From: al@calsci.UUCP (Al Petterson)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: SANDMAN - SPOILER
Date: 27 Jul 92 19:09:32 GMT
Reply-To: al%calsci@gvgpsa.gvg.tek.com (Al Petterson)
Followup-To: rec.arts.comics.misc
Organization: California Scientific Software
News-Software: FSUUCP 1.1 Release 5


Spoilers...

In article <1992Jul25.071822.24103@athena.mit.edu> dml@athena.mit.edu
(David M LaMacchia) writes:

>In article <sajm1p#.dhawk@netcom.com> dhawk@netcom.com (David Hawkins) writes:
>
>>Two things:
>>1. I think the Sandman's love has been Johanna Constantine.  I think
>>the deal he made with her back in 'Thermidor' had to do with keeping
>>her in his world when she died - and we now know when that was.  (The
>>only other deal I can think they made was that he'd father a child for
>>her - a child of the Endless.)
>
>Good prediction, and I'm inclined to believe you (what purpose do people
>think the sequence with Orpheus had otherwise?).

I disagree.  Johanna's dead -- interesting that she lived to be 99, though.
I think Dream cleared that up in his conversation in 1889 in "Men Of Good
Fortune": "I saw her once more, you know.  She undertook [something] and
succeeded admirably."

Just for the record, I think (since it's evidently a recent development,
certainly starting after Season of Mists) Dream's lover is Thessaly.  I
don't see any need to justify the Orpheus storyline;  it ties in well with
the "background/history" story arc bracketed by "Men of Good Fortune" and
including "A Midsummer Night's Dream" among others...  "I last heard this
story in Thrace, sung by a boy with a lute..."

I think the storyline that more needs justification for its existence is A
Game Of You -- and consider Thessaly a sufficient reason, and likely to be
Morpheus' lover given her "clearly attracted and mad as hell about it"
reaction to him at the end of that story.

>>2. I think the departure of Destruction was because of one of Desire's
>>plots and that this series of events is going to reveal that...
>
>Probably true.  We've been shown too many times that Desire plays these
>kinds of tricks.  We now know, too, that Despair had a special liking for
>him, making her the reason for his departure unlikely (although she might
>have helped Desire; we'll see).  Who does that leave?  Dream?  No way.

Why do you say that?  Remember "Three Septembers And A January." Despair
provokes Dream to take on their little game by reminding him of what
happened to their missing sibling.  It's probably in fact Desire's fault,
but Dream blames himself, at least in part.  Dream certainly had something
to do with it.

>Death?  She also liked Destruction.

And she takes her job seriously.  Death cares a great deal for her siblings,
maybe except for Desire.

>Delirium?  We're shown here that she liked him a lot...

Delirium will often do things for no discernable reason.  "I did some bad
stuff today.  But yesterday I did some good stuff, you know?  I don't know."
But I agree that she certainly wasn't the culprit.

>(Delirium also appears as a much younger girl than
>she has in the past in this issue which was interesting.  I noticed her
>clothes were very baggy also suggesting that she might change forms
>(older/younger, etc.).  Any opinions?).

More than opinion.  Season of Mists #0: "Her form is the most changeable of
all the Endless..."

>Destiny?  No, he never involves himself directly in the affairs of others.

Except for momentous events like Season of Mists #0 and quite possibly the
disappearance of their vanished brother.  But he and Death are above being
behind this sort of thing and Desire's obviously intimidated by them in a
way she isn't by Dream.

>That leaves Desire whose involvement was hinted at in this issue.
>Of course, Destruction could have left for other reasons....
>
>I liked the portrayal of Destruction as the "bringer of change" instead
>of the "Devastation"-type figure that he could have been.

Me too.  "Change" as the destruction of what is, to bring about what is to
come.  Makes sense.

Remember, when Dream was imprisoned and unable to perform his duties, people
didn't stop dreaming, it was just that Dreaming got out of control.  The
last three hundred years have certainly seen Change get out of control...

Al Petterson (al%calsci@gvgpsa.gvg.tek.com)
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