So I read the first volume of Sandman and the best part of it for me is that it has convinced me that I too can be a comic book author because if this is the greatest work of it's time for the genre, the bar is set where I believe I can reach it. Mind you, I'm not saying it's bad, it's just that, I am an aspiring author after all, and I haveto say, my first six chapters of 7th Moon are about as good as this, and in the afterword, even Neil Gaiman admits this was a bit clunky. I guess we all go through that, even the greats, and I needed to read it. Part of it is that it's like how the Beatles don't impress me yet so many musicians say they were inspired by the Beatles, the thing is the Beatles were the first to do it so in their time they were original and revolutionary, but since they ave been copied by everyone great since, that sound is no longer original. The artist is still great for their time, and they deserve credit for inspiring everyone else.
Sandman was revolutionary for a number of special reasons, one is that it was the third version of Sandman for DC comics, and how Gaiman was able to integrate the other versions into his completely different rendition is inspired. Gaiman's Sandman is suposed to be an eternal being that wears a helmet that resembles a gas mask like DC's first Sandman wore. This Sandman, more properly known as Dream or Morpheus, was captured at troughly the same time in the past that the other Sandman first appeared, who was actually a temporary replacment for the true Sandman while he was incapacitated, the nature filling the void of power, a fact which is alluded to in a couple of panels. The second Sandman had the nightmares Brute and Glob, who are also mentioned in this book, tying together all of the Sandman versions as aspects of the true Sandman.
Anyway, Dream is trapped and three items are taken from him with his power. After years of suffering, he escapes and does the worst thing he can to his captor, trap him in a never ending nightmare. This first part ofthe story gives us an idea of the nature of Dream, that his influence is such that people's sleep patterns change because he is not able to set their dreams right, or in the case of the unfortunate Mr Burgess who dared to keep him prisoner, to purposely set their dreams completely wrong.
He tries to go home to the Dreaming where we meet some wierd folks that exist only in dreams, althought thy have been ripped from obscure DC titles and retconned into being a part of this world.
Next he needs to reclaim the items of magic, and he gets his directions from a bizarre Oracle tht gives answers as vague as fortune cookies. The first is his pouch of sand, which is just a literal symbol of him being the Sandman, but it has a wierd effect on mortals, as one person uses it like the most powerful drug ever, one in which the trips don't just feel real, they acually are when the addict turns her own home into a literal nightmare of surreal nature. John Constantine helps Dream to find his friend who is the unfortunate addict, beyond Dream's help except for ending her misery. John was brought in mainly because he was introduced in Swamp Thing, which Gaiman wanted to work on so he gets to be the mrtal who acts nonchalant about hanging out with the divine.
The next part is arguably the true highlight of this volume, Dream visiting Hell to reclaim his helmet from a demon who got it as part of a deal with a mortal who had taken it from Dream and to get it back the must fight over it. The interesting part is that when an immortal demon fights an even more immortal abstract in humanoid form, hand-to-hand combat isn't the way to go, they are on a high enough level that they play a game of becoming different things to see who can become the superior form. the game is one-upsmanship, but Dream plays the last card by claiming he is hope, which the demon has no counter to. However while Dream wins his mask, Lucifer tries to imprison Dream, but Dream posits that Hell has no power without dreams of better circumstances to break the souls of and he walks out victorious.
The next three chapters focus on Doctor Destiny who uses Dream's last tool to torture other people. The interesting thing here is that Doctor Destiny and his powers already existed in DC comics, and this part was written basically just to pit the true King of Dreams against this imposter. Once Dream wins he is whole once again.
Finally, Dream feels melancholy and feeds pigeons, drawing the attention his sister Death. They have a family hear to heart while she goes on her rounds, taking people as they die, The deaths range from tragic to natural, but Death seems indifferent, though comforting somehow. She's a goth but she comes off sweet, the bearer of the ultimate bad news, she is really coming to soften the blow more than just reaping souls. Dream snaps out of his funk and the world returns to normal, dreams and all.
The impressive thing in the end is that Dream and Deathless are Endless, eternal beings that predate even the gods, and yet they are remarkably humble. Ulimately, Neil Gaiman is going to be remembered for being able to make the divine relatable as if they are human while constantly reminding us that they are not. If I can write half as good as this, I can be a huge success. Fortunately, I believe that I can and already have. Perhaps I just need an artist...
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