Neil Gaiman's Sandman

Still a favorite with Design 1 students who have to use black Con-tack paper all semester

Neil Gaiman's Sandman, notice - the next sentence really hurts our collective soul to say but it must be said, Neil Gaiman's Sandman is probably the greatest thing ever put to print by a batshit crazy insane Scientology weirdo that believes in Xenu.
Before we go anywhere, it should be noted that this article refers to the Neil Gaiman, Vertigo, character of Morpheus and not the DC character "Sandman" who runs around in a gas mask and slips roofies into Wimmins drinks.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman follows the titular character of The Sandman or more formerly, Morpheus: The God of Dream or Dream Of The Endless and his 6 siblings Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium/Delight who are know as the Endless or rather anthrpomorphic personifications of the ideas that create and define the universe and Humanity
Unlike most mythologies or Religions that have an antithesis like G-D and Satan, Jesus and The Anti-Christ or Dharma and Chaos - the Endless play both sides of the same coin and represent the opposite or rather have dual roles concerning how they are named.
For instance, Death also represents life and the circle of Life and Death is represented in that she wears an Egyptian Ankh.

Plot

So much cuter than a guy with a scythe and would still be an influence for emos into the next millennium

As it has been already noted, the story follows the titular character of The Sandman or Morpheus and is the personification of Dreams in the same way that a Greek God like Aries is the personification of war or Aphrodite, Love.
When the series opens Morpheus is captured in an Occult ritual that was meant to, rather, capture his sister Death because so long as Death is unable to move around, no one can die because she can not perform her function.
After 70 years, Morpheus escapes simply through patience amd waiting for the spell circle and everything around him to decay and fall apart, because being eternal he can simply outlast such human inventions. Upon his return to his kingdom of dream he sets out to rebuild it as it has fallen into disrepair and nightmares and dreams like The Corinthian have gone rogue and have started using their "DREAM" roles and abilities to influence people wrongly.
Once it is discovered that he has had a child with Hippolyta, (pronounced Hip-paul-lee-tuh), Morpheus' character starts to take on the role of something more akin to a Tragic Greek Hero like Odysseus who is being punished for his arrogance/hubris and for pretty much pissing off Peseidon when he blinded Poseidon's Cyclops son Polyphemus or more closer to Orestes who is ordered by the god Apollo to kill his Mother and in punishment for his violation of the oldest of laws is hunted down by the Erinyes (Also known as the Furies but most of you will confuse them with [[Furfag|Furries).