Sandman

Citation preview

A

VISUAL JOURNEY

THROUGH THE AWA R D W N N I N G COMIC BOOK SERIES I

-

Gaiman

first

demons bleed

into

In 1988, Neiv York Times best-selling author Neil

revealed the shadowy places where personal

the realms of superheroes and ancient gods. His vehicle was

The Sandman — the acclaimed comics series that broke new

ground

in the

medium and beyond.

comic book

and

only,

The

tales that this

to receive the

In 1991

it

was the

first,

World Fantasy Award.

master storyteller spins for his haunting

and haunted — protagonist wield immense power

in

both the

land of dreams and in the waking world. By intermingling dazzling array of narrative and artistic styles,

—

Gaiman and

a

a

team

Dave McKean and Yoshitaka Amano,

of gifted artists, such as

have created a stunning tableau where the psyche of the individual recedes into the panorama of folklore and fairy tales.

Here, in the lavishly illustrated pages of The

Sandman: King

of

Dreams, author Alisa Kwitney, writing from firsthand experience as a

member

of

The Sandman

the comic's history, from

its

Neil Gaiman's notebooks to

s

editorial team, richly illustrates

beginnings as simple sketches its

emerg&nce

as

a

in

unique and

undeniable force in the literary world. With illustrations never before published, behind-the-scenes stories, and quotes from

Gaiman

himself, this

volume

king and the writer, and

is a

artists

true testament to the

who brought him

to life.

Dream

THE SANDMAN.

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2014

https://archive.org/details/sandmankingofdreOOkwit_0

BEING MV HERO WHEN .0 MY UNCLE PAUL, FOR

.

WAS LITTLE,

/

Copyright

©

200.'^ In

DC

Comifs. The Sandman and

related indicia are Iradrnuir ks of

All rights reserved

DC

all

related characters, the distinctive likenesses thereof,

and

alJ

Comics.

under international copyright conventions. No part of

this

book may be reproduced

in

any form

or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, willniut permission in

writing from

addressed to

DC Comics, except by a reviewer who may quote brief DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, New York. New York 10019.

The Sandman created by

We

pliMM'd

til

M

i;i(i

Caiman. Sam Kieth. and Mike Dringenberg.

Neil

been made

F.vcry effort has

pri>per crcilil.

ownership or source of

to trace the iii.iiK I'rtent

.in\

passages in a review. ln(|uirics should be

all

illustrated material for tin- |iiirpose of giving

error concerning the attribution given to any such malrriaU an:\i-\: I'liUii-s I'l

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safer sex in ihis lOOI-

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M.lviui.

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Many

great stories have a compelling brother-sister pairing at their core. Isis

Hansel and Gretel. Donny and Marie. with

Dream and Death,

V

it's

some

this pairing of opposites operates

gloom and Death's carefree except

All right, so only

attitude play

off'

not the sleep of Death we need fear:

It's

is

Osiris.

of these examples work.

on many different

each other. Here

and

levels.

But

Dream's

Hamlet's soliloquy incarnate,

the other guy.

It's

Dream.

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Artwork by Uavc iMcki-an.

starvation returning to health, and

He

nourish him.

Morpheus has been starved

of

all

the things that

has been starved of dreams.

The Sandman's kingdom, the Dreaming, has of his subjects have fled into the

also suffered in his absence,

waking world, where they do not belong. But Cain

and Abel, the caretakers of the Houses of Mystery and Secrets, remain,

as

does Lucien

the librarian, (lain and Abel are old narrators from 197()s horror comics

enough. The House of Mystery and The House

book

Alan Moore's work on rich, subtly

shaded

to readers of

Snainp Thing.

more

In the early '80s. writer

Thing changed the course of comics history, as his dark,

Sivainj)

stories revealed the level of characterization, emotion,

poetry that could be achieved in the medium. Naturally,

Neil

titled, ajJtly

of Secrels; Lucien originally hosted a

called Tales of Ghost Castle.

Cain and Abel are also familiar

for

and many

writers of Alan's

ilk,

and

it

DC

went hunting

first

DC

assignment. Black Orchid, a lovely

DC.

eco-terror tale featuring a long-forgotten plant lady from the annals of

pestered recii^^nil

had sent itic iiiii.

and breadth

me

a

short

lor a year before I

Sivaiiiii I

Thing story," recalls Karen Berger, "'and politely

actually met

knew he was good, hut

ot his

writing ability."

England

was on one of these shopping expeditions that

Caiman and Dave McICean got their

'"Neil

in

and even

it

him

in

England.

wasn't until The

It

wasn't a case ol instant

Sandman

that

I

saw the scope

THE SANDMAN. KING

liiiow

The Sanflm;in

and

Kic-lli

\likc-

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Oh'

Ironi llir

»iiii:;rrilirrji.

l')|n>. \\i>li-\

iicjlihir

Dodd. appears

liii-ch. coKjri-l.

(Caiman and plotted by Matt Wagner, ua-

Dream

36.

DRI-.AMS

King. Artist Teddy Kristian-en.

llie lii-l

who

and

!

w,

(inl\

i;

in

37

I

he Sandnitii}

Sandiiutn

~

issue.

lirst

Mirliii^lil

meeting between the Sandman

-iippbi-d the

VilWdik

Sdm

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Neil

Tlic skrli

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w

eliaiaetei linin llie S tluiiiibiiall coiiilrs. anil |)a\c (.iljlMin

milestone that deserves mentioning here:

hecome tuUy aware

logical structure. Or, to put

that the

it

in

Sandman and

another way,

of a family, and the family has a

Another highlight

this

ft

always a raven in the Dreaming, but

it

formerly Matt Cable, a key player in the

his sister

&

is

tlie

long storyline, he just as clearly

is

is

it

S'mv//;;/*

Sandman

s,

more niianced

who

has

creation

-

lost

everything?

is

in

(

lini

il

is

Dream

I

do is

recall

By

)eslrn( tind of this second

made

who

mistake (when he

a

increnumtally, the

and Desire may meddle most

haniir by transforming into Dcliriutti.

directlv in hnrtian affair-, ulillr

tom>.

may

issue 4 or 5

Dream seems the most human because he changes

ma\

We

the process of changing, allows a

Corinthian, a Nightmare with razor-toothed eyes).

do. Delight

siblings are part

arrogant, cold, and clearly jndgmental, but

created the

way we

mytho-

uufailingly sympathetic character in the beginning of the series

a far

the Endless,

a larger

read-

later.

Viin^ saga. Fans of both series

him, apologizes to a mortal, and even admits that he

all

new

probably Jessamy (there

tTiortal to insult

Of

that

the stoiy "Moving In."

in

Nocturnes, but

capable of cliange. Morpheus, because he

first

\ri>iuii ol the

not always the same raven). Matthew the Raven was

sympathize with a prisoner

to

House

Death are part of

Raven,

died in SuKuup Thing issue 83, right around ihc time The

fail

in Tlie Doll's

name: the Endless. But more about them

see a raven in the second story of Preludes

who can

is

where we learn the archetypal

is

The DolVs House: Matthew

The Saiulmaii was an

>

ri;:-eai(l series.

to

struggles to

be the fondest of mortal cus-

do what

mistakes and becomes aware thai the only way to right the WTong

is

to

is

right,

make

who makes

a sacrifice.

/

///

Oh. wc^.

/MI^Tep

B£

Froni

anatomy hook, evoked

Tim

1

1

iNilcr

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i.sil>

Artwork

""(:iillio[)('."

he

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c'aiTiinf;.

Kcllcv

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rlwurk

and Mali

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\rss dm-i |icn( lU

lories III. luilililc

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cilnri^l.

Gothic sensihility: The fanciful musculature makes humans

a late

look like mythic creatures and mythic creatures appear oddly human. In a series artistry.

known

for

its

consistent quality,

it is

hard to pick out particular leats of

Nevertheless, "Calliope," Kelley and NeiFs

Saiulnutn'ii shining

moments, and

collaboration,

first

a particular favorite of writers

essentially a horror story that provides a very disturl)ing

answer

is

one of The

everywhere.

It

is

to the classic question:

Whei'e do writers get their ideas? Neil ers

all

— who once worry

if

said that

they'v(> lost

new it

stand quite alone. For readers cleverly planted clues

—

writers

all

— manages

who

worry

if

thc\ have

stricken

this stoi-y

woman, and

and more experienced appears

writ-

at first to

are familiar with the entire series, however, there are

such as the introduction of the muses as maiden, mother and

crone, and the mention of a son born to Oneiros, the Greek

what makes

it

to create a chilling story that

memorable

is

name

for the

Dream

King. But

the rendering of a mythical creature as a real and grief-

the depiction of magic as something that takes an emotional

toll.

THE SANDMAN.

r

\

(,

I,

|iaiirl.

Sa-ri')

s Ill

llii-

\( roiiliii!.'

You'll iKilicc.

lo \ril.

blank

make

sure that

the letterer

|iaiiel. it

I

(;et

I)RP:AMS

llir

si'iio id pynels

artwork on |iage 59,

who

pon going

reproduced

"when you I

ill

(illirrwisc lilciilical

inally

liope]

OF

KIN(;

workril on ihe

on

i.

ihi.s

pagr, that

tlir

occupied by an, errrr

German

to pre>>. the piiblishi

"'proix-rly."

is

edition of

a--.iiiiiiiig

\,\kv.

.

.

,

|iiini-l

it

was

orpheus [the

i>

interestingly

Dream Countn- doodled

that

likiiik. 'I'lial

>iiiiic

drawn M()rph(>ms to

a lyre." says Titania. a

through the

state,

me

nugget that

This hajjpy pairing of talents

—

NeiFs

gift tf)r

reinventing classic myths, Charles Vess's

rendering the graceful danger of enchanted forests and fairy markets ing to create

A'c;7

Gainian and Chdilrn

Colleen Doran hecame the series' first

Vess's Slardust.

first

female

which Sandman does not appear

issue in

although the

title

also a sense of

an illustrated novel ahout the

artist

when

at all).

of

titular character

When he

This

is

uncovering the fiercely pragmatic layer of

Death's

to lend

her

artistic talent

Dream Country. The Sandman had reinvented could appear for pages

did take the stage, the

—

— and

A G(une

itself as a

and

Dream King had shown

face.

Dringenberg's brooding young Dream King,

still

—

of )ou.

comic

that he did not,

instantly recognizable in each of his incarnations.

is

her lace

in

which the

or for one page, one panel, or even not at

African prince, as a Medieval gentleman, even as a tomcat. But is

solo issue,

first

beneath Death's deter-

steel

book heroes, always wear the same costume or even the same

Sandman

lair folk.

she penciled "Fagade"' (also the

another terrifyingly pragmatic character, the witch Thessaly in

By the end

led to the two reunit-

primarily refers to the main character's metaphysical condition, there

minedly cheerful surface. Colleen would return to

—

gift for

all.

hke most comic

He might appear

like Klvis

and

as

|)i/,/,a,

an the

Whether you encounter Mike

debating whether or not to release his

DREAM COUNTRY

63

1'

\ (,

H

K,

i;

1,0

Steve

()

w

2

A sampling

Death grants

(il

Ac;/

(idiiiiiiii

thi- I'.lrnicnl (iirl

mid

(Juiiirs

her lioon

f

pss s Stdiiliisl's cthcn-al beauty.

in "Fa(;a(l(>."

Artwork

Ijy

(Hiarlcs Vcss.

Artwork by Colb-on Doran and Malcolm

.loni's III.

Olifi, colorist.

HOT THAT BAP, KAtNie EVEN THE MBTamoet^aB pie EvajTlWLLy

ITS I

1

Hey, LISTEN,

evemuAUY ev&r^-

W/M3 71

Pies.

U

ex-lover from

hell, or

Michael

out of every century, you

monarch,

Zulli's older, wiser

know Morpheus

moment you

the

one friend

visiting his

lor a

day

see him. He's the guy with the

world on his shoulders, arrogant and aloof and immensely powerful, yet as oddly vulnerahlt^ as the child kings of old,

NKII.'S

IMUY

AUVICK lO HI.ADKU.S

FIKI.D

I

WHO WOl

COMFORT.XBI.r. T\KIN(, IHI

"THKY SHOULD

1

who were never

Wlilll..

IIIIA

liOt

I

I

MM

I)

K Of

SIIOI!|,i)

given a choice of whether or not to he a god.

"( Al

FINISH

THEY WANT TO WRITE SO THEY KNOW

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\M ACOMST RICnVRD

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AND THEN THFY

SHOIIIJ)

RFAD LOTS OF

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lot

W

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Wlilll

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EVERYTHING. RFAD C.OOD ROOKS. RFAD RAD ROOKS. HAD HOOKS

:

.

-

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Mil

So l\SI'IHIN(..

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i

CHAPTER

SEASON OF MISTS

At the beginning of the next long storyline, Season of Mists, we are formally intro-

duced

to the

members

kind with Delirium.

—

his post

of the Endless family.

And

a

(It is

actually the

first

seventh Endless sibling. Destruction

encounter of any

— who

has abdicated

doesn't appear until later, but I'm including him here because, well, he's

the Burt Lancaster of the Family, and I'm partial to him.)

Each of the Endless has

a gallery in

which

|)ortraits of all his or

case, his/her) siblings hang. Thc'se portraits are used as their

her (or

means

of

in Desire's

communi-

cating with one another and of transporting to and from one another's realms. (Alter all.

anthropomorphic beings have better things

put on hold while their sisters get

I'

\ (.

i

Di'spair

()

t

(idNcr,

The Sdiidniiin no.

and Doirr lakrn

CiorTi

27.

oil

the other

\il\Miik

his ihuriilinail

((iiiiii

l)\ -i

l)a\('

lor llic

to

do than pick up

a

phone and be

lira-.)

iMcKcan.

\

li

0

\

K

Neil (iainiuir.s skolches for

Season of Misis prologue.

THESANDMAN.KINCOFDRKAMS

Ij

(

MOW r(i|i|ir(l

I

Ic'.irc. 'I'hl> iiiia;^!- i>

In

At the

iinl\

Start of

:\

i

r|ii

|)r>iicV licad.

i

jiI

iicl

ion

\rl\Miik

nl

\t\

66.

llii'

.Ion

lull puiriliiif; llial. ,1

allcr

i)i-irif;

rcjccli-d a> a Iradiiij; lard.

«as

Mulll.

Season of Mists, Destiny stands

in his gallery

and approaches each

of his sibling's portraits (with the exception of the prodigal Destruction), beckon-

ing

them

to his realm.

"Let us,"

in

They heed

his call

and each arrives

at Destiny's castle.

the words written by Neil Gaiman, "pause for a

descend the grey steps toward Destinv's banquet

hall, to

moment,

as they

consider the Endless:" "it is said

that no portrait may do

desire justice, for to see her

(or

to LOVE HIM (oR HEr) — PASSIONATELY. PAINFULLY. AND TO THE EXCLUSION OF ALL ELSE. DESIRE SMELLS him)

is

ALMOST

SUBLIMINALLY

OF

SUMMER

PEACHES. AND CASTS TWO SHADOWS: ONE

BLACK AND SHARP-EDGED, THE OTHER TRANSLUCENT AND FOREVER WAVERING, LIKE HEAT HAZE. DESIRE IS EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER WANTED. WHOEVER YOU ." ARE. WHATEVER YOU ARE. E V K R YT H N I

(;

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DREAMS

BELOW

Destiny. Artwork by Kent Williams.

1

destiny is the oldest of the endless, there are some who believe him to be blind; while others, with more reason, CLAIM THAT HE HAS TRAVELED FAR BEYOND BLINDNESS, THAT HE CAN DO NOTHING BUT SEE THE INTRICATE PATTERNS LIVING THINGS MAKE ON THEIR JOURNEY THROUGH TIME. DESTINY SMELLS OF DUST AND THE LIBRARIES OF THE NIGHT. HE LEAVES NO FOOTPRINTS. HE CASTS NO SHADOW."

SEASONOF MISTS

59.

BELOW

delirium

is

the youngest of the

endless; once, she was delight, but that was long ago. she smells of sweat, sour wines, late nights, old

leather. her appearance is the most variable of all the endless, who, at best, are ideas cloaked in the semblance of flesh. the poet coleridge

claimed to have known her intimately, but the man was an inveterate liar, who can know what delirium sees

through her mismatched eyes?"

Delirium. Artwork by

.lill

Thompson.

E

B

I-;

S

LOW

A N

IJ

M

A N

.

Di'sli'uclioi).

KING OK

Ailwoi'k

l)y

I)

K E A

(ilciin

M

S

70

l''al)ry.

NO ONE EVER KISSED DESPAIR, EXCEPT HER BROTHER DESTRUCTION; CENTURIES ago; HIS BEARD WAS ROUGH AGAINST HER CHEEK. SHE MISSES HIM NOW, AS DO THE OTHERS, SINCE HE FLED HIS REALM. THINGS ARE STILL CREATED: STILL EXIST; ARE STILL DESTROYED. BUT It"s NO LONGER HIS RESPONSIBILITY ... NO LONGER HIS FAULT."

7

1

SEASON

IS

"dream of the endless; ah, there's a CONUNDRUM. IN THIS ASPECT (aND WE PERCEIVE BUT ASPECTS OF THE ENDLESS, WE SEE THE LIGHT GLINTING FROM

AS

ONE TINY FACET OF SOME HUGE AND FLAWLESSLY CUT PRECIOUS STONe) HE IS RAKE-THIN. WITH SKIN THE COLOR OF FALLING SNOW. DREAM ACCUMULATES NAMES TO HIMSELF LIKE OTHERS MAKE FRIENDS; BUT HE PERMITS HIMSELF FEW FRIENDS. IF HE IS CLOSEST TO ANYONE, IT IS TO HIS ELDER SISTER, WHOM HE SEES BUT RARELY. OF ALL THE ENDLESS, SAVE PERHAPS DESTINY, HE IS MOST CONSCIOUS OF HIS RESPONSIBILITIES, THE

MOST METICULOUS

IN THEIR EXECUTION."

t)

I-

M

J

S

T

S

.

i;

I,

n W

Dri'iiin.

\rt\\(ii

kli\ l)u\c MrKcaii.

THE SANDMAN. KING OF

HKI.iiW Irom

Dccilh.

\rl\vi)ik

D R K A

M

by Bill Sienkievvic/..

S

I'Ac;!-:

7

.'5

An

l'.iiillr,> laiiiil\

[loiliiiit.

Xrluork

lis

Miki-

\

Tlir IjuIIcss

the tliouglil

im l^nglish boarding

i)l

S(iii

been much

lias

that direction, for a very long time), the easiest storyline to adapt Mists.

Vitwork

scIkmiI.

Daniel Nd/yo. cdloiisl.

talk in

would be Scdson of

one strange gem of

not set in

a story

Hell or any mythic realm: episode 4 of Season of Mists, subtitled "In which the dead

Rowland concludes

return; and Charles

This episode differs

although

it

is

setting

in

his education."

and mood trom the

a story that occurs as a direct

rest

consequence

Season

of

Hung open and

quit his leadership position. As the gates of Hell are

\iisls.

of

Luciler's decision to

ol

the

(lr;i(|

escape, a harried Death tries to keep up with the sudden increase in her workload, and

Charles Rowland, the one boy covers that

With

its

all

the bullies

who

left in

an English boarding school over holidays, dis-

ever got sent to Hell are now his classmates.

nightmarish evocation of childhood cruelties and

optimistic ending, this

little

outpost of the Ureaming, above

vote for the most overlooked attraction The

Sandman

has to

its

all

youthfully defiant and the others, garners

my

oiler.

Charles Rowland, together with his detective partner Kdwin Paine, reappears

The Children's Crusade,

in

ent writers INeil

a

1993 comic book crossover event (meaning

would write elements of the story into their monthly

was tapped

to write

the saga. But, well, to

the bookends — the comics

make

a

with The San(hnan' a writing commitments

tions of I

I

scripts).

would begin and end

long storyline short, the whole thing got

plicated, as the other writers were busy with their

desperate measures,

that

was called

.

.

.

And

in to write (as

own

diller-

plots

a bit

com-

and Neil was busy

since desperate times call lor

Gaimanishly

as

I

could)

some

sec-

The CJiildren's Crusade.

suggested having some fun, and in

are cavorting,

I

asked the book's

a big

artist,

double-page spread where

all

the children

Peter Snejbjerg, to draw a very youthful Neil,

oblivious to the frenetic play around him, calmly reading

a

comic book.

THE SANDMAN. KINC OF DREAMS

84

SEASON OF MISTS

PAGES 84-85

Wliere's Neil?

From the

Artwork by Peter Snejbjerg. Daniel Vozzo,

Alisa Kwitney-scripted second

colorist.

volume of The Children's Crusade.

CHAPTER

GAME OF YOU

^.

IN WHICH THE WOMEN STEAL THE SHOW. AND AN ANCIENT WITCH NAMED THESSALY PERFORMS A NEAT TRICK WITH THE SKIN OF A MAN*S FACE.

^"yOU know, people come up to me TO THIS DAY AND TELL ME

I

\)IRITE

-

LAND ASK HOW DO ;

I

DO

IT.

AND

I

TELL THEM MY SECRET, WHICH

IS

GOOD WOMEN

YOU WRITE HUMAN

BEINGS. YOU WRITE PEOPLE."' —NEIL GAIMAN

easy to demystify a hero: just keep him on stage too long. As

It's

next installment of the

Sandman

saga.

it"s

interesting to note

King becomes conspicuous by his absence. A

Game

of You

is

a

we begin the

how

the

Dream

book where we

explore the nature of dreams, and of the Dreaming: in the end, we will learn that the king and his kingdom are. like conjoined twins, not easily separated.

among

Intellectually a storyline

the most provocative of the collections,

about fantasy and gender, and

it

A Game

of You

is

takes a journey into one of the dis-

from the center of the Dreaming

tant skerries of

Dream. This

you can get —

the Sandman's castle were in Moscow, this story would be set in

if

far-off Uzbekistan

very end. This

is

about

as far

- and Morpheus does not

may be why

as

figure largely in the plot until the

the storyline did not,

when

first

published, have the

broad commercial appeal of Season of Mists. Yet even those

who

tale of tripping the

!

\ i;

K

8 6

pine for more Morpheus will find plenty to

dark lantastic.

Cover. Tlip Sanrlmrin no. 37. Artwork hv Dave McKean.

recommend

this

89

A

BKl.ow

Matthew and

l)ri

Shawn McManus. Daniel

The

ain ciintciiiplate vvliat leels like a seismic di>iliirl)ance in tlie

Dreaming. Artvvoik by

Vozzo, eoiorist.

story begins with the revelation that this far-off island of the

populated largely by the creatures of crisis.

GAME OF YOU

The disturbances begin

in

one New

—

lives there. (We've

to

a

young woman's childhood imagining,

make themselves

felt in

blonde with the remarkably vivid dream

Her dream

life

of her neighbors:

has

become

Wanda,

a

is

in

the waking world, and

woman

York City apartment building because the young

met Barbie before,

Dreaming,

- Barbie

in question

The Doll's House: She's the blandly pretty

in

life.)

so vivid lately that

it

is

spilling over into the lives

preoperative transsexual: Hazel and Foxglove, a les-

bian couple; George, a mild-mannered evil emissary of the villainous Cuckoo;

and Thessaly,

a

primly bespectacled witch-woman of the lowlands.

Thessaly takes Hazel and Foxglove on ing

Morpheus

way, the

a

journey into Barbie's dream, not by ask-

for help, but by taking the alternate route

women - and Wanda, who

-

the moon's road. Along the

straddles the borderlands of gender

-

discover

much

about the nature of dreams, and of the Dreaming.

And, the

catty

You are twice as

exchanges between Morpheus and Thessaly

much

fun

when reread with

between them than meets the

eye.

^&^nce io angfhgr. n

V

the knowledge

at

the end of

that there's

I

Game

of

more going on

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DREAMS

BELOW Woch.

The Cuckoo

explains the real difference between l)oys and

Daniel Vozzo, coloi

ist.

giri>.

ArUMuk

1)\

i5i\an

i'alhol

and

Man

A

H

i:

l

ow

The SyiulnumV

milui|)|j> luvt; alTuir (doof.

he have any other

Liiid.'')

CAME OF YOU

with Thessaly takes plaee offstage.

Artwork by Colleen [Joran.

|WHO WAS THE GKKAT ROMANTIC

^OMEONK

WF.

DOnV KNOW

I.OVE

OF MORPHKUs's

ABOUT.'' .N'EIF SAYS.

LIFF.'.''

NADA? ALIANORA^

"PROBABLY SOMEONE WE

THESSALY'.''

OR

DOnV KNOW ABOUT. EVEN

^ALLOWING FOR ONE RELATIONSHIP EVERY COUPLE OF THOUSAND YEARS, YOU STILL HAVE A NUM" |BER OF RELATIONSHIPS THAT

COULD EACH CO WRONG

IN ITS

OWN DIFFERENT

WAY."

1^

4^

CHAPTER

FABLES

&

7

REFLECTIONS

WHICH MORPHEUS MS.TS HAHOIN L RASCHID. CONSTANTIM. VM, ,,,>,slll A .NORTON.

IN

,\

.I«'HA^^•A

The next

Game

collection. Fables &• Reflections,

of You

is

as deeply rooted

is

rooted in fantasy. These are short stories,

of historical fact.

"Three Septembers and

Norton, the self-appointed

Emperor

a

all

history as

in

based on

January" concerns the

premise

life of

and features the

of America,

a

A

Joshua time

first

Delirium gets a real walking, talking role in the plot.

The next

story,

"Thermidor," introduces the redoubtable Johanna Constantine,

ancestress of John Constantine of Hellblazer fame.

responsible for "Thermidor," as issue" box that ran

was

totally

at

I

called

him

insisting on

the end of each monthly issue of TJie

me

holds

(Neil

a

personally

blurb for the "next

Sandman.

Neil claims he

unprepared and simply blurted out "Lady Johanna Constantine and

the French Revolution"* without any prior planning.)

WHO

W'OLii.n

WIN

IN

A

ii(;irr:

i.\n"i

khiwna

(:
!((///)/)

iis

lost

his

body

to the

Bacchante, the

FABLES

97 PACKS 97-99 From

We

"Or|)lifus."

Sc

REFLECTIONS

Artwork by Bryan Tulhol and Mark Buckingliuni. Daniel Vozzo.

also learn, at the end of this tale, that

Orpheus

is

colorisl.

poignantly hoping for rec-

onciliation with his father, a tidbit that whets the appetite for the whole story told from the

originally from

beginning — which we get later in the collection in "Orpheus," Tlie

Sandman

Special.

THE SANDMAN. KINC OF DREAMS

9 a

.

/^nd at times #18 fact c?f her 7 absence wii> hit^ou likea blo»v ^ to tfie chest and yaw wulweep.) Butthis ivill flapped izssand J teas as time goes on. ^^vVT

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She is dead/

-

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grieve. Then you continue KVitti

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FABLES

Sc

REFLECTIONS

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DREAMS

PAGES

1

00-102

Orpheus and

his

1

mother diseuss

his

predicament. From "Orpheus." Artwork

liv

0 u

Br\an

Talbot and Mark Buckingham. Daniel Vozzo. colorist.

Denied

his father's help.

Orpheus turns

to his aunt.

Death, to request safe

passage into the underworld where he can try to reclaim Eurydice, his dead bride. Granted his aunt's reluctant promise never to take him, els to

Orpheus

trav-

the underworld, and as the legend goes, he convinces Hades to allow

Eurydice

to follow

him out

of there

Orpheus does look back, and

—

so long as he does not look back.

utterly destroyed by the

But

second and irreversible

1

0

FABLES

1

loss of his love,

he allows himself

to fall into the

&

REFLECTIONS

path of the drunken, lawless

followers of Bacchus.

Torn

to pieces yet iinal)l»' to die,

Morpheus,

in this

Orpheus beseeches

his father to kill him.

chronologically early story, younger and less compromising,

refuses. But he does not lorget his son. In time, he will reconsider Orpheus's plea,

knowing

full vscll that

there will he a terrible price to pay for his actions.

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DREAMS

0 2

1

you.

PBopie L£AVE. ) >/ HERE.

L iiicfl-^

Daniel \()zzo. coloiist.

the woiiicn

who

vsill

tear his

hodv

Ui shn'd.s.

Viluork

1)\

Bi\;ui 'llilhul

&

REFLKCTIONS

iiii

\

1.

1;

10 5-1

s

The

iyy P.

(-raig Russell. (Colored

final story in this collection,

reader

the

that

""Raniudun." Artwork

1) ')

104.

runs

the

risk

"Ramadan,"

l.ovcrii Kindzii-rski / Digital Chaiiiclcon.

is

overlooking

of

l(\

so preternaturally beautiful

the

Highlighting the disconnect between dream and reality, the

Baghdad

Of

cept as

is

it

in

stories, this

one

is

the most jewel-like, as perfect in con-

execution. Neil deviated from his usual script-writing method,

writing this issue

first as a

With plenty of

prose story, and then allowing

time —

was written an entire year ahead of

adapt

its

publication — Russell researched several centuries of Islamic

this story

"Ramadan," Russell makes extensive use

Craig Russell

artist P.

to

it.

metaphor

vanished Middle East.

The Sandman

all

its

story.

composite dream of the enlightened, mag-

of the Arabian Nights, a

ical glory of a

takes as

it

the

of

brilliance

art.

of traditional patterns,

Throughout balancing

a

genie's hoard of ornate detail with simplified, even cartoony lines. As for the

other elements, one can almost imagine

a

mind

Lovern Kindzierski, and letterer Todd Klein, position, the shape of the words and

works

in

harmony with the others

to

As "Ramadan" eloquently makes

reminded that the

cities of

as

link

between the

artist, colorist

each contribution — panel com-

word balloons, and the lavish palette —

enhance the whole. clear,

now more than ever we need

imagination that

fill

to

our dreams and inspire us

be to

greatness or to violence are as important as the ones that exist on maps in the real world. cities that

We may

fight inside the cities of the real world, but

we have imagined

in a

thousand and one nights.

we

fight /or the

0-.

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DREAMS

1

06

\ tim

now tKoi ihM. a tale v^^a^i^dady 2) 04^^ that tlMA 0)04.1^ the tkne of

^

c>f

,

^Kerc

^t^t m&K fnw

Aogos, and

it'iAC

nvctv,

all

con^e^^

the f)mvmU) QjM, tK«

coAcfud,

f^^vt^ of

jew^

t5^'*^>

of tKe u;c»rld

y7 .

and dcKewi.^, gcp^t^Kmi^ ^miHuu broum, oa tfe mourvtoitu xjim /it emviMCi aHUu y^UoiD ;

Attiohe;

^11 of the+tv adept at the

waits^OKyi

&

REFLECTIONS

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DREAMS

OAlrologm^^mv could wis^^ the will

TO UiK from the (vigK

danced^ of The distant storn^ ;

1

0 8

^ aMi\y^\^vv^o\uuvU, ivUKK^Kfu^Kattand.l(7rvg sleem f uU of Aec^vU.

^ wKo knw;1:Ke qf o^xgmtmdc^ djwvand, of

nm

'flt\d nuirvGU7U4. mccKcuMCdl mr^As^VMit

1

0 9

FABLES

i

&

REFLECTIONS

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DREAMS

l'A(.

I

S

I

1

"Ramadan."

0-

i

I

1

HaroLiti Al Raschid

makes

]

a bargain with the

\rt\\ork by P. Craig Russell. Colored by

/-

o

—

Dream King

Lovern Kindzierski

/ Digital

in

some

ol

Chameleon.

llii-

liruil

I

n

pages of

1

1

1

FABLES

&

REFLECTIONS

C

H

A P T E

BRIEF LIVES

WH.CH OHKAM TAKES A KOAO TB,P WITH H.S SISTFR SKAKCH OF T„K,K HHOTHFR DKSTKUCT.ON (WHO HAi'PK^S TO HAVE A PET UOG NAMED B4RNABl's) IN

DEL.RH-M

Brief JJres its

the very beginning of the end of the Sandman's journey, and hcnratli

is

picaresque surface, there

is

a sense of

gathering darkness. Artist

Jill

Thompson's

relaxed, expressive art style, as well as the delicious contrast between the dour

Sandman and

his free-spirited sister Delirium, give this storyline

adventure; colorist Danny Vozzo reflects this in his

And

the fact that

yet, despite

much

his dizzy sister,

Brief Lives

is

(piest

one Endless who abdicattMl

ing his sister as

him raining

all

a

Dream begins

I

2

serves as an impeccable straight

man

for

for her broth(M- Destruction, the

this storyline aloof

hoping

to

in

the altermatii ol

and detached, accompany-

meet the ex-lover who's had

over his realm. As the search lor Destruction proves more com-

like a lather

I

times psychedelic, palette.

Brooding and depressed

distraction, or perhaps

he expected, Morpheus grows

in

compassion, acting

than an older l)rothcr to the unstable Delirium, and then,

crucially, acting as a lather to his

P \(;F

is

sense of fun

somber.

— Delirium's quest

his role.

plicated arul dangerous than

more

Sandman

ha|)pens here that

another

a failed love affair,

tlie

light, at

its

rioMT. The Siiiiihiiim

rill.

Ifi.

own son — by

\iluiiik

li\

l);i\i'

killing him.

McKeiin.

finally,

THE SANDMAN. KING OF DRKAMS

B E L 0

W Dream. Artwork

by Mark Chiarello.

1

1

4

115.

BRIEF LIVES

IRE

I!

I,

BY

S A

N n

LOW

\

TlIK,

F.M)

M

A

N

.

KING OF DREAMS

I

Hull- Dii'iini. Iroiii liricl Lives artist Jill 'I'lioiiipson's Tlic l.illlc

()!

THK SF.HIKs'

I'lRST

VKAR, NKII,

I

6

Endless Slorylxxik.

KNKW THAT DESTRUCTION WAS

THF, I'RODKwM,

i-.

1

»• ;

S!BI,I\(;

Ol- TFIi:

\V\h liFIORF

K.MJFESS. HK KVK\

THE INTERNET,

In Brirf Lives

IFSICD

HE ADDS.

— chapter

him

that there

is

an orach*

is

the orai

"l

TF.I.I.

to

who can

Ic in

that TO FANS AT SIGNIN(,S.

— Orpheus

is

not only

tell

and his

of the Endless, but

life,

is

DoWs House.

Dream tells

related to

of course, has been anything

Sandman must

lamily blood, just as Desire has been plotting for him to do since

that transpired in Tlip

I

1

where Destruction can be found. Destiny

(jucstion

THAT

i

again nieiitioiied.

hut brief. In granting his son the death he so greatly desires, the spill

"lillT

M MUCH CACIER NOW."

7 to be exact

approaches Destiny for an answer as

them. Orpheus

to

thiiii

^SPSCTG HIS BROTHER, BUT

anil

I

>ii-ani anil

XiiKT

I

l.iirkr.

)rl

i

riiii7i

rxluui.st all [M)>siliilil

Daniel Vozzo, colorist.

THE SERPEN OF ITe^lN/. LOOK BEHlN[7)e>W: 5H/»C701V-Pt-Ay6