What Dreams May Come, Part 1: The Sandman #1-20 - Atop the Fourth Wall

[@WikiSorcerer]

Fun Fact: the serial killer The Family Man was the main antagonist of a Hellblazer story. He murdered Constantine's father and Constantine killed him back, hens why he couldn't make it as the guest of honor to the Cereal Convention.

[@Mysteryof89]

Oh wow, that is a pretty deep cut

[@richmcgee434]

"... hens why he couldn't make it as the guest of honor to the Cereal Convention." What do chickens have to do with...oh. Hence. That is an interesting autocorrect, if that's what caused it.

[@bluespaceman7937]

That's an interesting point. Quite so.

[@jadenbryant9283]

Yeah the first story arc made a lot more direct dc Refrences

[@adrianomoraes5992]

Overall Sandman would stay its own thing but once in a while there would be references to other Vertigo titles under Karen Berger's editorial oversight, as Hellblazer was one of them. One funny thing was that Death was a VERY popular character and DC REALLy wanted to use her in other titles. There was a Lobo series where they had her in one scene, parodying her as one would imagine on Lobo, Gaiman saw that and menaced to quit if he saw Death in any other title. Good for him to stand for not letting other writers mess with his characters. They would have had her on Death of Superman, Zero hour and who knows how many other cash grabs.

[@wstine79]

First, Linkara takes on Hellblazer. Now, he's reviewing The Sandman. He's definitely boldly going where few have gone before.

[@femoman]

Now he just needs to do The Invisibles :P

[@mttylerdurden9]

​@@femoman he's not ready for THE INVISIBLES.

[@HeirofAzaran]

​@@mttylerdurden9 Never seen it

[@wilhelmhedin8845]

Next: Transmetropolitan ❤

[@CosmoShidan]

@@wilhelmhedin8845 Oh boy, then there's all that baggage with Warren Ellis...

[@masteryoraerasante]

The reminder about ANCIENT EGYPT on a retrospective makes me wonder about a future one on Moon Knight

[@armandotorres8962]

It'll just be Linkara shaking his fist all the time while the Empire song plays throughout. No analysis is done. Just a man vs ancient egypt.

[@daelen.cclark]

Probably just a patreon-sponsored review or something.

[@isenokami7810]

Oh yeah. Not sure about the comics, but that miniseries pretty much just admitted Ancient Egypt was evil.

[@bthsr7113]

@@isenokami7810 More incompetent and negligent. Evil implies intent. And the Gods left to let humans sort out our own problems. So it was non intervention as opposed to active harm.

[@ShanaReviews]

Something I just realized from this retrospective is how Neil Gaimen actually gave us a counterpart to Vandel Savage through Hob. While Vandel is an immortal who has used his time on earth to try and conquer it, even going so far as to make his lifestyle like that of a king and is firmly set as a villain. Hob by contrast spent his years of immortality in awe of what achievements mankind has made every 100 years and, aside from his business ventures, has led a humbler life than that of Savage. Sure, Hob had his low points, but as we see he was able to work things out and continue on, never regretting his agreement, he is neither a heroic character nor a villain, he is simply Hob. it's a nice bit of Optimism.

[@rawksolid5029]

It's here! The 36 part Sandman series! Thank you future Linkara!

[@cooperross9495]

Now we just need Dominic Noble to make a better one.

[@benwasserman8223]

For a guy disinterested in John Constantine, Linkara definitely went through some of John’s biggest hits in the last few months.

[@bigredjanie]

It's hard not to bump into him when he's doing these magic/supernatural DC stories, even if he doesn't care for Constantine as a character.

[@robbybevard8034]

If he ever gets around to Alan Moore's Swamp Thing he'll have done basically all the hits.

[@stevenhedge2850]

@@robbybevard8034 book of magic as well

[@CouchSpud91]

And gotta give him credit for the mini-rant about the pronounciation of Constantine's name.

[@pixelbomb97]

I always assumed Lucien told Unity about her place and all the rules of the dreaming. After all, Unity was spending 20 hours a day sleeping and was the original vortex. She could walk through the barriers of the dreaming and even make friendships in all that time.

[@tonystark106422]

44:30 There are so many little touches that I love about this series. That moment when John Dee realizes that he is standing on Morpheus' hand? Straight out of myth. Specifically, Journey to the West. Monkey (Sun Wukong) terrorizes the courts of Heaven until the Lords of the afterlife can no longer stand it anymore. The Buddha himself comes forward and challenges Monkey to a simple task. Beat me in a race to the end of creation and I will forfeit. Monkey accepts, flies the end of time and space, finding the Pillars of Eternity at the edge of creation, writes his name on one of them and, just because he can, and he has no respect for anything, urinates on one of the supports. Monkey flies back and claims that he has won. The Buddha then holds up his hand and shows Monkey's signature on one of his fingers. Sun Wukong is punished, and the wise powers of the universe return to harmony. Fittingly, something very similar happens with Dr Destiny and Morpheus. Once the matter is over and John returns to the real world, Dee all but crawls back under a rock to hide and lick his wounds. Just like Monkey. I love this comic.

[@alexandersturnn4530]

I KNEW I recognized that Moment from somewhere! Got done watching OSP's Series on it (so far) a few weeks ago.

[@Shadethewolfy]

I thought the contest was that Monkey had to jump out of the Buddha's hand, though I was watching OSPRed's video on JTTW so she might've changed it or misremembered it or maybe in her version of the book it was different. Same concept, either way; Monkey being the impulsive doofus he is immediately accepts, flies to the pillars of the universe, graffitis and urinates on them, then flies back only to realize that he never left Buddha's hand. Also in the retelling the contest was because Monkey wanted to overthrow the Jade Emperor and Buddha said that he would let Monkey if he beat him in the contest lol

[@testytest69420]

​@@Shadethewolfy It's probably one of those stories that there are a few different versions of due to the age of it.

[@Emperor_Oshron]

glad i'm not the only one who recognized that :)

[@Cookie_85]

I rearly laugh out loud over Linkaras jokes but the "Nice ladies but there going to be the death of me"got me. 😂

[@Jarakin]

It’s probably been twenty years since I read Sandman. But as soon you mentioned that moment in the Ruby storyline with the 911 operator breaking down in despair because the system is completely overwhelmed and people still need help I realized that I remember that one specific panel with perfect clarity. Yeah, that’s one that sticks with you.

[@userasdf]

That panel really hits home more after the pandemic... I'm in health care... it was horrible... the "we haven't had to ration health care yet" was a total lie... we 100% were, at least in north america...

[@Macrochenia]

John Constantine. It's pronounced "Throatwobbler Mangrove."

[@Caernath]

Linkara: "Starfire is sleeping right next to me right now." Starfire dreaming: "No, me and my sister don't need to rule the world. We already rule our owners."

[@sebastianemond5313]

Pouncey: "Cats are not pets. *Humans* are the pets." kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIKmXnSFbLOagassi=7lDCtZ2wa591Pm-D

[@grkpektis]

I remember when that real life sleeping virus hit Kazakhstan years ago everyone was joking that Freddy Kreuger was real, I thought "oh no the Sandman has been captured"

[@Daluna13]

Even Lucipher in the live action version of Chrisis on Infinit Earths called him John Constantine John "corrected him" and the Devil said, "Is it? I don't care"

[@EmrysMerlin8807]

That's because Lucifer's actor, Tom Ellis, heard about the debate from a friend and just had to stir the pot. Dude's a troll and I love him for it.

[@johnmcclure40]

If Choronzon had used despair as a counter to hope, it would probably have brought in Despair of the endless to the battle. In other words, all of a sudden you just brought your opponent's sibling in to help him. That would probably have been a bad move.

[@RussanoGreenstripe]

One thing that was pointed out to me about Choronzon's tactics is that they're all tangible things. Beasts, weapons, planets, even anti-life is a real thing in the DC universe. But hope is intangible, and thus, Choronzon couldn't think of something physical that could defeat the immaterial.

[@Wanderingsage7]

Considering the dynamics of the Endless, that could have gone several different ways

[@johnmcclure40]

@@Wanderingsage7 True, but Choronzon likely wouldn't have wanted to risk it. Even if Despair didn't actually support Dream, she might well have been pissed off at being summoned- and taken it out on her summoner.

[@sebastianemond5313]

​​@@johnmcclure40It'd be kind of insulting to be dragged into a petty squabble, like how last year during Halloween, Moarte wasn't happy to be involved with Linkara's conflict with Mirror Margaret of the Mirror Universe's Magic Gun.

[@legomaniac213]

​@@RussanoGreenstripeWell, Hope was immaterial until the introduction of the Blue Lantern Corp anyway...

[@zigzackb2036]

So, I did look it up. Silver Surfer is apparently British slang for an internet user. Maybe he also had a computer that was pawned. Also, if you haven't listened to it, the audible series is AMAZING! It's what brought me back to the series and made me want to read it again.

[@joerogers9413]

Would that have been a thing when Sandman originally came out? There was no internet in the late 80s right? DISCLAIMER I know the internet existed, but regular people didn't "serf the net" until the around 1995. (If I'm not mistaken.)

[@zigzackb2036]

@@joerogers9413 It's possible that there may have been. I still think he's just referring to a computer.

[@joerogers9413]

@@zigzackb2036 It's possible. Although I don't see Constantine owning a computer. (Unless he's cyber stalking Zartanna. 🙂)

[@stevenhedge2850]

i just find it funnier if she pawned off his silver surfer collection.

[@joerogers9413]

@@stevenhedge2850 Yep. Stan Lee Jack Kirby Silver Surfer is got to be worth, at least, a $1000. (That's a lot of drugs 🙂)

[@Rixec2]

The funny thing about Constantine's name is the pronunciation is addressed in a joke in the Arrowverse during Crisis on Infinite Earths. When they go to see Lucifer, he addresses John as "Constantine" like wine, but John frustratingly keeps telling him it's "Constanteen." They knew very well what the pronunciation was originally and had some fun with it.

[@richmcgee434]

"It's big -boo-TAY, dammit!"

[@PIKMINROCK1]

The problem probably is that the actual name is greek where Constanteen is the actual pronunciation. Like the Taine thing seems to be more of a regional dialect that honestly seems odd to develop since it seems like a name that wouldn't see much use in modern English. Like did they (the British in general) choose that pronunciation to piss off the rest of Europe?

[@RabblesTheBinx]

​@@PIKMINROCK1probably.

[@userasdf]

@@PIKMINROCK1 Lieutenant is pronounced "left tenant"... British people shit on pronounciation..

[@faishiro5009]

I hate how I could not watch this on the premier because i love watching and rewatching longer episodes and retrospectives. Great job as usual from our man Linkara, keep up the good work and thank you for all your time.

[@Jygerthe2nd]

Gaiman also did my favourite episode of Doctor Who: The Doctor's Wife. Might not be in everybody's Top 10 lists, but I always loved it.

[@plantainsame2049]

I mean that's a universal favorite his other episode of nightmare In silver not so much

[@dwitefry4157]

I recently made my top list, and it was in it :)

[@robbybevard8034]

@@plantainsame2049 Nightmare in silver got wrecked by budget constraints, and a lot of ideas that were good on paper but not on screen. Like the cybermen were supposed to be silent, but on screen it doesn't work without the footstep sounds. Shame Gaiman never got to write a Capaldi episode, he really wanted to.

[@Roserae16]

​@@robbybevard8034 Capaldi's run would have benefitted immensely from Neil's writing imo, dude was a good Doctor but was handed very shoddy stories to work with and as a result I just couldn't stay invested during his run

[@userasdf]

@@Roserae16 Gaiman would have done great with capaldi.. It's a shame. And agreed, the doctor's wife is one of my favourite. I think it makes the top 10 for me. Top 5 of Smith's run for sure. I was also disappointed with nightmare in silver :(

[@Infrapink]

There is a pub in Athlone, called Sean's Bar, that has been operating since the start of the 10th century. The structure itself has been rebuilt several times over the centuries, but the business has remained.

[@yugoxgc]

"What power have dreams in Hell?" I love this part. I Love the Comic. I love The episode. Don't care if some see it as corny or cheesy. I Love it

[@richmcgee434]

"Well, dreams include all stories in this cosmology, and that includes all comic books, so therefore I can call on the Saint of Killers..." "We are not afraid of him. He's doing our work for us. One just needs to remain very, very polite in his presence." "Okay, going to be like that, are you? Guess it'll have to be Herbie Popnecker then." "Oh, HELL NO! Not him again! I'd rather serve in Heaven than have him make a return visit down here. You're free to go, just get out!"

[@ryno_8848]

@@richmcgee434 is that a reference to preacher?

[@richmcgee434]

@@ryno_8848 Obviously.

[@kramermariav]

"24 Hours" is one of the most chilling stories I've ever read

[@daelen.cclark]

The impetus of DC’s Vertigo imprint, and one of the most impactful comics out there. The Midsommar Night’s Dream issue (#19) is one of my favorites. Men of good fortune and 3 Septembers & a January are other ones.

[@jeremytung1632]

My personal favorite in this set has to be “Men of Good Fortune”.

[@jackdavis4657]

Agreed! Definitely up there for me as well.

[@daelen.cclark]

@@williamhumes7332 Not until WB gets their life together.

[@karlgrimm3027]

The “you were in the palm of my hand the whole time “ revel is from “Journey to the West”

[@jonathanbermudez546]

Fun fact, According to Gaiman they actually filmed and edited Alex’s comic punishment for the Netflix series but apparently test audiences reacted poorly to it so they took it out.

[@EX7Sonic]

That's a shame. It was so much better here. He got off easy in the show.

[@shriyansrai7427]

​@@EX7SonicTBf Alex is a better person in the show

[@stevenhedge2850]

@@shriyansrai7427 really most of the villians are a better person because they have either motvations or are sympathetic. the only one who isn't is desire and Corithinan.

[@Shadethewolfy]

Is it archived anywhere, by chance?

[@Vesperitis]

Baseless speculation here, but it might also have something to do with the fact that Alex is gay, and with him being one of the first characters in the series, subjecting him to horrible torture and mental anguish for something he didn’t really instigate was probably not going to be a good look.

[@sirjedisentinel]

God. "The Sound of her Wings" is such an amazing story! Probably my favorite single issue in The Sandman's run (if we're talking about the bigger multi-issue arc, it would be "Brief Lives," the Destruction arc)

[@myriadmediamusings]

The retrospectives have always been some of my AT4W faves because moreso than majority of the other episodes, I really do learn a lot of new comic history. Sandman is a case where I've heard of its reputation and the character of Daniel, but not much else. Looking forward to this one!

[@Pikachu2Ash]

23:10 God who remembers the Justice League episode involving Doctor Destiny? 26:10 Americans tend to forget that they didn't invent the English language and most of their words, word spellings, and word pronunciations are changed from the original British English. Hence why they drop the u in worlds like colour. 38:44 Some of them want to use you, some of them want to get used by you, some of them want to abuse you, some of them want to be abused.... 1:17:27 I've seen Comedy of Errors myself in my home Province of Saskatchewan :D It was v ery funny and the this version of the comedy used a Indiana Jones modern theme to it. :D 1:19:06 It's great to see that gag again

[@dinam3236]

Despair does not defeat hope. Despair is the ABSENCE of hope. Big difference.

[@Mansplainer2099-jy8ps]

Contrast "Temperance does not defeat greed. Temperance is the ABSCENCE of greed." So what defeats hope? Giving people whatever they want.

[@fafaaf61]

Sandman was my first comic book ever and has been a big inspiration to me since. Glad you’re finally covering it Linkara.

[@mitkitty]

With the Element Girl comic, i always read it as an ANTI-suicide tragedy. The hope she felt looking at Ra could've been used to pick her life back up, but by that point it was too late. Like someone falling off a bridge and changing their mind halfway through

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

so like bojack horseman's "the view from halfway down" episode?

[@Heavenlyhounds96]

There is also the fact that Death showed up but she couldn't do anything about it really. Not that she's the cause of death but there was no passing to the thereafter to speak of, to my understanding, as there are with others. Element Girl does indeed die, but you could argue that by suggesting to stare at the sun, Death gave her value in living. Where even in the darkest of days or moments and locations or circumstances...there is the light of life, (whether certain folks are deserving of this light, is to be debated tbh). And indeed she doesn't realize what value or joy there is in life...until she can die at last. The fact she couldn't die made her life so miserable, on top of everything else. She couldn't understand its value to even herself, until she had the capability to lose it. (Which does work as a better anti-suicide tragedy than the factual case; people throwing away their lives only to potentially realize their potential or value after the fact...if there is a conscious thereafter to speak of).

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@Heavenlyhounds96 if that was the case, then i think the comic having extra panels, to properly show her having an ephinany about how "she wants to keep living" just when she is dying would have made for a better tragedy. like that speech secretariat gives of "the view from halfway down"

[@daelen.cclark]

Perhaps, but it could have been done better, I think.

[@ShanaReviews]

ah a view from halfway down situation

[@coredumperror]

1:10:00 Linkara, you may be thinking of this from too much of an American perspective. Pubs are generally the longest-lasting businesses in Europe, so having one stick around for hundreds of years is not remotely surprising. That's likely why Gaiman chose a pub, in fact.

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

"Also, all their names start with the letter D." Oh man, I can't wait to meet Deez Nuts of the Endless!

[@LordSchattenwind]

The first volume of Sandman was on the curriculum for one of the English literature courses I took at university, but I never got around to read beyond that first volume. Looking forward to this retrospective! :D

[@shadowldrago]

I really like Hod Gadling's story. Has his life been better? Oh yes. But it's also been worse. And there's still so much he wants to see. Immortality is GREAT.

[@AlecDraven]

I always thought that's only because Morpheus kept Hob unchanging. If Dream had made it so that Hob was undying but continuing to age.... I'm guessing his outlook on immortality wouldn't have been so optimistic. .....But I could be wrong.

[@lordzeppelin3824]

Man, not only are we getting a retrospective of one of my favorite horror/fantasy series, but we also got a return of one of my favorite running gags on this show: “ANCIENT EGYPT!!!”

[@wildste]

Just so you know Lewis, we Brits actually have many pubs that several hundreds of years old. There's even one that has been kept in the same family for over 300 years.

[@Lightice1]

Incidentally, there are many centuries old pubs in the UK and Gaiman was probably inspired to write about Hob Gadling and Dream by one of such places. And as for Facade, it's not really a story about suicide. The Elemental Girl doesn't ask Ra to kill her, but to make her normal again. But Ra only takes away the powers he gave, which leads to her death. It demonstrates that although Death is sympathetic to the living, really the only service that she can give to them is helping them pass on.

[@bretsheeley4034]

If you want a more pessimistic response to the “I am hope” move, I’d go with “I am experience.” As for the comments on the suicide story… it is a valid critique. I see what Gaiman was going for from a narrative bent, and I see why it could be viewed from his (or at least the story’s) side; but I have to say Linkara is right. A better ending for her would had been for her to have a life given back before Death came to make a final visit. But Linkara’s completely valid personal opinions on the covers are objectively wrong. ;) Also also... I'd love a Lucifer retrospective. That series was fantastic. (The TV series can burn.)

[@mitchellcowan2500]

I like Sturridge’s voice for Dream personally. In particular the scenes where he punished the serial killers at Serial Killer Con and when he punished Richard Maddoc with ideas. He’s soft spoken but you can hear the power in his words. Or his disgust when he’s talking to Maddoc about what he did to Calliope.

[@alexpage10]

I can imagine Dream screaming like a maniac to Lucien, Cain and Abel: I HAVE TO HAVE MY TOOLS! I never imagined I could make a Sandman and It's Always Sunny comparison but here we are.

[@andrewollmann304]

8:56 I hate to be an Actual Lee here, but the reason “magus” is pronounced with a hard “G” is because it came from the ancient Greek “Magos,” which also had a hard “g.”

[@Vesperitis]

57:14 FYI, this is the first of two times that Morpheus laughs in the entire series. 1:15:45 Also, certain plot points in _A Dream of a Thousand Cats_ become much more relevant in the prequel series, _Sandman: Overture._

[@daelen.cclark]

He mentioned that, but it’s probably only something he’ll do if he’s paid to do it.

[@sebastianemond5313]

13:59 - 15:24 There's probably only a couple of seconds where Dream in the show looks like his comic counterpart, after he escapes and confronts Alex over his imprisonment.

[@TenDropChris]

I was wondering if Linkara knew/would mention but the character of Gilbert in this series is based on G.K Chesterton, a prolific Catholic writer, literary critic and one of Gaiman's influences. He's know for a few things like Chesterton's Fence-Basically, If you can tell me why we need this fence, then I'll let you tear it down. And the quote "Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.” Although many of you are probably more familiar with Gaiman's paraphrased version "Fairy tales are true, not because they tell us dragons are real, but that dragons can be beaten"

[@ignitedrowlets5776]

1:11:00 Man after seeing all the stories that say being immortal would suck, this kind of story is a very refreshing thing to see

[@thenewmase]

I do like how the series changed the Immortal story to go between Morpheus escaping his captivity and the dream vortex thing. A story about Morpheus remembering he has a human friend after being imprisoned by humans is just what he needs to wash away any hate he might have for humanity

[@PaxtheDreamer]

1:14:40 - GODDAMN Linkara, I didn't expect to see you *murder* someone on camera! 👏👏

[@daelen.cclark]

HA! Nice.

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

I absolutely love the opening credits for this! The criminally underrated channel @ProperBird has a video called "The Sandman: Morpheus, Why We Love Fictional Characters" that I think compliments this quite well. Also, Red from Overly Sarcastic Productions described the tv version as an adaptation that treated the source material as a first draft in a good way, in that Gaiman had 30 years of hindsight and the DC serial numbers being filed off due to copyright helped with the overall story and its structure, especially given how they adapted the first two storylines for season 1 and needed connective tissue between the two. The biggest problem I had when I originally had when reading Sandman was the number of subplots that contributed little or nothing to the larger story.

[@jeremyborder6794]

42:27 The audiobook adaptation of 24 Hours is excellent & terrifying. Perhaps scarier because I can only imagine it versus seeing it in the comic

[@tyrant-den884]

I do like them casting someone younger to play Dream, just because even in the comics he is portray as kind of young and stubborn. Honestly he mostly acts like a teenager in a lot of the early stuff. Low 20-s at most.

[@CouchSpud91]

I also find it weird that beings that are supposed to be ageless so often tend to be portrayed as old and/or decrepid figures. It makes much more sense that the physical appearance of not only an immortal being, but the embodiment of a concept, appear at the age where they're at the prime of a species life (be it human or otherwise). Dream in the Netflix adaptation captured that look perfectly in my opinion.

[@qwellen7521]

Sandman is the rare piece of media that emotionally broke me multiple times and i was forever grateful for it for doing so.

[@jamescalvert4471]

Captain Crunch, "killing during wartime isnt really the same." That's a good one.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

Given Death's personality it's pretty fitting that she likes Marry Poppins. After all, a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. Oh and considering this released after Sage did his review of Death Note I just want to see what would have happened if Dream did his whole "remove delusions from serial killers" thing on Light.

[@sotnosen95]

"Trust me. I'm a doctor." "I would, but you're a dermatologist and you look like this." Maybe it's like in that riddle where the guy with the bad haircut is actually the good hairdresser because he has his hair cut by the bad one?

[@Slocombe]

1:10:01 you’d be surprised at some of the pubs in my hometown. One pub called the Nag’s head proudly claim to a 14th century pub which is still good.

[@ricknuzzy]

When you hit the line on "do you know how many spinoff series there are?!" I felt that. I love Simon Spurrier's work and 'The Dreaming' I let slide but man does DC know how to milk a franchise. "Sandman Presents:" is the new "Crisis."

[@flyingfist4203]

As someone that has never seen or read the Sandman, that custom intro has me excited. Let's go!

[@michaelfields3951]

1:09:55 while I can't speak for England their next door neighbour Ireland has some pubs that date back to the 1200s and some that are 1000 years old so it's not that farfetched an idea

[@manjiimortal]

A great little bit about A Midsummer Night's Dream is a little line Puck has in it, while watching the play: "This is Magnificent -- and it is True! It never happened; yet it is still true. What magic art is this?" Just a little clue about what the meta narrative regarding the power and importance of Stories is going to be.

[@patrickcaulfield7663]

The hob and Circe chapters made me realize that Morpheus being trapped for all that time was actually good for him since it humbled him and made him more easily empathetic, he’s still not that good at it but he comes across less cruel and more socially clueless

[@roguebanshee]

The Element Girl story is about depression. Not the "I'm feeling a bit down" or even "I'm sad that a loved one died" type of thing, but actual depression where thoughts spiral down to become darker and darker, where any personal attempt at controlling it only serves to make the dark spiral of thoughts worse. It's a place where you need a combination of medication and professional help. And Element Girl apparently recieved neither.

[@PharaohDom]

Definitely agree with you about the show turning down the horror to its own detriment.

[@Carnagevenomtoxin]

Honestly John Dee is a good show of a good villain doesn't always need a sad or justifable backstory to be good. Just solid writing. Also because unfortunately in the real world there are people who are horrible just because they could be regardless of their childhoods. On the flipside Hobs is such a refeshing look on immortality. There is always somethng to learn and live for, and with immortality you get to see life from so many perspectives it's really cool to see someone realise that.

[@dragonstormx]

Glad to see the Ancient Egypt running joke return. I thought Element Girl's story was anti-suicide. Right after she died, there was a call from that aid she thought wasn't talking to her, and if she had waited just a little longer, she would have noticed it.

[@adam_nathan]

actually in the UK and Europe it’s absolutely possible for a building to have remained a pub for that long

[@mttylerdurden9]

28:05 it's not lupus Lewis. If house has taught me anything, it's never lupus.

[@lucithana23]

I actually don't love to revisit issue #20 myself, even if the story is great. But I think the reason for it is [SPOILER!] It's meant to mirror Dream's situation and how the only choices are you change or die. And like Morpheus, she, ironically, refused to change and think of herself like anything but a monster. Death tried to convince her to change, but she wouldn't, so Death helped her change in the only way Element Lass would allow herself to.

[@PharaohDom]

Quite possibly my favorite piece of literature in existence. Gaiman is a luminary, and his praises can't be sung enough.

[@amandapike2477]

I loved that you called out Paul for being an idiot. I felt the same way the first time I read it and it said Paul didn't believe in magick.

[@jeffreyhewitt962]

My favorite quote from this is Death talking about how she'll be the last thing left in the universe.

[@EmperorSeth]

It's too late now, obviously, but I always thought it was a shame there was never a canon story where the Gaiman and the Pratchett Deaths meet and hang out for a bit.

[@Stray7]

My personal favorite quote comes quite a bit later, in Brief Lives, when she tells the guy who asked her if living 5000 years was impressive, "You got what anyone gets. You got a lifetime."

[@theotherghostgirl337]

Apparently somewhere there’s a comic accurate costume test for the Netflix show that they decided was too silly

[@VictoriousCatholic]

Hey at 55:50 mark....GK Chesterton! Neat!

[@ByTorthePinballWizar]

Fun fact: When Neil Gaiman originally pitched Black Orchid, Karen Berger at DC misheard him as saying "Blackhawk Kid" due to his British accent and was confused because DC doesn't have a character named Blackhawk Kid.

[@MagiTailWelkin]

That's some Two Ronnies Four Candles stuff right there.

[@ariannewingard1660]

Tbh, I liked the show version of Lyta's story a bit more since they combined hers with Rose walker's more closely. Lyta isn't entirely alone. Morphous's tone looks like he's regrets to tell her this

[@samwill7259]

Retrospective time BABY! It's like a holiday! For DORKS.

[@haileyturner3309]

The sand man: those ladies will be the death of me. Foreshadowing 👀

[@crithon]

25:42 ACTUALLY! The arrowverse had a event where Lucifer correctly pronounces "Constan-thyme" name. It's mocking, only because Lucifer tried to dodge credit to Neil Gaiman 8 episodes in. And Gaiman being a litigious man, got his credit right, even if they the show is still doing a different take on the character.... this is an interesting element as to why DC gives credit to it's creators better than Marvel, and a lot of it is because of Gaiman's hard work. At this point, I'd love to see all variations of the characters meet in a room and argue over their names.

[@grkpektis]

I am so happy that you talked about the Sandman's history in Infinity Inc because I think that series is extremely underrated and important to Neil Gaiman's mythos

[@colestrawn4304]

I see dream is a firm believer in the gold experience requiem school of just punishments.

[@brigidmadden5577]

24:43, hi Greek myth nerd here. There’s another Greek myth reference on this page as the women are called the Hecateae, which seems to be either a mistranslation or play on words on Hecate, the Greek goddess of magic who is depicted with three heads, like the witches here. One of the witches is also named Cynthia, which is apparently another name for Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon went by. Not only only is Artemis a key inspiration for Wonder Woman, she was also heavily associated with Hecate as both have connections to the moon

[@bluespaceman7937]

Hmm, nice trivia.

[@jacobberg373]

This has the first time that I've already read the comic before the review, so this is absolutely awesome to watch, thank you for doing this and actually getting me into comics in the first place!

[@Djinsin]

I remember hearing that Neil Gaiman wrote issue 20 to clap back on an issue of Captain Atom where he met the Balck Racer, Nekron, and even Death of the Endless as various aspects of death. The problem was that it portrayed her as just a part of death and not the whole concept, which was the idea. So he wrote this comic to clarify that she is capital D Death, there at the first sunrise and the last one to leave the party at the end

[@Valdagast]

_Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream (bung, bung, bung, bung)_ _Make him the cutest that I've ever seen (bung, bung, bung, bung)_ _Give him two lips like roses and clover (bung, bung, bung, bung)_ _Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over_ _Sandman, I'm so alone (bung, bung, bung, bung)_ _Don't have nobody to call my own (bung, bung, bung, bung)_ _Please turn on your magic beam_ _Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream_

[@WaveShock007]

"They all start with the letter D because-" The Will of D.

[@tyrant-den884]

Another bit of the show I like better is the implications that Lucifer needed hope too, and wouldn't destroy it even if they knew how.

[@sasamichan]

I say "Magus" the way its said on Disney's Gargoyles same for Mage, Archmage and so on. Its like the other day when I heard some one pronounce Gholdengo as "Go Diego" every now and then some one says a word in a very weird way

[@thomasclarke2365]

Great video! Whilst I do like and really enjoy the Netflix series, I do miss the horror elements of the early Sandman and wish they'd come through more in the series proper. It's great to see a proper retrospective of the series and its contents actually focus on the early series' horror sequences. In response to the pub/bar inquiry in the Hob Gadling issue, 1:09:55: here in the UK, pubs in towns and villages have often been in operation for centuries. Where I currently live, a pub has just closed after being in operation for close to four hundred years. Yes a lot of the really old ones have been converted, but we still see Pre-Tudor buildings still serving their original purpose, even now. This is by no means a UK only thing: you can find all sorts of old pubs across Europe. I think its a bit surprising to people not from here because it just shows how old the country is: these buildings are often the centre of localities, built and maintained over many, many years. I think that's why, in the Netflix Series, they showed the pub closing and a new one being built: it's becoming more common recently for the land they're built on to go up for sale, and then these old relics of yesteryear simply vanish. Very in keeping for the story of Morpheus.

[@Unquestionable]

Sandman was what got me into comics as a whole, superhero and otherwise. The goth and punk kids I hung with in high school (99-02) and were huge fans so I checked it out. The literary tone is what first perked my interest, was big stuff like Vonnegut and Robinson along with dozens of others, and it had that kind of voice that spoke to me. As I slowly devoured the series over the course of about two years (I was a broke high school student who would be able to afford a trade maybe every two or three months and read it over and over) I became fascinated with how it fit into the mainstream DC universe. Diving into all those continuity snarls and the like made me fall in love with how comics generally create their worlds and give them life. And from that point on I was hooked, basically devoting my college years to the medium as a whole.

[@haldon12]

Oh, man, this was quite the project. Very excited for part 2. The Doll's House was actually the first Sandman property I picked up. I remember being horrified by the Corinthian especially - such a horrible yet compelling villain. My library only that the Doll's House books, and my allowance wasn't enough for me to pick up the trades, so I was always sad I didn't get to see more Neil Gaiman comics. It did rekindle my love of Swamp Thing, so that was a plus!

[@mrmrmadlad9167]

As someone who very much genuinely wants to live forever, I absolutely love Hob Gadling’s story. Much better than the usual affair.

[@AlecDraven]

I always thought that's only because Morpheus kept Hob unchanging. If Dream had made it so that Hob was undying but continuing to age.... I'm guessing his outlook on immortality wouldn't have been so optimistic. And, I suspect, neither would yours..... but I could be wrong.

[@daltonwilliams1723]

Watched the Netflix series and I started reading the comic in anticipation for this retrospective. It’s really damn good and it’s interesting to see how the DC universe elements were integrated into the story. Although I think I still prefer the Netflix version in some ways. Felt like it refined a lot of elements and they were able to expand on certain characters - like the Corinthian and John Dee. Also just prefer their version of 24/7 to the comic version. Feels like it’s much more character focused and expands on the themes of the moral.

[@cherry-cj9iq]

I wasn't a big Sandman reader and avoided watching the show because of it; now I'm convinced I should probably pick it up again and try a second read! Linkara's retrospectives are always bangers. Not only do we get the full story of a character, but we get the important context that's usually missing when you're not downing seven gallons of Comic Lore Juice per day! Hell, I get to know who are the random characters popping up who are Supposed to be important but aren't explained at all! All around, great stuff. It's also always great to see my guy Constantine showing up in any Linkara video, I love the guy and seeing Linkara talk about him is nice (and seeing him interact with others is superb, my guy deserves all the interactions in the world in my humble opinion) AND THE CEREAL CONVENTION!!!!! WASN'T THERE A LONGBOX VIDEO ON IT? IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVES!

[@jeremyowens3319]

Respect for the strong foot forward. You actually riled me up a bit with your opinion on Dave McKean's covers. I find them absolutely perfect for the series, but I have a deep admiration for all of his work so I obviously have a bias (I'm also a big Gaiman fan). But like I said, respect for the open opinion. You gave it its due while fully explaining your dislike.

[@marthademovimaus5140]

Department of Truth has a real similar visual style if you're into that blurry watercolor collage look.

[@flmbyz]

1:15:58 I just finished season one and after that episode, I had to hug both of my cats and even found myself hoping that I gave them the type of home their mother wanted for them. Yeah, it hit close to home for me, too.

[@1gient]

14:30 there's also how the Endless themselves look different to different people. This even shows up in the comics. So different fourth walls see different things. Also copyright laws and that panels in comics exist in timeless voids where entire conversations can be had in seconds. 22:00 the Endless are also their opposites. Destruction is also creation, Death is also life, and Dream is also reality.

[@SpeedyEric1]

There is a short animated film about Death on Blu-ray to the DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines.

[@amandapike2477]

He didn't say the "No." in the cage. Notice how there's no point in the talk bubble. The original plan was (I believe) that he communicated psychically but that was dropped by issue 2.

[@Lightice1]

What's interesting is that the sleeping sickness in this story is actually a real, historical epidemic that isn't fully understood even to this day, though it seems to have had something to do with the aftereffects of the Spanish Flu.

[@bigk9000]

The funny thing about that Constantine pronunciation and Matt Ryan's Arrowverse version is they somewhat make fun of this in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event where Lucifer pronounced it correctly... even though it was done too service of portraying the dick who mispronounces another character's name wrong. And then Matt Ryan incorrectly corrects Lucifer. 😅