It's interesting the choice people make in naming the main character, Dream, Morpheus, Sandman, or even another name.
I know at times I'll switch between the two, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unconsciously. For example, I might talk about Morpheus's emotional reaction, but Dream's power and abilities to create.
Does anyone else do that? Or do you just have a favorite name?
I'm putting mine in whitetext, because it IS spoilery about the end of the series.
I tend to call him Dream when he's functioning as the ruler of the Dreaming, as the giver of dreams, etc. I call him Morpheus when I'm referring to that specific personality. The two are not entirely synonymous, given what happens in The Kindly Ones.
Joi - I absolutely ADORE that story! Thank you so much for sharing!
Daniel - I think his different names are telling, and do kind of think of him in different ways. When there are flashes to his far distant past, and, say, Nada calls him Kai'ckul, that makes sense, that is who he was to that culture at that time. (Also, side note, first time I read the books, I misread her name as "Nadia" and keep having trouble seeing it properly). As for most of his other names - I tend to think of him as either just "Dream" or by one of his titles. I think that is because, in my mind, there are too many other associations with Morpheus (example A, the Matrix) and Sandman (Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream) and even some of his other names. Never before reading these books, though, did I think of the concept of "Dream" as a person, as a character, as something anthropomorphic. So it's unique, and it is him. But words do have power, and I know other folks have different associations, and that's part of why he has so many names, and also why that is so great.
Joi, great story about J! I'd say there is a huge area between pleading and praying... but the chance to remember and remind a good friend about it is just too tempting.
I read through a few volumes of Sandman years ago, but don't remember anything about it. I kept wanting the story to go in a certain direction and it never did (now I don't even remember what direction that was), so I read through so quickly I didn't get much out of it. Trying not to let that happen this time around.
Marian, for those who have read ahead and remember what happened, would it help to have spoiler threads for each book? or would that be too tempting to read for newbies?
I thought it was interesting that destroying Dream's ruby returned his power to him, but for Sauron, it killed him.
The contest in hell - I wonder about hope as the ultimate answer. Or dreams, even. Because hope can wither, it can be twisted, it can turn to despair. As we know from suicide, mental illness caused by horrible experiences, and the like. Sometimes I wonder if hope comes down to simply refusing to let the universe win - don't dreams, myths, and religions all serve to give us hope? But all of us know - at least in stories, if not personal experience or people we know - of some who have their hope rekindled in tragic circumstances, while others give up their religion and have to turn elsewhere for hope, or lose it entirely...
@Totz_the_Plaid - going back to where you wrote, "Morpheus is able to undo all that Dee did during those 24 hours..."
I did not get the impression that Morpheus did undo those 24 hours, actually. The people in the diner would appear to remain dead - we don't return to their stories or any of their points of view. The real world effects of Dee's use of the ruby are not completely undone, either - on the final page of Sound and Fury, the narration declares that "the crazy times are over" and "the patients brought in that day, cut and smashed and broken, all sleep like angels, needing no morphine" which to me indicates that Morpheus was able to limit the damage, to stop its spread, but not undo what had been done to individual dreamers.
But locating the turning point for Morpheus's character during the competition in hell is interesting! My memory from my first read through of volumes one and two (lo, these many years ago) is that I found Morpheus very capricious. I wasn't looking at the first volume in terms of his character development, as a recovery from his imprisonment or movement towards empathy.
@Joi_the_Artist et al - I hadn't really considered the possible significance of Prince of Stories versus King, because my mind went to Elizabeth I, who styled herself a Prince when talking about her role as ruler as opposed to as a woman*. So I didn't even blink at the word choice, because of course he's the ruler of his realm - only Prince doesn't necessarily imply that he's the top level in a modern work.
Sometimes, I don't realize I'm coming at things from a weird viewpoint until someone asks a question that makes me look at my assumptions.
*There may be aspects of that nod to a higher power that @clockworkrat brought up in relation to Dream's title in her use of the word; I don't know.
I didn't know that about Elizabeth the first, that's a very interesting idea, and likely shapes the use of the word "Prince" without us knowing it.
Regarding "Hope", I didn't think it was the ultimate answer, it was just enough to make it stumble and hesitate. It does make me think that there is something there worth prodding - what do demons hope for, and do they despair?
It's been close to 20 years since I read Sandman. I got through book 9 before getting distracred by Life(tm) and never getting around to finishing. I'm amazed at how much of what I remember was all from book 1. I remember so little of what's to come, I'm excited for the coming weeks.
The thing that sticks with me the most from book 1 is the first appearance of Death. I've read a lot of mythology over the years, and Gaiman's Death is the healthiest take on death I have ever encountered. Rather than a Reaper or Hades or Thanatos, or any of the other dark and nasty depictions, she's just a part of the cycle. Full of compassion and love, but doing what must inevitably be done. Such a wonderful way to think of death.
@rayhill I had the same experience, where so many stories popped out at me as the most important from the series, and I was surprised to realize how many of them were in Vol. I.
This time (4th read? 5th?) I start to realize it has clumsy parts, especially the Justice League bit. But when I first approached it, I was totally captivated. I'd never read anything like it before.
I wish I could have the experience of reading it for the first time again!
A quote from the Gaiman on Lou Reed article, via @reo_1963, that addresses what Joi was discussing re. Prince of Dreams and Prince of Stories:
"Sandman, the comic that made my name, would not have happened without Reed. Sandman celebrates the marginalised, the people out on the edges. And in grace notes that run through it, partly in the huger themes, Morpheus, Dream, the eponymous Sandman has one title that means more to me than any other. He's the Prince of Stories too, a title I stole from 'I'm Set Free' ("I've been blinded but now I can see/ What in the world has happened to me?/ The prince of stories who walked right by me").
This was my first reading of The Sandman Volume 1, and my initial thought on closing the the book was that I could now see why Gaiman and Pratchett came together so well to create Good Omens. It's years since I read Good Omens (or any Pratchett), so I can't say exactly what made me think that, but it immediately came to me.
One thing I've always liked about comics is that you can return to reread them soon after the first read. There is so much going on in the pages that there's always more to discover. Glancing back to gather my thoughts I noticed that what I missed in my first read was that the taking of Dream's totems was shown explicitly in three frames, two containing no words. It's funny how, when the story is pushing you forward, you can look at something, but not see it. As I read on, I guess I just assumed the taking of the totems was simply implied.
I didn't really see Cain and Abel as Punch and Judy or Ren and Stimpy as has been suggested, because there is no comedic release; no comeuppance for Cain. Even in Punch and Judy shows, Mr. Punch is often hit by Judy or the Constable, he's bitten by a crocodile, etc. Ren is also often on the end of something bad (and very funny!). Here (in the first volume, at least) Cain is always the aggressor, and Abel on the receiving end. It just seems an abusive relationship to me.
What I did like about Cain and Abel was whilst they appeared to have Gargoyles as some kind of pet, they seemed to be drawn as gargoyles themselves. Frequently open-mouthed in classic gargoyle poses. :-)
As for John Dee, I felt there was something childlike about him, even in 24 Hours. This seemed to be emphasised after his defeat in dreams. His scratching himself while being told off, his apology, Dream's arm around him and the 'Come on lets get you home' moment...
I liked The Sound of Her Wings. It was a nice finish to the volume. Even though it had the odd moment of sadness, it was much lighter in mood (and artwork) creating a nice ending. In it Death says she knows that she was the one that was being summoned by Burgess. Did she feel the summons and send Dream in her stead? Or did she find this out later? She doesn't seem to want to talk about it. Or maybe, like the taking of the totems, I just missed it! :-)
On to Volume 2 now, but I feel once I've been through all 10, I'll be back to reread Volume 1!
FINALLY getting to Volume 1. Ugg, stupid flu, stupid work. Anyways, did anyone notice a nod to the Great Gatsby in the first section? In the Great Gatsby there's this huge build up of the man Gatsby - but we don't actually meet him till about a third or so of the way through.
While we meet Dream pretty early on, we don't really - as he's a silent captive. We just see a naked, pale white man with an 80s hairdo (snark). The only words we hear are "No" and "soon." But we know he's very important.
It could just be a coincidence - a literary tome, but I do like the allusions.
EDIT: We also see this with Death. Hmmm - might need to see if any of the others get this treatment. Might also look for other parallels. Of course if one of the endless were to be represented by Gatsby - I'm guessing it would be (spoiler) Desire. (end spoiler).
Nice, @edwartica -- I was thinking a lot about how nontraditional a beginning this is for our main characters. So much of the book is spent with people not them.
And we don't meet Morpheus in his strength, only to see something befall him -- instead we meet him already fallen, at his lowest. His character is not even totally established until after the ruby is destroyed, we don't quite know who he is until then.
What a strange structure for a story! But ingenious.
Finally getting to write down some of the scenes that stuck in my head! First the picture of Judcy in 24 hours who has put her eyes out. I always try not to look at this one, it gives me literally nightmaers. I'm also really impressed by Kate holding her husbands head (in her dream come true), is anyone else reminded of Salome and St John?
I loved that the Hekate got a dark violet background. It's a colour for women.
After the first seven chapters were in dark colours, "The sound of her wings" feels really light. To me, it feels less "real" than the other chapters, it could take place anywhere. (Until you mentioned it, Marian, I did not know it shows a real place.)
@buchhaim, I always think of Salome and St. John in that picture in the diner!
I'm also so grateful for the things they did *not* explicitly show in the diner scene, the implied ones -- like the eyeball skewer situation -- that reminds me a little of the Corinthian later on!
Done with Volume I! Even though my husband has all the collections (and the big huge collections -- are those the annotated? I'm not home to look) I decided to do Comixology just for convenience. I don't think I have anything insightful to add to the fabulous analyses already here, but I will say that while I went into this thinking it was a re-read, I do believe that like @two_star, I may have been given "The Sound of Her Wings" as the beginning of the story. It's possible that I just don't remember (I inherited my father's terrible memory -- I'm like a goldfish) but I can't believe that "24 Hours" wouldn't have stuck in my head. I don't dislike horror -- growing up I loved it -- but I'm careful with it because it tends to stick and turn up in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. I've also grown to dislike gore, and I avoid it in movies and television, but I deal with it better in print.
Anyway, while "The Sound of Her Wings" has always stuck with me, everything else was like new. I was surprised by the horror elements and the appearance of Superheroes and Arkham Asylum. The horror mostly fit, although sometimes it seemed a little over-the-top and designed for shock value (like the story of necrophilia). The Superheroes seemed out of place (and Gaiman seemed to agree in the afterword) but it was interesting since I have always thought of the Sandman story as being completely separate from the rest of the DC universe. Between that and the rough edges, I could definitely feel the sense of a young writer that is a huge comic fan venturing into a new territory. I thought it was pretty cool to see Gaiman in such a different light.
I can see why the boyfriend who introduced me to Sandman would have started me off with "The Sound of Her Wings" as my 20-something self may not have gotten into 1-7, but my 41-year-old (today, it's my birthday!) self liked it quite a bit and i'm so happy to be (re)reading it! I've also never been a particularly analytical reader, but would like to be better, so this format is great. I really enjoyed going through everybody's commentary as there were definitely things I missed. Thanks for organizing this @MarianCall!
Analytical reading is something I have to turn on, so I've actually been reading these volumes twice in the week before discussions open - the first time purely for the story and emotion, and then the second for themes and symbolism. I can read and analyse as I go, but it's a different sort of joy than reading-for-fun - and given how much people love these comics, I want to give them as much of a chance to stun, delight, or amaze me as possible.
Ginger, I've been doing the same thing -- one read for enjoyment, because I can't hold back, and another read for thinking and questioning.
@bleucaldwell -- yay and welcome! This thread has actually stayed quite active over time, and I'm glad, because it keeps being great. I was pretty freaked out by the horror too, and probably could not have kept on without "The Sound of Her Wings."
I just remembered, while responding to a comment of Joi's at the end of a rambling comment over in the vol. III thread, Morpheus appears to Martian Manhunter as a disembodied head surrounded by fire, which is deadly to Martians in the DCU.
I wonder what that could mean...
Could it represent the danger of going too far in pursuit of your desires (something which figures prominently in the entire series so far... the attempt to literally capture Death, the continued imprisonment of Dream, Dee's attempt to ruin the world in order to raise his own status, Morpheus's imprisonment of Nada because she spurned him, Glob and Brute seeking to create their own Dreaming, the imprisonment of Jed Walker for the Government checks, the "collectors"' actions, the way Desire herself plays with Dream, the rape and imprisonment of Calliope, the cats losing control of the world, the way Urania's life was ruined by the C.I.A.'s desire to control a superhuman...
All of those come from taking the pursuit of a dream too far.
Does anyone agree with me? Disagree?
I'd like to see others' takes on why the fire is there.
(Whited out segments are events in vol. II & III. I spoiler-marked them in case we have more newcomers to the book club in general, and not just current members coming back to check out the continued discussion in this thread.)
Totz, I agree. Dream fulfillment carries responsibility as there are logical consequences. Manners & etiquette are pivotal. With one spoiler exception... Desire seems the most immune to this but she comes off as the most scary nightmare monster in the whole series.
That's interesting, Totz -- that a lot of the problematic imprisonments and cruelties and mistakes in the series come from inappropriately trying to grasp, contain, trap, or manifest a dream. Including Dream going too far with Nada.
I'm catching up at last. See, there was this boat...
I've been going through the graphic novels with a fine-toothed comb. I don't have the Annotated, but I expect I'll have a lot of stuff to add that might be found in those. I'm going to add comments as I work my way through my own annotation, which lags behind my reading significantly. I'm going to add at least one post per issue (post size limits may demand more), with my commentary.
Sleep of the Just
Wych Cross is a real place in East Sussex. The name is (per Wikipedia, cum grano salo) either a reference to a bishop de la Wych or a reference to elm trees (the latter explanation attributed to Sandman, so it may trace back to an annotated edition). OED has a reference to wych elm branches being used to make divining rods, though that may be due to the obvious (and apparently erroneous) folk etymology.
I have some name references (not enough, alas), and I'll be making use of those to note names that might be meaningful. "Burgess" describes a freeman of a borough, the middle class of the Middle Ages, clearly not a name that would be associated with old money. "Roderick" is "rich in glory."
The importance of the date (June 6, 1916) is that it's roughly a week after the Battle of Jutland, as John Hathaway says that his son was killed when "his destroyer was sunk last week, near Jutland."
I'm pretty sure the runes on the second page (unlike those on Thorin's map in The Hobbit) are gibberish.
"Compton" means "valley farm" and is a very plausible surname for a servant.
Magdalene is a college at Cambridge; the implication is that the Magdalene Grimoire was part of their collection at some point before ending up at the Royal Museum.
Name meaning digression time. "Ellie" (assuming it's short for Eloise) is variously explained as "healthy" or as "famous warrior." "Marsten" is "marsh farm." "Daniel" is "God is my judge." "Bustamonte" seems to be (speculation on my part; I can't find any documentation, but it seems plausible enough, and I know a similar French name) "Breast Mountain." "Stefan" is "crown" (more or less). "Wasserman" is "waterman" (which seems to be a topographical byname, akin to "Atwater." "Unity" is self-evident. "Kincaid" means either "head warrior" or "head of the woods" (my sources are weak here).
Ellie is listening to Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass," whose narrative is described away as a dream and is deeply concerned with dreams, reality, and the sometimes unclear distinctions. Coincidentally, I have Alice'sfather's famous lexicon handy for looking up Greek words and names.
It's interesting that Unity apparently dreams of Dream.
"Roderick Burgess's waking dreams are of the power and the glory." Perhaps his first name ("rich in glory") is intentional.
This is the first juxtaposition of Dream and Death, who are closely connected throughout the series. Others have commented on this already, but I think it's worth citing Hamlet's great soliloquy, which makes repeated reference to the connection:
To be, or not to be, that is the question—
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes Calamity of so long life:
For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time,
The Oppressor's wrong, the proud man's Contumely,
The pangs of despised Love, the Law’s delay,
The insolence of Office, and the Spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his Quietus make
With a bare Bodkin? Who would Fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered Country, from whose bourn
No Traveler returns, Puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of.
Thus Conscience does make Cowards of us all,
And thus the Native hue of Resolution
Is sicklied o'er, with the pale cast of Thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment,
With this regard their Currents turn awry,
And lose the name of Action. Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
"After tonight I'd like to see Aleister and his friends try to make fun of me." This reference is what makes it clear that Burgess is not intended to be Aleister Crawley under a different name but rather a fictitious rival.
There have been several comments on Alex being effectively imprisoned by his father. I suppose it's part of this imprisonment that he's obliged to address his father as "Magus" rather than "father."
"Alexander" means "defender of men," FWIW. If there's meaning to it, I wonder whether Roderick is being compared to Phillip II of Macedonia, who unified Greece before dying, with the capture of Dream being compared to the unification of Greece. If that's the intent, it's somewhat ironic, since this Alex does far less with his birthright than his Macedonian namesake.
The spell itself is a source of curiosity. I'm not sure how he got the various components; since his qualified success (i.e. he didn't capture Death) seemed surprising in hindsight ("We did it. I don't believe it. We did it."), I'm unclear on how he could have confirmed the validity of the various components. Some of them seem plausible enough (a claw ripped from a rat, blood from out of his vein), but others are less so: a song he stole from the dirt, a feather he pulled from an angel's wing. I have to wonder whether there's a pattern to the components that I'm missing. Others online have compared some of them to tarot suits (coin -> coins, knife -> swords, stick -> batons), but there's no clear cup analogue; I don't buy the supposed song -> cup mapping, and it doesn't explain claw, name, blood, or feather. The names of the old lords are mostly meaningful, if obscure:Namtar, Allatu, Morax, Naberius, Vepar; they are variously the names of pre-Christian gods and of demons (freakish discovery of the day:Amy is the name of a demon). Klesh may be a reference to kleshas, negative emotions within Buddhism; others suggest it's Navajo for "snake." Maymon may be Mammon. Ashema-deva seems associated with the Zoroastrian Aeshma or Asmodeus (apparently common etymology). Maborym is one nobody seems to have been able to explain; my best guess is a jumbled transliteration of the (constructed, quite possibly badly) Hebrew "mivorim" which might be translated as "created ones," but I wouldn't put a lot of weight to that theory. Horvendile is one spelling the name of an old Germanic hero, a name also borne by Hamlet's father in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, the ultimate source for Shakespeare's Hamlet (we haven't seen the last of Hamlet, not by a long shot), and also borrowed by Tolkien as Eärendil.
It's significant, though it's not immediately obvious, that Dream is now stripped of his property: the ruby, the helm, the bag. I suspect Gaiman had the gem in mind in order to mesh "Sandman" with earlier relevant DC canon, as will become clear later.
Stefan's apparent shell shock is the first of several references to the various horrors of the 20th century.
The destruction of Dr. Hathaway's suicide note is the second bit of actual magic carried out by Burgess.
Oops! I forgot. Burgess isn't even Burgess' real name. Brocklesby is a place name, meaning "by a marsh." The mansion is named "Fawny Rig," which actually describes a kind of confidence trick.
The "sleepy sickness" is a parallel imprisonment, while it lasts. The mention in the papers implies that the four cases we follow closely are but a small sample; the specific importance of Unity becomes clear later. It has a historical inspiration.
"Fulvus" is Latin for sandy or tawny; Paginarum Fulvarum is therefore The Yellow Pages. This book also appears in Diskworld, with the alternative name of "Necrotelecomnicon."
Mention of Endless: Death, Destiny, Desire, Dream.
"Ruthven" (getting his first name out of the way early, though he's first referenced only by his last name) is a Scottish place name ("dun uplands"), but it's most likely a reference to an early literary vampire. "Sykes" means "(living near a) small stream." I doubt it's meaningful, unless it's a reference to Bill Sikes, the foremost villain in Oliver Twist.
"Ethel" means "noble." "Cripps" is "curly-haired." Some off-screen being exchanges a protective amulet in the shape of an eyeball for the ruby.
TRIGGER WARNING: rape (white text follows) The identity of Unity Kincaid's rapist, and her baby girl, become clear later. END TRIGGER WARNING
Wesley Dodds is the Golden age Sandman. This is the first reference to DC Comics canon and the first apparent attempt to tie the Sandman reboot to DC Comics continuity.
I'm not sure (maybe interviews I haven't read reveal this) to what extent Gaiman felt obliged to link his Sandman to DC continuity in order to justify his work to his publisher vs. an actual personal desire to make all the pieces fit together neatly. I have a sense that by the end of Preludes & Nocturnes he either felt secure or satisfied that he'd tied off all the obvious loose ends with DC continuity and went to do his own thing without further superhero cameos, though he kept Cain, Able, and Eve.
By 1955, it seems that nobody, not even Alex, is paying much real attention to the occult. "The order isn't just a way to make money and get laid, Paul." This wouldn't have needed saying in Roderick's day. "Paul" means "small" or "humble," by the way; the Order is clearly moving in that direction, or perhaps it's a another reference to the faith being carried on by the next generation, by analogy to the Apostle Paul.
At long last we see Dream's face.
The 60s bring the predictable New Age influences. The forbidding of psychedelics is an interesting touch, and the abandonment of the "Magus" title is Alex's overt move away from his father.
The "Do what thou wilt, buster!" t-shirt on the guard is a Crowley reference.
"McGuire" is "son of the pale one." I'm not sure whether that's meaningful, though it sounds ominous enough. We'll see him again later.
More unsurprising details emerge on Alex's love/hate relationship with his father. I think it's laid on a bit thick here.
It's amusing to see the haircuts change (and faces age, including those in the background) from 1972 to 1978 to 1982.
I haven't read "It." If there's any special significance, it's lost on me.
"Same old rubbish. I dunno why I buy it. Force of habit, I s'pose. That 'n' page 3..." Page 3 of The Sun traditionally features topless models, as the illustration suggests.
The date on "The Sun" is September 14, 1988. Issue #1 of "Sandman" was released in January 1989.
"Frederick" is "peaceful ruler." "Ernie" (presumed "Ernest") is "serious" (as one might guess).
Frederick's falling asleep and dreaming of the beach allows Dream to pick up a handful of sand, with which he's able to exercise further powers.
Mort Notkin is a nonce character. I can't find a meaning, but "Notkin" is evidently an Ashkenazi surname; "Mort" is a common enough Ashkenazi given name, typically short for Morton. I believe it's used as an Anglicized alternative to Mordechai. I don't think the clown outfit is an "It" reference.
Marilyn (Monroe), Elvis (Presley), The Duke (John Wayne), Ron and Nancy (Reagan). Note that Reagan left office the month this issue appeared.
First food in seventy years: KFC, like the sand, taken from a dream.
Ellie becomes a vehicle for more relevant Carroll quotes: "If that there king was to wake..."
When Alice awakens, the kings are revealed to be kittens. When Alex sleeps, Dream appears as a cat.
"...gifts that are neither mankind's to receive nor mine to give..." I'm not entirely sure about that; he pulls strings with his sister for at least one mortal, as is described later.
"Lord what fools these mortals be." An obvious reference to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Dream, again, in a Shakespearean context), but also an allusion to a Lord. This doesn't come up much.
The window, with the stars shining through like eyes, reminds me a bit of the helmet, though the shape is different, especially at the bottom. Anyone have any insight?
I'm not sure who the melting figure is supposed to be. Paul? The decapitated figure is presumably the Nurse Edmunds mentioned on the following page.
"Edmunds" is a patronymic, son of Edmund, which in turn is "protector of riches."
Some sources connect "And I have showed him fear" with Eliot's "The Wasteland." I wonder whether it's complete coincidence or perhaps a reference to Luke 12:5. "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." The body isn't killed, but Dream has consigned Alex to a living hell.
Wow, that's one book? I'm going to be at this for a while.
I’m curious what anyone thinks about the title. The previous title “Sleep of the Just” is a clear reference to the punishment of Alex Burgess, though other sources suggest it’s an allusion to an Elvis Costello song. I assume “Imperfect Hosts” is describing the role of Cain and Abel; the imperfection may be descriptive largely of the ruins of the Dreaming.
Cain and Abel (and Gregory) are pre-existing DC characters; while a few DC characters make brief cameos, these are some of only a few such characters (aside from those directly connected to earlier Sandman continuity) that we see repeatedly. I think it’s because of the centrality of their role as characters in stories. While the other characters are also characters, Cain and Abel are aware of this; in a way, they break the fourth wall.
Much has already been discussed about these two, with analogies to Punch and Judy, Ren and Stimpy. Abel reminds me of a darker version of Kenny from South Park; he’s repeatedly killed, with no respect for continuity. He always comes back, though, because that’s his role in the constantly-repeated story. And that got me thinking.
Cain is a farmer. Really, he’s not just a farmer; he’s the farmer, the Ur-farmer. Abel, killed again and again by the farmer, to rise again, is a fundamentally different character in Sandman than he is in Genesis. In Sandman, he plays the role of John Barleycorn (Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Thammuz, Persephone, …), who’s cut down and buried and rises three days (in some versions) later. Perhaps that’s what’s meant by theirs being the first story; it was the story that begat civilization.
“Gregory” means “watchful,” which is an excellent name for a gargoyle, especially one who finds and delivers visitors.
Abel speaking of “my b-brother’s house of mystery” is specifically alluding to one of the earlier DC series in which they (and others in this volume) appear.
“Shifting zones” will be made more clear later.
“It was a dark and stormy nightmare” is a dream-tinted variant on Bulwer-Lytton’s famously purple opening. I suspect Gaiman had come up with that at some point and had been waiting for an opportunity to use it.
The Gates of Horn and Ivory are a reference to The Odyssey; per Homer, true dreams go through the former, and false dreams through the latter. There’s a bit of wordplay in the original Greek that’s lost in translation.
Cain, in describing himself as a “purveyor of penny dreadfuls, shilling shockers, etc.” implies that he has a role outside of stories; I suspect this is a reference to his role in DC comics, as the outer narrator of horror comics, rather than to anything more relevant to the character in the context of Sandman.
Abel emerges from his painting. He doesn’t live in the House of Mystery, but rather in the nearby House of Secrets.
“Imprisoned” is a convenient pivot on which to segue to Arkham Asylum. For those who are unclear, this is one of the few contexts in which the works of H. P. Lovecraft are referenced in DC comics. It’s fairly formulaic for DC villains to be seen in Arkham Asylum, after which they escape, wreak havoc, and are ultimately captured and returned by superheroes. This part of the story reads much more like a conventional DC superhero comic than anything else in Sandman, even independent of superhero cameos.
Ethel, the former lover of both Roderick Burgess and Ruthven Sykes, here appears as Ethel Dee. I’m not sure we ever learn about Doctor Destiny’s father, though perhaps that’s described in his earlier DC appearances. Doctor Destiny is a long-running DC villain; his physical appearance prior to his most recent incarceration generally involved his wearing a hooded robe that obscured much of his skeletal-looking face. For those of a certain age, the physical appearance of Skeletor from Masters of the Universe is patterned closely on that of earlier Doctor Destiny comics, so much so that I’m slightly surprised that DC’s lawyers didn’t get involved. He’s not in his preferred attire in Sandman, looking less like a supervillain and more like a pathetic, almost Gollum-like creature. Different artists seem to draw him differently; this is one of the few drawings that depicts him as having ear lobes.
As for the rationale behind his appearance, I suspect that Gaiman felt compelled, either internally or externally, to connect his Sandman to other aspects of DC continuity that touched on dreams or dreaming; Doctor Destiny’s materioptikon, which apparently made dreams manifest, was one such aspect. It seems likely that the ruby that was taken from Dream was written into the story for the express purpose of establishing this connection between this Sandman and earlier CD works.
It’s unclear to me whether the identification of Doctor Destiny as John Dee is original to Sandman vs. part of the earlier continuity. If the former, it’s worth noting that John Dee was also the name of a noted Elizabethan occultist, and I don’t imagine the appearance of that same name here is coincidental.
If Ethel Dee is 90 in 1988 or 1989 (since we know that Dream escaped in 1988, but we don’t know how long he convalesced with Cain and Abel, and the publication date is 1989), that would have made her about 32 in 1930 when she ran off with Ruthven Sykes and Dream’s tools and 38 in 1936 when she ran off with just the amulet and the ruby.
Apparently Doctor Destiny was stripped of his ability to dream by the Justice League in order to prevent him from exercising certain of his dream-related powers; this is the basis behind his assertion that “they took my dreams away from me!”
Huntoon is an obscure name (perhaps originally Hunton), apparently going back to one person in colonial New Hampshire; I believe the character is part of broader DC continuity, and the intent may have been to connect Arkham to Lovecraft’s New England.
Dr. Huntoon’s “Mrs. Dee. Say goodbye,” ties neatly to the “Guh-goodbye” from Abel on the next page, another smooth segue.
The Gates of Horn and Ivory are described here in greater detail, just as in The Odyssey.
“Lucien” means “light.” As a librarian in a castle, he’s another character borrowed from DC continuity. Some sources connect Gaiman’s version of Lucien to a “Mr. Raven” character in George MacDonald’s Lilith, a fantasy novel with themes relating to dreaming with several specific character parallels that would not at this point be entirely clear. “The raven woman” is Eve, mother of Cain and Abel, and similarly an earlier DC character, also the “host” of a horror series.
Brute and Glob are sidekicks of earlier “Sandman” superheroes in DC continuity; again, they serve the purpose of tying together this Sandman and earlier works. Disappearing “twoscore years ago” allows them to appear outside the dreaming as early as 1948; in reality, they first appeared in the Garrett Sanford “Sandman” comics in 1974. The Fashion Thing refers to yet another DC character, a one-shot horror comic “host.” Note the bumper sticker on her broom: “My other broom is a Porsche.” Cain almost apologizes to Abel for going contrary to his character and giving him a sincere gift rather than something deadly, though he reverts to type after another page.
My sources indicate that “Irving” means “black.” Less trustworthy online sources suggest that it means “white” or even “green.” Nothing about yellow, though that doesn’t seem to be the basis for Cain’s complaint.
Urth, Verthandi, and Skald (more correctly, Skuld; Skald is a generic term for a poet or bard) are close variations on the Norse names of the Norns, which have parallels in many other cultures; the next page describes them as Chlotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, which are the Greek Moirai, or Fates. As Cynthia, Mildred, and Mordred, collectively the Hecateae, they are also borrowed DC characters, from “Witching Hour” back in 1969; I suspect their physical appearance here mirrors that of the earlier DC comics. The crossroads, gallows, honey, snakes, crescent moon, and black she-lamb, and midnight are evidently needed to summon them; as with many other things, Dream plucks them as needed from the dreams of mortals. Midnight, the Witching Hour as noted, may also be an explicit reference to the title in which they previously appeared.
The Morrígan is another goddess, or triad of goddesses, from Irish mythology. Tisiphone, Alecto, and Magaera are the Erinyes (“Furies”), euphemistically the Eumenides (“Kindly Ones”). Diana, Mary, and Florence (I’m not sure about who Candy was; I suspect that was an error) were founding members of The Supremes. The Graces, or Charites, were another set of three women in Greek mythology.
“Did you help us against Circé?” This is obscure. There’s no apparent interaction between the mythological Circe and any of the Three, nor any hint of where Dream, under any name, might have helped. There’s a DC comics Circe, but again, there’s no apparent interaction, and Dream was presumably imprisoned while she was active. I’d expect the acute accent to be meaningful, but it doesn’t seem to lead anywhere.
John Constantine was an Alan Moore DC character, only going back to 1985, only getting his own title in 1988, and therefore quite contemporary when this was written. The history of the pouch of sand isn’t clear; I suspect Ethel left it behind when she ran off on Sykes, and it passed through unknown hands between the death of Sykes and its acquisition by Constantine.
We now know slightly more about the other party in Sykes’ bargain, but only that it was a demon.
It feels really weird in hindsight to have Green Lantern and Batman appear, however transiently in Sandman. We met Dee a few pages back; at this point, we know more than Dream does.
Abel starts to recover after having been dead for only “a couple of hours.” Such efficiency. I’m not sure how time passes in the Dreaming.
“Goldie” is apparently the name of the imaginary friend to whom Abel would narrate the stories in the earlier titles in which he appeared. It makes some sense, then, for Abel to tell this real Goldie the story of his fantasy family life. Not only does his brother murder him, repeatedly, but they also live in different houses. “Goldie” fortunately describes the color of this gargoyle.
Well, that's two issues done.... when I'm supposed to be reading the fourth volume. I have some catching up to do.
Comments
I'd say there is a huge area between pleading and praying... but the chance to remember and remind a good friend about it is just too tempting.
Marian, for those who have read ahead and remember what happened, would it help to have spoiler threads for each book? or would that be too tempting to read for newbies?
I thought it was interesting that destroying Dream's ruby returned his power to him, but for Sauron, it killed him.
The contest in hell - I wonder about hope as the ultimate answer. Or dreams, even. Because hope can wither, it can be twisted, it can turn to despair. As we know from suicide, mental illness caused by horrible experiences, and the like. Sometimes I wonder if hope comes down to simply refusing to let the universe win - don't dreams, myths, and religions all serve to give us hope? But all of us know - at least in stories, if not personal experience or people we know - of some who have their hope rekindled in tragic circumstances, while others give up their religion and have to turn elsewhere for hope, or lose it entirely...
*There may be aspects of that nod to a higher power that @clockworkrat brought up in relation to Dream's title in her use of the word; I don't know.
This is a brilliant quote. Well played, sir!
The thing that sticks with me the most from book 1 is the first appearance of Death. I've read a lot of mythology over the years, and Gaiman's Death is the healthiest take on death I have ever encountered. Rather than a Reaper or Hades or Thanatos, or any of the other dark and nasty depictions, she's just a part of the cycle. Full of compassion and love, but doing what must inevitably be done. Such a wonderful way to think of death.
Now on to book two!
This time (4th read? 5th?) I start to realize it has clumsy parts, especially the Justice League bit. But when I first approached it, I was totally captivated. I'd never read anything like it before.
I wish I could have the experience of reading it for the first time again!
"Sandman, the comic that made my name, would not have happened without
Reed. Sandman celebrates the marginalised, the people out on the edges.
And in grace notes that run through it, partly in the huger themes,
Morpheus, Dream, the eponymous Sandman has one title that means more to
me than any other. He's the Prince of Stories too, a title I stole from
'I'm Set Free' ("I've been blinded but now I can see/ What in the world
has happened to me?/ The prince of stories who walked right by me").
While we meet Dream pretty early on, we don't really - as he's a silent captive. We just see a naked, pale white man with an 80s hairdo (snark). The only words we hear are "No" and "soon." But we know he's very important.
It could just be a coincidence - a literary tome, but I do like the allusions.
EDIT: We also see this with Death. Hmmm - might need to see if any of the others get this treatment. Might also look for other parallels. Of course if one of the endless were to be represented by Gatsby - I'm guessing it would be (spoiler) Desire. (end spoiler).
And we don't meet Morpheus in his strength, only to see something befall him -- instead we meet him already fallen, at his lowest. His character is not even totally established until after the ruby is destroyed, we don't quite know who he is until then.
What a strange structure for a story! But ingenious.
First the picture of Judcy in 24 hours who has put her eyes out. I always try not to look at this one, it gives me literally nightmaers. I'm also really impressed by Kate holding her husbands head (in her dream come true), is anyone else reminded of Salome and St John?
I loved that the Hekate got a dark violet background. It's a colour for women.
After the first seven chapters were in dark colours, "The sound of her wings" feels really light. To me, it feels less "real" than the other chapters, it could take place anywhere. (Until you mentioned it, Marian, I did not know it shows a real place.)
I'm also so grateful for the things they did *not* explicitly show in the diner scene, the implied ones -- like the eyeball skewer situation -- that reminds me a little of the Corinthian later on!
Anyway, while "The Sound of Her Wings" has always stuck with me, everything else was like new. I was surprised by the horror elements and the appearance of Superheroes and Arkham Asylum. The horror mostly fit, although sometimes it seemed a little over-the-top and designed for shock value (like the story of necrophilia). The Superheroes seemed out of place (and Gaiman seemed to agree in the afterword) but it was interesting since I have always thought of the Sandman story as being completely separate from the rest of the DC universe. Between that and the rough edges, I could definitely feel the sense of a young writer that is a huge comic fan venturing into a new territory. I thought it was pretty cool to see Gaiman in such a different light.
I can see why the boyfriend who introduced me to Sandman would have started me off with "The Sound of Her Wings" as my 20-something self may not have gotten into 1-7, but my 41-year-old (today, it's my birthday!) self liked it quite a bit and i'm so happy to be (re)reading it! I've also never been a particularly analytical reader, but would like to be better, so this format is great. I really enjoyed going through everybody's commentary as there were definitely things I missed. Thanks for organizing this @MarianCall!
@bleucaldwell -- yay and welcome! This thread has actually stayed quite active over time, and I'm glad, because it keeps being great. I was pretty freaked out by the horror too, and probably could not have kept on without "The Sound of Her Wings."
I wonder what that could mean...
Could it represent the danger of going too far in pursuit of your desires (something which figures prominently in the entire series so far... the attempt to literally capture Death, the continued imprisonment of Dream, Dee's attempt to ruin the world in order to raise his own status, Morpheus's imprisonment of Nada because she spurned him, Glob and Brute seeking to create their own Dreaming, the imprisonment of Jed Walker for the Government checks, the "collectors"' actions, the way Desire herself plays with Dream, the rape and imprisonment of Calliope, the cats losing control of the world, the way Urania's life was ruined by the C.I.A.'s desire to control a superhuman...
All of those come from taking the pursuit of a dream too far.
Does anyone agree with me? Disagree?
I'd like to see others' takes on why the fire is there.
(Whited out segments are events in vol. II & III. I spoiler-marked them in case we have more newcomers to the book club in general, and not just current members coming back to check out the continued discussion in this thread.)
Dream fulfillment carries responsibility as there are logical consequences.
Manners & etiquette are pivotal. With one spoiler exception...
Desire seems the most immune to this but she comes off as the most scary nightmare monster in the whole series.
What happens to a dream deferred?
I've been going through the graphic novels with a fine-toothed comb. I don't have the Annotated, but I expect I'll have a lot of stuff to add that might be found in those. I'm going to add comments as I work my way through my own annotation, which lags behind my reading significantly. I'm going to add at least one post per issue (post size limits may demand more), with my commentary.
Sleep of the Just
Wych Cross is a real place in East Sussex. The name is (per Wikipedia, cum grano salo) either a reference to a bishop de la Wych or a reference to elm trees (the latter explanation attributed to Sandman, so it may trace back to an annotated edition). OED has a reference to wych elm branches being used to make divining rods, though that may be due to the obvious (and apparently erroneous) folk etymology.
I have some name references (not enough, alas), and I'll be making use of those to note names that might be meaningful. "Burgess" describes a freeman of a borough, the middle class of the Middle Ages, clearly not a name that would be associated with old money. "Roderick" is "rich in glory."
The importance of the date (June 6, 1916) is that it's roughly a week after the Battle of Jutland, as John Hathaway says that his son was killed when "his destroyer was sunk last week, near Jutland."
I'm pretty sure the runes on the second page (unlike those on Thorin's map in The Hobbit) are gibberish.
"Compton" means "valley farm" and is a very plausible surname for a servant.
Magdalene is a college at Cambridge; the implication is that the Magdalene Grimoire was part of their collection at some point before ending up at the Royal Museum.
Name meaning digression time. "Ellie" (assuming it's short for Eloise) is variously explained as "healthy" or as "famous warrior." "Marsten" is "marsh farm." "Daniel" is "God is my judge." "Bustamonte" seems to be (speculation on my part; I can't find any documentation, but it seems plausible enough, and I know a similar French name) "Breast Mountain." "Stefan" is "crown" (more or less). "Wasserman" is "waterman" (which seems to be a topographical byname, akin to "Atwater." "Unity" is self-evident. "Kincaid" means either "head warrior" or "head of the woods" (my sources are weak here).
Ellie is listening to Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass," whose narrative is described away as a dream and is deeply concerned with dreams, reality, and the sometimes unclear distinctions. Coincidentally, I have Alice's father's famous lexicon handy for looking up Greek words and names.
It's interesting that Unity apparently dreams of Dream.
"Roderick Burgess's waking dreams are of the power and the glory." Perhaps his first name ("rich in glory") is intentional.
This is the first juxtaposition of Dream and Death, who are closely connected throughout the series. Others have commented on this already, but I think it's worth citing Hamlet's great soliloquy, which makes repeated reference to the connection:
To be, or not to be, that is the question—
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes Calamity of so long life:
For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time,
The Oppressor's wrong, the proud man's Contumely,
The pangs of despised Love, the Law’s delay,
The insolence of Office, and the Spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his Quietus make
With a bare Bodkin? Who would Fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered Country, from whose bourn
No Traveler returns, Puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of.
Thus Conscience does make Cowards of us all,
And thus the Native hue of Resolution
Is sicklied o'er, with the pale cast of Thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment,
With this regard their Currents turn awry,
And lose the name of Action. Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
"After tonight I'd like to see Aleister and his friends try to make fun of me." This reference is what makes it clear that Burgess is not intended to be Aleister Crawley under a different name but rather a fictitious rival.
There have been several comments on Alex being effectively imprisoned by his father. I suppose it's part of this imprisonment that he's obliged to address his father as "Magus" rather than "father."
"Alexander" means "defender of men," FWIW. If there's meaning to it, I wonder whether Roderick is being compared to Phillip II of Macedonia, who unified Greece before dying, with the capture of Dream being compared to the unification of Greece. If that's the intent, it's somewhat ironic, since this Alex does far less with his birthright than his Macedonian namesake.
(to be continued; I hit a size limit.)
It's significant, though it's not immediately obvious, that Dream is now stripped of his property: the ruby, the helm, the bag. I suspect Gaiman had the gem in mind in order to mesh "Sandman" with earlier relevant DC canon, as will become clear later.
Stefan's apparent shell shock is the first of several references to the various horrors of the 20th century.
The destruction of Dr. Hathaway's suicide note is the second bit of actual magic carried out by Burgess.
Oops! I forgot. Burgess isn't even Burgess' real name. Brocklesby is a place name, meaning "by a marsh." The mansion is named "Fawny Rig," which actually describes a kind of confidence trick.
The "sleepy sickness" is a parallel imprisonment, while it lasts. The mention in the papers implies that the four cases we follow closely are but a small sample; the specific importance of Unity becomes clear later. It has a historical inspiration.
"Fulvus" is Latin for sandy or tawny; Paginarum Fulvarum is therefore The Yellow Pages. This book also appears in Diskworld, with the alternative name of "Necrotelecomnicon."
Mention of Endless: Death, Destiny, Desire, Dream.
"Ruthven" (getting his first name out of the way early, though he's first referenced only by his last name) is a Scottish place name ("dun uplands"), but it's most likely a reference to an early literary vampire. "Sykes" means "(living near a) small stream." I doubt it's meaningful, unless it's a reference to Bill Sikes, the foremost villain in Oliver Twist.
"Ethel" means "noble." "Cripps" is "curly-haired." Some off-screen being exchanges a protective amulet in the shape of an eyeball for the ruby.
Evidently Sykes' secret name, "Ararita," is a well-documented Hebrew mystical acronym.
TRIGGER WARNING: rape (white text follows)
The identity of Unity Kincaid's rapist, and her baby girl, become clear later.
END TRIGGER WARNING
Wesley Dodds is the Golden age Sandman. This is the first reference to DC Comics canon and the first apparent attempt to tie the Sandman reboot to DC Comics continuity.
I'm not sure (maybe interviews I haven't read reveal this) to what extent Gaiman felt obliged to link his Sandman to DC continuity in order to justify his work to his publisher vs. an actual personal desire to make all the pieces fit together neatly. I have a sense that by the end of Preludes & Nocturnes he either felt secure or satisfied that he'd tied off all the obvious loose ends with DC continuity and went to do his own thing without further superhero cameos, though he kept Cain, Able, and Eve.
By 1955, it seems that nobody, not even Alex, is paying much real attention to the occult. "The order isn't just a way to make money and get laid, Paul." This wouldn't have needed saying in Roderick's day. "Paul" means "small" or "humble," by the way; the Order is clearly moving in that direction, or perhaps it's a another reference to the faith being carried on by the next generation, by analogy to the Apostle Paul.
At long last we see Dream's face.
The 60s bring the predictable New Age influences. The forbidding of psychedelics is an interesting touch, and the abandonment of the "Magus" title is Alex's overt move away from his father.
The "Do what thou wilt, buster!" t-shirt on the guard is a Crowley reference.
"McGuire" is "son of the pale one." I'm not sure whether that's meaningful, though it sounds ominous enough. We'll see him again later.
More unsurprising details emerge on Alex's love/hate relationship with his father. I think it's laid on a bit thick here.
It's amusing to see the haircuts change (and faces age, including those in the background) from 1972 to 1978 to 1982.
I haven't read "It." If there's any special significance, it's lost on me.
"Same old rubbish. I dunno why I buy it. Force of habit, I s'pose. That 'n' page 3..." Page 3 of The Sun traditionally features topless models, as the illustration suggests.
(to be continued, again).
The date on "The Sun" is September 14, 1988. Issue #1 of "Sandman" was released in January 1989.
"Frederick" is "peaceful ruler." "Ernie" (presumed "Ernest") is "serious" (as one might guess).Frederick's falling asleep and dreaming of the beach allows Dream to pick up a handful of sand, with which he's able to exercise further powers.
Mort Notkin is a nonce character. I can't find a meaning, but "Notkin" is evidently an Ashkenazi surname; "Mort" is a common enough Ashkenazi given name, typically short for Morton. I believe it's used as an Anglicized alternative to Mordechai. I don't think the clown outfit is an "It" reference.
Marilyn (Monroe), Elvis (Presley), The Duke (John Wayne), Ron and Nancy (Reagan). Note that Reagan left office the month this issue appeared.
First food in seventy years: KFC, like the sand, taken from a dream.
Ellie becomes a vehicle for more relevant Carroll quotes: "If that there king was to wake..."
When Alice awakens, the kings are revealed to be kittens. When Alex sleeps, Dream appears as a cat.
"...gifts that are neither mankind's to receive nor mine to give..." I'm not entirely sure about that; he pulls strings with his sister for at least one mortal, as is described later.
"Lord what fools these mortals be." An obvious reference to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Dream, again, in a Shakespearean context), but also an allusion to a Lord. This doesn't come up much.
The window, with the stars shining through like eyes, reminds me a bit of the helmet, though the shape is different, especially at the bottom. Anyone have any insight?
I'm not sure who the melting figure is supposed to be. Paul? The decapitated figure is presumably the Nurse Edmunds mentioned on the following page.
"Edmunds" is a patronymic, son of Edmund, which in turn is "protector of riches."
Some sources connect "And I have showed him fear" with Eliot's "The Wasteland." I wonder whether it's complete coincidence or perhaps a reference to Luke 12:5. "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." The body isn't killed, but Dream has consigned Alex to a living hell.
Wow, that's one book? I'm going to be at this for a while.
Imperfect Hosts
I’m curious what anyone thinks about the title. The previous title “Sleep of the Just” is a clear reference to the punishment of Alex Burgess, though other sources suggest it’s an allusion to an Elvis Costello song. I assume “Imperfect Hosts” is describing the role of Cain and Abel; the imperfection may be descriptive largely of the ruins of the Dreaming.
Cain and Abel (and Gregory) are pre-existing DC characters; while a few DC characters make brief cameos, these are some of only a few such characters (aside from those directly connected to earlier Sandman continuity) that we see repeatedly. I think it’s because of the centrality of their role as characters in stories. While the other characters are also characters, Cain and Abel are aware of this; in a way, they break the fourth wall.
Much has already been discussed about these two, with analogies to Punch and Judy, Ren and Stimpy. Abel reminds me of a darker version of Kenny from South Park; he’s repeatedly killed, with no respect for continuity. He always comes back, though, because that’s his role in the constantly-repeated story. And that got me thinking.
Cain is a farmer. Really, he’s not just a farmer; he’s the farmer, the Ur-farmer. Abel, killed again and again by the farmer, to rise again, is a fundamentally different character in Sandman than he is in Genesis. In Sandman, he plays the role of John Barleycorn (Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Thammuz, Persephone, …), who’s cut down and buried and rises three days (in some versions) later. Perhaps that’s what’s meant by theirs being the first story; it was the story that begat civilization.
“Gregory” means “watchful,” which is an excellent name for a gargoyle, especially one who finds and delivers visitors.
Abel speaking of “my b-brother’s house of mystery” is specifically alluding to one of the earlier DC series in which they (and others in this volume) appear.
“Shifting zones” will be made more clear later.
“It was a dark and stormy nightmare” is a dream-tinted variant on Bulwer-Lytton’s famously purple opening. I suspect Gaiman had come up with that at some point and had been waiting for an opportunity to use it.
The Gates of Horn and Ivory are a reference to The Odyssey; per Homer, true dreams go through the former, and false dreams through the latter. There’s a bit of wordplay in the original Greek that’s lost in translation.
Cain, in describing himself as a “purveyor of penny dreadfuls, shilling shockers, etc.” implies that he has a role outside of stories; I suspect this is a reference to his role in DC comics, as the outer narrator of horror comics, rather than to anything more relevant to the character in the context of Sandman.
Abel emerges from his painting. He doesn’t live in the House of Mystery, but rather in the nearby House of Secrets.
“Imprisoned” is a convenient pivot on which to segue to Arkham Asylum. For those who are unclear, this is one of the few contexts in which the works of H. P. Lovecraft are referenced in DC comics. It’s fairly formulaic for DC villains to be seen in Arkham Asylum, after which they escape, wreak havoc, and are ultimately captured and returned by superheroes. This part of the story reads much more like a conventional DC superhero comic than anything else in Sandman, even independent of superhero cameos.
(to be continued)
Ethel, the former lover of both Roderick Burgess and Ruthven Sykes, here appears as Ethel Dee. I’m not sure we ever learn about Doctor Destiny’s father, though perhaps that’s described in his earlier DC appearances. Doctor Destiny is a long-running DC villain; his physical appearance prior to his most recent incarceration generally involved his wearing a hooded robe that obscured much of his skeletal-looking face. For those of a certain age, the physical appearance of Skeletor from Masters of the Universe is patterned closely on that of earlier Doctor Destiny comics, so much so that I’m slightly surprised that DC’s lawyers didn’t get involved. He’s not in his preferred attire in Sandman, looking less like a supervillain and more like a pathetic, almost Gollum-like creature. Different artists seem to draw him differently; this is one of the few drawings that depicts him as having ear lobes.
As for the rationale behind his appearance, I suspect that Gaiman felt compelled, either internally or externally, to connect his Sandman to other aspects of DC continuity that touched on dreams or dreaming; Doctor Destiny’s materioptikon, which apparently made dreams manifest, was one such aspect. It seems likely that the ruby that was taken from Dream was written into the story for the express purpose of establishing this connection between this Sandman and earlier CD works.
It’s unclear to me whether the identification of Doctor Destiny as John Dee is original to Sandman vs. part of the earlier continuity. If the former, it’s worth noting that John Dee was also the name of a noted Elizabethan occultist, and I don’t imagine the appearance of that same name here is coincidental.
If Ethel Dee is 90 in 1988 or 1989 (since we know that Dream escaped in 1988, but we don’t know how long he convalesced with Cain and Abel, and the publication date is 1989), that would have made her about 32 in 1930 when she ran off with Ruthven Sykes and Dream’s tools and 38 in 1936 when she ran off with just the amulet and the ruby.
Apparently Doctor Destiny was stripped of his ability to dream by the Justice League in order to prevent him from exercising certain of his dream-related powers; this is the basis behind his assertion that “they took my dreams away from me!”
Huntoon is an obscure name (perhaps originally Hunton), apparently going back to one person in colonial New Hampshire; I believe the character is part of broader DC continuity, and the intent may have been to connect Arkham to Lovecraft’s New England.
Dr. Huntoon’s “Mrs. Dee. Say goodbye,” ties neatly to the “Guh-goodbye” from Abel on the next page, another smooth segue.The Gates of Horn and Ivory are described here in greater detail, just as in The Odyssey.
“Lucien” means “light.” As a librarian in a castle, he’s another character borrowed from DC continuity. Some sources connect Gaiman’s version of Lucien to a “Mr. Raven” character in George MacDonald’s Lilith, a fantasy novel with themes relating to dreaming with several specific character parallels that would not at this point be entirely clear.
“The raven woman” is Eve, mother of Cain and Abel, and similarly an earlier DC character, also the “host” of a horror series.
Brute and Glob are sidekicks of earlier “Sandman” superheroes in DC continuity; again, they serve the purpose of tying together this Sandman and earlier works. Disappearing “twoscore years ago” allows them to appear outside the dreaming as early as 1948; in reality, they first appeared in the Garrett Sanford “Sandman” comics in 1974.
The Fashion Thing refers to yet another DC character, a one-shot horror comic “host.” Note the bumper sticker on her broom: “My other broom is a Porsche.”
Cain almost apologizes to Abel for going contrary to his character and giving him a sincere gift rather than something deadly, though he reverts to type after another page.
My sources indicate that “Irving” means “black.” Less trustworthy online sources suggest that it means “white” or even “green.” Nothing about yellow, though that doesn’t seem to be the basis for Cain’s complaint.
(to be continued)
Urth, Verthandi, and Skald (more correctly, Skuld; Skald is a generic term for a poet or bard) are close variations on the Norse names of the Norns, which have parallels in many other cultures; the next page describes them as Chlotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, which are the Greek Moirai, or Fates. As Cynthia, Mildred, and Mordred, collectively the Hecateae, they are also borrowed DC characters, from “Witching Hour” back in 1969; I suspect their physical appearance here mirrors that of the earlier DC comics. The crossroads, gallows, honey, snakes, crescent moon, and black she-lamb, and midnight are evidently needed to summon them; as with many other things, Dream plucks them as needed from the dreams of mortals. Midnight, the Witching Hour as noted, may also be an explicit reference to the title in which they previously appeared.
The Morrígan is another goddess, or triad of goddesses, from Irish mythology. Tisiphone, Alecto, and Magaera are the Erinyes (“Furies”), euphemistically the Eumenides (“Kindly Ones”). Diana, Mary, and Florence (I’m not sure about who Candy was; I suspect that was an error) were founding members of The Supremes. The Graces, or Charites, were another set of three women in Greek mythology.
Mordred is a “stupid name,” and Morgaine more appropriate, because the former was a male character in Arthurian legend and the latter a female character, specifically a witch.
“Did you help us against Circé?” This is obscure. There’s no apparent interaction between the mythological Circe and any of the Three, nor any hint of where Dream, under any name, might have helped. There’s a DC comics Circe, but again, there’s no apparent interaction, and Dream was presumably imprisoned while she was active. I’d expect the acute accent to be meaningful, but it doesn’t seem to lead anywhere.John Constantine was an Alan Moore DC character, only going back to 1985, only getting his own title in 1988, and therefore quite contemporary when this was written. The history of the pouch of sand isn’t clear; I suspect Ethel left it behind when she ran off on Sykes, and it passed through unknown hands between the death of Sykes and its acquisition by Constantine.
We now know slightly more about the other party in Sykes’ bargain, but only that it was a demon.
Well, that's two issues done.... when I'm supposed to be reading the fourth volume. I have some catching up to do.It feels really weird in hindsight to have Green Lantern and Batman appear, however transiently in Sandman. We met Dee a few pages back; at this point, we know more than Dream does.
Abel starts to recover after having been dead for only “a couple of hours.” Such efficiency. I’m not sure how time passes in the Dreaming.
“Goldie” is apparently the name of the imaginary friend to whom Abel would narrate the stories in the earlier titles in which he appeared. It makes some sense, then, for Abel to tell this real Goldie the story of his fantasy family life. Not only does his brother murder him, repeatedly, but they also live in different houses. “Goldie” fortunately describes the color of this gargoyle.