Once upon a time, Warner Bros. was thinking of making a movie based on Neil Gaiman‘s comic book series Sandman. This confused many people, as Sandman is a wide-ranging collection of stories and characters that does not at all lend itself to a Big Studio Movie. You think Watchmen came out a little wonky? Translating Sandman to the screen makes adapting Watchmen seem like a breeze.

Anyway, the movie didn’t happen, perhaps because the most confused people were at Warner Bros. Neil Gaiman did spend time at one point trying to explain the series to the suits, and commissioned a big suite of images to help get the idea across. Those images are now online. They’re more a slideshow encapsulation of the grand scope of Sandman than true concept art, and those who know the series well will recognize moments from many of the major story arcs from the series’ 75-issue run.

Let’s start off with a tweet from Gaiman that clued us in to the existence of this art.

Some years ago, I had to pitch/explain SANDMAN to Warners. @ thejillthompson illustrated the pitch. That art’s for sale bit.ly/RN4pCb — Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) August 14, 2012

Here’s a selection of the art; see more at the link in Gaiman’s tweet.

Sandman could still be seen on screens eventually, as a TV adaptation of the series is in development. No word on where that stands, however.