Sandman (Vol.2)
The Doll’s House
(Issues 9-16)
by Neil Gaiman
DC Comics, 1989
Adult
230 Pages
The sign reads: Annual Cereal Convention! The Corinthian will be attending. You know, the guy with teeth in his eyes? Well, maybe I should have been clearer. It should be spelled “Serial,” and the attendees are very… special… people.
The story begins with a prelude that shows what happens when one of the Endless falls in love. It is a coming of age story told to the members of an unknown tribe. Later we find out that it is only the men’s version that is told. A queen named Nada is enamored of Morpheus, then realizes that being in a relationship with a demi-god may not be the wisest choice. This is a seemingly un-related inclusion, but does come up in later storylines.
Here, Dream takes stock of his kingdom after his absence (in Sandman Volume One: Preludes & Nocturnes,) and discovers that some of its denizens, nightmares of course, are missing.
Four of the Major Arcana are gone, sire. They are not to be found in the Dreaming.
Brute and Glob (symbolizing Brute Strength and Base Cunning,) The Corinthian, and Fiddler’s Green are all AWOL.
Meanwhile, Rose Walker, whose life is a bit of a mystery, discovers a grandmother she has never met before. The grandmother sends her on a quest to find Rose’s missing brother, Jed, who has been passed from foster home to foster home. To meet this challenge, Rose moves into an apartment building filled with strange people: Gilbert, Quixotic knight errant; the couple Ken and Barbie, blondes who annoyingly finish each others’ sentences; and Chantal and Zelda, spider collecting women who both wear wedding gowns around the house, in addition to transvestite landlord, Hal. (She also meets Matthew the Raven, sent by Morpheus to watch her.)
It turns out Brute and Glob have created a new Sandman hero, but he’s only a ghost in his wife Hippolyta’s dream. When Morpheus finds them they are punished by being enigmatically sent to “The Dark.”
Clarice and Barnaby receive $800 a month from the state for Jed. Three years ago he ran away. Since then he has been locked in the basement.
Rose tracks down her brother as the Sandman tracks down his missing children, but the real wrench in the works is that Rose is a “Vortex.” They only show up once in a great while, and must be fixed by the Dream Lord. That consists of ending its life. Luckily, Rose has found a protector that knows the Dreaming well.
The ending is a bit twisty, all stemming back to the years Morpheus was imprisoned. I would call it a happy ending despite the trail of terror left by the Corinthian. Then there is a epilogue that explains some of the inner conflict within the family of the Endless. It seems that Desire was actually to blame for the creation of the Vortex in the first place.
When the last living thing has left the universe, then our task will be done. And we do not manipulate them. If anything, they manipulate us.
The one story that sticks with me from this chapter of the Sandman is the man who lives forever. He and Dream meet up every hundred years for coffee and talk. It shows Morpheus’ human side, which gives his character so much depth. More than that, the idea that one can simply decide not to die sings out loud.
All the Sandman stories sing in their own imaginative way. You have missed out if you haven’t read at least one. They are available in any library.