OK, ok, I admit it. Until now, I had never read Sandman. In fact, I’d never read anything in the general Sandman universe, made more pathetic by the fact that my older non-comics-reading sister owns to this day Death: The High Cost of Living,
which she bought as it came out all those years ago. Well, as any
self-respecting comic fan must do at one point or another, I’ve finally
begun my journey into the land of dream, and the first leg was quite a
trip.
The Sandman was of course one of the first titles in DC’s
Vertigo imprint, though it didn’t become a part of the line until more
than halfway through the series at issue #47 (the same month the
aforementioned Death #1 shipped), due solely to the fact that
until then the line simply didn’t exist. Having begun as a “Suggested
for Mature Readers” DC Universe comic, there is far more interaction
with the greater DCU in this first volume than readers would expect
from any current Vertigo title. This really surprised me in my reading
of the first volume, as I’m so used to Vertigo characters, even those
who’ve previously been in the DCU, staying in the Vertigo realms.
I digress. The story of course follows the titular character, the
Sandman of myth. He’s also known as Morpheus, or simply Dream. The name
“Dream” apparently becomes more important later, as his Endless
siblings bear “D” names as well (Death, Destiny, and Desire are all
mentioned in the very first issue).
This first tale starts with Dream being captured by an amateur
sorcerer. The capture is all a mistake, as the sorcerer was attempting
to capture Dream’s sister Death to attain eternal life. Dream is
immediately stripped of three totems of power, a gas mask, a bag of
sand, and a ruby amulet, and held in prison for 70 years. During his
imprisonment, his captors attempt to bargain with him- his release for
their eternal life and power. During his absence, sleep and dreaming
was all out of whack. This captivity is even used as the
explanation/origin for Wesley Dodds becoming the super-heroic Sandman
of the Justice Society of America. When his original captor Roderick
Burgess dies, Alex Burgess takes over as captor, still trying to make
the same deal. One day, when Dream feigns death, Alex’s men open the
lock and cross the magic binding circle, freeing him.
After a short but vicious revenge, the book becomes a journey of
restoration. It turns out those totems of power are actually infused
with parts of Dream and his power. They’ve spread through the DCU since
they were taken from him, and he has to try to regain control over the
dreamworld while getting his items back. The start of his journey
introduces us to the Hecateae, the three-in-one witch who gives Dream a
general idea of where to look for his missing items.
This brings us to another confession. Prior to this story, I had never
actually read any appearances of John Constantine. I’d heard of the
character of course, and done my due diligence as a comic fan, learning
what I could about him without actually reading his books. So, it was
nice to be introduced to the British paranormal investigator/magician.
“Something just seems to be trying to tell [him] somebody” as he hears
and sees constant references to the Sandman before Morpheus arrives in
his life. John had the mystic pouch of sand, but as it turns out, an
old girlfriend stole it, and became a dream junkie. At John’s request,
Dream was merciful and gave her a peaceful death- she spent so much
time in the dreaming that she was bound to die anyway.
Next our hero goes to Hell, wherein some of the creepiest looking
demons I’ve ever seen are there to greet him. The demon Etrigan ties us
further to the DCU, as he takes Dream on a tour of Hell. Here is the
first appearance of the Vertigo Lucifer, along wit the other current
kings of Hell. Dream finds out which demon took his helm (the gas mask
looking thing), and essentially freestyle battles him. Winning his
helm, Dream shows his greatest power, his intelligence, and walks out
of Hell.
The Ruby, his final piece, is much more complicated and takes up the
rest of this first volume of the trade collections. Doctor Destiny was
using it to make dreams real and attack people with it. We see Arkham
Asylum, Scarecrow, Granny Goodness, the Justice League International,
Martian Manhunter, and Mister Miracle. J’onn actually recognizes Dream
as an ancient Martian god; this is a really interesting story point
that I’d love to see explored further, but is pretty much left alone.
The race is on between Dr. Destiny and Dream, both trying to reclaim
the Ruby. Dream gets to it first, but Dr. Destiny has tainted it, and
he can’t use the power inside. Dr. D gets it back, and uses it to
terrorize a small diner, getting re-acquainted with his toy.
Eventually, the two face off in a battle essentially of Dream’s power
versus Dream’s power. Dr. D, thinking he will be able to kill Dream by
destroying something that holds his power, crushes the Ruby. Upon
destruction, it releases the borrowed power back into Dream. He returns
Dr. Destiny to Arkham Asylum (again showing incredible mercy), and even
gifts all of Arkham with a peaceful night of sleep.
The book is rounded off by a nice brother-sister story as Dream walks
with Death and she completes a day’s work. It’s very interesting to see
the embodiment of Death portrayed as a kind-hearted, fun-loving cute
girl.
This first book has me absolutely hooked. I’ve got the other volumes
now, to make short work of, I’m sure. This story being so connected to
the DCU definitely made it easier for me to get into; I felt like I
already knew a bit of the world this story lived in. The artwork is
unique and probably wouldn’t play too well in a new book today, but it
works great for this old story and really looks gorgeous, creepy, and
peaceful at all the right times. My first step into the land of dream
was quite the leap. It definitely makes me wonder what else The Sandman
has in store for me in the future.
