The Sandman (1988) #1-3

The Sandman #1-3

Originally released in 1988

Written by Neil Gaiman

Art by Sam Keith and Mike Dringenberg

I chose to read Sandman, as continuing through the first issue, its ties to the broader DC universe seem to be loose at best. (the Golden Age hero Sandman is mentioned, but that's the extent of it at the moment, and he has nothing to do with the plot)  Rather, the book is a fantasy story focusing on one of the Endless, Dream. (also known as Morpheus)  The Endless embody certain concepts, such as Death and Desire - a group of occultists try to summon and imprison Death, only to imprison Dream instead.

This leaves part of the population without dreams for several decades, stuck in an unending sleep until Dream is eventually freed.  However, a lord of dreams is also a lord of nightmares, and in return for trapping him for seventy years, he forces the son of his original captor into an unending nightmare, making him think that he's woken up over and over again only to face some new horror.

Dream returns to find his kingdom decayed and his powerful artifacts scattered to the winds.  We get a brief glimpse of what his kingdom originally looked like, but the decades have not been kind to it in his absence.

He summons Hecate to answer three questions about the location of the sources of his power - one was once in the hands of John Constantine, one was traded to demons in exchange for protection, and one (which was in the possession of the supervillain Doctor Destiny until recently) is currently in the hands of the Justice League. (so this story does involve superheroes and other DC characters, though it's not about them - a bit of a gray area, but my options seemed limited, with most of the Vertigo material seeming to consist of characters with ties to the broader DC universe like Constantine or standalone material such as Preacher, and I really don't want to read the works of Garth Ennis if I can help it)

Between Constantine, the demons, and the Justice League, he chooses to track down Constantine first, dooming his expedition with one simple question.

Morpheus is a mysterious figure, stoic but ultimately kind.  Constantine seemingly compares him to Martian Manhunter (or at least to a big green man with no sense of humour), and the comparison seems apt.  He may be serious, but when confronted with a junkie who took a bag of Morpheus's sand from Constantine, used it to get high, and is dying as a result, he gives her a peaceful dream as she's dying.

The series hasn't taken full advantage of the nature of how bizarre dreams can get, only offering brief glimpses, though the potential is definitely there.  On a day where I have a lot of free time, I'd gladly go back to this series and see how it continues.  I like the premise, and I'd be interested in seeing more of Dream, his kingdom, and the other entities that are similar in nature to Dream. The premise of the series seems straightforward to start, with Dream trying to regain his power by finding the three artifacts, though that seems like it will only cover the first few issues, and I wonder what will happen once that quest is done.