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Imperfect Hosts
Nov. 25th, 2003 09:49 pmSandman: Imperfect Hosts
Page 1. Two men in a spooky house. It’s dark, swampy, with a graveyard outside. They are brothers, and they are arguing about whether or not one of them is going to open the present that the other one gave him. “You, uh, p-promise it isn’t going to, hmmm, explode? Promise” “What kind of a brother I be if I did that?” “My kind of b-brother.”
As we will see they are Cain and Able. If you don’t know who they are look them up in your nearest copy of the Bible. (ok, that was a bit snarky of me. Apologies)
In the final panel someone knocks at the door.
Page 2. There is something “big and nasty” at the door. Cain makes Able open the door.
Page 3. The something big and nasty turns out to be a gargoyle named Gregory. He is carrying the Sandman. We learn that Sandman is called the Prince of Stories. He is very weak.
Page 4. Sandman is in a bed (yum yum) Able introduces himself to Sandman and says that the house is Cain’s House of Mystery. Gregory apparently found Sandman in the ‘Shifting Zones’. Sandman has a castle he was traveling to when he collapsed.
Page 5. “Before my imprisonment I knew, the journey would have meant nothing to me.” And “I would not have even needed to travel.” He has lost some abilities, and he is exhausted. The dream I punished Alex with used up the last of his strength.
“I had to reach the Gates of Horn and Ivory to reach my castle.” We will find out more about those later in the series.
Page 6. Cain walks in with food, “Good evening, your Highness, Prince Morpheus.” Says he is a ”Purveyor of penny dreadfuls, shilling shockers, blood and thunders, and fust-rate nightmares (sic)”
Sandman asks if Cain has anything made by Sandman. Cain says no, Able hops out of a portrait of himself and says yes they do. The ‘Letters of Commission” which has Sandman’s signature on them.
Page 7. Sandman re-absorbs the letters. Cain and Able ask Sandman where he has been.
Page 8. He answers “I have been imprisoned.” We are at Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
Ethel Dee is asking to see her son, whom she has been looking for the last ten years. The son is named John Dee aka “Doctor Destiny” . Ethel Dee is Burgess’s former mistress who stole the Ruby and took Sykes’s amulet of protection.
Page 9. John Dee is very debilitated. “They took my dreams away”. This will make sense in future issues.
Page 10. Cain and Able wave goodbye to Sandman. Cain tells Able to open his present.
Page 11. This is the way to Sandman’s castle: “They way to the center is a slow spiral. One passes the Houses of Mystery and Secrets – old way stations on the frontiers of Nightmare.” He comes to the gates of Horn and Ivory, which he carved when the world was young and order was needed. The dreams which pass through the gates of Ivory are lies, figments, and deceptions. The dreams which pass through the gates of Horn are true. He pushes open the gates of Horn and sees
Page 12 and 13. His castle. Which is crumbling to ruins. A tall thin man greets him and tells Sandman that since he (Sandman) is the incarnation of this Dreamtime the place began to decay with his disappearance. The thin man is Lucien, the librarian. The books in his library began to fade, and then the words disappeared altogether one day. The next day the library of Dream disappeared.
Page 14 and 15. Lucien updates Dream on the changes in Dreaming.
• “The Raven Women has decayed badly. She lives only in Nightmares.” (Nightmares as in a place, not a type of dream. Kindof.)
• The Fashion Thing has been a flapper, mod, punk, ‘Mad Madonna Witch’, ‘Mad Yuppie Witch’ etc.
• Lucien thinks that Cain and Able have been getting weirder then they are normally.
Cain says ‘Something has gone so wrong, and its been getting slowly stranger.. I’ve tried not to …do it to you. So much.” i.e. kill Able. Able opens the present, and its an egg. Cain is trying to be nice to Able. The egg hatches and it’s a really cute gold baby gargoyle, who will be Abel’s buddy as Gregory is Cain’s. Aww, how sweet. Able wants to name him Irving, which pisses Cain off. Gargoyles have to have names that start with G. Able insists and Cain kills him.
Page 16. Dream says that he gets some power back by simply being in Dreaming, but he really needs his missing tools. Lucien recommends going to ‘The Three-in-One’ Urth, Verthandi, and Skald, if Dream is strong enough to summon her.
Page 17. Dream takes the things he needs to summon her from various dreams. A gallows, snakes, honey, crescent moon, and a black she-sheep. He names the Ladies ‘Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos”. We will learn more about the multiple names later.
Page 18. The Three-in-One, the Hecateae, show up.
Page 19. “You might as well call us the Morrigan.” ”Tisiphone, Alecto, and Magera” ”Diana, Mary, Florence, and Cindy” (I think that’s a joke). The Three take the form of a Maiden (“I’m Cynthia”), Mother (Mildred), and Crone (“I’m Mordred”).
Page 20. They switch positions panel to panel, what one eats the other consumes etc… Dream asks for their help in finding his tools. “Help? Heee—Listen to Him! Did you help us against Circe?”
The Three cannot exist apart. Dream will only get one question for each of them (three total).
Page 21. The Maiden tell Dream that the last man to purchase his Pouch was a man named John Constantine. The Mother tells him that his Helm was traded with a demon for an amulet, and the Crone says that the Ruby passed from a mother to a son who tapped its dream magicks until it (and the son’s dreams) were taken away by the Superhumans (panel shows Dee, Batman and Robin. Batman has the Ruby and Robin is tying up Dee).
Page 22. The Ladies leave, after telling him that they hadn’t helped him. They don’t seem to like him very much IMHO.
Able comes back to life.
Page 23. Dream decides to tackle John Constantine and his pouch first. “What could possible go wrong?”
Page 24. Dream passes the House of Secrets. Able is on the front porch, bleeding. He has named the baby gargoyle Goldie.
Page 1. Two men in a spooky house. It’s dark, swampy, with a graveyard outside. They are brothers, and they are arguing about whether or not one of them is going to open the present that the other one gave him. “You, uh, p-promise it isn’t going to, hmmm, explode? Promise” “What kind of a brother I be if I did that?” “My kind of b-brother.”
As we will see they are Cain and Able. If you don’t know who they are look them up in your nearest copy of the Bible. (ok, that was a bit snarky of me. Apologies)
In the final panel someone knocks at the door.
Page 2. There is something “big and nasty” at the door. Cain makes Able open the door.
Page 3. The something big and nasty turns out to be a gargoyle named Gregory. He is carrying the Sandman. We learn that Sandman is called the Prince of Stories. He is very weak.
Page 4. Sandman is in a bed (yum yum) Able introduces himself to Sandman and says that the house is Cain’s House of Mystery. Gregory apparently found Sandman in the ‘Shifting Zones’. Sandman has a castle he was traveling to when he collapsed.
Page 5. “Before my imprisonment I knew, the journey would have meant nothing to me.” And “I would not have even needed to travel.” He has lost some abilities, and he is exhausted. The dream I punished Alex with used up the last of his strength.
“I had to reach the Gates of Horn and Ivory to reach my castle.” We will find out more about those later in the series.
Page 6. Cain walks in with food, “Good evening, your Highness, Prince Morpheus.” Says he is a ”Purveyor of penny dreadfuls, shilling shockers, blood and thunders, and fust-rate nightmares (sic)”
Sandman asks if Cain has anything made by Sandman. Cain says no, Able hops out of a portrait of himself and says yes they do. The ‘Letters of Commission” which has Sandman’s signature on them.
Page 7. Sandman re-absorbs the letters. Cain and Able ask Sandman where he has been.
Page 8. He answers “I have been imprisoned.” We are at Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
Ethel Dee is asking to see her son, whom she has been looking for the last ten years. The son is named John Dee aka “Doctor Destiny” . Ethel Dee is Burgess’s former mistress who stole the Ruby and took Sykes’s amulet of protection.
Page 9. John Dee is very debilitated. “They took my dreams away”. This will make sense in future issues.
Page 10. Cain and Able wave goodbye to Sandman. Cain tells Able to open his present.
Page 11. This is the way to Sandman’s castle: “They way to the center is a slow spiral. One passes the Houses of Mystery and Secrets – old way stations on the frontiers of Nightmare.” He comes to the gates of Horn and Ivory, which he carved when the world was young and order was needed. The dreams which pass through the gates of Ivory are lies, figments, and deceptions. The dreams which pass through the gates of Horn are true. He pushes open the gates of Horn and sees
Page 12 and 13. His castle. Which is crumbling to ruins. A tall thin man greets him and tells Sandman that since he (Sandman) is the incarnation of this Dreamtime the place began to decay with his disappearance. The thin man is Lucien, the librarian. The books in his library began to fade, and then the words disappeared altogether one day. The next day the library of Dream disappeared.
Page 14 and 15. Lucien updates Dream on the changes in Dreaming.
• “The Raven Women has decayed badly. She lives only in Nightmares.” (Nightmares as in a place, not a type of dream. Kindof.)
• The Fashion Thing has been a flapper, mod, punk, ‘Mad Madonna Witch’, ‘Mad Yuppie Witch’ etc.
• Lucien thinks that Cain and Able have been getting weirder then they are normally.
Cain says ‘Something has gone so wrong, and its been getting slowly stranger.. I’ve tried not to …do it to you. So much.” i.e. kill Able. Able opens the present, and its an egg. Cain is trying to be nice to Able. The egg hatches and it’s a really cute gold baby gargoyle, who will be Abel’s buddy as Gregory is Cain’s. Aww, how sweet. Able wants to name him Irving, which pisses Cain off. Gargoyles have to have names that start with G. Able insists and Cain kills him.
Page 16. Dream says that he gets some power back by simply being in Dreaming, but he really needs his missing tools. Lucien recommends going to ‘The Three-in-One’ Urth, Verthandi, and Skald, if Dream is strong enough to summon her.
Page 17. Dream takes the things he needs to summon her from various dreams. A gallows, snakes, honey, crescent moon, and a black she-sheep. He names the Ladies ‘Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos”. We will learn more about the multiple names later.
Page 18. The Three-in-One, the Hecateae, show up.
Page 19. “You might as well call us the Morrigan.” ”Tisiphone, Alecto, and Magera” ”Diana, Mary, Florence, and Cindy” (I think that’s a joke). The Three take the form of a Maiden (“I’m Cynthia”), Mother (Mildred), and Crone (“I’m Mordred”).
Page 20. They switch positions panel to panel, what one eats the other consumes etc… Dream asks for their help in finding his tools. “Help? Heee—Listen to Him! Did you help us against Circe?”
The Three cannot exist apart. Dream will only get one question for each of them (three total).
Page 21. The Maiden tell Dream that the last man to purchase his Pouch was a man named John Constantine. The Mother tells him that his Helm was traded with a demon for an amulet, and the Crone says that the Ruby passed from a mother to a son who tapped its dream magicks until it (and the son’s dreams) were taken away by the Superhumans (panel shows Dee, Batman and Robin. Batman has the Ruby and Robin is tying up Dee).
Page 22. The Ladies leave, after telling him that they hadn’t helped him. They don’t seem to like him very much IMHO.
Able comes back to life.
Page 23. Dream decides to tackle John Constantine and his pouch first. “What could possible go wrong?”
Page 24. Dream passes the House of Secrets. Able is on the front porch, bleeding. He has named the baby gargoyle Goldie.