Sandman: The Doll's House

Single issues (Sandman 1 onward, beginning 1989) are the true first appearances and the key collectibles (especially issue 1, and issue 8 for the first appearance of Death). The Doll's House was actually the first Sandman trade paperback published (1990), rushed out to meet a Rolling Stone advertising deadline; the better-known Preludes & Nocturnes collection followed in 1991. Early first-printing trades are scarce relative to later printings.