"In visions of the dark night,
I have dreamed of joy departed-
But a waking dream of life and light,
Hath left me broken-hearted."
-A Dream, Edgar Allen Poe
Volume three of Absolute Sandman may be my favorite of all of the volumes.
Volume one will always hold a sweet spot in my heart for being the first and the start of my love affair with the series.
Volume two had great stories and kept me interested. Volume four is the conclusion which gives the whole series shape and form. But Volume three keeps me interested with the number count being even higher, it truly sucks me in by emotionally investing me with the characters and continues with the great ideas and art.
The introduction is written by artist Jill Thompson (who's art will feature heavily in this edition). Her's is hilarious and adorable, most of it is taken up by the fact that she doesn't know how to write an introduction and worried that she won't fill the required word count. A very fun and cute introduction.
Opening the edition is a short eight-pager called "Fear of Falling." It's about a playwright, he is concerned with how its coming together and wants to drop out. One of the actresses says that he can't because he's also the director. That night he dreams. He dreams that he is climbing a mountain, as he continues to climb the Sandman is there, standing on the cliff at the top of the mountain. The two have a conversation and in the end he says that it all comes down to two things, "you either die or you wake up" but the Sandman disagrees and say's that there is a third option. The next morning he arrives at the theater with fresh pages for the actors and a can-do-attitude. He recounts what the third option was "You fly."
It's a good little story that also features some of the most unique artwork in the whole series by Kent Williams.
Issue 40 is a done-in-one but it is also the perfect starting point for this Absolute edition, planting the seeds for elements to come. It is also the first issue to be illustrated by Jill Thompson which would be a very fruitful collaboration for both her and Gaiman. The cover is a culmination of many things, one fun-fact I do know about it is that the doll of Death that can be seen was a gift from a fan to Gaiman, so he put it on one of the covers. How nice.
It starts with little baby Daniel getting told the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by his mother Lyta. She finishes the story and puts him to sleep in his crib wishing him to "Dream sweet dreams" then leaves to speak with an adult on the phone. Daniel then indeed does dream, he dreams he gets out of his crib and toddles away. While he does he finds a large Dragon-like creature, he follows it. While following it, to a cemetery he comes across Mathew the Raven, he guides Daniel up some stairs and on them a woman named Eve comes to meet them. They then all proceed up the stairs together and to a house and none other than Abel answers the door.
They all gather round in the living room next to a roaring fire. Abel gets all of them refreshments and asks Mathew how the Sandman is doing, he says fine and also notes that he has a woman in his life now. All of a sudden Cain appears saying that its very convenient that they have three storytellers and an audience (he means Daniel) and they should all tell stories, Eve says that she has stopped telling stories but Cain responds with "No one stops telling stories." Him and Mathew then have some friction but it ends with Cain telling a mystery.
Cain tells the "Mystery of Rooks" of how Rooks will gather around one, the one that is gathered around will caw and caw, others will caw too as if asking questions. When it is done one of two things will happen, sometimes they will let it join them, or they will kill it.
Mathew asks "Why?" But Cain tells him that its a mystery. He passes the duty of storyteller onto Eve, she doesn't want to but Cain is rather insistent so she tells the story of Adam and his three wives.
She says that in the beginning Adam was a Hermaphrodite, four arms, four legs and both sexual organs. God then split them and created man and woman, Adam and Lilith. She was controlling and intelligent, this was displeasing so she was cast out, she mated with demons and had many children. Adams second wife never had a name. God created her from nothing, starting with the bone and working his way out, when she was complete Adam couldn't go near her because all he could think about was all the blood and fluids that were inside her, its unclear what exactly happened to her. In the end God put Adam to sleep, took a rib from his chest and created Eve. The rest is the story everyone knows, they both ate the fruit of the tree of life and were banished from the garden. She concludes with saying that Adam had three wives and this is true. But others say that he only married one and that this is also true.
It is then Abel's turn to tell a story. He tell's the story of when the Endless first came to be. But what distinguishes this from the others is that the art-style changes to a more Chibi/Peanuts style. This was also the inclusion of another important piece of the Sandman franchise the Tiny Endless. You could even see this as a precursor to L'il Gotham and if it is then kudos. It also led to Thompson going on to create "The Little Endless Storybook" where she would tell stories of Death and Dream as children in a children's-book form.
Cain is un-pleased with Abel's story and while poking at the fire tells everyone else to leave. While their leaving Abel leans out of the window and tells them that the Rook in the center has to tell all the others a story and if they like it then it can join them. Cain then drags him inside, gives him a bollocking and proceeds to murder him. In fairness he does explain that because he told them it is no longer a mystery.
It ends with Lyta finishing her phone-call and checking on Daniel that is sound asleep, she then finds a black feather in the crib with him, she wonders how it got there but shrugs it off as "Kids. Hmph. Little mysteries, all of you."
Jill Thompson is one of my favorite artists to draw Sandman. Everyone of the artists have been consistently top-notch but there is something about how Thompson and Gaiman click together. I like the slim way she draws Dream and his hair, I don't think I can really say why it just clicks. But there's also how non-shelaunt the other characters are, they aren't striking big, Shakespearean poses, their just people moving and reacting to their environment.
Next we get the first and only special that Sandman would ever have in the entirety of the series. The cover shows the bodies of a man and a woman but with eyes sketched over them. This could mean a few things, the idea that these two people will be observed by higher beings (possibly the gods or the reader themselves?).
The story of the special is the tale of Orpheus but retold in the Gaiman style and naturally inserting the Endless where they would make sense. This special is the launching pad for the rest of the series to come. Specials, at least in terms of the traditional superheroes are more self contained and a mere excuse to tell a story where you can put in more splash pages. But this is a very pivotal point in the entire Sandman series, especially what is to come, I think if someone didn't read the special and just kept reading, then they would still be able to follow fine, but so much more is added to the drama when you know all these kinds of details.
The story of Orpheus is that a man is born of the gods and can play the most beautiful music ever heard, whether it be his singing or through his flute. He then falls in love with a beautiful woman named Eurydice and they get married. But here is where Sandman continuity enters, Orpheus is the son Calliope and Morpheus. When the young couple get's married the entire Endless attend. Including one dressed head-to-toe in Armour. Finally we learn who the missing sibling is, it is Destruction.
All goes well at the wedding, the Endless have to leave fairly early because of their duties but Death remains saying that she has "things to do." Meanwhile Eudrice is wandering through a nearby forest and a Faun is making advances to her. She runs away but in her path is a snake, it bites her and she dies instantly.
Orpheus is saddened like no man has ever been. He travels to The Dreaming to speak with his father. Orpheus tell's him that he has not yet said goodbye to her, his father tells him "She is dead. You are alive. So live." But Orpheus knows that she is alive in the underworld and asks for his help in getting her back from Hades, the Sandman tells him that he is being foolish and he will hear no more of it. Orpheus then walks off in a rage and tells him that he is no longer his son.
Orpheus then stands on the edge of a cliff looking down when a voice calls out behind him, it is Destruction. He tells him that there is another way beyond suicide. He tells him that he can go and see Death. There are a number of ways to see her, he could die, he could be born or go to her house (he goes with this option).
So he goes to Death's realm. At first it is a rather modern day room, with a lamp, fish-in-a-bowl and a pile of laundry that needs to be done. Death appears to greet her nephew, but he is disoriented by the room, so she changes it to a more surreal area (he isn't sure if its better or not). He asks her for a wedding gift, she also tells him that he can still go on to play and sing more songs but he replies with "Not without her." Death tells him that only the dead go to the underworld and only the immortals come back. Still Orpheus doesn't care and will take the deal with whatever the consequences are, he just wants her back. Death agrees and looks him in the eyes, there is a quick spark and she says its done.
Therefore Orpheus finds the way to Hades and works his way down to the Underworld. When he reaches the bottom where the endless walking dead roam with two mountain-high figures sitting in chairs (Hades and Persephone) overlook them all. He pleads with him through song to return Eudrice to him, the song makes every tortured and torturer stop and weep at his song (including the Harpies). Finally Hades agrees to give her up to him but on a condition. He must walk out the same way he came, Eudrice will be behind him but will not make a noise and he must not look back, for if he does she will be pulled back and this time there will be no second chances.
He walks and walks to the exist but still hears nothing, Hades must be playing a trick on him and when he is but a few steps away from exiting, he turns around. But he does see Eudrice behind him and that's the last he will ever see of her.
Orpheus is without Eudrice now and forever. His mother visits him trying to tell him something, but he will not listen, he just doesn't care anymore. Then the Harpies come, he made them cry and for that he has incurred their fury. Orpheus is left, as a head on the beach with the waves moving in and out. Then a black boot appears right in-front of him, his father has joined him, to say goodbye. He tells him that there are priests on the island that will take care of him and they will not see each-other again, he leaves and never looks back.
Bryan Talbot pencils while Mark Buckingham inks. Again odd being that Talbot is a solid writer in his own right and Buckingham is a really capable artist also. But whatever meaningless, obsessive fan-boy nitpick I can see it doesn't matter, Gaiman, Talbot and Buckingham are a powerhouse combination.
The only thing that bothers me about the special is that there was only ever one of them. It's very selfish to say that being the consistent quality of the series should be enough, but whoever said that humans were selfless.
Issue 41 kicks-off the new storyline for this edition, Brief Lives. The cover consists of a few key images that will feature in the issue (as-well as others), this layout and method is how all the other covers for the story-arc will be. We start with a mountainside where an old man ascends stone steps, he reaches the top and plucks a flower from a tree and puts it on a grave that reads "Lady Constantine", he tells his son that he saw him while walking up, then he enters a little temple and inside is Orpheus, he tends to his needs and comments that it will be a nice day.
Cut then to a rainy street where an old homeless woman is begging for change, by her side is a young girl, with rainbow hair and different colored eyes (one blue the other green). It's Delirium, the woman tells her to go back to her parents, but she says that she hasn't got any parents, but she has lost her brother. Delirium wonders into a hardcore sex-club where she is terribly confused over everything, then she believes she sees a familiar face, Death! But when she gets close to the girl she realizes that this isn't really Death, just a girl that has similar fashion taste. She is very confused and frustrated with everything and screams that she just wants her sister, everyone is very concerned but a member of the crowd assures them that shes fine and they will take care of her, they ask if their her brother. It's Desire and he/she says "Well...sometimes... I'm her sister."
Desire quickly takes Delirium to her/his house, he/she comments that she hasn't been in this bad of a state in a long time and tells her to pull herself together. Delirium them bursts into butterflies. She then does pull herself together but she can't get over how much she misses her brother, Desire tells her to let it go. Delirium decides to use Desire's gallery to contact Despair, she reaches out and she's gone.
Delirium is then in Despair's realm. It is a realm of gray mist and floating mirrors, Despair is looking through one of them, on a man who's wife has discovered his children pornography, he knows his life is over but cannot commit suicide, she finds it beautiful. Delirium says that she's noticed something about their family, she brings up that all of the Endless have pets, Death has goldfish, Despair has rats and Dream has a Raven, Despair quickly brings her back to the original point. Delirium tells her that she misses their brother and wants to go looking for him (while she's explaining this Despair is digging her hooked ring into her face), Despair declines to help, Delirium says goodbye and will ask Dream next and leaves. There is a great visual contrast between the two, Delirium is so colorful while Despair is purely gray, even their word-balloons are opposite (Despairs being gray while Delirium's are rainbows).
Despair is all alone, in her solitude she realizes how much she does miss her brother and she thinks back to many years ago when the black plague swept through the cities, people died, turned on one-another and she was probably at her most powerful. She is joined by Destruction, who commends her on her duty being well performed, he also notes that the plague will be over soon and that is when it will be his turn. They talk about how things change, but they don't really and how things will always and continually change. Thirty years later she would see him again in Destiny's hall and that would be the last time.
Back in the present with Despair, Desire tries to make contact, he/she is worried of what this could bring and if Delirium will rope one of the others into her journey. But Despair does not answer, merely walks away, further into her realm.
Delirium is a member of the family that we haven't seen much of in the past, we got a little window of her character in Season of Mists but now we get the entirety of her, tragedy, insanity and all. She is also an example of what an imaginative and colorful writer Gaiman is, she is constantly saying, doing and creating the most random obscure things and Gaiman is constantly able to keep them coming. I heard him say once in an interview that she was his favorite of the Endless. I can see why.
Next issue, we open with Morpheus walking through a dark hallway of his castle and says to himself "She. She has decided that she no longer loves me." He then walks onto his balcony, standing in the rain.
He is joined by Lucien that wants to know what to do with her rooms and Morpheus responds with "Erase them." While Lucien walks away Morpheus asks him to make sure the staff don't mention her name in his presence. Lucien then tells Nuala, she mentions that she was given a necklace by the unnamed woman, Lucien says she can keep it as long as Morpheus doesn't see it.
It is then we are introduced to Merv Pumpkinhead. He is the Dreaming's caretaker and another classic blue collar character that only Gaiman could create. We have seen him in the background numerous times throughout the series but this is when we finally get to meet and understand the character. Gaiman has said that Merv is his favorite character in all of Sandman. He certainly is enjoyable, with his snide remarks and contradictory logic.
Later Mathew and Lucien converse outside. Lucien tells him about how he has dealt with other breakups in the past: Nada, he turned the Dreaming into a Desert, Calliope he just shrugged off and moved on and with Eleanora he threw himself into his work and didn't come out for about a hundred years.
Cut quickly to Abel's house where it is being flooded by the rain.
Morpheus stands in the rain, consumed by feelings of sadness and loneliness. He could have given her entire worlds, but in the end her resentment of him began to show in her eyes and when she finally told him, he could already see it. Then his Griffin guard alerts him they have captured an intruder, he has no interest accept the intruder claims to be his sister.
On the steps of the castle Delirium is hanging in the mouth of Wyvern, the Dragon. Dream confirms that she is indeed his sister (you can tell from his body language that he is not amused). Wyvern puts Delirium down and apologizes, but she isn't offended, she thought it was like Disneyland. Dream wants to know what she wants, Delirium stumbles in her explaining so he offer's her food.
Dream and Delirium sit apart at different ends of a long table facing each-other (reminiscent of a scene from Citizen Kane). Some kind of bug-man comes to take their orders, Delirium orders milk-chocolate people (men and women) with raspberry filling and fresh mango juice to drink. Dream orders an omelet with salad and a glass of white wine to drink. Awkward silence. Delirium asks Dream if he's seen any of the family recently, he says no, she has, he responds with an "Ah." Awkward silence. The food is brought. Delirium plays with her chocolate people, Dream tells her to stop. He decides to take her to his gallery being that this is official family business.
In his Gallery Dream asks Delirium what she wants, she tells him that she wants to find Destruction, he responds with "So?" She tells him that that's exactly what Despair said, Dream enquirers, she explains that she's asked Despair and Desire to help her, it was at Desires house where she got the idea. Dream asks her to wait a moment and goes to Desire's sigil to speak with her. Desire and Dream speak, he remains in the in-between while they talk and he/she just lays on the bed. Dream asks Desire if Deliriums idea to go looking for their brother is anything to do with her/him, he/she swears that it isn't and tells Dream to shoo her away and go back to him feeling sorry for himself. Dream takes a moment to think about this.
Back at the Gallery Delirium thinks back to a time when she was Delight. When she began to realize that things would always change and slowly the flowers in her realm started to make less sense and became blurring colors. Then she remembers that Destruction greeted her and made her feel better and would say "Everything changes."
Dream then comes back and helps Delirium to her feet, he asks her where she would start looking for their brother, she will start with his old friends, she wrote a list. Dream asks her what she will do next, she says that she'll go to their elder sister and if she says no then their eldest brother and if he also says no then she will go by herself, but she's concerned because she gets distracted easily. They are then joined by Lucien and Dream tells him that he will be taking a short journey with his sister. Lucien questions him as to why he's doing this, he says its because Delirium needs it and he needs a distraction from his recent breakup, he has no ambition of finding their brother. He prepares for their journey and wishes him goodbye with the classic "What could go wrong?" We see that the clouds are parting, the sun is shining through and there's a rainbow in the sky.
The next issue opens with a monologue telling us that there aren't a lot of the truly old ones left. The ones that were there with the saber-toothed tiger's and even some that were there to see the planet form from gas and dust.
Then we see a skinny man named Bernie Capax, he's a lawyer who's getting off a bus. He walks the street, buys a newspaper and thinks about dreams and his memories and the smell of mammoths. When suddenly he hears a voice scream out "Hey!" The construction work on a building is collapsing, everything slows down, but the ruble doesn't stop and he can only hear him saying one thing "Not yet." Then we see him standing, in the center of the ruble, clothes tattered. He remarks that he did it again and seems to be filled with joy but then Death appears and says that his body is under the ruble. He is so disappointed that that's how it ends for him, he asks Death if he lived, he had fifteen-thousand years and that's wasn't bad was it? Death gives him a sure look and says "You lived what anybody gets, Bernie. You got a lifetime. No more. No less. You got a lifetime."
Meanwhile Dream and Delirium are in Dublin. Apparently if they are going to travel in the waking world then they must arrange transportation appropriate for that world. They go into an office where Dream orders the receptionist to put him through to her boss, she (rather patiently) tells him that he can leave a message or come back another time. Dream is unsatisfied with either of these and demands that she tell him "We drank wine together in Babylon."
We then see Mr Farrell, recounting the orgy he attended last night and how bad it went. He is taking care of business and is very displeased by the interruptions. He decides to take charge of the matter and is put through directly with the receptionist. She tells him that the man says "he drank wine with you somewhere called Baylon" then adds that "the lady. She's making little frogs." And a pink frog hops in-front of her.
She then tells Dream that he is on his way. Mr. Farrell is straight through the door with a big smile on his face and greeting him by saying "Lord Morpheus." He takes them into his conference room. At the table Dream explains that they will need transportation, Ferrell asks where they'll be going. Dream turns to Delirium and after they establish that they do need to go somewhere else to travel, Delirium decides it's best to see the people on her list and in swirls of colors she disappears to her realm to fetch it. While they're alone Dream and Mr. Ferrell, or Pharamond as he calls him, discuss Babylon, that he is the last "Pantheon" and that he is in-debited to him. Delirium then pops back with the list.
On the next page a woman wakes up. She remembers the weird dream she had last night where a house was also a poem. Then she has a jolt of realization and before she can even come to grips with the why she has grabbed her purse and is diving out the window, she has started to smell the gas. She smashes out onto the fire-escape and jumps down to the alley, a few scrapes and slightly bleeding. The building goes up in fire and smoke, she works her way to the nearest K-Mart for clothes, shoes then she'll get out.
Next we see a painting in the works. A red-haired man is painting a sunset. A voice from the background greets him. The man asks for thoughts on the painting, the voice comes from a dog named Barnabas, he doesn't give a favorable review to the painting. The man packs the painting in for the day and the two go inside, Barnabas says he can hear something coming from a locked room, he goes to check on it and inside there is a pool in the center and painting's hung around the walls. Barnabas asks what the pool is and the man replies "An early warning system" to which he asks warning for what, he says "Trouble."
Followed by Dream and Delirium on a plane, Delirium is looking out on the clouds and how when you look out on them it seems like a new better world. She then asks Dream what Mr. Farrell was, he tells her that he was once a God, but his sacrifices were beginning to dwindle and his shrines were being dismantled one by one. So he told him that it would be best to give-up being a god and move onto something else.
On the next row of seats a little girl named Chloe is telling her mother about the dream she just had. She was lost in her house and she couldn't find her mother or father, her mother ensures her that you cannot get lost in dreams. Dream, overhearing, ensures Chloe that you can indeed get lost in dreams. Meanwhile her mother is asking the stewardess if they are Rock-stars or celebrities, because she's sure she recognizes them. The plane lands and the passengers leave, Chloe asks Dream a question, she tells him that sometimes when she dreams, she can fly, but she forgets when she wakes? He tells her "When you dream, sometimes you remember. When you wake, you always forget." She says that its not fair and he responds with "No."
They get off the plane and a woman named Ruby is there to escort them. They exit and are taken to their car for the journey (it's black, of course). Delirium wants to drive but Dream tells her no, as they ride off to their destination Delirium asks if there's a word for for when things become different over time, Ruby doesn't know, Dream says "Change."
For those that have read Gaiman's Novel
American Gods, you will recognize a few recurring ideas here with Gods retiring from their cosmic duties and becoming something different. Also the whole road trip motif of moving across America. True the road trip isn't by any means souly a Gaiman technique, but the similarities are hard to ignore. There are other things that are similar to his book that are in Sandman but to tell you about those would spoil the future plot twists.
The next issue opens with a man in the forest, he is performing some kind of ritual. He takes off all his clothes and puts them in a pile, constructs some kind of stick ornaments, creates a circle around him of his own urine, then he turns into a bear and his shadow turns into him, puts on the clothes and they both walk off in different directions. Interesting way to start an issue.
Meanwhile we are back with Dream, Delirium and Ruby driving along to meet with the first name on Deliriums list. Dream is looking up into the sky, so Delirium asks what he's looking at and if he's looking for someone, she then asks why he doesn't have eyes, because all the other Endless do, except for Destiny to which all Dream has to say is "Destiny is blind." They arrive at their location, a house in the suburbs.
Dream and Delirium get out with Ruby waiting in the car. A young man answers the door in a state of disarray, Dream asks for Bernard Capax but the man then explains that he's his son and his father died yesterday, he takes them to the house basement and tells them how he was embarrassed by his boring father with his square personality and boring life, he liked him fine. Then since his death he went through his filing cabinet and found ancient gold coins, blank passports, a gun and what might be a Picasso and Da Vinci. Dream asks how he died, he was crushed by a collapsing building.
Back in the car Delirium chooses the next name on her list, it's all the way in Ohio which will take fifteen hours so Ruby insists on staying in a Motel. They all go into their rooms, Delirium blows bubbles shaped like all sorts of things. Ruby unwinds in her room, she order's a wake-up call for 7am, thinks about how she wants to be rich, has her cigarette of the day, then goes to sleep.
In Deliriums room she is looking at her list and trying to make sense of it but it's escaping her and she lets herself go. She lets herself go into a blur of colors and shapes. She looks for the Lawyer but he is definitely dead, the Bear man is hard to find but she finds the dancer. We're now in some kind of weird colored space and a woman named Tiffany, half dressed, is throwing up, another woman named Ishtar (that's also half dressed) is trying to help her, a man named Roger tells them that they need to dance soon. Tiffany looks into a mirror and sees Delirium staring back at her, she tells Tiffany "See you soon." Delirium is back in her room.
In Dream's room he speaks with Lucien, asking for an update on the current state of The Dreaming, all is going fine, he also asks Lucien to investigate if there is a force that is acting against their quest. Dream then recollects to long ago, back in what appears to be the renaissance, Dream was walking the street and met with his brother Destruction, the Corithian is with him. They speak about the current conditions of things and the people, Destruction shows him the Invisible College where they are focused on following the ways of logic and reason. Inside they find a doctor dissecting an Orangutan. Destruction comments on how times are changing and changing forever, Dream in unconvinced. But what is known is at the end it will be Destruction's time, a time of darkness and flames.
Then we see Dream standing in his room that is half burned to the ground. A fireman calls for him, he asks the fireman how the fire started, he tells him that it was caused by a woman smoking on her bed then falling asleep. Outside Dream tells Delirium the situation, this enforces his suspicions that someone or something is working against them. Delirium draws one conclusion from this "I can drive." End of issue.
The cover to Issue 45 has a photo of a woman's face but cut into pieces, also a scrunched up one-dollar note, as well as rippling image of a man and woman in blue lighting. The cutting up of the photo brings to mind deconstruction and the bill a cheap form of payment. The swirling image under the light adds a surreal, warped mood to everything.
It opens with Ishtar, from the last issue. Going up to an apartment, inside is Tiffany, still feeling very sick, Ishtar comes with breakfast ingredients and protein powder if she can't handle solid food. She makes the breakfast while Tiffany is telling a story about how a girl she knew would shoot heroine into her eyes, Ishtar puts her freshly made breakfast in-front of her, she vomits, Ishtar suggests the protein shake.
Back with Delirium and Dream, they are roaring and swerving down the road, a policeman pull's them over and demands that they get out of the car, Dream ignores him and Delirium is yammering nonsense, he gets more aggressive so she makes him think that he's covered in insects. He drops to the ground in a frenzy, Delirium has become bored with driving and suggests they just "Pwoof" to the location. Dream argues that they started their journey in the waking world so they should keep going like mortals, but he does have an idea. He calls on Mathew, he was once a human and could drive. So Mathew will guide Deliriums driving.
Then we're back with Tiffany and Ishtar. Tiffany is feeling much better, they head out to the street and Tiffany is wandering why Ishtar doesn't dance or why she doesn't really dance, because she can tell that she's amazing but she holds back. Then the conversation steers to men and what rotten luck Tiffany has had with them, she asks if Ishtar has ever met a good one, she says that she did a very long time ago, but they argued about his family and his job. Tiffany then says she got a vision of a large dark bird telling her things.
Cut to Dream, Delirium and Mathew, in the car roaring down the road, wind blowing their hair back, other cars swerving and Mathew screaming for her to "DRIVE IN THE RIGHT LANE!"
Then back with Tiffany and Ishtar, they pull up by the strip club (named Suffragette City) and a friend named Nancy, Tiffany tells her that Ishtar is thinking about moving to prostitution. They go inside and Nancy tells them about an old temple where women would stay and men would come to spend time with them. The women start getting changed. Nancy says that the temples are long since gone and wanders what happened to the Gods that oversaw it? Ishtar tells them that they either changed, died off or kept going.
During the night Ishtar dances, she thinks about how concerned she is about Tiffany and when she dances for lust and money it's a tip of the iceberg that she used to get in the old-days.
Delirium, Mathew and Dream find their way to the strip club, they enter after tricking the bouncer. While Ishtar dances she recognizes Dream and runs off-stage and into the dressing-room. Dream enters the dressing-room (he convinces the manager to let the other girls stay in his office) he greets Ishtar, they talk about how Dream said he always though she was a bad influence on his brother. He asks her if she has any idea where he is, she hasn't a clue. Then he warns her that there is something that could threaten her. He leaves.
Dream leaves and Mathew and Delirium follow. Ishtar then goes on-stage, she then dances, she really dances. Everyone that watches her is so enthralled by how good she is, Tiffany is scared by it and gets out. Her dance then ends in a literal explosion that destroys the club.
Tiffany gets out and while she stumbles out of the destroyed nightclub and grabs onto a near-by fence in shock. Then a figure walks up behind her, it is Desire. He/she gives her some words and then gives her his/her trench coat for warmth and disappears.
The cover to issue 46 really just serves as a hint to a character that will appear in this issue. A cat person.
It opens with Destruction sitting on the grass next to a tree, scribbling away, he then declares "There. It's finished!" He recites the poem to Barnabas, that gives it a look-warm review.
Down the road, from the chard remains of the strip-club Dream tells Delirium that he will no longer continue on their journey and return to his realm. Delirium is very upset by this and yell's at Dream, but he is unaffected and takes his leave, she is alone, so she cracks space and returns to her realm, if anyone would want her.
Morpheus arrives back in The Dreaming, on the steps of the castle Nuala is dancing and singing, when he appears behind her he tells her to stop. He then calls Lucien, telling him that his journey is over. He then sits in his throne room and call's Pharamond, giving his thanks and also telling him that Ruby died. He sits contemplating his journey, he secures the throne room and with a handful of sand, creates a desert.
Morpheus walks the desert and comes across a city that no longer exists, also there is the cat-god Lady Bast. They greet each-other, he makes a tent for them to sit in. I really like the moment where she says "Why weren't we ever lovers? to which he responds with "Perhaps you know me too well" It's a touching moment between two very old friends. The conversation continues with him asking for the information she promised him back in the story-line "Season of Mists" the location of his brother. Alas though, she has to admit that she was lying, she only knew that he was in Paris sixty years ago. With this information she suggests an oracle but there isn't an oracle that can help find a member of his family when they don't want to be found, she imply's that there is. Morpheus takes his leave and wishes her well.
Bast then wakes up, she forgets the details of her dream, she catches a rat, someone prays to her for the well being of their pet cat that has been run over, it is beyond help so she grants it a painless death. She walks her corridors and remembers when all sacrifices and prayers would flood in. She realizes that she's getting old.
In The Dreaming's library, Merv Pumkinhead is putting up a new wing of the library. While doing so he tells Lucien that Morpheus is flaky and spending time with people like himself would straighten him out. And as must happen when a character shoots their mouth off Morpheus appears right behind him, Merv mumbles his way out of the conversation and makes his hasty exit. Morpheus then converses with Lucien about what might have been acting against him and Delirium on their journey, Lucien's investigation unveiled nothing. He also informs Morpheus that something is happening in his gallery, one of the portraits has gone pure black.
Dream then calls on Death, she arrives but pays him no attention and greets Lucien and asks for a book with a happy ending and nice people. Dream sends him away and she scolds him, he is completely oblivious as to why she isn't talking to him, Death tells him that it's because of what he did to Delirium, how he upset her. Death tells Dream to straighten up and go and sort thing's out with Delirium, she also gives him a little bit of slack because of his recent break-up, he says that has nothing to do with it, but she knows him better and gives him an encouraging kiss on-the-cheek. Once again serving as an example as to why Death is my favorite character in Sandman.
Dream enters Delirium's realm, it is a realm of colors, cut out images, doodles, phrases floating throughout space, it's as if William Burroughs was mixed with The Yellow Submarine. At the center is a sundial with the words "Tempus Frangit" on it, Dream compliments it, Delirium then appears behind it saying it's stopped, she now has very little hair. Dream kneels by her side and apologizes for his harsh behavior, he tells her that if she wants they can continue looking for Destruction. Delirium asks if he likes her, he says that he must (she is family after-all). So their back together on their quest!
The cover to issue 47 is one with images that contain elements of the story inside. A heart, a maze and an eye, also a map so journeying and finding a location is part of the story.
We open on Destruction's house, he has bought some groceries. Barnabas comments as to why, he tells him that cooking is the ultimate form of transformation, where you take raw ingredients, cut them up, boil them, give them a mix and you have a meal. Barnabas also comments that his backroom has been getting very loud.
Then we are with Delirium and Dream, in Nowhere. Delirium comments that everyone else on the list is in-hiding so it's useless, Dream is not detoured, he tells her that it is a family matter so they'll go to the family, Destiny. To get to his realm they will need a labyrinth, he asks Delirium to find one, she concentrates and they go from Nowhere to somewhere, an amusement park in-fact.
They enter the maze in the park and wander, eventually the maze becomes a different maze altogether, it becomes the maze of Destiny's realm. They have arrived and while they walk the endless paths Delirium see's herself in the distance, her as Delight. Destiny then appears, greeting them.
Destiny, Dream and Delirium are now in the center of the real. There large statues stand, one of each of The Endless. Dream converses with Destiny, Destiny tells him that he knows all that has happened and will, he advises him (as his brother) to abandon his current journey and that he can only tell him what others have told him about their brothers location, he must find an oracle. Dream says that there are no oracles that can tell him anything about the family, but there is one and Dream knows it because as Destiny says "There is. After all, an oracle that is of the family." This sends Dream spiraling into a depressive state.
While he mopes, of all people, Delirium steps-up. She floats above Destiny and tells him that she remembers why she gave-up being Delight, and there are things that aren't in his book and paths beyond his garden. It's just a moment of her telling him that he is not omnipotent and shouldn't be so sure of his opinion. She then goes to gather Dream, he mentions that her eyes are the same color and she is so well composed, she says at least one of them has to be the reasonable one. So the two get-up and leave, Dream knows they need to find an Oracle.
Alone in his garden a gust of wind flips the pages of Destiny's book. They flip and land on the chapter when Destruction held a meeting and told them he was leaving, they all reacted in their fashion. The pages flip. Dream is traveling through space, tired beyond comprehension, almost home but then he is captured and wakes in a glass prison. The pages flip. Death spends one of her days as a mortal in China and sits hand-in-hand with a boy and the two look out at the stars. The pages flip. Dream stands in his throne-room where the Corinthian is bleeding on his throne, he is dressed entirely in white. The pages flip. Destiny finds his place on the present again and reads how, Dream and Delirium are on an island.
Dream and Delirium are on an island, they walk and a boy jumps out of a bush and points a gun on them. It is the boy from the beginning of the story-arc. He radio's for back-up, it arrives with his father and grandfather, they ask what they want and Dream answers "I am here to see my son." Dream and Delirium stand outside a little temple, Dream enters alone. Outside Delirium eats some berries from a tree, says some rhymes and then places some more cherries on the grave of Lady Constantine. Dream then joins her, he now knows where their brother is, it hasn't cost him anything "yet", Delirium comments that nobody had to die, Dream now owes Orpheus a boon, Destruction is not far, Dream leaves a flower on the grave.
The two get into a rowboat, which the boy sails. They arrive on a shore, Dream thanks the boy, they walk up the grassy hill and Barnabas is in the distance running towards them. Delirium takes a big liking to him instantly, she asks what his name is and a voice shout out that "His name is Barnabas!" It is Destruction. They all follow him to his little house and Destruction reveals to them a fully prepared dinner table.
Issue 48. The cover has a hue of colors on it, shown in the form of a rainbow and with paint-splattered forks, finally at the bottom is a body. Multiple colors are what we have come to associate with Delirium and we know from the last issue that they will be having dinner.
It opens with Delirium, Dream and Destruction sitting at the table, Destruction is being a rather gracious host and offering them the food he's cooked up. Delirium is kind enough to recount all the plot-points that have led them to eventually finding him, as she does her hair changes to coincide to each moment she recounts.
Destruction then tries to offer more food to them but neither of them is interested, they talk about the state of the family, Dream tells him that nothing has changed, he has seen them all recently. They also note that Despair was not the first to be Despair, she was the first of them to die and then be replaced. Delirium tells Destruction that the family members haven't changed but the situation has, things were apparently better when he was there.
Delirium then comments that they have found him and now Destruction can come back with them. Dream comments that while looking for him a woman named Ruby died. Destruction comments that three-hundred years ago he wouldn't have cared so much, but Dream doesn't believe that he's changed that much. Destruction then tells them that even without him, there is still change, things get destroyed then built up again, it is now in the hands of the human race and neither his responsibility or fault.
Dream and Delirium talk about how they found him, Dream tells him that he spoke to Orpheus, then they recount how the series of events led to his tragic fate, that he has had a longtime to regret. Again this scene could still work if someone hadn't read the Special, leaving things to be implied and left to the audience imagination but it benefits from knowing the details. Destruction then invites them outside.
Among the stars they look and the endless lights that flicker and shine and then go out. Destruction tells them of a time when he was with Death and she told him that everyone knows everything, they just pretend not to. Dream asks if he will return to his duties, he says "Of course not!" He scoffs of the importance of The Endless as merely patterns that help humanity define the different aspects of life. Destiny helps them appreciate freedom, Death life, Despair hope, Desire hatred and Dream possible reality.
One of Gaiman's goals of Sandman was to show that there is more to these archetypes than what we might think at first. Destruction does mean a building will collapse or an explosion, but it also means the old will become something else, change. Death does mean that you no longer live, but you move on, to whatever lies beyond that. And Dreams are things that we cook up in our heads, but they are also wishes and goals.
The artwork of Dream, Delirium and Destruction being silhouetted by the stars is some of the most haunting and beautiful art the series has ever had.
They all go inside to Destruction's gallery. He wishes them all well, he gives Dream some advise, Delirium invites him to live with her in her realm, but she knows he wont. But he gets an idea, Barnabas can go with her, Delirium get's a dog. He then packs-up his things, he shakes Dreams hand, gives Delirium a hug and wishes Barnabas good luck, he then ascends into the stars, to the great unknown.
Dream and Delirium stand, looking into the never-ending darkness and light. Delirium is disappointed that he didn't return, she really wanted him to, Barnabas tells her to cheer-up, she asks Dream what he will do now he says "I need to return to the temple. I have to kill my son."
Issue 49 brings the story-arc to a close. We see what Orpheus sees, he looks out the window and watches the stars in the sky, he then drifts off to sleep and then into a dream where he got a life of living with Eurydice and grandchildren and taught them songs. He's woken by his tears. With word balloons we can tell that Dream and Delirium are outside talking, Delirium wants to say hello, Dream agrees but insists that her dog stay outside, she pops in and simply says hello, then leaves. Then, with her gone it is a father with his son, Orpheus tells him that he is scared, but it is what he wants, he thinks about how he really should have taken his advise all those years past and should have died a long time ago. He says he's ready, Morpheus picks him up, gives him a farewell kiss on the forehead, then with a touch he is gone, Death's Ankh flashes by and he is dead, Morpheus closes his eyes and leaves.
Dream walks out, with his sons blood literally on his hand dripping on the grass and red flowers grow from the drops. Delirium asks if he did it, he says yes but also that his life and death were always his own and that he died long ago when the Harpies tore his body apart. Then a voice speaks from off-panel saying it was before that, he died when his beloved died, or maybe it was a few other moments, the point is he has been dead for a long time. The voice belongs to Despair, Delirium greets her, Despair asks if they saw Destruction and if he mentioned her, he did. Delirium thanks Dream for his help, he takes his leave for them both, Delirium then leaves as well, with Barnabas.
Despair plunks two of the blood flowers and wanders into her realm too. She walks among the fog and the mirrors and greets someone, Desire is there waiting, Despair gives her one of the flowers. They recount on what has happened and even though Desire had wanted Dream to spill family blood, he/she is unsatisfied. The twins stand in Despairs realm and they both admit that their scared.
Dream then returns to The Dreaming, at the gates he sends a message to the head priest that watched over Orpheus, he tells him that his duties are at an end, all he needs to do now is bury the head and leave no marker, after that they may all do as they wish. At the door his guards stand and greet him, before he enters he lets them know that he appreciates their service highly, then he walks by Nuala, he notices that she is wearing a necklace, he compliments her saying "Do not trouble yourself, little one. Go in peace." In his study he informs Lucien that his journey is over and tomorrow he shall focus on his duties, also there were many that helped him on his journey and they should be rewarded, also to the ones that are on the run, messages should be sent out to tell them that it's safe, he then retires to his chamber.
Morpheus removes his bloodstained hands from his pockets, pours water into a bowl and begins washing the blood off. In the bowl images flash of the time Orpheus visited him in The Dreaming and how his last words to his son were "So live." I am reminded of the verse in the Paul Valery poem The Graveyard by the Sea "The wind is rising!... We must try to live." I don't know if this was something Gaiman was deliberately channeling or not.
The medium of comics allows certain things that others simply cannot do. What comics brings that a book or an audio play cannot is silent moments. You cannot have a silent moment in a book because the only way to do that would be to write "And then he silently walked into his chamber", but then already it fails because it isn't a quite moment because then you hear the words in your head, killing it. Also being that comics are reading it means that you dictate the passe of the story, how you read it will be entirely up to you, you can spend as much time absorbing each panel as you'd like, your not getting lead around by the nose.
Everyone then gets their last sentence, the old woman (that met Delirium at the start) sits in a graveyard and thinks about her long dead son. Chloe (the little girl from the plane) sits in her bedroom and strokes her new kitten, she still misses her old cat. Danny Capax is burning most of the things he found in hi his fathers cabinet, except a few blank passports. The policeman that pulled over Dream and Delirium is in a mental hospital, strapped to the bed, he can feel all the insects crawling over his body, but can do nothing about it. Tiffany is on a talk show telling the people how her life got turned around when the strip-club blew-up and an "Angel" put a coat and her and told her "She was saved." Desire, in her realm, sees the broadcast and likes that he/she was referred to as an Angel and holds the flower tightly. Finally on the Island that was Orpheus home for so long, he is being buried, the eldest priest wonders what will happen, if he will ever see the cherry tree bloom again, but knows that it will be a beautiful day.
All-in-all I would say that Brief Lives is my favorite story-arc of the whole run of Sandman. It has the best shape and form, has one of the best artist it would ever have and has the most human, meaningful moments in the whole series. It also has a nice lengthy size at nine issues. So many story-lines run for six or twelve so they can be "made for print" as the saying goes, but this is a story that needs nine issues. Six would be too small, twelve would be too many so it has exactly what it needs.
Re-reading I noticed that the two main things that happened during the story arc were things changing and interactions with the family of The Endless. These all work for the theme for the story. It is about the more human quality to these Gods and Deities and parts where they have become something else and for good or bad, things have changed and their temples are gone and their old names are almost forgotten.
Issue 50 is obviously a milestone for the series so they went all-out and made it very special. The cover has the Sandman with a city in the background. Simple but effective for the context of the story, also I believe this is the only double paged cover that the series ever had.
It's another done-in-one issue but it's a really good one. It is the tale of The Arabian Nights in a very meta sort of way. We open on a page with only the quote about how there is one God Allah and Mohammed is his prophet. Next we look out on the city of Baghdad, described as the jewel of Arabia, it is ruled by Harun al-Rashid. In his palace there is pleasure, great music, beautiful poetry is written and many other wonders still, but he is troubled. He looks out on his city where things are good, so many stories have happened. But still he is troubled, but cannot converse with his wife or vassir.
He then descends into deep dark chambers and enters a door. Through it are rooms that contain treasures, he ignores them, then he reaches a door made of fire, he enters and all that is inside is an orb, resting on a pillow. He takes it and goes to the highest balcony in his castle, when there he demands that the lord of dreams appears before him. Nothing. He then explains that the orb holds nine-thousand and nine evil spirits and if he does not appear then he will shatter the orb, unleashing all the evil from within. Nothing. So he hurls the orb from the top of the balcony were it will break. But right before it does it is caught by a pair of white hands. The Sandman appears before him.
After some sharp-tonged conversation they decide to converse somewhere other than the palace, al-Rashid calls for a chest in his room, it is brought. Within the chest is a raggedy piece of cloth, he spreads it on the floor, he steps on it and speaks the same three words, then it takes flight.
They fly over the city and al-Rashid admires it, they descend into the market place where many wondrous things can be bought and there is a story for all of them. The Sandman asks what he wants, al-Rashid wants him to buy the city, he explains that he knows that his city is the greatest that has ever been, but but is concerned bout how long can it last, he knows that other cities have crumbled into dust, so for it to never die he wants The Sandman to take it into the realm of dreams. The Sandman accepts, what he must do is simply spread to word to his people so they will always tell the tale of the greatest city that ever existed, he stands before all his people and tells them.
Then the king wakes-up, his guard finds him laying on the ground in the middle of the marketplace. The city has changed, it is a worn, shabby place. Al-Rashid was having a dream but he's already forgetting it, on their way back to the palace he sees a thin plaeman holding a bottle, it is a city-in-a-bottle containing the greatest city that ever existed, the man tells al-Rashid that he did not make it and it is not for sale.
Then, in what might be the present time we are with an old-man and a boy. The man is finishing the story but the boy has questions as to what happened next, but the boy has no more money or cigarettes so he has nothing else to tell him.
P. Craig Russel's art is some of the best that the whole series would ever see. His smooth minimalist style is perfect for the tone of the story and the style it seeks.
This would also be the start of a long running collaboration between Russel and Gaiman. Years later Russel would adapt the visual novel to Sandman Dream Hunters then again later an adaptation to Gaiman's novel's Coraline and The Graveyard Book.
The World's End, purely coincidence. The cover sets the scene nicely, the house in-view is placed on the edge of a cliff while also in a box that cuts it off from the rest of the background. This invokes the themes of being at then end or edge of something while also being self contained or separated from the rest.
It opens with a monologue of someone telling a story. It is a man that is driving along the road, the woman he is traveling with, Charlene, is fast asleep, it's past three and then it starts to snow, which wouldn't necessarily be odd except it's the middle of June. Next thing an animal of some kind appears right in-front of the road and he swerves off and the car crashes. He gets out and pulls Charlene with him, he carries her, planning to wave down a car or find a phone, he walks and walks but cant find either. He drops to the ground, then a voice calls out to him telling him that he should get moving, he does and eventually sees lights in the distance. He finds an Inn called "Worlds End" and goes inside.
Inside the Inn are people, it is lit by candles and he asks for a phone, one of the bearded patrons says there isn't one but sees to Charlene. When he stands it is revealed that he is a Centaur. The man introduces himself as Brant Tucker, he is very disoriented with everything, one of the people in the Inn (that looks like an Elf) says that everyone that's there is because of the snowstorm, but another says it isn't a snowstorm, but a "Reality storm." He then drink a beverage given to him by the landlady and then goes to sleep. He then wakes later and finds Charlene sitting at a table where everyone is telling stories, he wants to apologize but another story is beginning, an old man say that it is "The Tale of Two Cities."
It is a tale about a man named Robert, he lived in a city, he would love to walk the city streets and see the sights that it would offer. However one day, while in the subway a mysterious train pulls-in, he enters, inside is a strange man with white skin and black hair and coat. He exits the train and while running he comes across places that seem failure but only like faded memories. Then he encounters an old man, he asks where they are. The old man has a theory, he explains that everything sleeps, even cities. The city is dreaming and they are caught in its dream. The city wakes and Robert is returned, the narrator tells him that he met Robert in an old house in Scotland and that is where he heard the tale.
Alec Stevens gives us very stylized art. Very blocky, somewhat like Frank Miller's art on Sin City. Not my favorite type of art but I do appreciate when an artist tries to go in a different direction from the conventional.
At this point I should mention that the opening and closing pages are drawn by Bryan Talbot, the rest of the pages in-between are drawn by a different artist. This is a really good idea, having the same artist for all of the cabin scenes helps create consistency and when we get a different artist for when the storytelling commences it a) creates a more striking effect of having the narrator's story have the art shift and b) allows different artist to shine within the story-arc.
Moving onto the next issue, Cluracans Tale. It opens with Brant Tucker finishing in the toilet and rejoining the story telling table, Cluracan volunteers to be the next teller of a tale, he pours himself some wine and tells it. It consists of Cluracan being an envoy to the queen, he travels to the kingdom but the king imprisons him and he escapes through cunning and daring as well as help form his sister Nuala. The Sandman makes an appearance, he completes his task then returns to his home, with a story to tell people over a fire and a drink.
Back at the inn the keeper questions how accurate the story is. Cluracan does admit that he may have made it a little more exciting that the real events but such is the duty of a storyteller. Some of the others criticize him but he says that he has told a story, now he will drink and listen to someone else's.
Issue 53, Hobs Leviathan, is a story about how things have changed and memorable moments that happen on journey's. The cover consists of two bodies, one with a ship as part of it, the other is a mannequin of a woman's body with star mask over it. This tells us that a ship is featured in the story, there will be two key players and gender as well as identity will play a part.
We open in the Inn and a young boy named Jim is telling the story. He tells how he was a sailor for many ships even when he was young, on one of his voyages a man named Mr Gadling sought passage on the ship, it is granted. Over the course of their journey, Jim works hard on the ship when suddenly a stowaway is discovered. It's an Indian gentleman that needs to get to Liverpool, the Captain of the ship is uninterested but after an intervention from Mr Gadling the gentleman is granted passage as-well.
One day, all seems well, but dark clouds and strange ripples on the sea are heading right towards the ship. The ripples are fish, many fish, so many, enough to last a whole other journey. But then it is revealed that the fish were swimming from something.
Then we come to the glory shot of the the issue, an entire two-page spread of an enormous leviathan looking down on the small (by comparison) ship with the waves crashing over it.
When the ship finally docks at their location none of the other shipmates have mentioned the Leviathan again. Gadling wishes Jim well but tells him that the boy disguise wont last forever. She wishes him well and he says "Call me Hob."
To be honest only during the second time reading this did I realize that Mr. Gadling was Hob. Now that I do I appreciate this issue a lot more. This is an interesting story about gender identity and paying off a throwaway line that was previously in an earlier issue (13). But it really is all about getting the incredible image of the Leviathan.
Issue 54, The Golden Boy is a weird one. I just don't know what to say, it's certainly unusual. The cover consists of a large face in the background but the most striking part of the cover is the left-hand that is parts of the American flag.
It opens with Tucker, he speaks with a mysterious man that enquirers who was the president of America when he left, he says that it was Bill Clinton and before that George Bush and before that Ronald Reagan, the stranger deduces that he must be from "One of those Americas, you have my sympathy." He then goes on to tell him of a boy named Prez (short for president) and how he was brilliant at all things, but there is this strange man throughout his life called Boss Smiley, a man in a suit with a head that looks like those yellow smiley faces. Throughout his life he succeeds in his goals, he becomes president, marries the girl of his dreams. But then she dies, Boss Smiley comes back to make him an offer, he declines and then he is at the golden gates, the Sandman appears and then others stuff that I'm unclear of and it seams like he continues on a journey to the unknown.
This character is apparently one of those old underground characters that the public had forgotten about and probably most of DC at the time.
To be honest I had forgotten about this issue until I re-read it. I just don't know what it's saying or how I'm suppose to feel about it. The only thing I can definitely say is that this is the weakest issue in the whole run. But it's like the Nostalgia Critic's
Top 11 Worst Avatar Episodes, and that's there are no bad issues of Sandman, there are just the ones that aren't great and just good. I suppose the real point of the issue is to acknowledge that there are multiple dimensions (or the multiverse to those that are more well-versed on their comic-book lore).
The next issue we are give a glimpse into what the dead do and burial rituals, among other things. Again we open in the Inn, Brant Tucker is re-joining the story table, he just mist-out on one but he asks if anyone else has a story. There is someone that does, a zombie looking man that is eager to tell his story.
We are shown a city of the dead were corpses roam, their society seems to revolve around preparing the dead or something to do with serving to needs of the deceased in some way. We learn from Klaparoth that the young corpse is named Petrefax, he is a student at a school for burring or disposing of the dead. The school-day plays-out and he is ordered to help with a specific burring ritual. He goes and the ritual takes place, with all the gory innards of the dead displayed, as it does others tell stories and others within the stories tell theirs, while it is going on we see that one has encountered Destruction.
Back at the Inn Klaparoth tells him to be quite because to say more would be to tell them secrets their not meant to know. Brant Tucker says he's figured it out, their all dead, he is wrong, but if that's not the case he asks if anyone else can give a better explanation. The Innkeeper says she can.
Ultimately this is a story about how we or more accurately others deal with the dead, it is a dark, twisted story that ultimately is more of an example of how much you can fit into a single issue.
The next issue is the finale of the story-arc. The cover is similar to 51, the start of the story-arc. We are on the other side of the cliff looking at the other side of the Inn, the box is around the cliff and the Inn again but now we can see a figure (that looks a lot like The Sandman) in the background. It invokes the feeling of a revelation, like a new perspective has been taken and we understand more.
Inside Brant Tucker wants to know what the place really is, the Innkeeper explains that it is the place at the end of all worlds. Charlene then questions why tell stories, the Centaur tells her that it's what travelers do. She understands that but then criticizes all the stories for being male oriented, then tells everyone about her life and how she doesn't really have a story. Then someone points out that something is happening outside.
Outside the window, colors are swirling and shaping, like a some kind of psychedelic imagery. Then someone tells them to look up. When they do they see a gigantic figure marching over the mountain-scape, the one is then followed by others, carrying a coffin. The point of interest is that we can recognize most of the figures, the first is Destiny, then Lady Bast and Merv Punmpkinhead. The last are what are obviously Death and Delirium. Remember this.
With the march over so is the storm and it means that everyone can go their separate ways and continue on their journey's. While Brant is leaving Charlene tells him that she's staying, she doesn't want to leave and she can stay in the Inn if she works. Then we are in a dark kafetaria and Brant is wrapping-up his story to a woman behind the bar, apparently all of Charlene's information has been erased, she suggest that she was never real and it was part of the crash, but Brant knows that it was all real. Now he has told his story he leaves and wishes the barmaid a good night, he leaves and she does the same.
I feel that this is my least favorite story-arc. And after re-reading it I did find that I liked it more. But ultimately, out of everything I didn't care as much as was not as engaged as I was with others. This might be a factor that the rest of Sandman is so good and so creative that the standard is possibly too high. But in the end I read the stories and wasn't awed by the creativity, I just felt lead through something that had been made-up. I understand the point of it fine, everyone has a story to tell, Brant Tucker doesn't really have one but after his time at the Inn he does and Charlene is probably about to get hers.
For the voices of the characters: There is a moment in issue 40 where Mathew says Cain sounds like Vincent Price so that is the voice I read him in now. When we first meet Destruction he uses Scottish phrases so that's what I first heard while reading him, but when we meet him in present he doesn't. So to me his accent had changed over the centuries, which actually fits with the character.
Like in the last edition we get a short story about Desire. This one is modeled around a real person, the writer Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It is about Dante and his wife Elizabeth going on a train journey with another poet friend, while they are one their journey a figure joins them (clearly Desire). They exit at a stop and go into the winter woods for their picnic, before he/she departs they are told that they will find their true love at the center of the woods. While walking, the woods become springtime, they journey and at the center Dante finds another him, he was always in-love with himself. Cut to a later time and Elizabeth has died and as a token of affection Dante had his poems and painting buried with her, a year later he had her dug-up to get them back (this is a true story). This one shows him/her is a less sympathetic light than he/she was in the last editions short story.
Again just like in the last edition we get a gallery of pieces of art by numerous talented artists, with their take on the Sandman world and characters. Out of these I would name Death by Greg Capullo, The Endless by John Totleben as my favorite. Also as has become customary with these absolute editions, we get a behind the scenes look at the creation of an issue with original pencils and the script. This one is issue 50 and it works a little differently than the others. Gaiman had started writing the script in a more loose format but that was all Russel needed because he had been working on a lot of adaptations, so the script is more like bullet-point notes and the pencils (at least ones that we are shown) were more like thumbnails. It's good because this is a different form of collaboration that we get to see.
I would say that this is my favorite of all the volumes. True it does have my least favorite story-arc in it but it also has my favorite at the same time. Plus even if is not my favorite it isn't bad by any sense of the word, it just isn't as good as I've come to expect form the previous arcs (also coming directly after Brief Lives doesn't help it).
