The Sandman holds a special place in my heart. The series was introduced to me back in college by one of my many English professors. For one of my class' three units we had to read what amounted to dozens of comic book issues. Most of these issues consisted of the first four volumes of Neil Gaiman's magnum opus. My exposure to the series prior to being assigned the work were only whispers of the name. I hadn't a clue what the series was about, where it took place, or who the protagonist was. But the moment I opened Preludes and Nocturnes I knew the future. I knew that after my class finished its reading that I was going to continue on my own to the remaining six original volumes and the extra material. I spent the next four months reading seventy-five issues, two subsequent volumes, and the prequel comic. The original 10 volumes specifically means the world to me. Each issue leaves you pondering the mysteries of life. And my love for the series has led me to rereading every issue. Today on The Fabler's Quill we shall begin a review/retrospective on The Sandman by seeing how it holds up, what sections truly shine, what has become outdated, and the impact the comic has had on pop culture. No more delaying. Let's begin!
The Sandman is a comic-book series from the 80s and 90s that tells the story of stories. The series itself is the third iteration of the main character's namesake, The Sandman. However, each iteration of The Sandman is completely different in appearance, theming, and story. The original Sandman from the 1930s is a product of his time. Dressed in a detective noir outfit, he solved crimes and fought criminals using his gun that put enemies to sleep with magical sand. The character never received much popularity and if it were not for the success of Neil Gaiman's revival of the character the original may have been forgotten in the cavities of DC Comic's history. The short-lived second Sandman of the 70s was a complete reimagining of the character dressed in stereotypical superhero attire. He was the guardian of dreams that existed in the dream world fighting nightmares to protect the minds of children. The idea did not last long, as by the 1980s the most popular iteration of the character would emerge. Once again completely reimaging the character, the name "The Sandman" is simply but one of the character's names. He is Dream of the Endless. One of the seven forces that guide and comfort life in the universe. He is the king of his own realm known as The Dreaming. He dictates, creates, destroys, and guides the inhabitants and visitors of the Dreaming: the place where every lifeform goes in the midst of sleep. Dream is the very concept itself. He is both our dreams and the location of our dreams. He is everything we hope for and everything we fear. His appearance morphs to fit one's idea of what a god of dreams is. But to call him a god would be an understatement. He and his six siblings define nature and existence itself and without them the universe itself would shake, alter, and collapse. He cannot die, for how can one kill a dream? Dreams can only change form, but never die. As long as there is those who can dream he shall exist on and on and on.
The story begins with Dream's capture. He is accidently summoned by a cult who wish to capture Death: one of Dream's siblings. Instead, they got the King of Dreams. Captured in a magical circle and a glass cage, Dream is trapped in the home of Mr. Burgess and his son for decades. Eventually, he escapes and returns to The Dreaming. But due to his absence, all is not well in the realm of night. During his capture, Dream's three artifacts were stolen and scattered. His ruby, his helm, and his sand. These three objects have been imbued with his essence and without them he is vulnerable. And in the hero's journey fashion that Neil Gaiman is so fond of, Dream sets out on a journey to retake what is his. He consults a mythical aid known as The Three to get hints as to where his objects have landed. And thus, he is off. But while he pursues his objects, there is another after his ruby.
First, The Sandman goes to find his sand. Gaining the help of a descendent of an old friend, Dream and the DC character John Constantine travel to an apartment where an ex of Constantine's resides. She has had Dream's sand for too long for a mere mortal. She uses the sand as a drug to fuel her desires, but decays over the years forming a barrier made of human flesh leading to her domicile. Easily surpassing the monstrosity, Dream and Constantine reach the woman named Rachel and find her nearly dead from years of overuse of dream sand. Due to her decrypted state, the only thing keeping Rachel alive is the sand. Reluctantly, Constantine allows Dream to reobtain his artifact. In exchange for ending her life, Dream gives her a fading image where she is happy with Constantine forever.
The issue described above, "Dream A Little Dream of Me," is the story that hooked me into the world of The Sandman. Its morbid undertones followed by its last promise that the next issue will be going to hell mixed with its vivid artwork is truly enchanting. The last words being Constantine singing "Mr. Sandman" leaves the reader with a sense of content. Constantine is emotionally resolved with his now departed ex. And what is to come could not be more exciting.
In one of the most iconic issues of the series, Dream travels past the mist of seasons into hell to find his helm. The Three had hinted that his helm had ended up in hell with an unknown demon. And now, Dream shall find such a demon. He is taken to the Triumvirate of Hell that consists of Beelzebub, Azazel, and Lucifer. He convinces Lucifer to summon all of the forces of hell where he then uses his sand to locate the demon that has taken his helm. In order to gain it back Dream and the demon engage in the oldest game. They manifest a myriad of creatures, places, and objects in order to triumph over each other. The game is one of outwitting the other. For example, Dream states he is a mighty knight on horse back that stab's the demon wolf. In retaliation, the demon say he is fly carrying disease, horse killing. This goes on until the demon states, "I am the anti-life, the beast of judgment. I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, Gods, Worlds... of everything. What will you become, dream lord?"
Faced with the biggest threat to existence Dream says, "I am hope."
Neil Gaiman communicates a beautiful message. Naturally, Dream wins the battle of words; for nothing can defeat hope. We can take something from this interaction. Dream, the manifestation of humanities' hopes and fears wins not by simply taking what is his. He is forced into a conflict wherein if he loses he shall be a servant of hell for eternity. In all of his power, all of his wisdom he defeats malignance with knife nor gun, but hope. Hope is one of the most precious resources we have. And it is plentiful. It cannot run dry like a river or deplete like a diamond mine. Hope is eternal and it will always last. Lucifer, the prototypical embodiment of evil, is enraged by Dream's victory over hell. He declares that hell shall not let him leave; for, what power do dreams have in hell?
"You say I have no power? Perhaps you speak truly... But-- you say that DREAMS have no power here? Tell me, Lucifer Morningstar... Ask yourselves, all of you... What power would hell have if those here imprisoned were not able to dream of heaven?" With that, the armies of hell disperse and clear a path to the exit of hell's gates. What Dream speaks of is hope within the darkness. Hope's power even in the depths of hell cannot be ignored. This is one theme that repeats itself throughout the series. And eventually, we will learn where Dream learned of the power of Hope.
Whilst Dream hunted down his first two relics, a man from DC Comic's most obscure history has been hunting for his ruby. His name is John Dee, but he was once known as Doctor Destiny: a villain from the golden era of comics. During Dream's capture, he came into possession of the ruby and used it for villainy. This is an interesting retcon that changes where John Dee's power came from and connects to the greater DC universe. The earlier issues of The Sandman would often connect to DC in ways such as these, but later on would disconnect itself for the better. But still, John Dee found the ruby again and used it to debilitate Dream temporarily. As the ruby is apart of him, it can hurt him as well.
In what is considered to be the most horrific issue in comic-book history, John Dee goes to a diner where he finds a group of people going through normal life issues. Using the ruby, he begins to make the world's nightmares real. We see this through 24 in-universe hours as the customers of the diner slowly lose their minds and kill each other in the process with John Dee sitting back and enjoying the show. After these 24 hours, Dream arrives at diner.
If The Sandman was a superhero comic, this would be the part where the hero and the villain duke it out to gain control of the McGuffin. But instead, Dream invites John Dee to battle him in The Dreaming. Entering, we see Dee's dream of being Julius Caesar before his dream is interrupted by Dream. Realizing that the ruby is Dream himself, he destroys it in order to kill Morpheus (another of his names) once and for all. No fisticuffs here. Instead, this releases the power of the ruby back into Dream giving him his full power back. John Dee is now helpless in what is my favorite shot in all of comics. Dream, back to his former glory, stands as a giant over the tiny man. The linework, the color pallet, and the framing are perfect. Making for a truly shocking page-turner. With John Dee unable to fight back, Dream kindly returns him to the waking world.
In the most discussed issue of The Sandman, we meet Dream's older sister, Death, while he "feeds the pigeons." It has been decades since they saw each other. And despite The Endless being endless and never dying, they still experience time the same way everyone else does. Now that Dream had freed himself Death is angry with her little brother. He could have called for her help at anytime, but he didn't. Instead he stayed locked away until he could escape and then sent himself onto a hero's journey all to fill a void. Dream feels that he has no purpose and and sought one in regaining his power. Death chastises Dream for his childness. She says that The Endless' purpose is to serve them: life. That that in itself is a purpose worth everything. It is then that Death shows him the beauty in their purpose. They go on a small journey where Death appears to all who's time it is. She comforts the recently departed and with the sound of her wings carries them into the unknown Sunless Lands. Gaiman paints the most moving death scene... ever seen. As the two siblings travel to be there for the departed, Dream learns the value of his mission. To protect The Dreaming and off those who dream. As I read the panel of a mother's baby being taken away I could not help but be horrified. The baby says to Death, "Is that all I get?" The baby got the same thing everyone gets: a lifetime.
The last shot of Preludes and Nocturnes is of Dream, happy. He has learned the value of his existence and has vowed to fix his kingdom.
What a beginning to a fantastic story. The series truly was only starting and already I was hooked and needed to know more. I feel it is right to say that the first volume of the story is nearly flawless. The story, the characters, the art and everything was made to be a perfect little story that begins a train ride you never want to get off. The DC references are the only flaw in my eye. The story of The Sandman while taking place in the DC Universe does not rely on its placement to tell its story. I omitted to say that Martian Manhunter made a brief appearance in the story because I felt it unneeded. The story stands completely on its own and the DC characters were likely only put it to hook new fans into the series when it came out in 1989. However, even with them volume one remains as one of the best volumes in the series and is my 2nd favorite. As this retrospective series continues, I will continue to rank the volumes from worst to best. And until then, keep dreaming!
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