I'm thinking about picking up http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781845763565/Absolute-Sandman, the first of four such collections. However, the price (AU$74) makes me a little ambivalent, since I haven't read any books from the series. An alternative is to buy http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781563890116/Sandman-Preludes-and-Nocturnes, which is a quarter of the price and 40% of the page count (and similar volumes cover the rest of the series). Is going with the hardcover path (for collecting the series) worth the extra money, bearing in mind that my main interest its reading it?
I also plan to get hold of http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781845760229/Batman-Arkham-Asylum. However, I've just spent a chunk of money on other books, so I don't really want to spend close to a hundred bucks on comic books right now, which means it'd be something of an either-or between it and Sandman. If I have to make the choice, which should I grab first?
Oh, and please avoid any reference to storylines -- I like to approach books/tv series/movies with as little foreknowledge as possible. I even go so far as to keep a list of interesting stuff and leave things on it until my memory of them is minimal .