – March 16, 2014, with details of the opening reception and catalog to be announced. In the meantime, here’s the PR:

The Cartoon Art Museum celebrates the historic 25th anniversary of one of the most critically acclaimed comic book series of all time, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. This retrospective contains more than 75 pieces of original artwork from the original comic book series, as well as paintings, sketches and other rarities.

From 1989 to 1996, the saga of The Sandman unfolded in a monthly comic book series from DC Comics/Vertigo. Readers were introduced to Morpheus, Lord of the Dreaming—a vast hallucinatory landscape housing the dreams of everyone who’s ever lived. Throughout history, all dreamers have visited Morpheus’s realm, from ordinary humans to gods, demons, muses, and monsters.

Upon his escape from captivity at the hands of greedy mortals, Morpheus is forced to deal with enormous changes within both himself and the realm of dreams. His journey to find his place in the modern world takes him through the worlds of myth and fairy tale, the back roads of America, and even the depths of Hell. But he learns his greatest lessons from his own family, the Endless, who, like him, are living embodiments of the core aspects of existence.

New York Times Bestselling author Neil Gaiman wrote the original series and has revisited the character in graphic novels such as The Dream Hunters and Endless Nights. Gaiman’s scripts were brought to life by some of the top artists in the field, including Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Kelley Jones, Bryan Talbot, Colleen Doran, Jill Thompson, Gary Amaro, Marc Hempel, Michael Zulli, Charles Vess, Barron Storey and Dave McKean. Vertigo is marking the 25th anniversary of the original series with the publication of a new miniseries scripted by Gaiman and illustrated by J.H. Williams III, entitled Sandman: Overture. The Cartoon Art Museum’s show will include original artwork and cover illustrations from this highly anticipated series, courtesy of the artist.

Other highlights of the show include extensive original artwork from the landmark first issue of Sandman, painted covers by series cover artist Dave McKean, pages from each major Sandman story arc, and rarely seen sketches and concept art, most of which have never been displayed to the public.

Programming featuring the artists who illustrated The Sandman is planned throughout the run of the exhibition. Details regarding programming as well as a planned full-color exhibition catalog will be announced as they are confirmed.