Sandman

3 Conversations

He goes by many names. He once went by Morpheus, but I fear that name is lost in time. Like breath on air. Like tears in rain...


The SandMan is a character written by Neil Gaiman for a series of graphic novels published by DC's Vertigo Comics. Well, originally they were comic books and were later collected into graphic novel form, but don't get too complex in your dissection of this guide entry. There's a lot of ground to cover.


The Sandman series started in December of 1988. In just over ten years it has acquired a devoted following even after the original series' end and has received critical acclaim not only in the comic book community but also via mainstream channels. It raised the bar for what one should come to expect from a comic book.


If you're the sort to make fun of comic book collectors, and believe comic books are for children, you've never seen Sandman.


However, actually the story goes back farther than Neil Gaiman, and he honors the many different versions of Sandman throughout the series just as he honors the complexities of storytelling as a whole.


Sandman is based initially on the old bedtime story parents used to tell their children, hoping it would help them sleep. The actual origins of this tale are lost in the sands of time, and may predate written history, as one generation to the next passed along this little thought form.

There is a creature that comes to you in that space of time just before you fall asleep. Some time after your eyes close for the last time that night, and some time before you fall into a state of unconsciousness, he materializes over you. Is he an angel or a devil? No one is sure because no one has ever gotten a good look at him. Some claim he has a head shaped like the crescent moon, and dark eyes with stars inside them. He carries with him a bag of magic sand, and he sprinkles a very small amount over your face. Some say it twinkles in the moonlight, like a thousand tiny stars just over your face as they fall. Some say the sand actually sounds like a music box, or the flitter of faerie wings. No one has ever really heard the sound however, for by the time the sand touches your face and alights about your eyelids, you're on your way to The Dreaming...

He is the Sandman. The King of Dreams.


Or so they say.


In the 1940s, there was a renaissance of comic book publishing and storytelling, which is still referred to as the Golden Age of Comic Books. The world was prime for it. Hitler and the horrors of World War Two caused many to desire escape into inexpensive forms of entertainment. Most well known super-heroes of today had their start at this time, including Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. However, a lesser-known fictional vigilante of the time was Sandman. He was merely a detective-like character named Wesley Dodd who dressed in a gasmask and carried sleeping gas with him. Not very original. As the DC continuity has it, another Sandman of the 1970s also existed. An attempt to revive the character that sort of fell short. The comic book series Infinity Inc. revealed that version in the name of a character called Hector Hall.


In 1987, Neil Gaiman was asked by DC Comics to work on a comic book title. He was not interested in the idea of writing a predictable caped crusader type of tale. Among many other projects he explained to editor Karen Berger, Sandman was the one they ran with.


They hit the ground running.


They took bits and pieces from earlier versions of the story, and threw the rest out the window. Then Gaiman pooled from his wealth of research and study over the years a thousand references to other works. Anything from Lewis Carrol's Through the Looking Glass to modern day rock lyrics was ripe for plunder.


In its seventy-five-issue run, Sandman explored the very concept of storytelling; interweaving a complex pattern of lives and events into being, like fashioning an elaborate quilt. Some of the tales tickle the funny bone, and some chill one to the bone. All of them contain a fighting spirit, a sense of magical awe, and a confidence that is simply miraculous.

For More Information

The Wake ..oh yeah! One of the better fan supported offerings I've seen so far.
All Good Things by Francis Hwang. A very good retrospective.

Sandman Annotations
Dream of the Endless A good general overview of the series.

The Dream Lives On

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Sandman


The very craft of storytelling is embedded into Sandman. Gaiman writes about the Hecatae, an ancient Greek myth about three witches who spin the yarns of time and Man. The one who is three. One witch starts the yarn. A second one weaves it into a tapestry. The third cuts the cord and ends the creation. Beginning. Middle. End. That's just the first lesson.


The lessons learned and morals perceived from the tales of Sandman are many indeed. Some of these lessons appear new, but they can be old lessons in new clothing. Some of these lessons you know you knew, but perhaps you have forgotten and need to be reminded.

  • Patience is not only a virtue; it can be a vengeance.
  • Vengeance has its own cost and is rarely worth the effort.
  • Those who are still there when you get back are true friends.
  • The greatest of things come in the smallest of packages.
  • It is never only a dream.
  • To forgive is always a sound choice to make.
  • There is no defense against hope.
  • The power of hell lies in the dreams of heaven.
  • Inheritance rarely goes to one who cherishes the gift.
  • If he has a gun, don't drive him where he wants to go, because he's only going to kill you anyway.
  • When we look upon someone, the face I see is not the face that you see.
  • Skeletons in your closet can sneak out and kill you if you do not regularly clean house.
  • If you sense something strange going on, it probably is.
  • If you listen, you can hear it.
  • Sometimes the only proper punishment is to put him in his place.
  • If you're locked in a cage that is locked in a room, and you get out of the cage, you're still trapped aren't you?
  • Death really isn't all that bad, but she can be a depressing date.
  • Sometimes you really knock them dead.
  • Don't chase the ball into oncoming traffic.
  • If a god asks you to marry him/her, the proper response is to say yes.
  • When taking inventory, the little things do not matter so much as the big things.
  • If a complete stranger gives you an all expense paid trip across the Atlantic, there's most undoubtedly a catch.
  • When hearing voices coming from a strange door, turn on the lights to make sure it's not just a broom closet.
  • The ones who appear to be the most normal are the ones you should keep your eye on.
  • Appearances ARE deceiving.
  • If there's a raven on your windowsill, let him in.
  • Don't take the shortcut into the alley at night.
  • If complete strangers tell you you're great and wonderful and super, get a second opinion before you let it get to your head.
  • Appreciate the efforts of your enemies, especially if you taught them everything you know.
  • Don't ever just do nothing; it will haunt you later.
  • Beware a man who wears sunglasses at night.
  • The only reason people die is because everyone is doing it.
  • Your life is what you make it, minus the occasional pitfalls and plus the occasional windfalls, divided by your regrets and multiplied by the people you love along the way.
  • Some things change and some things stay the same; change is the only constant in the universe.
  • Be careful what you wish for.
  • If a lass walks up to you and offers you sex within ten seconds of the conversation, chances are both money and disease will change hands by the end of the night if you say yes.
  • The louder the denial, the closer you're getting to the truth.
  • Don't assume childhood fairy tales were originally designed for children.
  • Collectors are people too; they just don't treat people like people.
  • Sometimes, whether you knew it or not, whether you meant to or now, whether you wanted it to happen, you are the one who set yourself up for the fall.


Each sentence above I could write an entire book about. However, I don't have to. Neil Gaiman already did.


Bookmark on your Personal Space


Entry

A102907

Infinite Improbability Drive

Infinite Improbability Drive

Read a random Edited Entry


Written and Edited by

Disclaimer

h2g2 is created by h2g2's users, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the Not Panicking Ltd. Unlike Edited Entries, Entries have not been checked by an Editor. If you consider any Entry to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please register a complaint. For any other comments, please visit the Feedback page.

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more