"All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books."
-Thomas Carlyle

by Paul Lytle

The Sandman is different than the normal comic in many ways, but most notably it differs because of its growth. Peter Parker is basically the same person he was in the 1960s, but in mere seventy-five issues, Dream, the protagonist of The Sandman, is changed beyond recognition. But not only does Dream change, but the comic itself changes. What began as a horror book turned into a very literary Fantasy, but it is a Fantasy that never quite shrugs off the Gothic (or a hundred other influences, for that matter). The book, in essence, "embrace[s] slapstick comedy, mystical musings, and the grimmest collection of serial killers this side of Death Row" (Barker 7), and does so all at once and without faltering.

Such a combination is not supposed to happen in mere comics, and to a degree he is still being ignored in this field. His influence is real. When the personification of Death appeared in Stephen King's series Kingdom Hospital, his ankh necklace was a clear and direct tribute to Gaiman's own character of Death. The literary world, however, is still reserving judgement. Elizabeth Hand complains that Gaiman is not even mentioned in books like Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin by Richard Davenport-Hines, saying that The Sandman "has had a lasting impact on popular culture and fashion" (Hand 119).

But even if the critics are not quite getting it, a mere glance at the pages quickly reveals the almost unending depth of images, allusions, characters, and story that occupies almost all genres equally. The result is a rich tapestry in which the viewer can find all manner of intriguing detail. Even choosing one element, such as Gothic elements, can provide enough story and detail to fill the imagination quite comfortably.

What is Gothic?

Perhaps we should begin with a loose definition (since that is all we will be able to accomplish) of the term Gothic. We are speaking of the same genre as horror, which does not help us tremendously. After all, horror is not as much a genre as a set of characteristics. We can have fantastic horror (a scary story that involves the supernatural), science-fiction horror (which is realistic, but with those conventions of science-fiction, such as space travel, aliens, et cetera), or realistic horror (usually called thrillers).

Ultimately we have to look at those Gothic elements to adequately define Gothic literature. As the name suggests, we often have ruins (preferably a Gothic abbey or castle) that hosts our adventure. There is often a monster, whether realistic (the Frankenstein monster, for example), fantastic (Grendel), or supernatural (Dracula).

But the two most important elements of Gothic literature are terror and horror, which differ, even though we use them often to mean the same thing. In fact, terror is the sense of tension that precedes the "scare." Horror is the feeling of revulsion or nausia resulting in witnessing the horrible event. When you are walking down the hall of a haunted house, expecting something to jump out at you, you feel terror. After you see the terrible ghost, the feeling changes to horror.

Prelude & Nocturnes

While Preludes & Nocturnes is by far the least artistic of the ten Sandman volumes, it is the one that sits most comfortably in the Gothic genre, and therefore should command most of our attention. The series starts, in fact, as sort of a horror story in reverse. It is a horror cliché that the hubris-ridden scientist or occultist begins probing into areas in which he has no business experimenting. Those outside forces then consume him. We think of Dr. Faustus playing with magic or Dr. Frankenstein testing the limits of science. That is exactly what is going on here. Roderick Burgess is trying to capture Death. Instead, he finds her younger brother, Dream. The reason it is a gothic tale in reverse is that it is not the scientist or occultist who is our protagonist, but rather that outside force. Dream is the hero of this tale.

During the captivity of Dream, many people slip into a coma of sorts. One in particular, Unity Kinkaid, is raped and gives birth without ever knowing it. The capture of Dream, therefore, has brought part of the horror of the dream world into reality.

The Sandman is, in part, a "deconstruction[] of mythology and the superhero" (Hoppenstand 522). We may very well add the Gothic tale to that list, for while this story is wholly dedicated that genre, it also twists the conventions and makes us question who the monster truly is.

That is not to say that he will not act the role of the monster or demon upon obtaining his freedom. He does, but the reader must see immediately that his revenge is ultimately deserved, and we sympathize with his reaction and perhaps even cheer it.

But the series as a whole rights the reversal of the first issue. By the end we understand that Dream is the character who saw the whole world as his laboratory, with all the hubris associated with that. Through his "harmless" playing, he has created the force that will destroy him (the freeing of Loki, the feud with his son, the banishment of Nada into Hell, et cetera). He is brought down at the end, but it had only been his nature that does it.

As we follow Dream home, we are barraged by the Gothic setting. He journeys through a rain storm to a decayed Gothic castle in the middle of the Dreaming. In this world, we immediately encounter witches (the Furies, who warn Dream, even as soon as issue 2, that they have the power to hurt him), gargoyles, dragons, and even a murder. Gaiman's vision of the Dreaming (even after Dream cleans it up a bit) is primarily a place for nightmares. This founding image will carry us through our first story arcs, but the Dreaming changes as the series evolves more into a Fantasy tale than a Gothic one. When we see the Dreaming in the final story arcs (such as when Nuala is dusting the throne room in The Kindly Ones, though the coldness of the scene should tell us something of what is coming later), it is a place of light and depth, with towering ceilings and massive libraries. No longer will it be a place for nightmares, but for dreams of all sorts, which is the domain of Fantasy rather than Gothic.

John Constantine joins Dream in "Dream a Little Dream of Me," where a little bit of that Dreaming has come to Earth through Dream's lost pouch of sand. A woman's own imagination (her dreams) brings about the horror (which will be a theme in many of these early issues). That theme is mimicked in John Dee's story in "Passengers" and "24 Hours," but this second time it is far worse. The pouch was given to someone who could not control it and nor understood what it really was. Dee has the Dreamstone, but he has a pretty good idea how to use it, and he has had quite a bit of practice. This time, the horror does not come completely through uncontrolled dreams, but through dreams controlled by a madman.

The first hint that The Sandman is more than a horror tale is in "The Sound of Her Wings," where Death scolds her younger brother for his melancholy. While Preludes & Nocturnes up until this point had been purely Gothic, this issue begins mixing the genres, which will continue for the rest of the series. For that reason, Preludes & Nocturnes demanded a great deal of attention, but the Gothic elements of the other books will not be so frequent or obvious, and so they can be covered more quickly.

The Short Stories

Still early in the Sandman saga, Dream Country offers four short stories that are at once still solidified in the Gothic genre but also prove the value of The Sandman as a Fantasy story.

The first of these stories, "Calliope," is almost a retelling of the first issue. This time, Richard Madoc, a struggling writer, "buys" the Muse Calliope in order to jumpstart his career. It works, but he is unaware of the history between Calliope and Dream, a history warm enough to bring the wrath of Dream upon Madoc's head. Again we are looking at almost a retelling of Faust, but this one differs from Dream's imprisonment because we are more concerned with the wizard rather than the demon. While Calliope is certainly a helpless victim in the story, Madoc demands and occupies our thoughts and, to an extent, our sympathies. He gets what he deserves, but we are not as happy about it.

"A Dream of a Thousand Cats" is Gothic in its treatment of the cats themselves, giving them supernatural and mysterious powers (which they ultimately do not use). Dreams, expanding on the importance they obtain in The Doll's House, are seen as almost more real than reality, and can in fact alter reality by their power. The graveyard setting is quite apt for this meeting, in which the cats discuss what can only be called witchcraft.

But the most important story in the collection is, of course, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which is the least Gothic of them all in appearance. In the story we have a very Gothic setting — Shakespeare and his players perform the great play in front of the actual Faeries. There are tremendous Gothic elements here, but they are overshadowed by the Fantastic. However, even though it is light that is the focus, the two most important events of the story lie in shadow. The first is the death of Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, which is seemingly (but not expressly) brought on because Titania wanted him to return with her to the Faerie realm. The second is the freeing of a true monster, the real Robin Goodfellow, who will wreck havoc over the series unto the very end of Dream himself. These events are terrifying and broad in their implications, but they are almost forgotten (intentionally on Gaiman's part) by the gaiety of the day.

Most critically, Dream reveals the great truth of The Sandman universe when he says, "Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts and dust are ashes, and forgot" (Gaiman, Dream Country 83). This statement will have a great impact on things to come, because it suggests that the line between story and reality is a very thin one, and easily crossed.

One of the elements of The Sandman that brings about the most terror is the idea of wish fulfillment. Dream will often give you want you want, but not in the way you want it. In this collection, Shakespeare gets his fame and Madoc gets his books, but the gifts may not be worth the price. Ultimately, "the only ones in Dream Country who end up relatively happy are the cats . . . and they're the only ones whose wish isn't granted" (Bender 66). Cats are an interesting choice for this "happiness" because of their comfort in confinement, which may be the reason they seem okay with their current lot in this story.

When Fables & Reflections comes out, the series is already mostly concerned with Fantasy, yet there remains much of that Gothic atmosphere. "Thermidor" follows Johanna Constantine as she must explore the world of the Endless. It begins with a mysterious deal with Dream himself, and ends when she challenges the French Revolution to recover the decapitated head of Orpheus. The magic and mystery of this story is purely Gothic, as well as the questions it raises. Later in the collection, some of those questions are answered as Orpheus' story is told. He defies his father, Dream, by going to Death and asking for passage into the Underworld to rescue Eurydice. The story is familiar, but the break it causes between Dream and Calliope (Orpheus' mother) and Orpheus answers a great many questions and pushes us toward our inevitable conclusion.

"The Hunt" is not a horror tale, but a Gothic one nonetheless in the shape-shifting abilities of the protagonist, Vassily. He is a werewolf, but of a kindly sort, and there is nothing in this story that can particularly cause fear, even in the transformation of the man to wolf. In this, the terrible choices in the lighter "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are reversed into a darker, but more happy, tale. The mood of the former is bright, but in it Shakespeare loses his family and perhaps his soul to writing, while in the latter the atmosphere is dark and brooding, but Vassily finds true love. This reading is suggested by "the book Lucien [seeks] to restore to his library of dreamed tales[:] The Merrie Comedie of the Redemption of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe" (Bender 140). The clear suggestion is that Shakespeare (Marlowe's contemporary) has lost his way while Vassily has gained his own. But the changing of atmosphere is critical. "Dream" is so light that it is difficult to notice the terrible things that are occurring. "The Hunt" feels like a Gothic tale, but is, in fact, a love story. Gaiman is twisting the conventions of Gothic again.

Lastly, "Ramadan" again hides Gothic elements in a very bright atmosphere. In it, Haroun Al Raschid summons Dream to make a wish. Dream again plays the role of the demon, and even gives a veiled warning, saying, "I am no steward, O King. And I mislike summonings" (Gaiman Fables & Reflections 246). The wish, which is granted, is to take Baghdad from the real world and into the Dreaming.

World's End is more Gothic in its setting than its tales. Like The Canterbury Tales, this collection is really a story about people telling stories. But first, our protagonist much reach the supernatural bar that is a meeting place of worlds. It is done on a dark and rainy night, the only car on the road, and a wreck. He goes to the inn for help, only to find that most characters there are not human. Such an atmosphere is a standard in Gothic literature, where the hero finds himself in a place that cannot be and never was, but he must deal with what he finds. Between stories, the people talk and drink, but finally witness a funeral — a funeral we will only experience ourselves in another two volumes, for it is the death of Dream himself that brings about the collision of worlds.

There is one story of particular note, since it draws in the idea of multiple narrators that is utilized in works such as Frankenstein and Dracula. In this story, "Cerements," Klaproth tells a story in which he hears a story of someone meeting Destruction, one of the Endless. Then Destruction tells a story. Considering that the entirety of World's End is being told by the protagonist to a bartender, it is utterly impossible to tell who is telling the truth or is any of it at all is true. The presence of the Endless lends credibility to the stories, since we have already met them, yet we are still lost in a whirlwind of storytelling.

The Novels

The novels, in general, tend to remain more in the realm of Gothic than do the short stories. There is no story in this case that is wholly Fantasy, but neither do we have anything like Preludes & Nocturnes, that is completely dedicated to Gothic. The blend remains.

The Doll's House is really what sets the mood for the series as a whole, since we actually do not see Dream very much in its course. Dream's presence in The Sandman series is the exception rather than the rule, at least until we begin to near the final story arcs.

In this volume, Rose Walker (granddaughter of the now awake Unity Kinkaid) is drawn into what amounts to a trick Desire is playing on his/her brother Dream (what could be more Gothic and terrifying than becoming pawns into a game between gods?). That game will lead her to a motel in which there is a convention for serial killers being held. We are constantly drawn into the theme of the supernatural being the "good" characters while the mortals being the evil ones, and this book is no exception. Rose's companion turns out to be a dream, Fiddler's Green. And both are ultimately rescued by Dream. The except to this generalization is the Corinthian, a nightmare who turned into a serial killer when Dream was captured in the first issue. All of our other nightmares are fully human.

But Dream is not a true good guy here, since he will next demand Rose's life. She is a dream vortex, and very dangerous to the Dreaming. In a sort of deus ex machina, Unity takes her place in death, and Rose is returned to the waking world.

But the true horror of it all comes when Desire's failed plans are fully revealed. It was truly he/she who raped Unity, making Rose a distant relative of Dream. In killing Rose, Dream would have incurred the wrath of the Kindly Ones. We begin to understand quickly that this game between them will become the focus of the series, and one that will become quite violent.

There are only a couple of Sandman stories that use a damsel in distress, but this is the first.

Season of Mists, besides bringing together a series of terrible monsters, is rather tame in its approach to a very Gothic story. In this, Lucifer gives up Hell, closes its gates, and gives the keys to Dream. A line of myths and supernatural beings appear in the Dreaming to try to bribe Dream into giving the keys up.

The Gothic part of the story is mostly in what is happening on Earth at the time. With Hell closed, the dead are beginning to walk the Earth. However, this zombie tale is limited to a small boarding school only, limiting the greater effect of the horror. We are disturbed by the violence and cruelty there, but the story must be one of the happiest ones that could be told of this time.

A Game of You returns to Gothic suddenly and terribly. This time, the action takes place in a fairy-tale type of land, where the dreamer, Barbie (our second damsel in distress, though Barbie is a little more active in her own fate than Rose had been), is a princess trying to defeat the schemes of the Cuckoo. Like the original fairy-tales, this one holds hidden stores of great terror. The gradual destruction of the dream land by the Cuckoo is terrible enough, but in the waking world, Thessaly has decided to rescue Barbie with a little magic. This magic includes cutting a man's face off, nailing it to a wall, and animating it so it could tell its secrets.

The Cuckoo becomes one of the greatest and most memorable of the monsters in The Sandman, not simply because it so thoroughly destroys such a wonderful world, but also because it is ultimately a part of Barbie, and created by her.

In Brief Lives, we see the beginning of the end, though we cannot know it is that quite yet. The novel is a story of family, but in it Dream finally gives Orpheus the death he has so wanted for millennia, not thinking of the wrath of the Kindly Ones. The violence (necessary when seeking someone literally named Destruction) comes in spurts here, but the greater terror is that Dream is taking the first definite steps toward his own death. The series, by this point, only features small sequences of Gothic style, but in the grander sense the story has become a tragedy, and we find fear and horror in Dream's fate.

The wrath of the Furies comes in The Kindly Ones. In this we meet the greatest of Gaiman's monsters, the three Furies are unleashed against Dream, and they begin taking apart his universe piece by piece. But as much havoc as they are causing, they cannot touch him unless he leaves the Dreaming, which he does out of love. Finally Gaiman has given us a beast great enough to destroy Dream, and the Furies proceed to do so. An aspect of Dream survives, creating another Dream to take his place, but he is not the same, and our Dream, the one we have followed for more than seventy issues, is no more. In the emotion series The Wake, his funeral is held and the new Dream takes over.

Conclusions

What begins as a Gothic tale ends in mourning for the very monster that started it. In that way, The Sandman emulates Frankenstein or a story of that nature. But at the same time it is more simply for the fact that it ties in so much for so many people. In The Wake, when literally every living person dreams himself to Dream's funeral, we do not think it odd that so many witness the event. It is only natural, for that is how many people Dream influenced. Jeff Zaleski muses:

With its vast scale, encompassing eons from the birth of time to today, with its gallery of unforgettable characters, from gods to serial killers to Shakespeare and Marlowe, with its marvelous art and wit, ferocity, compassion and astonishing hipness, it spun comics in a more sophisticated direction and earned the indelible loyalty of fans, many of whom took it as a guide to life.

It is all of that in one story. As a Fantasy it's greatest accomplishment is to become as real; as Gothic literature, its greatest accomplishment is to make us love the monster and hate its victim. As literature its greatest accomplishment is to tie all of the human experience together in a man who is not even human. It is, quite simply, an accomplishment, in whatever genre.

Bibliography

Barker, Clive. Introduction. The Doll's House. New York: DC Comics, 1990. Vol. 2 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

Bender, Hy. The Sandman Companion. New York: Dc Comics, 1999.

Gaiman, Neil, et al. Brief Lives. New York: DC Comics, 1994. Vol. 7 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. The Doll's House. New York: DC Comics, 1990. Vol. 2 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. Dream Country. New York: DC Comics, 1991. Vol. 3 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. Fables & Reflections. New York: DC Comics, 1993. Vol. 6 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. A Game of You. New York: DC Comics, 1993. Vol. 5 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. The Kindly Ones. New York: DC Comics, 1996. Vol. 9 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. Preludes & Nocturnes. New York: DC Comics, 1990. Vol. 1 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. Season of Mists. New York: DC Comics, 1992. Vol. 4 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. The Wake. New York: DC Comics, 1997. Vol. 10 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

---. World's End. New York: DC Comics, 1994. Vol. 8 in The Sandman. 10 vols.

Hand, Elizabeth. "The Gothic Revival." The Village Voice 27 July 1999: 119.

Hoppenstand, Gary. "Editorial: Not Your Parents' Comics; or Maybe They Are." Journal of Popular Culture Aug. 2006: 521-522.

Zaleski, Jeff. "Comics! Books! Films! The arts and amibitions of Neil Gaiman." Publishers Weekly 28 June 2003: 46-57.

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