Title: Madame Xanadu – Volume 1 Disenchanted

Author: Matt Wagner
Art: Amy Reeder Hadley

Genre: Graphic Novel/ Fantasy

Publisher: Vertigo
Publishing Date: July 2009
Paperback: 240 pages

Stand Alone or series: This is a self contained collection with the first 10 issues of the new Madame Xanadu series . It can be read as a stand alone story.

Why did I read the book: Kaz Mahoney told me it was good.

How did I get the book: Borrowed from Kaz Mahoney

Summary: Legendary creator Matt Wagner (MAGE, GRENDEL, SUPERMAN/BATMAN/WONDER WOMAN: TRINITY) and rising star artist Amy Reeder Hadley, present Vertigo’s newest ongoing fantasy epic MADAM XANADU.

Centuries long and around the far reaches of the globe, her tale winds before the ageless fortuneteller, whose powers of sight can change the course of human events.

As the mysterious past of Madam Xanadu is slowly unraveled, Wagner takes us on a journey throughout her history, from a medieval kingdom beset by foul sorcery to the court of Kublai Khan. Eventually Madam Xanadu returns to Europe as mystic advisor to Marie Antoinette, and as political tensions begin to boil, the Phantom Stranger makes his return. This time he seeks to kick-start the revolution and ensures that Paris’s streets run red – a blood sacrifice that will keep certain demonic forces at bay.

Review:

Confession: I had no idea who Madame Xanadu was before reading this Graphic Novel as I am not a DC connoisseur ( I am a Marvel Girl – ha – all the way; except you know, for Batman) ; I only decided to read it for two reasons: the recommendation from Karen Mahoney and the fact that Death from The Sandman makes an appearance. I did do a bit of homework (read: Wikipedia-ed) , in order to get my bearings and learnt that she is a minor, supporting character in the DC universe who use magic Tarot Cards to predict the future and help other characters with their supernatural problems playing a role of advisor without ever directly interfering. She is immortal and has some magical powers of her own.

In this new series by Vertigo, she is given a revamp and put in a central role. This first volume covers the first 10 issues in what can be described as an Origin story; it provides more information about the character throughout the ages and you can read only this first volume, as it has a definite ending in a self-contained story.

The volume is divided into 5 stories, each set in a different era, following Madame Xanadu in critical moments of her life. Starting with her true identify as the nymph Nimue (Yep, THE sorceress Nimue), in Arthurian times, sister to Vivienne and Morgana and the person that has a major role to play in the fall of King Arthur by being the one to take Merlin out of the equation. In this retelling, she has good reasons (which portray Merlin as a *gasp* villain) for doing so but her meddling has serious consequences. In this first story, she also encounters for the first time (at least from her point of view) The Phantom Stranger, a powerful time-traveller, observer of events who will make appearances in all stories at key moments.

The other stories follow Madame Xanadu as she spends time an advisor in the court Kubla Khan (in Xanadu hence her name), during the French Revolution where she befriends the Queen and will meet –and beat – Death, in London when Jack the Ripper is doing his worst and finally in America in the early twenties and her role in the appearance of The Spectre .

It is in this last story that all becomes clear, the story comes full circle ,showing just how Matt Wagner played his hand (ha, I am full of the intended puns today) with intention and design from the start making it all connect including that A-Ha Moment I tend to love. For that, for the interesting story (or history?) , I just loved this collection.

The insight into Madame Xanadu’s past is also an examination of history, of destiny and of will as with each encounter with the Phantom Stranger raises all of these issues. His fatalistic, inflexible attitude is in direct contrast to Xanadu’s indignation and frustration with they should or should not, do. Inaction vs. Action, Observing vs. Interfering , these are very intriguing concepts that interest me as a reader, and which pulled me right into the story. I also loved their tragic relationship: starting with a lot possibility and turning into antagonism over the centuries.

With regards to the artwork – I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It definitely has a slightly Manga-inspired feel (look at her eyes!) and since I am a fan, I thought it worked quite well. The background colours, the richness of the details were stunning:

Not bad. Not bad at all!

Notable Quotes/ Parts

Ah, as a total Sandman and the Endless fangirl, I obviously LOVED the encounter between Death and Madame Xanadu.

Additional Thoughts:

This collection, following Xanadu through the ages reminded me a lot of another collection of stories: Fables and Reflections, volume 6th of The Sandman which also has Morpheus through the ages. Funny enough, there is a story set during the French Revolution as well.

Also, speaking of Manga and of an Immortal who reads Tarot to help supernatural beings, if you like this combination, I highly recommend The Tarot Café by Park Sang-Sun.

The Tarot Café is a series with 7 volumes (all already published ) that follow Pamela, the Tarot reader in question. I really liked reading it.

Verdict: All in all, I really liked this volume: I liked learning about the character, like this specific story, loved the character’s interactions with the Phantom Stranger and LOVED the artwork. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole

Last month we had Marg over to review Stephen King’s It. This month’s victim? The unsuspecting Graeme from Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review! After Graeme admitted to us that he had never read Neil Gaiman’s epic Sandman comics, we had to Dare him. (Yes, again. We know this is the third Preludes and Nocturnes review here, but it’s really just that damn good).

The catch, of course, is that Graeme then turned around and dared to Dare US! We are over Graeme’s blog today, with our review of the fantasy novel The Briar King.

Title: The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy/Horror

Publisher: Vertigo (DC Comics)
Publication Date: December 1993
Trade Paperback (softcover): 240 pages

Stand alone or series: The first graphic novel in a 10 volume series.

Why did we RECOMMEND this book?: Is this really necessary? WE. LOVE. GAIMAN. (And how fitting considering the announcement yesterday that his The Graveyard Book won the Newberry Award!)

Summary: (from NeilGaiman.com)
A wizard attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. Fearful for his safety, the wizard kept him imprisoned in a glass bottle for decades. After his escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On the way, Morpheus encounters Lucifer and demons from Hell, the Justice League, and John Constantine, the Hellblazer. This book also includes the story “The Sound of Her Wings” which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl, Death.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you Grame!

———-
Graeme:

It’s only in the last year or so that I’ve started reading comic books again, I used to read them at college until I got completely sick of constant ‘Marvel Crossovers’… (a man only has so much money to spend!) I’ve got a bit more money these days so it was inevitable that my comic book habit would start up again and now it consists of anything with zombies in it (‘Quick Gratuitous Plug’ coming up for my two favourite series! Check out ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘The Goon’, well worth your time!)

One series that I’ve never picked up is Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’, partly because I wasn’t sure my wallet could stand the commitment of picking up all those trade paperbacks and partly because the only people I’ve ever seen reading ‘Sandman’ all have long black trench coats and interesting hair (I don’t have a long black trench coat, my hair is always interesting but not for the reasons that you might think… dammit…)

Being a fan of Gaiman’s novels (‘Neverwhere’ and ‘Stardust’) the ‘Sandman’ series has always interested me and when Thea and Ana dared me to have a read of ‘Preludes and Nocturnes’ I just knew it was time to go for it. There was also a bit of male pride happening… I’m a man dammit! Your puny dares cannot harm me! ;o)

Having said that though, I still got my Mum to pick ‘Preludes’ up for me as a Christmas present. If I didn’t like it then at least I wouldn’t have spent any money on it ;o) As it turns out, while I’ve saved myself some money on ‘Preludes’ the sheer act of reading it means that I’m now going to have to go out and buy the rest of the series. I’m now a fan…

In 1916 an occult sect sought to trap Death and gain immortality (for their leader in the process). The ritual didn’t quite work though; Dream (Death’s younger brother) is summoned instead and imprisoned in a glass globe. It would be a very boring book if Dream didn’t escape; he does and must regain his stolen possessions if he is to stand any chance of rebuilding his kingsdom. A journey into Hell (and Hell on Earth) awaits…

The bottom line is that I was completely blown away by ‘Preludes and Nocturmes’. It’s usually books that have me spellbound in this manner (comics are good fun but easy to put down) but there was just no way that I was going anywhere, or doing anything, until ‘Preludes’ was finished. Neil Gaiman knows how to tell a good story and he’s more than happy to share them with the rest of us, ‘Preludes’ is no exception to this rule. You wouldn’t have thought that there would be an awful lot of tension and story around a guy sat in a glass cage would you? I wouldn’t have thought so but Gaiman proves us all wrong by telling the story of the people outside the cage instead, setting events up for the future. When Dream finally escapes he takes his revenge in some particularly horrifying scenes that stayed with me right until I went to bed (and while I was asleep too, stupid dreams…), the mark of some truly masterful storytelling. Full of power and impact…

Dream must then go on his travels to regain his stolen possessions and this is where things went a little bit wonky for me… One thing I hate when I’m reading is the ‘video game effect’ where it gets really obvious that the hero must complete a stage (and fight an ‘end of level boss’) before he can go on to the next level. Because ‘Preludes’ collects the first few issues of ‘Sandman’ it sometimes feels very repetitive in this respect.
This is only a small concern though when placed against the story that Gaiman tells. It’s epic in scope (taking in Earth, Hell, Earth again and the Realm of Dream) but still manages to give us a look into all the characters that left me almost thinking of them as real people. Dream delivers justice to those who would seek to control him, and his realm, and in doing so shows that there may be a hint of humanity about him after all.

The world of The Dreaming isn’t one that I wanted to leave and it will only be a short farewell as I’m off to my local comic shop on Friday. It’s frequently unsettling, and occasionally horrifying, but ‘Preludes and Nocturnes’ is just gorgeous and stunning the whole way through. Like I said back at the start, I think I’m now a fan! If only all dares could be like this…

———-

Thanks Graeme for the fabulous review–and we’re stoked that you too are now enamored by The Sandman! As for all Dares being this way, I’m sure we can figure something out…

Next Victim Guest on The Dare: Kristen of the always wonderful Fantasy Cafe will join us in February! Kristen admitted that she hadn’t really read much female protagonist centered Urban Fantasy, so we Dared her to give Kim Harrison’s Dead Witch Walking a read!

The Hollows, as you may know, is Thea’s numero uno all-time favorite Urban Fantasy series–so we are excited to see what Kristen thinks of it!

And wouldn’t you know it, she had the nerve to pull a Graeme on us! Next month we will be over at Kristen’s spot, reviewing one of her favorite novels: Melusine by Sarah Monette.

That’s all for now folks. See you again later on another Guest Dare! And remember: YOU COULD BE NEXT.

Another Sunday, another stash! (No football though)

News, News, News

We have just learned that Joel Sutherland and Mike Stone have BOTH made the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Award!!!!!! Joel’s debut novel Frozen Blood (our review HERE; interview with Joel HERE) has gotten a nod in the “Superior Achievement in a First Novel” catergory, while Mike’s collection Fourtold (our review HERE; interview with Mike HERE) has been honored in the “Superior Achievement in a Collection” category.

We have read, reviewed and loved both works and are so thrilled that Joel and Mike’s talent are being recognized by the horror community. A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU! And we will keep our fingers crossed that you will both make the final ballot and officially become nominees.

For anyone (especially active HWA members) who might be interested in reading Frozen Blood or Fourtold for consideration, please check out Joel’s and Mike’s blogs.

Speaking of authors, The Deadline Dames website & blog is now up and running! Noted urban fantasy, paranormal romance and YA authors Rachel Vincent, Devon Monk, Jackie Kessler, Jenna Black, Keri Arthur, Lilith Saintcrow, Rinda Elliot, Toni Andres, and our very own Karen Mahoney make up the femme fatale team that runs the blog. They offer awesome giveaways, writerly advice, and just some damn insightful commentary on writing and publishing in general. Make sure to stop by and say hi to the Dames.

In book news, information about the sequel to the smash hit dystopian YA novel The Hunger Games has been officially released! Catching Fire will be in stores on September 8, 2009–and apparently it’s gonna be a doozy. If anyone’s planning on attending BookExpo America in NY this May, ARCs will be handed out!

We loved The Hunger Games and eagerly await the release of Catching Fire this fall.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

We have got a helluva week planned for you–are you ready?

On Monday, Ana and Katie (aka Bubbles and Blossum) team up for another Powerpuff Review–Victoria Dahl’s contemporary romance, Talk Me Down. Will they love it or hate it? Will they agree? We shall see.

On Wednesday, we bring you yet another Guest Dare! Graeme of Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review will be here, giving us his review of Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman! (Yes, we realize this will be the third review for Preludes and Nocturnes on The Book Smugglers…if you read the Sandman, you will understand the obsession!).

There’s a twist though! Graeme graciously accepted our Dare, but then he turned around and Dared us back (that dirty rat)! So, on Wednesday while Graeme’s over here, we will be over at his blog giving our joint review of fantasy novel The Briar King by Greg Keyes! Make sure to stop by and say hi to us.

On Thursday, Ana will have an early ARC review for The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor.

But the really big news is…

The Big Cheese:

You may have recalled that in last week’s stash, we alluded to a certain established, popular author. On Friday, Thea will have her review of Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs! That’s not all though–we will also be giving away ONE copy of the book (the giveaway will run for the weekend).

But wait–that’s STILL not all. The review and giveaway marks just the beginning of our Patricia Briggs coverage. On February 8th, Thea will hold an in-person interview with Patricia Briggs herself–and we’ll have another giveaway (details to be announced)! So stay tuned dudes.

Also, Patricia will be on tour during February, promoting Bone Crossed! If you can, try to check her out at a city near you!

February 3
University Books
7:00PM
Seattle, Washington

February 4
Third Place Books
7:00PM
Lake Forest Park, Washington

February 5
Powell’s Books (Beaverton Store)
7:00PM
Portland, Oregon

February 6
Borderlands Books
7:00PM
San Francisco, California

February 7
Mysterious Galaxy Books
2:00PM
San Diego, California

February 8
Barnes & Noble (Bella Terra)
2:00PM
Huntington Beach, California

February 9
Borders (Waters Place)
7:00PM
Ann Arbor, Michigan

And that’s all folks!

~Your friendly neighborhood Book Smugglers.

Last month it was Kmont with the horror novel Summer of Night. This month, we decided to Dare Kate from What Kate’s Reading. Kate’s kryptonite? We Dared her to read and review a graphic novel (her first ever graphic novel read!). Since Kate told us she was a Neil Gaiman fan (and in light of our recent Gaiman Week), we decided to give her a gooder, and Dared her to read…

Title: The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Graphic Novel

Summary: (from NeilGaiman.com)
A wizard attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. Fearful for his safety, the wizard kept him imprisoned in a glass bottle for decades. After his escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On the way, Morpheus encounters Lucifer and demons from Hell, the Justice League, and John Constantine, the Hellblazer. This book also includes the story “The Sound of Her Wings” which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl, Death.

Why did we RECOMMEND this book: Isn’t it obvious by now? We love Neil Gaiman. The Sandman series is not only an exceptional work of comic art, but a literary masterpiece. In our humble opinion, of course. Since Kate read and enjoyed other Gaiman works, we decided that this would be a fitting graphic novel for her to try on her Dare!

And so, without any further ado, we present you with this month’s Guest Dare, and turn the stage over to KATE!

Kate’s Review:

By my body clock it’s four in the morning, and I’m at the Houston International Airport on a layover. I am not naturally a Texas sort of gal. The whole state is too big, it boggles my mind, and I’m just not comfortable here. The air is unnaturally thick, and I just ducked into the bathroom to put on makeup while wishing I had a cute sundress and perhaps some platform sandals to change into so that I might look slightly less alien in this foreign place. I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest long enough to gain the belief that everyone at all times should be within spitting distance of two decent coffee shops, and that every wall should have a field of electrical outlets so that everyone can plug in their MacBooks. As it is I’m sitting at gate B84 by the only available outlet with McDonald’s coffee, merrily tapping on my laptop, a stranger in a strange land. This, I feel, is very appropriate for my review of a graphic novel.

In my entire life I’ve only owned one graphic novel: the Death of Superman. It was the summer of 1993, I was in Chicago, and though I’d never read a comic book I was aware that Superman was dead. Feeling that this was monumental occasion enough to warrant buying a comic book for the first time, I did so. Not ten minutes later I was in a very lovely and posh bookstore on Michigan Avenue, digging through their John Bellairs selection, when a very familiar face and tanned pair of tall legs slid past me.

Tom Selleck? I thought, dumbfounded.

The lady at the till confirmed my suspicion: Mr. Selleck bought books for his kids at that particular bookstore whenever he was in town. She assured me that he was a very nice man and wouldn’t mind if I asked for his autograph. So I did. I don’t remember much of the encounter except that he was in fact very nice even though he was clearly in a rush, and he wore khaki shorts and docksider shoes – very Magnum, P.I. And he also seemed to think it was odd that I wanted him to sign my copy of the Death of Superman, but he did so anyway. It was the only paper product I had. Thus I came into possession of quite likely the world’s only copy of the Death of Superman autographed by Tom Selleck: “To Katie, Aloha, Tom Selleck.” A good friend who was a collector later told me that I’d probably devaluated my graphic novel, but I didn’t care.

So that, in sum total, is my previous experience with a comic book. I never even read it.

When Thea and Ana asked me to review a Neil Gaiman graphic novel, I was pleased with their selection. I enjoyed American Gods, and Good Omens is one of my top-ten books. I’d heard magnificent things about Gaiman’s graphic work, and was interested in delving into The Sandman, eager to see the genius everyone else raves about.

The Sandman series is presented in eleven bound issues, and my responsibility was only the first, “Preludes and Nocturnes.” An occultist group, in an effort to trap Death, mistakenly takes prisoner Death’s brother, the Sandman, also called Dream, Prince Morpheus and many other names. Generations later when the Sandman finally escapes, he is without his three tools he needs to wield power: a pouch, a helm, and a ruby. He sets out to find his instruments, enlisting the assistance of John Constantine, battling the demons of hell, and besting the horrid Doctor Destiny. His power reinvigorated, he falls into a slump until he meets his sister, Death, who gives him a kick in the ass pep talk to get him out of his funk. Thus the preludes end, a satisfying and short introduction to what will become an increasingly complex and intricate story.

The feel of “Preludes and Nocturnes” is definitely that of a prelude, and it’s obvious that many of the smaller characters that seemed to have no pertinence to the plot will pop up later, like Cain and Abel or the Hecateae. As interesting and even amusing as some of these smaller characters are, placing them in the beginning of the book was a little confusing to the casual reader such as myself; many smaller scenes don’t seem to have much to do with the individual book but no doubt have pertinence to the whole, which works when a body intends to read the whole cycle but may be off-putting to the beginning reader. Overall, however, the arc of these particular stories feels like the Odyssey, with Dream traveling and fighting to regain his power – his own homecoming of sorts – and though the graphic novel is only one part of a much larger whole, Preludes and Nocturnes does have an epic feel to it, a journey worthy of Homer with just as dark a bent.

The most malicious and appalling chapter of the book is “24 Hours,” in which the demented Doctor Destiny not only corrupts the world through his control and their dreams, but also torments a coffee shop of regulars into blood, sex, gore, and violence. The development of this particular part is masterful; Gaiman introduces us to each person, their hopes, dreams, and lives in just a few short sentences, but as the hours pass and their characters disintegrate we’re left horrified at their actions and confessions. It was a scene the likes of which I’ve never read and it left me aghast, yet it stands out as an amazingly powerful story, a strong piece of work, and indicative of not only the horror that graphic novels can portray but also the power of that horror in graphic form.

I was most interested to view the art of the novel, as that’s one-half of the whole and an area that I know very little about. To my great surprise, there were only a few images that really took my breath away. One of the most dramatic and (in my opinion) more artistic representations in this series comes just before Dream descends into Hell to battle for his helm. The wide, impressive panoramic view holds a tiny Dream, his midnight blue cloak falling over a dock into the stars, into the nothingness of the heavens, with infinity obvious and Dream only a small, almost human, lurking and lonely part of it. A slightly closer image just before Dream steps off the end of the pier into hell is slightly less impressive, but the shift in perspective is amazingly effective in closing in the viewer’s infinity, and the vantage point from slightly below Dream and the dock magnifies his importance and significance, in defiance of the previous view that made him one tiny part of an infinitesimal whole. The lack of color in the images outside of the blue of his cloak and yellow of the stars also plays into almost an anti-graphic novel aesthetic in this particular series of images with its brooding and deathly palate.

Another favorite image, for the image itself more than for the artistry, is this picture from the fight in hell, with the demons watching the Sandman and Lucifer Morningstar. A very obvious homage to “Star Wars” is front and center, so to speak, and it made me wonder if I knew more about graphic novels if I might see other inside jokes in the illustrations along the way.

To my great disappointment, though, I found the artistic representation of Dream himself lacking and almost amusing, and something I had to get beyond to appreciate any of the other art. To me, Prince Morpheus as he is represented looks somewhat like a slightly Goth-ier dropout from KISS; I had expected gloom, mystery, control, desperation, and instead got a rock-star wannabe? I suppose in context – The Sandman was first published in 1989, the end of the hair band era and the dawn of grunge – the drawing of Dream as a black-cloak-wearing, sharp, jagged-do-sporting, vaguely Mick Jagger-esque antihero would have been different and strange, if not gothic, but the representation did not live up to my expectations of the character. And why do I keep comparing Dream to various bands and rock stars? I can’t help but to think that was an intentional parallel by the illustrators, the similarities are so strong, though I see no evidence or reason for it.

Overall, I can give “Preludes and Nocturnes” a rousing rating of “it’s not bad.” I enjoyed reading it, though honestly not as much as I’d hoped to. I came into my first graphic novel with exceedingly high expectations, gauging by my previous experiences with Neil Gaiman’s written work. I think my reaction to “Preludes and Nocturnes” is based on two very important facts: the first, I am not a visual person, despite a very close association with art and artists for a number of years. Since my mind focuses more on words than images, I’m certain my eyes grazed over plenty of graphics that are probably stunning and impressive, only since my mind wants to learn through the words the images were missed. Second, my mind functions in a very linear fashion, and there were times I had to read and reread pages simply because I was unaware what order the text was supposed to progress since it’s not always as simple as left to right, top to bottom. I wanted more from the words than what I was able to get, because the words are at most only one-half of a graphic novel. As much as anything else, reading “Nocturnes and Preludes” was a fascinating study of my own reading habits as I recognized those above reasons as why I probably never read graphic novels in the first place. However, I can also recognize two other facts: one, for someone more aware of graphic novels, art, or spatial design, The Sandman is probably manna from heaven; I showed my copy of “Preludes and Nocturnes” to one artist who, not even reading any of the text, was immediately engrossed in the imagery. Second, since it’s one part of a very large whole, and only the introductory part at that, “Preludes and Nocturnes” must be better appreciated in the context of that whole.

So here I am, a stranger in a strange land of comic books – er, graphic novels – and the Houston International Airport. The coffee, surprisingly, wasn’t too bad, and though I probably won’t seek out more graphic novels, if any of the Neil Gaimans came my way I wouldn’t say no. So thanks, Book Smugglers, for getting me out of my comfort zone, and thanks, McDonald’s, for a not entirely crap cuppa joe. But now, if only for the humidity and my sense of spatial orientation, it’s time to move on.

Next up for the Guest Dare: Christine from The Happily Ever After does Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn (dark fantasy)!

Once more, a big round of applause for Kate for her fearlessness, and for the wonderful review!

So we come to the end of our Gaiman Appreciation Week. For those who already are Gaiman fans we pray that we have made his books justice with our reviews.

For those who haven’t read his books yet, we hope we have managed to make you a little bit curious. And as an extra incentive, here are some of our favorite quotes from the Sandman:

“Desire, listen to me carefully. Remember this. We of the endless are the servants of the living— we are not their masters. We exist because they know, deep in their hearts, that we exist. “

- Dream, in SANDMAN #16: “Lost Hearts”

“The Endless? The Endless are merely patterns. The Endless are ideas. The Endless are wave functions. The Endless are repeating motifs. The Endless are echoes of darkness, and nothing more. We have no right to play with their lives, to order their dreams and their desires.”

- Destruction, in SANDMAN #48: “Brief Lives:8″

“People think dreams aren’t real just because they aren’t made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”

- John Dee , in SANDMAN #6: “24 Hours”

“Dreams. What are Dreams? Dreams are nothing, my brother.” “Dreams are’nothing’, sister? Without dreams there could be no Despair.”

- Despair and Dream, in SANDMAN #31: “Three Septembers and a January”

“The million lords of hell stand arrayed about you. Tell us, why should we let you leave? You have no power here, for what power have dreams in hell? “

“You say that I have no power? Perhaps you speak truly. But you say that DREAMS have no power? Ask yourselves, all of you, what power would hell have if those imprisoned here could not dream of heaven? “

-Lucifer and Dream, in SANDMAN #4: “A Hope in Hell”

“I am anti-life, the beast of judgement. I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds… of everything. And what will you be then, Dreamlord?”
“I am hope.”

- Choronzon and Dream, playing the oldest game, in SANDMAN #4: “A Hope inHell”

“They talk of me going around buying souls, like a fish wife come market day, never stopping to ask themselves why. I need no souls.And how can anyone own a soul? No.They belong to themselves…they just hate to face up to it.”

- Lucifer, in SANDMAN #23: “Seasons of Mist: episode 2″

“I could never again be an angel… Innocence, once lost, can never be regained. “

-Lucifer, in SANDMAN #23: “Season of Mists: episode 2″

“Been there, Remiel. Done that, wore the tee-shirt, ate the burger, bought the original cast album, choreographed the legions of the damned and orchestrated the screaming…”

- Lucifer, in SANDMAN #60: “The Kindly Ones:4″

“You are utterly the stupidest, most self-centered, appallingest excuse for an anthropomorphic personification in this or any other plane!”

- Death to Dream, in SANDMAN #8: “The Sound of Her Wings”

“Anyway: I’m not blessed or merciful. I’m just me. I’ve got a job to do and I do it. Listen: even as we’re talking, I’m there for old and young, innocent and guilty, those who die together and those who die alone. I’m in cars and boats and planes, in hospitals and forests and abattoirs. For some folks death is a release and for others death is an abomination, a terrible thing.But in the end, I’m there for all of them.”

- Death, in SANDMAN #20: “Façade”

” When the first living thing existed, I was there, waiting. When the lastliving thing dies, my job is finished. I’ll put the chairs on tables, turnout the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave.”

- Death, in SANDMAN #20: “Façade”

“Desire smells almost subliminally of summer peaches, and casts two shadows: one black and sharp-edged, the other translucent and forever wavering,like heat haze…Desire smiles in brief flashes, like sunlight glinting from a knife- edge. And there is much else that is knife-like about Desire… Never a possession, always the possessor, with skin as pale as smoke, and eyes tawny and sharp as yellow wine: Desire is everything you have ever wanted. Whoever you are. Whatever you are. Everything. “

- “SANDMAN #21: “Season of Mists”, episode 0

“Um, what’s the name of the word for things not being the same always? You know, I’m sure there is one. Isn’t there? There must be a word for it… the thing that lets you know time is happening. Is there a word?”"Change.”

- Delirium and Dream, in SANDMAN #43: “Brief Lives:3″

“He was a very clever doggy. He said things like… like… “I would feel infinitely more comfortable in your presence if you would agree to treat gravity as a law, rather than one of a number of suggested options.”

- Delirium describes her dog Barnabas, in SANDMAN #63: “The Kindly Ones:7″

And a quote on Love:

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable.It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life…You give them a piece of you. They didn’t ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like “maybe we should be just friends” or “how very perceptive” turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It’s a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. Nothing should be able to do that.Especially not love. I hate love. “

- Rose Walker, in SANDMAN #65: “The Kindly Ones:9″

The Sandman Vol. 2 – The Doll’s House

Part V: “Collectors”

As Ana has pointed out, very detailed-like, The Sandman series is a groundbreaking, all-encompassing work of literature and art. Ana has thoroughly detailed the major characters with her overview of the series, highlighting The Endless, and most especially Dream. With that framework in place, I’d like to share one of my favorite single issues.

When picking which issue I wanted to review here, a number of the heavy hitters come to mind–i.e. “The Sound of Her Wings”, “24 Hours”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. But, those are always reviewed. So, it came down to two issues for me. “Façade” and “Collectors”…but seeing as Dream (the Sandman himself) isn’t even present in “Façade” (which features Element Girl and Death), I chose “Collectors”.

“Collectors” is issue #14, and featured in The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll’s House.

Dream, recently freed from his crude imprisonment, has been rebuilding his kingdom. This story arc follows Morpheus as he deals with his renegade servants, nightmares that have left The Dreaming for their own pursuits. Dream’s finest creation is one such nightmare, called The Corinthian.

“A nightmare created to be the darkness, and the fear of darkness in every human heart. A black mirror, made to reflect everything about itself that humanity will not confront.”

At least, this is what Morpheus intended of the Corinthian–a means to show humanity its own wicked darkness.

“Collectors” opens on a ‘Cereal’ Convention–many people are making their way out to this isolated hotel, eager to attend this symposium on cereal. Except, really, it has nothing to do with grains and oats–these folks are murderers, serial killers, who meet once a year to exchange stories, tips, discuss theory, upcoming projects etc. And, of course, the keynote speaker, highlight of the convention, is The Corinthian himself. For the past years since Dream’s imprisonment, the Corinthian has assembled quite a following–he has become a renowned murderer, who kills his victims with his trademark devouring of their eyes.

In the larger story arc, a young woman named Rose is looking for her missing younger brother, Jed. A lead has her at the convention hotel, and by some serendipitous happenstance, the Corinthian has come to possession of Jed (who has been through a lot in the prior issues). Rose has been given a name to speak if she finds herself in danger–which, being at a conference of serial killers, she naturally does find herself in danger, and she summons Dream to her aid. Disgraced by the “petty” choices the Corinthian has made with his freedom, Dream destroys his creation, and vows to do a better job when he recreates his servant.

Why do I love this issue so much? I think part of it is because I think one of Neil Gaiman’s largest strengths is his ability to blend genres, and “Collectors” does it with two of my favorites: horror, and fantasy (with a nice touch of dark humor to spice things up). The absurdity of serial killers gathering at a ‘Cereal Con’ is wonderfully nuts–a playful jab at Comic Con and other such conventions we geeks love, the world ’round? Truly, there is a ‘Con’ for almost anything one can think of–why should serial killers be excluded from the fun? Some of the panels are laugh-out-loud funny in a sort of shocking, sick way–for example, the character of Fun Land with his obsession with little children (and some nice creepy allusions to Disneyland), the discussion of the ‘gender politics’ of serial killers, or the ironic rationalizations (“no sanity clause”).

The Corinthian is one of my favorite side characters in The Sandman series, as a deliciously twisted nightmare. He makes a later reappearance in the series, and has his own spinoff miniseries in The Sandman Presents: The Corinthian which details his origins in those years he became a serial killer. I haven’t had the pleasure (er…horror?) of reading the spinoff yet…but you can bet I will very soon.

What exactly is The Sandman?

The Endless who?

The Endless are anthropomorphic embodiments of aspects of nature. They have existed since the first living being in the universe breathed. It is really hard to describe what or who they are – ideas, patterns, that are what they represent. They are bound by duty to perform their functions and seem to think they lack the freedom to completely escape them. If they die, they are simply replaced by another aspect of themselves. They oversee their own realms and everything connected to them.

They are seven siblings:

Death came next – every human being sees Death twice – once when they open their eyes (but they have no recollection of that) and secondly when they are about to close them for the last time. Instead of being the grim reaper that we are used to, Death in The Sandman series is the coolest of characters, youthful and is the closest to Dream. And she loves Mary Poppins!

Then there is Dream – but we will get to him later.

Destruction is AWOL for most of the series. He abandoned his duties on the 17th century when he predicted the construction of the atomic bomb and refused to be part of it. He is known as the “Prodigal”. He may be the wisest of the siblings.

Then there are the twins, Despair and Desire. Despair looks into our world via windows from her realm -the appear like mirrors in ours. “Sometimes you will look into a mirror and feel the eyes of Despair upon you, feel her hook catch and snag on your heart”. Despair likes to keep to herself, Contrary to her twin brother-sister Desire, the trouble maker of the family and one who has a rivalry with Dream. “Desire is everything you have ever wanted. Whoever you are. Whatever you are. Everything.

The youngest is Delirium, who used to be Delight. She comes across as just a lost kid and her appearance is variable and her eyes are mismatched. She speaks in incomprehensible riddles as if her mind was not all there although sometimes we get a glimpse of a sound thought. Rarely. Her realm is open to humans but “those few who have made the journey have been incapable of reporting back more than the tiniest fragments”.

Dream, Dream, Dream

And then of course, we have Dream, The Sandman himself.

Dream is our protagonist as we already know. He regulates the Dreaming, and it’s responsible not only for Dreams and Nightmares but also for everything connected to imagination and inspiration. In his library for example, there are all the books that were ever dreamed of and thought about but never came to existence. Out of the Endless he seems to be the most serious one (well, save for Destiny) and extremely conscious of his function as embodiment of dreams. He is rather obsessed with his responsibilities, a haughty, unforgiving, strict lord whose actions are many times downright cruel but which is in the end fueled by his belief about his place in the cosmos and in what he represents. It is this belief that led him to choose the paths that he chose, one that has kept him apart from most of his brothers and sisters that has made him a terrible and terrifying lover to his paramours and the worst possible father to his son Orpheus.

After his period of imprisonment, he comes to realize that in many ways he needs to change and this realization has serious repercussions throughout the story. There is a choice to be made except that there may be no real choice for a being that has been set in its ways for billions of years.

Dream is one of the Great and Tragic Heroes and you can not help but to be enthralled by the complexity of this character – he may not be the most sympathetic Endless in the series (that role is played by his sister Death) but he truly is the embodiment of everything a truly amazing protagonist should be – powerful and yet vulnerable; with cruel streaks which can turn into kind acts; above all one that is willing to learn even if it takes him too long. He even develops a sense of humor as the story progresses. And we, readers want to be there right with him, at the end.

The Journey

Lucifer then gives Dream the key to hell and Dream must decide what to do. Because this is no trivial matter he is visited by all matter of gods from Chinese, Norse, Egyptian mythologies, by envoys sent by Chaos and by Order, a couple of Fey people and two Angels sent by God himself to observe the proceedings. This is a volume that is not only intellectually stimulating but also pivotal to the end game – even if at the time, you are not aware of it. When things fall into place in the end, I stared awestruck at the pages.

Tell us more!

I could also, theoretically, talk about how there are philosophical themes throughout the story. Dream once, in Shakespearean times meets a man who has made a deal with his sister Death to never die and one that he meets every 100 years – they become friends and now and then the same man will make an appearance. Will he ever tire of immortality?

“You are utterly the stupidest, most self-centred , appallingest excuse for an anthropomorphic personification on this or any other planet! An infantile, adolescent , pathetic specimen!”

You tell him, big sis!

The Sandman from me, gets a 10. It is pure perfection, a classic in the genre and one that I will be reading until I close my eyes for the last time and Death comes to visit me.