Characters of The Sandman
Encyclopedia
This is a list of characters appearing in The Sandman comic book
, published by DC Comics
' Vertigo imprint
. This page discusses not only events which occur in The Sandman (1989–1994), but also some occurring in spinoff
s of The Sandman (such as The Dreaming
(1996–2001) and Lucifer
(1999–2007)) and in earlier stories that The Sandman was based on. These stories occur in the DC Universe
, but are generally tangential to the mainstream DC stories.
personifications of universal concepts, around whom much of the series revolves. From eldest to youngest, they are:
All débuted in the Sandman series, except Destiny, who was created by Marv Wolfman
and Berni Wrightson in Weird Mystery Tales
#1 (1972). A more traditional version of Death had appeared in various previous stories, however.
are often former gods, myths, and even ordinary human beings who later became dreams.
adapted by editor Joe Orlando
with Bob Haney
(writer) and Jack Sparling (artist) (Cain), and Mark Hannerfeld (writer) and Bill Draut (artist) (Abel). They were depicted together in Abel's first appearance, and they parted to their respective Houses at the end of the story, the House of Secrets having been recently moved, with Cain promising things not to go the way they happened before. Although Cain would abuse Abel, he was not shown killing him until Swamp Thing vol. 2 #33. In Elvira
's House of Mystery #11, Cain expresses shock at having killed his brother in recent times. In the same issue, a contest-winning letter establishes that Cain and the House exist both in the dream world and the real world, and that only the dream world Cain continues to harm Abel. In The Sandman, Cain is shown to kill Abel quite often. Even then, in issue #2, Lucien says that the pair recently got stranger, which is followed immediately by panels of disagreement and murder.
Before The Sandman
Originally they were the respective "hosts" of the EC
-style horror
comic
anthologies House of Mystery
and House of Secrets, which ran from the 1950s through 1983—Cain debuting in House of Mystery #175 (1968) and Abel in DC Special #4 and House of Secrets #81 (both 1969). During the 1970s, they also co-hosted the horror/humor anthology Plop!
They were also both recurring characters in DC's Elvira's House of Mystery (1986–1988).
In 1985, the characters were revived by writer Alan Moore
, who introduced them into his Swamp Thing
series in issue #33, retelling the Swamp Thing's original origin story from a 1971 issue of House of Secrets. Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin
included them in the pages of Blue Devil
in 1986. Jamie Delano
also occasionally used them in a cameo role in his title Hellblazer
.
In The Sandman
In Gaiman's Sandman universe, the biblical Cain and Abel come to live in the Dreaming
at Dream's
invitation. This is based on the verse in the Bible
which says that Cain was sent to live in the Land of Nod
.
They live as neighbours in two houses near a graveyard, Cain in the broad House of Mystery
and Abel in the tall House of Secrets. According to their appearance in Swamp Thing, the difference is that a mystery may be shared, but a secret must be forgotten if one tries to tell it.
Gaiman's Cain is an aggressive, overbearing character. He is a thin, long-limbed man with an angular, drawn face, glasses, a tufty beard, and hair drawn into two points above his ears. He has been described by other characters as sounding "just like Vincent Price
."
Gaiman's Abel is a nervous, stammering, kind-hearted man. Abel is somewhat similar in appearance to Cain, with a tufty beard and hair that comes to points above his ears, though his hair is black rather than brown. He is shorter and fatter than Cain, with a more open face. It is eventually learned that the only time he does not stutter is when he is telling a story or when he is dead.
Cain frequently kills Abel in a kind of macabre form of obsessive-compulsive disorder
, re-enacting the first murder. In the Dreaming, Abel's death is temporary, and he recovers after a few hours. Cain seems unable to control his frequent murders of Abel, and occasionally expresses remorse over them; there is a genuine bond between the two, beneath the surface contempt. Abel remains dedicated to Cain, and frequently dreams of a more harmonious relationship between the two.
Cain and Abel own a large green draconic gargoyle
named Gregory, who also made his debut in House of Mystery #175. In the first appearance of the characters in Sandman, issue #2, Cain gives Abel an egg that soon hatches into another gargoyle, a small golden one. Abel is delighted and names the gargoyle "Irving," but Cain forcefully insists that the names of gargoyles must always begin with a "G." When Abel resists, Cain murders him. After Abel revives, he renames the gargoyle "Goldie", after a friend of his who "went away." Goldie was an invisible/imaginary friend to whom Abel told his early House of Secrets stories, but the idea was eventually dropped. A letter in issue #91 was attributed to Goldie, who claimed that it was her depicted on the cover of issue #88.
The main function of Cain and Abel throughout The Sandman is as comic relief. However, the two play significant (though not key) roles at several points in the series; it is they who take Dream in until his strength is restored following his 72-year-long imprisonment. In the fourth story arc
, Season of Mists
, Cain is sent to Hell
to give a message to Lucifer
because the Mark of Cain protects him from all harm. Cain and Abel also aid The Corinthian with the child Daniel during The Kindly Ones
, the penultimate story arc of the series. Abel is also one of the victims of the Furies in this series, and is brought back to life by the new Dream.
, of human appearance but with two small additional mouths where his eyes should be.
, the mother of humanity and wife of Adam.
Eve originally occurred in Secrets of Sinister House
#6 (August–September 1972); she was the series' principal host, often in stock images, usually with her raven. After issue 15, in which Eve reveals in the letter column that her raven, Edgar Allen [sic], is an enchanted deceased human, editor Joe Orlando
departed from the series and so did she, the series focusing on "sinister house"s. That month (December 1973), she started hosting one story per month in Weird Mystery Tales
.
She became the principal host of Weird Mystery Tales with issue #15, Destiny
having moved to Secrets of Haunted House
as principal host. In Plop!
, Eve, Cain, and Abel each tell one story per issue. She also makes a few appearances in House of Mystery
and House of Secrets. In her early appearances, she appears only as a crone
, is often referred to as a witch, and has a tendency to be snappy and mean. In her first appearance, she scares Cain and Abel, and shouts at them, "Get out of the kitchen when it gets too hot, you cowardly mortals! Old Eve doesn't care..." Her letter column, which was answered in character, was called "Witch's Tales". She appeared as a principal character in stories in Secrets of Sinister House #9 and #11 and Weird Mystery Tales #18. In issue #9, she stays in an apartment building under an assumed name (she denies it is her in the letters column of issue #13), where the smell of her cooking causes her neighbor to report her to the superintendent, so she curses the neighbor to repeat a day—which begins wonderfully and ends in two deaths—over and over again.
In Weird Mystery Tales #3 (November–December 1972), Destiny insisted that Eve, Cain, and Abel are not their Biblical counterparts, whom he says he prefers. When she is shown in Sandman #2, Lucien's comment about her addresses her unfriendly nature prior to Dream's return, stating that she confines herself to nightmares.
She is one of the many representations in The Sandman of the triple nature of womankind (maiden, mother and crone), based on the three distinct "Eves" in some versions of the Genesis story: Lilith
, who was created as Adam's equal; a nameless one created of flesh and blood; and Eve, fashioned from Adam's rib. As such, while she is an individual with her own personality, she is also one another representation of The Three, along with the Fates, Graces, Gorgons, and Furies. This is comparable to the way the series' protagonist, Dream
, is on one level a character in his own right, and on another level merely a symbol or representation of the larger concept of dream
s.
Eve lives in a cave in the Dreaming, and is often accompanied by Dream's raven. The first Raven, Lucien, taught her how to bury Abel after Cain murdered him and she has been accompanied by a Raven ever since. She is kind and has a maternal nature, though she retains her assertiveness that might have been seen more as snappiness in her old stories. Most of the time she appears as a black-haired woman of indeterminate age. However, her appearance also mirrors her triple nature; she sometimes shifts between being a young, attractive maiden, a middle aged mother, and an elderly crone. When we first see her in The Sandman #2, she looks little different from her original appearances. Next, in, #24, she has put on much weight, has a friendlier face, and shows her ability to de-age as she embraces Matthew for the first time. Her largest appearance is in #40, where, storyteller once more, she appears young and beautiful for the first time.
In The Sandman vol. 1 #4, the Nightmare Wizard is shown as a conjurer of children's nightmares that Garrett Sanford believes are excessive, stating that they cause the deaths of the dreamer. Although implicitly male, the character looks like the crone Eve as she appears in The Sandman. A more likely association is the witch Hepzibah in Supergirl
vol. 1 #10, who looks identical to Eve's 1970s appearances, and using dolls, tries to use Supergirl to kill Prez Rickard.
is a place in the Dreaming which all travellers (specifically sailors) apparently dream of someday finding. It sometimes likes to take human form and go wandering, using the alias Gilbert during one of these trips. His most common form is as a kind, portly man who strongly resembles G. K. Chesterton
, not only in his physical appearance but also in his love of paradoxes (which give Rose Walker headaches). He was killed by The Three in The Wake
; Dream attempted to resurrect him but the almost-alive Gilbert stated that if he did "my death would have no meaning." Acquiescing, the new Dream stopped the process. He also accompanied Rose Walker
on her journey to find her brother Jed, and gave her the means by which to summon Dream to rescue her when she was assaulted. At the end of the series it is implied, though not outright stated, that he was "in love, a little" with Rose.
, a griffin
and a hippogriff
are the guardians of Dream's castle. The hippogriff has a horse's head instead of the traditional eagle's head.
They derive all their power and authority from Dream, so when Dream was captured and lost his power, they could no longer guard or protect the Dreaming.
After the griffin was destroyed by the Furies, the new Dream did not remake him, but asked the gryphons of Greek myth to send one of their own. (#71)
#175. His parents perched on the House of Mystery until they were able to kill their sculptor, a boarder in the house who had murdered their designer, and left without their egg. He later appears during the Blackest Night crossover, defending Scandal Savage, the new owner of the House of Mystery, from members of the Suicide Squad
.
In The Sandman
Goldie is a pet (baby) gargoyle
, given to Abel by his brother Cain in Sandman#2
. Abel originally intended to name him "Irving", but Cain insisted that gargoyles' names must all begin with a "G." Cain then proceeded to murder Abel over this, after which Abel names the gargoyle Goldie, after a friend who went away (in fact Abel's "imaginary" girlfriend, who appeared on the cover of The House of Secrets #88, and to whom he addressed many of his stories).
After The Sandman
Goldie takes centre stage in The Dreaming
, a Sandman spin-off series not written by Gaiman. In "The Goldie Factor," Goldie leaves the Dreaming and ends up in the Garden of Eden.
in The Dreaming
, and is a tall thin, bookish man. He first appeared in Weird Mystery Tales
#18 (May 1975) and was apparently killed in Secrets of Haunted House
#44 (January 1982).
Like Cain and Abel, Lucien, created by Paul Levitz
, Nestor Redondo
, and Joe Orlando
, was originally the host of a 1970s "weird tales" comic, specifically the three-issue Tales of Ghost Castle
(May/June–October 1975). In that series, he is portrayed as the guardian of a castle in Transylvania
abandoned by both sides during World War II
, watching over its forgotten library with his companion, a werewolf
named Rover. In his first appearance in Preludes and Nocturnes
(issue #2) this is retroactively
revealed to be Dream's castle.
Lucien is the effective keeper of the Dreaming in Dream's absence, and becomes one of Dream's most faithful and trusted servants after proving his loyalty by never abandoning his post during that period. His primary function is to protect the Library, wherein are contained all the books that have ever been dreamt of, including the ones that have never been written. The titles of some of these books, many of which are sequels to real works, are visible. He is, despite his frail appearance, apparently quite capable in combat, "[dealing] with" several unpleasant creatures who escape imprisonment during the events of The Kindly Ones.
In issue #68, it is revealed that Lucien's existence in the Dreaming began as serving the role of Dream's first raven
. When writing The Sandman Companion
, author Hy Bender
interpreted this as meaning that Lucien was also the first man
. An allusion to "Mr. Raven", the ghostly librarian in George MacDonald
's novel Lilith
, may be intended.
companion of Dream
of the Endless
.
Matthew was originally Matthew Cable
, a long-time supporting character in the Swamp Thing
series, but because he died while asleep in the Dreaming, he was offered the chance to become a dream raven and serve Dream if he wished, and he accepted.
Matthew is not the first of Morpheus' ravens. Former ravens include Aristeas
of Marmora
, who returned to his life as a man for one year at one point, and Lucien, the first of the ravens. The purpose of the ravens is debatable. Morpheus seems to keep the ravens around out of some sort of unspoken need for companionship, though he also sends them on occasional missions.
Matthew's word balloons
and font style
are scratchy and uneven, probably to represent a hoarse, cawing voice, and perhaps as an indicator of his crude, smart-aleck personality. Underneath his frequently irreverent manner, Matthew is actually very loyal to Dream, and he is one of the characters who takes it the hardest when Dream perishes, initially seeking release from his service, but eventually coming to terms with his loss and choosing to remain as Daniel's raven.
for a head, and his overall appearance is similar to that of a scarecrow
combined with a jack-o'-lantern
. He resembles Jack Pumpkinhead
of L. Frank Baum
's Oz
books.
Mervyn apparently drove a bus in dreams for a time during Dream's extended absence, and is first seen in Preludes and Nocturnes
when Dream hitches a ride with him and chats for a while. Merv is in charge of the construction, maintenance and demolition work in the Dreaming
, though he sometimes complains that his job is superfluous since Dream can change any of it at will. One issue of the "Dreaming" spin-off comic focuses on a dreamer who enjoys working under Merv's supervision.
Mervyn was one of the few who actively took up arms to fight the Furies in The Kindly Ones
but is easily killed. He is returned to life by the new Dream in The Wake
.
In a past incarnation shown in The Wake
, Mervyn was seen to have had a turnip
for a head instead of a pumpkin, as pumpkins were not then known in Europe.
series, as sidekicks to the title character, and continued to serve that role when Hector Hall
became the Sandman in Infinity Inc.
. In the original comics, Brute was similar to The Thing
, shouted "It's clobberin' time!" and often brought up his Uncle Harry. In The Doll's House
, it is revealed that they were manipulating the Sandmen in order to have a new Lord of the Dreaming under their control. Dream punished Brute and Glob for fleeing his realm by casting them into "the darkness" (a place of imprisonment and, presumably, torture, within the Dreaming). Near the end of The Kindly Ones
, the Furies tell Dream that they have released his prisoners from the darkness, but Brute and Glob are neither mentioned nor seen in this volume or in The Wake
. They next appear in The Dreaming #57–60, The Sandman Presents: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Dreams...But Were Afraid to Ask, and Lucifer
#15. They subsequently reappear in JSA
#64, again trying to manipulate a human connected to the Dreaming (Sandy Hawkins
) into their own "Sandman". Daniel returns them to the darkness. The two entities claim this area of darkness is filled with pleasing childhood dreams, which they despise. First appearance: The Sandman vol. 1, #1. Bute and Glob also make an appearance in the Sandman spinoff Lucifer
where they attempt to kidnap Elaine Belloc and fail. The Cuckoo: A parasitic dream who lives in Barbie's dreamworld and eventually takes over there. She assumes the form of a childhood version of Barbie until she successfully escapes from Barbie's world, at which point she transforms into a beautiful black-feathered bird.
The Fashion Thing: A minor character whose form changes based on popular fads. She is based on The Mad Mod Witch
, created by Dave Wood and Jack Sparling as the host of The Unexpected
, another DC horror title. At the time of her first appearance in Sandman, however, she is a "Mad Yuppie
Witch". First appearance: The Unexpected #108. Most of her appearances are relegated to a few panels. She is shown flying on her broom as a Yuppie briefly in issue #2, shown riding her broom in a top hat and tails with bare legs and feet in issue #22, and shown topless serving a meal to Delirium and Dream in issue #42. She also appears in The Kindly Ones.
Ruthven: A minor character, a vampiric rabbit who is often seen in the background of the Dreaming and occasionally talked to by the other characters. His speech is written in a demonic font as if his voice is very dark and powerful. He is killed by the Kindly Ones, but resurrected by Daniel in The Wake. He is named from Lord Ruthven
, the vampiric character based on Lord Byron and created by his secretary.
Taramis: The head of the kitchen staff, Taramis is a tall skinny man with a large head, an exceptionally long Fu Manchu
moustache, pink eyes and vampire teeth. He wears a red matador
vest, a white shirt, and a black bow tie, with a sash for a belt.
Judge Gallows appears in several issues of The Dreaming including the Special, "Trial and Error." Introduced in The Unexpected
#113 (June–July 1969), he is one of the few DC "mystery" hosts not used by Gaiman.
in the comic book
Lucifer
, a spin-off of Sandman.
The Basanos is a living Tarot
deck created by the seraph
Meleos to duplicate the divining power of Destiny's
book. They are incredibly powerful due to the fact that they control probability
, making whatever outcome they desire not only likely, but inevitable.
After escaping from Meleos, the Basanos take possession of Jill Presto, a cabaret
worker. Lucifer Morningstar seeks them out for a tarot reading
, which they grant.
When Lucifer creates his new universe, the Basanos move to take control of it so that they can breed (something that is impossible in The Creator's cosmos). Though initially successful in their plan, forming an alliance with Lucifer's enemies, their ability to control random chance is severely limited by Lucifer's creation, and Lucifer is able to outmaneuver them. Lucifer finally gives them an ultimatum: destroy themselves or risk letting the egg they laid in Jill Presto die. The Basanos choose death and extinguish themselves.
Basanos is Greek for touchstone. Such a touchstone may be a piece of slate
used to test gold
, or it may be a metaphor for torture
or torment to test truthfulness. Why Meleos chose this name for his creation is unknown.
s, is a fictional character
from Neil Gaiman
's comic book series, The Sandman. She is the DC Universe
version of the goddess Bast of Egyptian mythology
.
She was once a major goddess, but the loss of her believers over time has significantly reduced her powers. She is quite flirtatious with Dream
, and seems to have previously developed a mutual attraction with him which ultimately came to nothing. He sometimes goes to her for advice or companionship. Dream is almost affectionate with her, and in her own words she adores him.
Bast has also appeared in issues of Wonder Woman
and Hawkgirl
, as well as in Gaiman's novel American Gods
. She is one of the chief goddesses worshipped by the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall.
God
figure, the Abrahamic God (Although from a deistic viewpoint) such as almost never taking a physical form (the two exceptions being in Murder Mysteries
which very well may not lie in the same universe as The Sandman, and at the end of the Lucifer
series, when he returns to creation to talk to Lucifer
), being a creator-deity and having unmatched power.
However, despite these indications that all the mythologies in the Sandman are ultimately subordinate to the Judeo-Christian God, Gaiman has on several occasions stated that he never intended the Creator to be any specific religion's god, just as he makes it clear in the first appearance of the abode of the angels, the Silver City
, that it "is not Paradise
. It is not Heaven
. It is the Silver City, that is not part of the order of created things." However, the Silver City is very often referred to as "Heaven" in the Lucifer
comic book series.
In that series, one of the critical turning points is The Presence's abandonment of his Creation, which leads to a large number of problems, including struggles to claim the power that the Creator has abandoned, to make the destruction of the universe inevitable and to the slow unraveling of the universe due to the disappearance of the Name of the Creator written on every atom in existence. This is an ongoing storyline in Lucifer.
The Presence is referred to as the creator in JLA
stories involving the fallen angel Zauriel
.
god who first can be seen in Season of Mists
.
In The Sandman
He is temporarily freed from his punishment by Odin to help with their negotiations for the rulership of Hell. He manages to deceive Odin and Thor into taking another ambassador in his place using his illusionary powers, but fails to fool Dream. Dream says that although his victim must be freed, he allows Loki to go free, placing a dream-illusion in Loki’s place. In exchange, however, Loki will be indebted to Dream.
Loki returns in The Kindly Ones
. Still resentful of the debt he owes, he works with Puck to kidnap Daniel, a child under Dream's protection. The Corinthian and Matthew eventually find Daniel, and Loki attempts to fool them by taking the form of Dream. The Corinthian is not fooled, and strangles Loki who then assumes the form of a monstrous dragon, then that of The Corinthian himself, then Daniel, and finally his own. Undaunted by the god's deceptions, the Corinthian breaks Loki's neck and consumes his eyes. Loki, now blind, is taken by Odin and Thor back to his punishment. He attempts to goad Thor into killing him, but Odin prevents this, leaving Loki to his fate worse than death.
After The Sandman
Loki makes a small cameo in Lucifer
. Lucifer comes to Loki in order to take his ship for his own universe. Lucifer not only promises that he will free him at Ragnarok
, He also burns the snake that drips the poison on his face. Loki lets him take his ship and comments that "The All Father going to be hugely pissed about his snake". To which Lucifer replies "If I were you, I'd keep screaming from time to time. He may never notice the difference".
When in his own form, Loki is a tall, thin man with yellow eyes and long red hair that resembles flames.
Loki is based on the Norse god
Loki
.
("thought" and "memory"), and two wolves, Geri and Freki
.
Odin is based on the Norse God
Odin
.
, the Maiden
and the Crone
, the three aspects of the Triple Goddess
in many mythologies. Sometimes they appear in the form of the three witches from DC's horror anthology, The Witching Hour
: Mildred, Mordred, and Cynthia. As these witches, they also appeared in a prestige format
limited series of the same title, and two standard limited series, Witchcraft and Witchcraft: Le Terreur.
In The Sandman
The Three repeatedly appear throughout The Sandman for many different reasons and fulfilling different functions at different points in the story. Their first appearance is in The Sandman #2, where they appear as the three witches, Mildred (mother), Mordred (crone), and Cynthia (maiden) from the DC
horror anthology The Witching Hour
. They later take many different forms over the course of the series, and the "three women" symbol remains an extremely common one, often blurring the lines between when characters are supposed to be merely themselves and when they are supposed to be representations of the Three.
The Three represent the female principle, prophecy, and mystery, and they are often a vaguely menacing and enigmatic presence in the series. As a three-in-one mystical being, they can be seen as contrasting with the commonly-used triple-male Trinity
. Indeed, legend and mythology play a much larger role throughout the series than religion does, though some segments suggest a supreme monotheistic God
at work behind the scenes.
Common incarnations of the Three include the Erinyes
(Furies) in their vengeful aspect and the Moirae
(Fates) or Weird Sisters in their divinatory aspect. They also sometimes subtly appear in the form of other characters (such as Eve) or groups of characters.
After The Sandman
The Three later appeared in a graphic novel named Witchcraft, in which one of their priestesses in ancient Rome, Ursula, is set upon and raped by barbarians. She is then reincarnated three times, followed by the witches, and raped again three times by reincarnations of the barbarian leader until the modern age, when she comes back as his mother-in-law.
The Three eventually decide on a suitable punishment for the barbarian: that he would be reincarnated as each of the priestesses he had raped, in order, with the exception of Ursula. He would never know what was happening until the moment of death, at which point it would start all over again.
The Three are satisfied, and in the end tell Ursula that her grandchild will be beautiful, demonstrating a rare instance of apparent empathy.
and Beelzebub. Based on a statement from Agony and Ecstacy in Hellblazer
#12, he may have usurped his position from Belial
(whom they stated at the time was the third member of the trinity). He appears as a twisting, torn mass of black flame, like a window into space, filled with numerous eyes and mouths.
He was cast out after Lucifer abandoned Hell, and made the mistake of threatening and attacking Dream to try to gain ownership of it. Dream keeps him in a bottle in a chest of trinkets and mementos.
He is based on the demon Azazel
.
Azazel first appeared in DC Comics battling Madame Xanadu
in the story intended for Doorway to Nightmare #6 (it was cancelled after #5) that was eventually published in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 and The Unexpected
#190. As with Lucifer's appearance in The Brave and the Bold, he looked more like a traditional devil, but was referred to as an incubus
, which in the story, was a creature who steals people's dreams and imprints them on to tapestries that give him power and cannot be destroyed without killing the victims.
.
He had possession of Dream's helm, but lost it in a challenge. He later reappeared briefly as one of Azazel's tactics to gain ownership of Hell.
He is based on the demon Choronzon
.
Choronzon appears in 52
#25 (Late October 2006).
from the DC
Vertigo series The Sandman.
Before The Sandman
Duma's name means "silence
", and he is based on the angel Duma
from Jewish mythology
. In those tales, he is the angel of silence and death
's stillness. According to these same stories, he is the guardian of Egypt
and the prince of vindication. Based on this, one could speculate that he was the angel who killed the firstborn Egyptians in Moses
' time. Some sources also name him a "Prince of Hell," which would mean that at some unknown point in time he displeased God
and fell from grace.
The Zohar
, a book of Jewish
mysticism
, describes his position in Hell as such that he had "tens of thousands of angels of destruction" under him, and that he was "chief of demons in Gehinnon
with 12,000 myriads of attendants, all charged with the punishment of the souls of sinners."
Dumah is also the name given to the guardian of the 14th gate, through which the goddess Ishtar
passed on her journey to the underworld in Babylonian mythology. Dumah may or may not be related to Duma.
In The Sandman
It is unknown how much of Duma's background from Jewish mythology was actually incorporated into the character by Gaiman
. Many theories and interpretations have been put forward, but nothing is concrete.
In Season of Mists
, we find that Lucifer
has closed down Hell in frustration, handing off the key to the bemused Dream
. Eventually, after much squabbling between various gods, Duma and Remiel receive a message saying that they are to watch over Hell. Remiel immediately rejects it, but Duma silently accepts the key, and the guilt-stricken Remiel joins him in ruling Hell. Remiel subsequently attempts to redesign Hell, transforming it from a place of punishment to a place of rehabilitation for lost souls, but Duma's interest in these changes is unknown, as is his true opinion on many things.
After The Sandman
Following the end of The Sandman series, Remiel and Duma lose ownership of Hell in a complex sequence of events in the Lucifer spin-off series. Duma eventually allies with Lucifer and Elaine Belloc in the battle to save creation. It is he who persuades Hell's new ruler Christopher Rudd to bring his army to Heaven's aid at the Battle of Armageddon plain.
former ruler of Hell, a charming, intelligent, and utterly ruthless fallen angel
.
He is one of the most powerful beings in existence, said at one point to be surpassed only by his Creator.
He is based on the fallen angel Lucifer
, whose story was created by John Milton
in his Paradise Lost
.
Neil Gaiman also used the character Lucifer in his short story 'Murder Mysteries'. In this format, Lucifer was a captain of the Silver City, with Azazel
as his protege.
From the book, "Hanging out with the Dream King" (a book consisting of interviews with Gaiman's collaborators), one of Gaiman's artists, Kelley Jones, states that Lucifer is based on David Bowie
, image-wise. In the interview, Jones states the following:
"...Neil was adamant that the Devil was David Bowie. He just said, 'He is. You must draw David Bowie. Find David Bowie, or I'll send you David Bowie. Because if it isn't David Bowie, you're going to have to redo it until it is David Bowie.' So I said, 'Okay, it's David Bowie.'..."
Lucifer made at least three previous appearances in DC Comics (Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #65, Weird Mystery Tales
#4, and DC Special Series/The Brave and the Bold
Special #8), but his appearance was more traditional. Lucifer as he appeared in The Sandman also appeared in stories of Etrigan the Demon, The Spectre, and Stanley and His Monster
.
from Neil Gaiman
's Sandman mythos
. The name "Mazikeen
" comes from that of a shapeshifting demon of Jewish mythology
.
In The Sandman
Mazikeen first appeared in The Sandman, where she was Lucifer's
consort while he reigned in Hell. At the time, half of her face was normal, but the other half was horribly misshapen and skeletal, causing her speech to be nearly unintelligible. (Gaiman wrote Mazikeen's dialogue by trying to speak using only half of his mouth, and writing down phonetically what came out.)
When Lucifer resigned, Mazikeen left Hell and ended up following her master, becoming part of the staff at the "Lux" (Latin for light, and the first root word in "Lucifer"), an elite Los Angeles bar that Lucifer had opened and played piano at. To conceal her demonic nature, she covered the deformed half of her face with a white mask and rarely spoke.
After The Sandman
In the ongoing comic book
series Lucifer
, Mazikeen is a devoted ally of Lucifer Morningstar and the war leader of the Lilin
, a race descended from Lilith
. A fearsome warrior and a respected leader, Mazikeen is a prominent character in the Lucifer comics. She has the appearance of a human female with long black hair.
In Lucifer, Mazikeen's face was turned fully human when she was resuscitated by the Basanos following the destruction of the Lux in a fire. This was because the vessel of the Basanos, Jill Presto, did not realize that Mazikeen's face was naturally deformed, and assumed that it was burned in the fire.
When Lucifer refused to assist her in restoring her face to its former state, she defected to her family, the Lilim-in-Exile. As their war leader, she led their army against Lucifer's cosmos, allying herself briefly with the Basanos. However, this was a ruse; after a desperate gamble, she bought Lucifer enough time to destroy the Basanos and regain control of his creation. Lucifer then accepted her into his service once more and made the Lilim-in-Exile the standing army of his universe.
Lucifer ultimately restores Mazikeen's half-skeletal face shortly before departing the known universes, gifting Mazikeen with his celestial fire.
ic character in the comic book series The Sandman based on the angel Remiel. He first appears in Season of Mists
.
In The Sandman
Remiel, along with Duma, is sent to observe when Dream
is given the key to Hell
. Dream ends up offering the key to Remiel and Duma, making them the new rulers of Hell, but Remiel refuses to accept it, wishing to return to the Silver City
. In doing so, Remiel disobeys the Creator, and as a result can never return to the Silver City anyway. Duma accepts the key, however, and the two angels descend to Hell to rule over the countless sinners and demons there. Whether Remiel is a fallen angel or not (he is described as having tripped or stumbled more than fallen), and whether he truly has the free will to ultimately disobey the Creator's wishes, is left somewhat ambiguous.
While reigning in Hell, Remiel attempts to organize the domain into a great soul-cleansing machine. However Remiel never fully gets over his fall from the Silver City and tries to return the keys to Lucifer, in The Kindly Ones.
After The Sandman
Following the end of the Sandman series, Remiel and Duma lose ownership of Hell in a complex sequence of events in the Lucifer
spin-off series. At the end of the series, Remiel tries to rebel against Elaine Belloc
, refusing to accept her as God's successor. When he tries to kill Gaudium and Spera, friends of Elaine's, she steps in and puts him in his own Hell until he gets his act together.
, Worlds' End
, The Kindly Ones
, and The Wake
. He is strongly reminiscent of the "trickster
" archetype also associated with Loki. Following the events of The Kindly Ones
, Cluracan manages to offend his queen so badly that she sends him to the court of Llinor, where tradition demands that he marry a lady of the royal house. Fortunately, Cluracan's nemesis
- who is identical to the faerie in every way except his sexual orientation - had grown weary enough of solitude to take Cluracan's place.
The Cluracan is based on a drunken leprechaun
of Irish mythology
, the Cluricaun.
at the end of Season of Mists
. She appears initially as a beautiful woman, but this is the result of her faerie glamour. When Dream removes the glamour, her true appearance—a small, brown-haired, plain-looking girl—is revealed.
From this point on, Nuala takes on the housekeeping duties of the Dreaming, only stopping when her brother Cluracan brings her back to Faerie in The Kindly Ones
. When she leaves, Dream grants her with a boon as a reward for her years of servitude, allowing her to call on him if she needs to. Nuala had been nursing a crush on Dream for some time, so she finally calls him, asking him to love her. Dream is unable to do this, but he says that he can at least "send you a dream of my love." Nuala responds, "I already have that, my lord."
She subsequently appears in the Sandman spinoff series, The Dreaming.
series The Sandman and The Books of Magic
. He is seen for the first time in Sandman#19 as Auberon of Dom-Daniel, and again in several issues of The Books of Magic
and in the Books of Faerie
miniseries.
The character was inspired by Oberon of Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's Dream
.
's comic book
series The Sandman.
In The Sandman
Titania is the queen of the fay
; she first appears in issue#19.
The character was inspired by Shakespeare's
Titania (Fairy Queen) in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream
. There is some speculation that she in the past was a lover of Dream's, although this is never explicitly stated.
After The Sandman
Titania is also a major character in the comic book The Books of Magic
, of which the first four issues were written by Gaiman, and its spin-off series The Books of Faerie
.
In the latter series, it is revealed that she is not a fay, but a human girl who crossed over into the fay realm and was then adopted by the current queen of the fay. She appears to be a fay due to an enchanted circlet she stole when the last queen was transformed into a tree by her husband. She is also the most powerful human sorceress alive, which simply aids in her deception. Despite this arcane power, it was revealed that she is illiterate
, and so regularly uses Dream's library because its special properties allow its users to read books in any language, including those they cannot speak. There are conflicting accounts that she may be the mother of the series' main protagonist, Timothy Hunter
.
and hobgoblin
also called Robin Goodfellow who appears several times in The Sandman. Puck aids the Norse God Loki in kidnapping Daniel
, playing a small role in the death of the Sandman and Daniel's subsequent assuming of the title. Puck later appeared in an issue of The Books of Magic
, hiding as a gangster called Mr Robbins in Brighton
whose true nature is discovered—but not exposed—by Timothy Hunter
.
The character was inspired by Puck
of Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's Dream
.
once every hundred years.
Hob's was granted immortality in a pub named the White Horse in 1389 when he simply declared that he "had decided never to die." Death agrees, at Dream's request, to forego her responsibilities in Gadling's case, so that Dream can meet him every century to hear about his experiences. At their 20th Century meeting, Dream finally admits - after initially rejecting the idea violently - that the purpose of the exercise was simply for him to have a friend.
Hob is originally a callous man, a soldier of fortune with no respect for anyone else's well-being. He takes to a variety of occupations over the centuries, including slaving, and periodically reinvents himself as a descendant of his previous persona. Gradually, he acquires a conscience, and by the 20th Century has become a thoughtful and caring man, full of remorse at his past deeds.
In The Wake
, Death meets Gadling at a Renaissance Fair; out of respect for her late brother Dream she offers to end his six-hundred-year life, but Gadling refuses.
and the muse Calliope. He is based on Orpheus
of Greek mythology
.
In "The Song of Orpheus", the Endless attend Orpheus's wedding to Eurydice. Eurydice dies on the same night, and Orpheus asks his father retrieve her from Hades
. Dream refuses, but Orpheus gets help from Destruction and Death. As in the legend, Orpheus travels to Hades, plays his sad music, loses Eurydice again, and gets torn apart by the Bacchanae
(the beloved madwomen of Dionysos) but because of his immortality survives as a disembodied head. Dream establishes a priesthood to take care of his son, saying that they will never meet again.
In "Thermidor
", Johanna Constantine is asked by Dream to rescue Orpheus from Revolutionary France. Orpheus's singing stuns Robespierre and Louis de Saint-Just
, leading to the Thermidorian Reaction
. Orpheus misses his father, who still has not visited him.
In Brief Lives
, Dream has to talk to Orpheus in order to find Destruction. In return, Orpheus is granted his wish of death.
. She has a bookish appearance with straight hair and thick glasses that belies her personality; amoral, cold-blooded, proud, and ruthless, though not malicious. She will kill people who are potential threats with no hesitation or remorse.
Neil Gaiman
named this character after the land of witches, Thessaly
, in Greece
. Later in the series, Thessaly changes her name to Larissa
, which is the capital of Thessaly. Larissa was actually the local fountain nymph, after whom the town was named. It is suggested however that Thessaly is even older than this civilization and may date from Neolithic times.
Thessaly returns in the later volumes, where she is Dream's lover for a time, but this relationship ends unhappily for both and is never actually shown in the series. When it is alluded to in Brief Lives
Thessaly is never mentioned by name, so only in The Kindly Ones
is this romance revealed. Also in The Kindly Ones, Thessaly provides Lyta Hall
with protection and sanctuary from Dream
, who is being targeted for death by the Furies, using Hall as a vessel.
When Lyta wakes up after Dream's death, Thessaly calmly advises her to leave. Thessaly suggests that many people, including herself, would be more than happy to murder Lyta for her part in Morpheus' destruction.
Thessaly also is the star of two spin-off comic series, The Thessaliad and Thessaly, Witch for Hire written by Bill Willingham
. In the spin-offs, Thessaly (under that name) and her companion, a ghost named Fetch, first set out to tackle various gods of the underworld who want her dead. Later she is unwillingly pressured into a monster-killing contract.
She is alluded to in the Faction Paradox
series, in the character Thessalia and her protege Larissa.
, however she merely states that "you don't get to your two hundred and fiftieth without learning a few tricks".
Later, Hettie worked in the series The Dreaming, in which it was discovered that she had dealings with Destiny
, Johanna Constantine and President Thomas Jefferson
.
as "..a fossil remnant from an earlier, cruder creation. His body is a weaving that has to be renewed constantly. His spirit too, come to that. A messy form of immortality, but it seems to do the job." In earlier days he was the leader of the Arao Jinn. He appears as a mercenary, hired by the angel Perdissa to kill Lucifer. He seems to need to consume living things to stay alive, weaving them into himself. He is severely damaged by Perdissa and eventually killed by Lucifer.
, Vassily appears as an old man telling his teen-aged granddaughter a tale from "the old country", medieval Russia. A youth raised in a remote forest has a series of adventures, including meeting with Lucien (to whom he gives a book) and Baba Yaga
, and marrying a fellow shape-changing wolf. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the grandfather is the youth in his own story.
). He is taught by his father, and takes part in his rituals. Upon Roderick Burgess' death, Alex inherits his estate, including his magical order. He keeps Dream imprisoned, as his father did, trying to bargain for power and immortality in exchange for Dream's release.
The Order of the Ancient Mysteries enjoys a resurgence in popularity in the 1960s, but by the 1970s it is in decline again. Alex passes ownership of the Order on to his boyfriend, Paul McGuire, and becomes obsessed with his prisoner and with his father. Finally, in 1988, Dream escapes and puts Alex into a nightmare of "eternal waking," in which he is forever dreaming he is waking up, and each waking degenerates into another horrible nightmare. This nightmare lasts for years, ending only with Dream's death in The Kindly Ones
.
Alex is quite tall and near-sighted. He has brown hair which he wears in a variety of styles throughout his life, but by old age he is bald and has come to resemble his father very closely. His relationship with McGuire is deep and heartfelt, but his obsessions with his father and with Dream eventually come to rule his life. In The Wake
, he appears again as the child that we see in his first appearance.
Alex is in many ways a tragic figure, perhaps the first statement of the theme that Desire
explores in The Wake
: "The bonds of family bind both ways". Had Alex not been born the son of his father, inheriting the imprisoned Dream, his life might have been much happier. However, he is finally able to find some measure of fulfillment in his old age, following Dream's death.
His name almost certainly derives from Anthony Burgess
's A Clockwork Orange
, the protagonist of which is named Alex, but could also be a nod to Aleister Crowley
, whose original middle name was Alexander and who was mentioned in the first issue.
, and was initially funded by his inherited industrial wealth. Burgess is a magician rather in the vein of the real Aleister Crowley
, and within the DC world
is Crowley's rival.
The series begins with Burgess' attempt to capture and bind Death
, which fails, capturing Dream
instead. Burgess keeps Dream trapped in a glass globe for the rest of his (Burgess') life, attempting to bargain with Dream, but Dream remains silent. Burgess dies of old age still attempting to get a response out of Dream. His order passes on to his son Alex.
Burgess is a bald-headed, slightly pot-bellied man with a large hook nose and something of the look of a gypsy about him. He is ultimately self-centred; his sole purpose for the Order is to bring money and power to himself, and he is consumed by his desire to achieve immortality. His relationship with his son is only briefly touched on, though it is implied that it is unhealthy, with Burgess pushing his son to spend his life pursuing his father's dreams.
encounters her several times, once to ask her to recover the head of his son, Orpheus
— a mission she performed so successfully that part of its after-effects was the ending of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror.
In the Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine graphic novel, an ancient evil refers to Johanna Constantine as 'the Constantine', the 'laughing magician', and the 'constant one', all titles that have been used (usually by other ancient evils) to describe John Constantine
. The evil taunts her, saying "did you think to trick us with a new form?" There is the implication that throughout all times there have been recurring incarnations of Constantine who contain the spark of magic. In the story Johanna Constantine learns that "the Devil
and the Wandering Jew
" meet once every hundred years in a London pub; this meeting is actually between Dream
and Hob Gadling
, as she discovers when she interrupts the meeting. The story's conclusion shows Johanna Constantine inheriting a property she calls "Fawney Rig", after the con job wherein a gilded ring is sold as though it were solid gold... the implication being that she attained the property through trickery. This property was later owned by Roderick Burgess, the mage who captured Dream
in the beginning of The Sandman story.
After The Sandman
In her middle age, Johanna Constantine is charged by persons unknown with the key to a box containing the sigil of America, allegedly created by Destiny. This is stolen and hidden in the future by the wanderer, Mad Hettie. Hettie both blackmails ('I knows about you and the little Corsican') and bribes Johanna for her silence, promising her that she would live to age 99. This promise proves true, with Johanna dying at age 99 while getting out of her wheelchair when she hears the song of her old companion, Orpheus.
Johanna is presumably intended as an ancestor of John Constantine
, although this has not been explicitly stated.
She is also mentioned in the Doctor Who
novel The Man in the Velvet Mask
, set in an alternate post-Revolutionary France.
and magician who accompanies Dream
on a quest to find his pouch of sand.
John Constantine
has his own series, John Constantine: Hellblazer, which occasionally has guest appearances by Cain and Abel. He is also prominently featured in another series, Swamp Thing
, from which he originated.
. She was the mistress of Roderick Burgess until she fled with Ruthven Sykes.
Her last joy was her son, John Dee, whom she sought for 10 years. She discovered that he had become a living corpse, which happened because of his use of the Sandman's Ruby.
At this time, she was 90 years old, and it was alluded that she had been kept alive by an amulet in the shape of an eye which granted its user protection, the amulet that Ruthven Sykes had been given by the demon Choronzon in exchange for Dream's helmet. Sykes, who had been second in command in The Order of Ancient Mysteries, needed protection from Roderick Burgess who was seeking retribution for Sykes' treachery of the theft of the ₤200,000 and Dream's magical items, which were in possession of the Order at the time he fled with Ethel Cripps to San Francisco in 1930. "Magical War" was declared upon them, and Ruthven knew he would need a way to protect himself from the hexes Burgess sought to put upon him.
In 1936, Ethel walked out on Ruthven, taking with her the amulet of protection and Dream's Ruby. While in his possession, the amulet protected Sykes from Burgess' hex, but without it, he died a messy and painful death, with his insides exploding out of him. The amulet continued to protect Ethel while Choronzon was still in possession of Dream's helmet.
After Dream escaped and sought to regain his items, he descended down to hell to find his helmet. He had to battle Choronzon to regain it, and after his victory, the compact was withdrawn and the power of protection the amulet possessed ended, which also ended the life of Ethel Dee.
villain whose powers were derived from his use of Dream's Ruby. His name is almost certainly a reference to the real-life John Dee
. He was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum
, with other Batman
villains such as The Scarecrow
and The Joker
, until freed by the amulet given to him by his mother, Ethel Dee, former mistress to Roderick Burgess. He had previously fought the Sandman (Garrett Sanford) alongside the Justice League
.
John originally named himself 'Doctor Destiny' to protect his mother's surname, but after her death changed it back. The Ruby had drained away his mental and physical state until he was no longer able to sleep or dream without it. This had the unpleasant effect of turning him into a browned, living corpse.
Being able to control dreams, he used the ruby to bring out the 'darkness' and 'bestiality' of many people across the world. He originally sought power, money and mostly the restoration of his human body, but the madness brought about by overuse of the relic drove him to savage, monstruous acts of depravity using the ruby. To quote: 'I think I'll dismember the world and then I'll dance in the wreckage.'
While doing this, over a period of 24 hours he focused the energy of the ruby on several people in a cafe, one of them a friend of Rose Walker and an ex-lover of Foxglove. He used them as puppets, horribly having them murder and degrade each other as if toys, until all were dead.
Dream double-bluffed him into destroying the ruby, which Dee believed to be Dream's life. It actually only stored some of his energy, and with it released Dream instead became even more powerful than before. Easily overpowering Dee, Dream decided not to destroy him, and instead returned him to Arkham. Dee was finally able to sleep, and his sadism and depravity faded as he now could again dream.
He has since appeared in Justice League
and Justice Society stories, having retained some residual power from the ruby. Even worse, since he has managed to replicate its power perfectly, though the second ruby is now out of his grasp. However, since the new Ruby is attuned to him, he has since not regressed to his previous vicious persona, mostly seeking the dominion of dreams or the waking world through dreams.
. The two finally met for real in Gaiman's Sandman Midnight Theatre
. Dodds appeared out of costume during The Sandman: The Wake
(#72). The reason for his prophetic visions is explained as him being embodied with a small portion of Dream's essence. His reasoning for assuming his role as The Sandman is given as nightmares of Dream in his helmet that plague him, until he begins his career as a crimefighter after which; "Wesley Dodds sleeps the sleep of the Just."
writer
and musician
who first appears in A Game of You
.
She is mentioned in Preludes and Nocturnes
as the girlfriend of Judy, one of the patrons at the diner who dies in the story concerning John Dee, titled "24 Hours." In A Game of You, Foxglove is going out with Hazel McNamara, and the two help Thessaly rescue Barbie.
After The Sandman
In Death: The Time of Your Life
, Foxglove has become a pop superstar
after being seen by a promoter in Death: The High Cost of Living
. She is raising a child with Hazel named Alvie. Alvie dies of cot death
, leading Hazel to make a deal with Death
. However, even in the world of the Endless there's no such thing as a free lunch, and another character's life has to be sacrificed for the child's.
, and the successor to the role of Dream
of the Endless
.
Grimoire
from the museum's collection to aid Roderick Burgess in his attempt to gain immortality after his son, Edmund, dies. He commits suicide in 1920 using a dagger from the museum after a stock taking reveals his theft. His suicide note, implicating Roderick Burgess in a multitude of crimes, is never found.
's lover. She appears in
A Game of You
and Death: The High Cost of Living
.
She has a son, Alvie, from her one heterosexual encounter. It is likely that Alvie is named after Wanda (see below). In Death: The Time of Your Life
Alvie dies of cot death and Hazel makes a deal with Death
to bring him back.
capture in the first collection of issues in the series, Preludes and Nocturnes
. Following his capture, she sleeps until he escapes. While asleep, she is raped and gives birth to a daughter, Miranda Walker.
It is later learned that the father of this child was Desire
. Unity was supposed to be a "vortex of Dream," a special entity that appears only very rarely, with the ability to connect the dreams of other beings, a dangerous ability that can eventually cause the destruction of The Dreaming
. The only time Dream is allowed to take a human life is to kill a vortex. Desire's intervention confuses the issue, and eventually Unity's granddaughter, Rose Walker
, becomes the vortex. Desire does this so that Dream will be forced to kill a person of family blood, thus bringing the vengeance of the Furies
on him.
However, just before Dream can kill Rose, Unity appears, explaining that she should have been the vortex, and asks for Rose's heart. The heart is a red glass one (remniscient of the green heart-shaped piece of glass that appears in the opening tale of this series). Taking the heart, Unity becomes the vortex, and dies.
Unity is of medium height, with reddish-brown hair that she wears long and loose in the self-image she uses in the final dream-meeting between herself, Rose, and Dream; as the old woman we meet at the start of The Doll's House, she has grey hair and wears a curiously old-fashioned dress. She seems kind, and smiles a lot.
He is Roderick Burgess' second-in-command of the Order of the Ancient Mysteries until November 1930, when he steals a number of treasures (including Dream's helmet, ruby and pouch of sand) and £200,000 in cash from the order and flees to San Francisco with Roderick's mistress, Ethel Cripps. In December 1930, he trades the helmet to the demon Choronzon for an amulet that looks like an eyeball on a chain. This amulet protects him from the magics of Burgess until 1936, when Ethel Cripps leaves him, taking the amulet with her. He is then killed.
and Jack Kirby
, first appeared in The Sandman
, vol. 1, #1, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. In Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, he was revealed to be the Earth-1 equivalent of Kirby's Kamandi
. In Neil Gaiman
's revisionist
version of The Sandman, Jed is the brother of Rose Walker
and the grandson of Unity Kinkaid and Desire
. He was raised by his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, then taken and imprisoned by his aunt and uncle at the behest of Desire. Once Rose rescues him, he is revealed in The Wake to have become close to her.
from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman
. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House
story arc. She is a young blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair. In later issues, she is shown as having red hair with a blonde streak. In The Kindly Ones
, several characters remark that Rose looks much younger than her actual age; Rose's responses to these comments imply that while she may not be a true immortal, she is aware that she is aging more slowly than normal.
and Jack Kirby
. The pair mysteriously show up on Dolphin Island a few hours after the drowning death of Jed's grandfather, fisherman Ezra Paulsen. They take him to live with their own children, Bruce and Susie. They treat him as a personal slave not unlike Cinderella
, with minimal food even as he does all the cooking. Eventually, their treatment of him is revealed to have become much more abusive—after he runs away from home, they place him in a basement dungeon with no toilet. This is told in issues 5 and 6 of the first series, The Best of DC #22, and recapped in Rose's diary in issue #11 of the Gaiman series. In issue #12, their mysterious appearance is revealed to have been because they were being paid an $800 monthly stipend by social services. In issue #14, they are revealed to have been killed.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Vertigo imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. This page discusses not only events which occur in The Sandman (1989–1994), but also some occurring in spinoff
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
s of The Sandman (such as The Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
(1996–2001) and Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
(1999–2007)) and in earlier stories that The Sandman was based on. These stories occur in the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
, but are generally tangential to the mainstream DC stories.
The Endless
The Endless are a family of seven anthropomorphicAnthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
personifications of universal concepts, around whom much of the series revolves. From eldest to youngest, they are:
- DestinyDestiny (DC Comics)Destiny is a DC Comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Bernie Wrightson, first appearing in Weird Mystery Tales #1 , and was regular host of that series for the first fourteen issues, after which he hosted Secrets of Haunted House. He is one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's comic book series,...
- DeathDeath (DC Comics)Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg....
- DreamDream (comics)Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
(formerly Morpheus, succeeded by Daniel) - DestructionDestruction (DC Comics)Destruction is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional Biography Within The Sandman:...
("The Prodigal") - DesireDesire (DC Comics)Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
- DespairDespair (DC Comics)Despair is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series, The Sandman.Despair is the twin sister of Desire. She is squat, flabby and pale-skinned, with black hair, gray eyes, and pointed teeth. Her voice is little more than a whisper, and she has no odor, but her...
- DeliriumDelirium (DC Comics)Delirium is one of The Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional character history:Delirium, known to the Greek culture as Mania, is the youngest of the Endless, yet still older than the rest of existence. She is usually quite short, and thin, and...
(formerly Delight)
All débuted in the Sandman series, except Destiny, who was created by Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
and Berni Wrightson in Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
#1 (1972). A more traditional version of Death had appeared in various previous stories, however.
Dreams and nightmares
These inhabitants of the DreamingThe Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
are often former gods, myths, and even ordinary human beings who later became dreams.
Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel are based on the Biblical Cain and AbelCain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
adapted by editor Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
with Bob Haney
Bob Haney
Robert G. "Bob" Haney was a US comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons.- Early life and career :...
(writer) and Jack Sparling (artist) (Cain), and Mark Hannerfeld (writer) and Bill Draut (artist) (Abel). They were depicted together in Abel's first appearance, and they parted to their respective Houses at the end of the story, the House of Secrets having been recently moved, with Cain promising things not to go the way they happened before. Although Cain would abuse Abel, he was not shown killing him until Swamp Thing vol. 2 #33. In Elvira
Cassandra Peterson
Cassandra Peterson is an American actress best known for her on-screen horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ wearing a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation...
's House of Mystery #11, Cain expresses shock at having killed his brother in recent times. In the same issue, a contest-winning letter establishes that Cain and the House exist both in the dream world and the real world, and that only the dream world Cain continues to harm Abel. In The Sandman, Cain is shown to kill Abel quite often. Even then, in issue #2, Lucien says that the pair recently got stranger, which is followed immediately by panels of disagreement and murder.
Before The Sandman
Originally they were the respective "hosts" of the EC
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
-style horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
comic
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
anthologies House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
and House of Secrets, which ran from the 1950s through 1983—Cain debuting in House of Mystery #175 (1968) and Abel in DC Special #4 and House of Secrets #81 (both 1969). During the 1970s, they also co-hosted the horror/humor anthology Plop!
Plop!
Plop!, "The New Magazine of Weird Humor!", was a comic book anthology published by DC Comics in the mid 1970s. It falls into the horror / humor genre. There were 24 issues in all and the series ran from Sept./Oct. 1973 to Nov./Dec. 1976.-Contents:...
They were also both recurring characters in DC's Elvira's House of Mystery (1986–1988).
In 1985, the characters were revived by writer Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, who introduced them into his Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...
series in issue #33, retelling the Swamp Thing's original origin story from a 1971 issue of House of Secrets. Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin
Dan Mishkin
Dan Mishkin is a comic book writer, and co-creator of the DC Comics characters Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld and Blue Devil. Both series used fantasy elements in ironic and often thought-provoking ways. DC gave these series a promotional push by featuring them in free, 16-page insert previews...
included them in the pages of Blue Devil
Blue Devil
Blue Devil is a superhero featured in material published by DC Comics. He first appeared in a special insert published in Fury of Firestorm #24 . That story led directly into Blue Devil #1, also cover dated June 1984...
in 1986. Jamie Delano
Jamie Delano
Jamie Delano is a British comics writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers. Best known as the first writer of the comic book series Hellblazer, starring John Constantine.- Biography :...
also occasionally used them in a cameo role in his title Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
.
In The Sandman
In Gaiman's Sandman universe, the biblical Cain and Abel come to live in the Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
at Dream's
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
invitation. This is based on the verse in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
which says that Cain was sent to live in the Land of Nod
Land of Nod
The Land of Nod is a place in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, located "on the east of Eden" , to which Cain chose to flee after murdering his brother Abel...
.
They live as neighbours in two houses near a graveyard, Cain in the broad House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
and Abel in the tall House of Secrets. According to their appearance in Swamp Thing, the difference is that a mystery may be shared, but a secret must be forgotten if one tries to tell it.
Gaiman's Cain is an aggressive, overbearing character. He is a thin, long-limbed man with an angular, drawn face, glasses, a tufty beard, and hair drawn into two points above his ears. He has been described by other characters as sounding "just like Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
."
Gaiman's Abel is a nervous, stammering, kind-hearted man. Abel is somewhat similar in appearance to Cain, with a tufty beard and hair that comes to points above his ears, though his hair is black rather than brown. He is shorter and fatter than Cain, with a more open face. It is eventually learned that the only time he does not stutter is when he is telling a story or when he is dead.
Cain frequently kills Abel in a kind of macabre form of obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...
, re-enacting the first murder. In the Dreaming, Abel's death is temporary, and he recovers after a few hours. Cain seems unable to control his frequent murders of Abel, and occasionally expresses remorse over them; there is a genuine bond between the two, beneath the surface contempt. Abel remains dedicated to Cain, and frequently dreams of a more harmonious relationship between the two.
Cain and Abel own a large green draconic gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
named Gregory, who also made his debut in House of Mystery #175. In the first appearance of the characters in Sandman, issue #2, Cain gives Abel an egg that soon hatches into another gargoyle, a small golden one. Abel is delighted and names the gargoyle "Irving," but Cain forcefully insists that the names of gargoyles must always begin with a "G." When Abel resists, Cain murders him. After Abel revives, he renames the gargoyle "Goldie", after a friend of his who "went away." Goldie was an invisible/imaginary friend to whom Abel told his early House of Secrets stories, but the idea was eventually dropped. A letter in issue #91 was attributed to Goldie, who claimed that it was her depicted on the cover of issue #88.
The main function of Cain and Abel throughout The Sandman is as comic relief. However, the two play significant (though not key) roles at several points in the series; it is they who take Dream in until his strength is restored following his 72-year-long imprisonment. In the fourth story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
, Season of Mists
The Sandman: Season of Mists
Season of Mists is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman.It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, and P...
, Cain is sent to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
to give a message to Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
because the Mark of Cain protects him from all harm. Cain and Abel also aid The Corinthian with the child Daniel during The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
, the penultimate story arc of the series. Abel is also one of the victims of the Furies in this series, and is brought back to life by the new Dream.
Corinthian
The Corinthian is a nightmare created by DreamDream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
, of human appearance but with two small additional mouths where his eyes should be.
Eve
Eve is based on the biblical EveAdam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
, the mother of humanity and wife of Adam.
Eve originally occurred in Secrets of Sinister House
Secrets of Sinister House
Secrets of Sinister House was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972–1974, a companion to Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion.-Publication history:...
#6 (August–September 1972); she was the series' principal host, often in stock images, usually with her raven. After issue 15, in which Eve reveals in the letter column that her raven, Edgar Allen [sic], is an enchanted deceased human, editor Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
departed from the series and so did she, the series focusing on "sinister house"s. That month (December 1973), she started hosting one story per month in Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
.
She became the principal host of Weird Mystery Tales with issue #15, Destiny
Destiny (DC Comics)
Destiny is a DC Comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Bernie Wrightson, first appearing in Weird Mystery Tales #1 , and was regular host of that series for the first fourteen issues, after which he hosted Secrets of Haunted House. He is one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's comic book series,...
having moved to Secrets of Haunted House
Secrets of Haunted House
Secrets of Haunted House was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1975 to 1982.-Publication history:...
as principal host. In Plop!
Plop!
Plop!, "The New Magazine of Weird Humor!", was a comic book anthology published by DC Comics in the mid 1970s. It falls into the horror / humor genre. There were 24 issues in all and the series ran from Sept./Oct. 1973 to Nov./Dec. 1976.-Contents:...
, Eve, Cain, and Abel each tell one story per issue. She also makes a few appearances in House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
and House of Secrets. In her early appearances, she appears only as a crone
Crone
The crone is a stock character in folklore and fairy tale, an old woman who is usually disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructing. She is marginalized by her exclusion from the reproductive cycle,...
, is often referred to as a witch, and has a tendency to be snappy and mean. In her first appearance, she scares Cain and Abel, and shouts at them, "Get out of the kitchen when it gets too hot, you cowardly mortals! Old Eve doesn't care..." Her letter column, which was answered in character, was called "Witch's Tales". She appeared as a principal character in stories in Secrets of Sinister House #9 and #11 and Weird Mystery Tales #18. In issue #9, she stays in an apartment building under an assumed name (she denies it is her in the letters column of issue #13), where the smell of her cooking causes her neighbor to report her to the superintendent, so she curses the neighbor to repeat a day—which begins wonderfully and ends in two deaths—over and over again.
In Weird Mystery Tales #3 (November–December 1972), Destiny insisted that Eve, Cain, and Abel are not their Biblical counterparts, whom he says he prefers. When she is shown in Sandman #2, Lucien's comment about her addresses her unfriendly nature prior to Dream's return, stating that she confines herself to nightmares.
She is one of the many representations in The Sandman of the triple nature of womankind (maiden, mother and crone), based on the three distinct "Eves" in some versions of the Genesis story: Lilith
Lilith
Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...
, who was created as Adam's equal; a nameless one created of flesh and blood; and Eve, fashioned from Adam's rib. As such, while she is an individual with her own personality, she is also one another representation of The Three, along with the Fates, Graces, Gorgons, and Furies. This is comparable to the way the series' protagonist, Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
, is on one level a character in his own right, and on another level merely a symbol or representation of the larger concept of dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
s.
Eve lives in a cave in the Dreaming, and is often accompanied by Dream's raven. The first Raven, Lucien, taught her how to bury Abel after Cain murdered him and she has been accompanied by a Raven ever since. She is kind and has a maternal nature, though she retains her assertiveness that might have been seen more as snappiness in her old stories. Most of the time she appears as a black-haired woman of indeterminate age. However, her appearance also mirrors her triple nature; she sometimes shifts between being a young, attractive maiden, a middle aged mother, and an elderly crone. When we first see her in The Sandman #2, she looks little different from her original appearances. Next, in, #24, she has put on much weight, has a friendlier face, and shows her ability to de-age as she embraces Matthew for the first time. Her largest appearance is in #40, where, storyteller once more, she appears young and beautiful for the first time.
In The Sandman vol. 1 #4, the Nightmare Wizard is shown as a conjurer of children's nightmares that Garrett Sanford believes are excessive, stating that they cause the deaths of the dreamer. Although implicitly male, the character looks like the crone Eve as she appears in The Sandman. A more likely association is the witch Hepzibah in Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
vol. 1 #10, who looks identical to Eve's 1970s appearances, and using dolls, tries to use Supergirl to kill Prez Rickard.
Fiddler's Green
Fiddler's GreenFiddler's Green
Fiddler's Green is a legendary imagined afterlife, where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle that never stops playing, and dancers who never tire...
is a place in the Dreaming which all travellers (specifically sailors) apparently dream of someday finding. It sometimes likes to take human form and go wandering, using the alias Gilbert during one of these trips. His most common form is as a kind, portly man who strongly resembles G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
, not only in his physical appearance but also in his love of paradoxes (which give Rose Walker headaches). He was killed by The Three in The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
; Dream attempted to resurrect him but the almost-alive Gilbert stated that if he did "my death would have no meaning." Acquiescing, the new Dream stopped the process. He also accompanied Rose Walker
Rose Walker
Rose Walker is a fictional character from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House story arc. She is a beautiful young girl, a blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair...
on her journey to find her brother Jed, and gave her the means by which to summon Dream to rescue her when she was assaulted. At the end of the series it is implied, though not outright stated, that he was "in love, a little" with Rose.
Gate Keepers
A wyvernWyvern
A wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
, a griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
and a hippogriff
Hippogriff
A Hippogriff is a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare.- Early references :...
are the guardians of Dream's castle. The hippogriff has a horse's head instead of the traditional eagle's head.
They derive all their power and authority from Dream, so when Dream was captured and lost his power, they could no longer guard or protect the Dreaming.
After the griffin was destroyed by the Furies, the new Dream did not remake him, but asked the gryphons of Greek myth to send one of their own. (#71)
Gregory
A large green gargoyle, the pet of Cain. Gregory communicates in 'grunts' which inhabitants of the Dreaming appear to understand. He is also a good friend of Goldie, and helps Goldie put Abel back together every time Cain kills him. He first appeared as the baby of two stone gargoyles in House of MysteryHouse of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
#175. His parents perched on the House of Mystery until they were able to kill their sculptor, a boarder in the house who had murdered their designer, and left without their egg. He later appears during the Blackest Night crossover, defending Scandal Savage, the new owner of the House of Mystery, from members of the Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...
.
Goldie
Goldie is Abel's pet gargoyle.In The Sandman
Goldie is a pet (baby) gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
, given to Abel by his brother Cain in Sandman#2
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #1-8...
. Abel originally intended to name him "Irving", but Cain insisted that gargoyles' names must all begin with a "G." Cain then proceeded to murder Abel over this, after which Abel names the gargoyle Goldie, after a friend who went away (in fact Abel's "imaginary" girlfriend, who appeared on the cover of The House of Secrets #88, and to whom he addressed many of his stories).
After The Sandman
Goldie takes centre stage in The Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
, a Sandman spin-off series not written by Gaiman. In "The Goldie Factor," Goldie leaves the Dreaming and ends up in the Garden of Eden.
Lucien
Lucien is the chief librarianLibrarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
in The Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
, and is a tall thin, bookish man. He first appeared in Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
#18 (May 1975) and was apparently killed in Secrets of Haunted House
Secrets of Haunted House
Secrets of Haunted House was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1975 to 1982.-Publication history:...
#44 (January 1982).
Like Cain and Abel, Lucien, created by Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
, Nestor Redondo
Nestor Redondo
Nestor Redondo was a comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and other American publishers in the 1970s and early 1980s.-Early life and career:...
, and Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
, was originally the host of a 1970s "weird tales" comic, specifically the three-issue Tales of Ghost Castle
Tales of Ghost Castle
Tales of Ghost Castle was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics in 1975. Tales of Ghost Castle was "hosted" by Lucien, who later became an important supporting character in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman...
(May/June–October 1975). In that series, he is portrayed as the guardian of a castle in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
abandoned by both sides during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, watching over its forgotten library with his companion, a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
named Rover. In his first appearance in Preludes and Nocturnes
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #1-8...
(issue #2) this is retroactively
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
revealed to be Dream's castle.
Lucien is the effective keeper of the Dreaming in Dream's absence, and becomes one of Dream's most faithful and trusted servants after proving his loyalty by never abandoning his post during that period. His primary function is to protect the Library, wherein are contained all the books that have ever been dreamt of, including the ones that have never been written. The titles of some of these books, many of which are sequels to real works, are visible. He is, despite his frail appearance, apparently quite capable in combat, "[dealing] with" several unpleasant creatures who escape imprisonment during the events of The Kindly Ones.
In issue #68, it is revealed that Lucien's existence in the Dreaming began as serving the role of Dream's first raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
. When writing The Sandman Companion
The Sandman Companion
The Sandman Companion is a book by Hy Bender and published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics, providing annotations and commentary on Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman....
, author Hy Bender
Hy Bender
Hy Bender is an author who has written or cowritten 15 books. Bender also writes reviews of New York theatre productions and comedy shows, primarily for his website, and occasionally for other publications such as The New York Times. Bender has written humor articles for such national magazines...
interpreted this as meaning that Lucien was also the first man
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
. An allusion to "Mr. Raven", the ghostly librarian in George MacDonald
George MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
's novel Lilith
Lilith (novel)
Lilith is a fantasy novel written by Scottish writer George MacDonald and first published in 1895. Its importance was recognized in its later revival in paperback by Ballantine Books as the fifth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in September 1969.Lilith is considered among...
, may be intended.
Matthew
Matthew is the ravenRaven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
companion of Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
of the Endless
Endless (comics)
The Endless are a group of beings who embody powerful forces or aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. They have existed since the dawn of time and are thought to be among the most powerful beings in the universe...
.
Matthew was originally Matthew Cable
Matthew (DC Comics)
Matthew Joseph Cable is a character in DC Comics series Swamp Thing, who died and was later resurrected as Dream's raven in Neil Gaiman's rendition of The Sandman.-Swamp Thing/Doom Patrol:...
, a long-time supporting character in the Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...
series, but because he died while asleep in the Dreaming, he was offered the chance to become a dream raven and serve Dream if he wished, and he accepted.
Matthew is not the first of Morpheus' ravens. Former ravens include Aristeas
Aristeas
Aristeas was a semi-legendary Greek poet and miracle-worker, a native of Proconnesus in Asia Minor, active ca. 7th century BCE. In book IV of The Histories, Herodotus reports...
of Marmora
Marmora
-Places:Canada*Marmora, Ontario, a community in Hastings County*Marmora and Lake, Ontario, a township in Hastings CountyGreece*Marmora, Greece, a village in Cyclades Prefecture, South AegeanItaly*Marmora, Piedmont, a comune in the Province of Cuneo...
, who returned to his life as a man for one year at one point, and Lucien, the first of the ravens. The purpose of the ravens is debatable. Morpheus seems to keep the ravens around out of some sort of unspoken need for companionship, though he also sends them on occasional missions.
Matthew's word balloons
Speech balloon
Speech balloons are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comic strips and cartoons to allow words to be understood as representing the speech or thoughts of a given character in the comic...
and font style
Letterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's "display lettering": the story title lettering and...
are scratchy and uneven, probably to represent a hoarse, cawing voice, and perhaps as an indicator of his crude, smart-aleck personality. Underneath his frequently irreverent manner, Matthew is actually very loyal to Dream, and he is one of the characters who takes it the hardest when Dream perishes, initially seeking release from his service, but eventually coming to terms with his loss and choosing to remain as Daniel's raven.
Mervyn Pumpkinhead
Mervyn Pumpkinhead is Dream's jaded, wise-cracking, cigar-smoking janitor. As his name implies, he has a pumpkinPumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
for a head, and his overall appearance is similar to that of a scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
combined with a jack-o'-lantern
Jack-o'-lantern
A jack-o'-lantern is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o'-lantern...
. He resembles Jack Pumpkinhead
Jack Pumpkinhead
Jack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Oz book series by L. Frank Baum.-In Baum:Jack first appeared in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Jack's tall figure is made from tree limbs and jointed with wooden pegs...
of L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
books.
Mervyn apparently drove a bus in dreams for a time during Dream's extended absence, and is first seen in Preludes and Nocturnes
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #1-8...
when Dream hitches a ride with him and chats for a while. Merv is in charge of the construction, maintenance and demolition work in the Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
, though he sometimes complains that his job is superfluous since Dream can change any of it at will. One issue of the "Dreaming" spin-off comic focuses on a dreamer who enjoys working under Merv's supervision.
Mervyn was one of the few who actively took up arms to fight the Furies in The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
but is easily killed. He is returned to life by the new Dream in The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
.
In a past incarnation shown in The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
, Mervyn was seen to have had a turnip
Turnip
The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...
for a head instead of a pumpkin, as pumpkins were not then known in Europe.
Minor dreams
- Brute and Glob: A pair of troublemaking nightmares who try to gain power during Dream's absence. They originally appeared in Jack KirbyJack KirbyJack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
's 1974
Sandman (DC Comics)
Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...
series, as sidekicks to the title character, and continued to serve that role when Hector Hall
Hector Hall
Hector Hall was a superhero who appeared in DC Comics's Infinity, Inc., Sandman and JSA. He has gone by the names Silver Scarab, Sandman and, before his death, Dr. Fate.-Childhood:...
became the Sandman in Infinity Inc.
Infinity Inc.
Infinity, Inc. is a team of superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The team is mostly composed of the children and heirs of the Justice Society of America, making them the Society's analogue to the Teen Titans, which is composed of sidekicks of Justice League members...
. In the original comics, Brute was similar to The Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
, shouted "It's clobberin' time!" and often brought up his Uncle Harry. In The Doll's House
The Sandman: The Doll's House
The Doll's House is the second trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #9-16. It is written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli and Steve Parkhouse, coloured by Robbie...
, it is revealed that they were manipulating the Sandmen in order to have a new Lord of the Dreaming under their control. Dream punished Brute and Glob for fleeing his realm by casting them into "the darkness" (a place of imprisonment and, presumably, torture, within the Dreaming). Near the end of The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
, the Furies tell Dream that they have released his prisoners from the darkness, but Brute and Glob are neither mentioned nor seen in this volume or in The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
. They next appear in The Dreaming #57–60, The Sandman Presents: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Dreams...But Were Afraid to Ask, and Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
#15. They subsequently reappear in JSA
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
#64, again trying to manipulate a human connected to the Dreaming (Sandy Hawkins
Sandy Hawkins
Sanderson "Sandy" Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy, the Golden Boy, Sands, Sand, and currently as Sandman, is a fictional character, superhero in the DC Comics universe created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #69.-Golden Age:The Character of Sandy the Golden...
) into their own "Sandman". Daniel returns them to the darkness. The two entities claim this area of darkness is filled with pleasing childhood dreams, which they despise. First appearance: The Sandman vol. 1, #1. Bute and Glob also make an appearance in the Sandman spinoff Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
where they attempt to kidnap Elaine Belloc and fail.
The Mad Mod Witch
The Mad Mod Witch is a DC Comics character created by Dave Wood and Jack Sparling. She starred as host in the feature "Tales of the Mad Mod Witch" in The Unexpected, beginning in issue #108. She was not allowed to take over the book the way many of DC's other horror hosts had been, though she was...
, created by Dave Wood and Jack Sparling as the host of The Unexpected
The Unexpected
The Unexpected was a DC Comics horror comic book, a continuation of Tales of the Unexpected. It ran 117 issues, #105-222, from 1968 to 1982.-Publication history:...
, another DC horror title. At the time of her first appearance in Sandman, however, she is a "Mad Yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
Witch". First appearance: The Unexpected #108. Most of her appearances are relegated to a few panels. She is shown flying on her broom as a Yuppie briefly in issue #2, shown riding her broom in a top hat and tails with bare legs and feet in issue #22, and shown topless serving a meal to Delirium and Dream in issue #42. She also appears in The Kindly Ones.
Lord Ruthven (vampire)
Lord Ruthven is a fictional character. First appearing in print in 1816, he was one of the first vampires in English literature.-Origins:There is a genuine title of Lord Ruthven of Freeland which is a subsidiary title of the Earl of Carlisle in the United Kingdom...
, the vampiric character based on Lord Byron and created by his secretary.
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
moustache, pink eyes and vampire teeth. He wears a red matador
Matador
A torero or toureiro is a bullfighter and the main performer in bullfighting, practised in Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Mexico, France and various other countries influenced by Spanish culture. In Spanish, the word torero describes any of the performers who actively participate in the bullfight...
vest, a white shirt, and a black bow tie, with a sash for a belt.
The Unexpected
The Unexpected was a DC Comics horror comic book, a continuation of Tales of the Unexpected. It ran 117 issues, #105-222, from 1968 to 1982.-Publication history:...
#113 (June–July 1969), he is one of the few DC "mystery" hosts not used by Gaiman.
Basanos
The Basanos is a fictional characterFictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
, a spin-off of Sandman.
The Basanos is a living Tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
deck created by the seraph
Seraph
A seraph is a type of celestial being in Judaism and Christianity...
Meleos to duplicate the divining power of Destiny's
Destiny (DC Comics)
Destiny is a DC Comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Bernie Wrightson, first appearing in Weird Mystery Tales #1 , and was regular host of that series for the first fourteen issues, after which he hosted Secrets of Haunted House. He is one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's comic book series,...
book. They are incredibly powerful due to the fact that they control probability
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
, making whatever outcome they desire not only likely, but inevitable.
After escaping from Meleos, the Basanos take possession of Jill Presto, a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
worker. Lucifer Morningstar seeks them out for a tarot reading
Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot
Tarot reading revolves around the belief that the cards can be used to gain insight into the past, current and possible future situations of the subject , i.e. cartomancy. Some believe they are guided by a spiritual force, while others believe the cards help them tap into a collective unconscious...
, which they grant.
When Lucifer creates his new universe, the Basanos move to take control of it so that they can breed (something that is impossible in The Creator's cosmos). Though initially successful in their plan, forming an alliance with Lucifer's enemies, their ability to control random chance is severely limited by Lucifer's creation, and Lucifer is able to outmaneuver them. Lucifer finally gives them an ultimatum: destroy themselves or risk letting the egg they laid in Jill Presto die. The Basanos choose death and extinguish themselves.
Basanos is Greek for touchstone. Such a touchstone may be a piece of slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
used to test gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, or it may be a metaphor for torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
or torment to test truthfulness. Why Meleos chose this name for his creation is unknown.
Bast
Bast, the cat-headed goddess of catCat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s, is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's comic book series, The Sandman. She is the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
version of the goddess Bast of Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
.
She was once a major goddess, but the loss of her believers over time has significantly reduced her powers. She is quite flirtatious with Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
, and seems to have previously developed a mutual attraction with him which ultimately came to nothing. He sometimes goes to her for advice or companionship. Dream is almost affectionate with her, and in her own words she adores him.
Bast has also appeared in issues of Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
and Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl is the name of several female fictional superhero characters, all owned by DC Comics and existing in that company's universe. The character is one of the first costumed female superheroes...
, as well as in Gaiman's novel American Gods
American Gods
American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow. It is Gaiman's fourth prose novel, being preceded by Good Omens ,...
. She is one of the chief goddesses worshipped by the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall.
The Presence/The Creator
The Presence or The Creator is the Sandman universe's equivalent of a supreme monotheisticMonotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
figure, the Abrahamic God (Although from a deistic viewpoint) such as almost never taking a physical form (the two exceptions being in Murder Mysteries
Murder Mysteries
"Murder Mysteries" is a fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman later collected in his collection Smoke and Mirrors. The bulk of the story is an account of the first murder in the history of the universe, before even Cain and Abel, recounted in first-person hardboiled detective fiction style by Raguel,...
which very well may not lie in the same universe as The Sandman, and at the end of the Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
series, when he returns to creation to talk to Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
), being a creator-deity and having unmatched power.
However, despite these indications that all the mythologies in the Sandman are ultimately subordinate to the Judeo-Christian God, Gaiman has on several occasions stated that he never intended the Creator to be any specific religion's god, just as he makes it clear in the first appearance of the abode of the angels, the Silver City
Silver City (comics)
The Silver City is a fictional location in stories published DC Universe. It is the home of beings known as Angels and of the The Presence, the primary deity of Judeo-Christian theology in the DC Universe...
, that it "is not Paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
. It is not Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. It is the Silver City, that is not part of the order of created things." However, the Silver City is very often referred to as "Heaven" in the Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
comic book series.
In that series, one of the critical turning points is The Presence's abandonment of his Creation, which leads to a large number of problems, including struggles to claim the power that the Creator has abandoned, to make the destruction of the universe inevitable and to the slow unraveling of the universe due to the disappearance of the Name of the Creator written on every atom in existence. This is an ongoing storyline in Lucifer.
The Presence is referred to as the creator in JLA
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
stories involving the fallen angel Zauriel
Zauriel
Zauriel is a fictional character in the DC Universe. Originally a guardian angel who served Heaven for millions of years, he willingly fell to Earth and becomes a superhero, having been a member of DC's all-star Justice League. He first appeared in JLA #6...
.
Loki
Loki is a callous and deceptive tricksterTrickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
god who first can be seen in Season of Mists
The Sandman: Season of Mists
Season of Mists is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman.It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, and P...
.
In The Sandman
He is temporarily freed from his punishment by Odin to help with their negotiations for the rulership of Hell. He manages to deceive Odin and Thor into taking another ambassador in his place using his illusionary powers, but fails to fool Dream. Dream says that although his victim must be freed, he allows Loki to go free, placing a dream-illusion in Loki’s place. In exchange, however, Loki will be indebted to Dream.
Loki returns in The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
. Still resentful of the debt he owes, he works with Puck to kidnap Daniel, a child under Dream's protection. The Corinthian and Matthew eventually find Daniel, and Loki attempts to fool them by taking the form of Dream. The Corinthian is not fooled, and strangles Loki who then assumes the form of a monstrous dragon, then that of The Corinthian himself, then Daniel, and finally his own. Undaunted by the god's deceptions, the Corinthian breaks Loki's neck and consumes his eyes. Loki, now blind, is taken by Odin and Thor back to his punishment. He attempts to goad Thor into killing him, but Odin prevents this, leaving Loki to his fate worse than death.
After The Sandman
Loki makes a small cameo in Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
. Lucifer comes to Loki in order to take his ship for his own universe. Lucifer not only promises that he will free him at Ragnarok
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...
, He also burns the snake that drips the poison on his face. Loki lets him take his ship and comments that "The All Father going to be hugely pissed about his snake". To which Lucifer replies "If I were you, I'd keep screaming from time to time. He may never notice the difference".
When in his own form, Loki is a tall, thin man with yellow eyes and long red hair that resembles flames.
Loki is based on the Norse god
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
Loki
Loki
In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
.
Odin
Odin appears as an old man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and cloak and carrying a staff. He is usually depicted as a dark, mysterious figure, missing one eye and accompanied with his two ravens, Hugin and MuninHugin and Munin
In Norse mythology, Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring the god Odin information...
("thought" and "memory"), and two wolves, Geri and Freki
Geri and Freki
In Norse mythology, Geri and Freki are two wolves which are said to accompany the god Odin. They are attested in the Poetic Edda, a collection of epic poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in...
.
Odin is based on the Norse God
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
.
Three
The Three is an entity unique to The Sandman, something like a god and something like a dream and completely mutable in appearance, seeming to exist as a sentient concept or symbol in the form of any group of three women, particularly when they represent the MotherMother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
, the Maiden
Maiden
Maiden or Maidens may refer to:* A female virgin; see virginity* Maiden name, the family name carried by a woman before marriage; see married and maiden names* Maiden, the first of the three aspects of the Triple Goddess...
and the Crone
Crone
The crone is a stock character in folklore and fairy tale, an old woman who is usually disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructing. She is marginalized by her exclusion from the reproductive cycle,...
, the three aspects of the Triple Goddess
Triple Goddess
The Triple Goddess is the subject of much of the writing of Robert Graves, and has been adopted by some neopagans as one of their primary deities. The term triple goddess is sometimes used outside of Neopaganism to refer to historical goddess triads and single goddesses of three forms or aspects...
in many mythologies. Sometimes they appear in the form of the three witches from DC's horror anthology, The Witching Hour
The Witching Hour (DC Comics)
The Witching Hour was a DC comic book horror anthology that ran from 1969 to 1978. Its tagline was "It's 12 o'clock... The Witching Hour!"...
: Mildred, Mordred, and Cynthia. As these witches, they also appeared in a prestige format
Prestige format
Prestige format is a term coined by DC Comics and later came into wider use to refer to a square-bound comic book with cardstock covers. A prestige format comic book is usually longer than a normal, stapled 32-page comic...
limited series of the same title, and two standard limited series, Witchcraft and Witchcraft: Le Terreur.
In The Sandman
The Three repeatedly appear throughout The Sandman for many different reasons and fulfilling different functions at different points in the story. Their first appearance is in The Sandman #2, where they appear as the three witches, Mildred (mother), Mordred (crone), and Cynthia (maiden) from the DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
horror anthology The Witching Hour
The Witching Hour (DC Comics)
The Witching Hour was a DC comic book horror anthology that ran from 1969 to 1978. Its tagline was "It's 12 o'clock... The Witching Hour!"...
. They later take many different forms over the course of the series, and the "three women" symbol remains an extremely common one, often blurring the lines between when characters are supposed to be merely themselves and when they are supposed to be representations of the Three.
The Three represent the female principle, prophecy, and mystery, and they are often a vaguely menacing and enigmatic presence in the series. As a three-in-one mystical being, they can be seen as contrasting with the commonly-used triple-male Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
. Indeed, legend and mythology play a much larger role throughout the series than religion does, though some segments suggest a supreme monotheistic God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
at work behind the scenes.
Common incarnations of the Three include the Erinyes
Erinyes
In Greek mythology the Erinyes from Greek ἐρίνειν " pursue, persecute"--sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses" -- were female chthonic deities of vengeance. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath"...
(Furies) in their vengeful aspect and the Moirae
Moirae
The Moirae, Moerae or Moirai , in Greek mythology, were the white-robed incarnations of destiny . Their number became fixed at three...
(Fates) or Weird Sisters in their divinatory aspect. They also sometimes subtly appear in the form of other characters (such as Eve) or groups of characters.
After The Sandman
The Three later appeared in a graphic novel named Witchcraft, in which one of their priestesses in ancient Rome, Ursula, is set upon and raped by barbarians. She is then reincarnated three times, followed by the witches, and raped again three times by reincarnations of the barbarian leader until the modern age, when she comes back as his mother-in-law.
The Three eventually decide on a suitable punishment for the barbarian: that he would be reincarnated as each of the priestesses he had raped, in order, with the exception of Ursula. He would never know what was happening until the moment of death, at which point it would start all over again.
The Three are satisfied, and in the end tell Ursula that her grandchild will be beautiful, demonstrating a rare instance of apparent empathy.
Other gods
- Ishtar: An exotic dancer who happens to be the goddess IshtarIshtarIshtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...
. She is revealed to be a former lover of DestructionDestruction (DC Comics)Destruction is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional Biography Within The Sandman:...
, and kills herself after speaking with DreamDream (comics)Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
when the latter traveled with DeliriumDelirium (DC Comics)Delirium is one of The Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional character history:Delirium, known to the Greek culture as Mania, is the youngest of the Endless, yet still older than the rest of existence. She is usually quite short, and thin, and...
in search of his lost brother. - Pharamond: a former god, last of his pantheon, and friend of Dream,. At Dream's suggestion that he change with the times or fade like many other gods (similar to his novel American GodsAmerican GodsAmerican Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow. It is Gaiman's fourth prose novel, being preceded by Good Omens ,...
), he became somewhat of a God of Travel ("in his own little way"). Pharamond now runs a travel agencyTravel agencyA travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
in Dublin, under the aliasPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
'Mr Farell'. He helps DreamDream (comics)Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
and DeliriumDelirium (DC Comics)Delirium is one of The Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional character history:Delirium, known to the Greek culture as Mania, is the youngest of the Endless, yet still older than the rest of existence. She is usually quite short, and thin, and...
find their brother. Pharamond later provided assistance to Lucifer in his own series revealing that the two are on friendly terms. - Thor: The Norse god ThorThorIn Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
, a ridiculously muscular and dim-witted redhead drunkard who likes to brag about how big he can make his hammer grow (pun intended by the character). Thor first appeared in DC Comics in Tales of the Unexpected #16 (August 1957), illustrated by Jack KirbyJack KirbyJack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
. There, he looked like a traditional viking with red hair, and his hammer looked identical to the way Kirby would draw it for Marvel ComicsThor (Marvel Comics)Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
. That story was reprinted in DC Special #4 (July 1969), which also contains Abel's debut. Kirby also pitted Wesley Dodds against someone claiming to be Thor in Adventure ComicsAdventure ComicsAdventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
#78 (September 1942). Thor also appears in War of the GodsWar of the Gods (comics)War of the Gods was an American four-issue comic book mini-series published by DC Comics in 1991.Primarily centered on the character Wonder Woman, this storyline was intended to celebrate the character's 50th anniversary. It was written and drawn by George Pérez, who would leave the Wonder Woman...
and Jack Kirby's Fourth WorldJack Kirby's Fourth World"The Fourth World" is the popular name given to a metaseries of interconnecting comic book titles written and drawn by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics from 1970 to 1973. The characters and concepts were later integrated into the DC Universe....
. (The Thor seen in The Sandman does not resemble the one seen in the other DC comics.)
Azazel
Azazel is a former ruler of Hell, reigning for a time alongside LuciferLucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
and Beelzebub. Based on a statement from Agony and Ecstacy in Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
#12, he may have usurped his position from Belial
Belial
Belial is one of the four crown princes of Hell and a demon in the Bible, Jewish apocrypha and Christian apocrypha...
(whom they stated at the time was the third member of the trinity). He appears as a twisting, torn mass of black flame, like a window into space, filled with numerous eyes and mouths.
He was cast out after Lucifer abandoned Hell, and made the mistake of threatening and attacking Dream to try to gain ownership of it. Dream keeps him in a bottle in a chest of trinkets and mementos.
He is based on the demon Azazel
Azazel
Azazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....
.
Azazel first appeared in DC Comics battling Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
in the story intended for Doorway to Nightmare #6 (it was cancelled after #5) that was eventually published in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 and The Unexpected
The Unexpected
The Unexpected was a DC Comics horror comic book, a continuation of Tales of the Unexpected. It ran 117 issues, #105-222, from 1968 to 1982.-Publication history:...
#190. As with Lucifer's appearance in The Brave and the Bold, he looked more like a traditional devil, but was referred to as an incubus
Incubus
An incubus is a male demon that has sexual intercourse with sleeping women.Incubus may also refer to:- Film :* Incubus , a film in Esperanto starring William Shatner* Incubus , a horror film starring Tara Reid...
, which in the story, was a creature who steals people's dreams and imprints them on to tapestries that give him power and cannot be destroyed without killing the victims.
Beelzebub
Along with Lucifer and Azazel, Beelzebub was the third King of Hell. He often appears as either a gigantic green fly, or a fly's head on two short human legs. Sometimes a human face can be seen between the fly's eyes. His constant buzzing slurs his speech (for example, 'Bbbbut nooo. Itzzz a Triummmvirate.') He is based on the demon BeelzebubBeelzebub
Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...
.
Choronzon
Choronzon is a former duke of Hell who served under Beelzebub. He has pink skin and two mouths, one under the other.He had possession of Dream's helm, but lost it in a challenge. He later reappeared briefly as one of Azazel's tactics to gain ownership of Hell.
He is based on the demon Choronzon
Choronzon
Choronzon is a demon or devil that originated in writing with the 16th century occultists Edward Kelley and John Dee within the latter's occult system of Enochian magic...
.
Choronzon appears in 52
52 (comic book)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
#25 (Late October 2006).
Duma
Duma is a fallen angelFallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
from the DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
Vertigo series The Sandman.
Before The Sandman
Duma's name means "silence
Silence
Silence is the relative or total lack of audible sound. By analogy, the word silence may also refer to any absence of communication, even in media other than speech....
", and he is based on the angel Duma
Dumah
Dumah can refer to*Dumah , an angel mentioned in rabbinical literature*Dumah , a character in the Legacy of Kain video game*Dumah , the sixth son of Ishmael, thought to be the forefather of an Arab tribe named for him...
from Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion, whereas Jewish folklore consists of the folk tales and legends that existed in the general Jewish culture. There is very little early folklore distinct from the aggadah literature...
. In those tales, he is the angel of silence and death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
's stillness. According to these same stories, he is the guardian of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the prince of vindication. Based on this, one could speculate that he was the angel who killed the firstborn Egyptians in Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
' time. Some sources also name him a "Prince of Hell," which would mean that at some unknown point in time he displeased God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and fell from grace.
The Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
, a book of Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, describes his position in Hell as such that he had "tens of thousands of angels of destruction" under him, and that he was "chief of demons in Gehinnon
Gehenna
Gehenna , Gehinnom and Yiddish Gehinnam, are terms derived from a place outside ancient Jerusalem known in the Hebrew Bible as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom ; one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City.In the Hebrew Bible, the site was initially where apostate Israelites and...
with 12,000 myriads of attendants, all charged with the punishment of the souls of sinners."
Dumah is also the name given to the guardian of the 14th gate, through which the goddess Ishtar
Ishtar
Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...
passed on her journey to the underworld in Babylonian mythology. Dumah may or may not be related to Duma.
In The Sandman
It is unknown how much of Duma's background from Jewish mythology was actually incorporated into the character by Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. Many theories and interpretations have been put forward, but nothing is concrete.
In Season of Mists
The Sandman: Season of Mists
Season of Mists is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman.It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, and P...
, we find that Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
has closed down Hell in frustration, handing off the key to the bemused Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
. Eventually, after much squabbling between various gods, Duma and Remiel receive a message saying that they are to watch over Hell. Remiel immediately rejects it, but Duma silently accepts the key, and the guilt-stricken Remiel joins him in ruling Hell. Remiel subsequently attempts to redesign Hell, transforming it from a place of punishment to a place of rehabilitation for lost souls, but Duma's interest in these changes is unknown, as is his true opinion on many things.
After The Sandman
Following the end of The Sandman series, Remiel and Duma lose ownership of Hell in a complex sequence of events in the Lucifer spin-off series. Duma eventually allies with Lucifer and Elaine Belloc in the battle to save creation. It is he who persuades Hell's new ruler Christopher Rudd to bring his army to Heaven's aid at the Battle of Armageddon plain.
Lucifer
Lucifer is the MiltonianParadise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
former ruler of Hell, a charming, intelligent, and utterly ruthless fallen angel
Fallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
.
He is one of the most powerful beings in existence, said at one point to be surpassed only by his Creator.
He is based on the fallen angel Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
, whose story was created by John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
in his Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
.
Neil Gaiman also used the character Lucifer in his short story 'Murder Mysteries'. In this format, Lucifer was a captain of the Silver City, with Azazel
Azazel
Azazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....
as his protege.
From the book, "Hanging out with the Dream King" (a book consisting of interviews with Gaiman's collaborators), one of Gaiman's artists, Kelley Jones, states that Lucifer is based on David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, image-wise. In the interview, Jones states the following:
"...Neil was adamant that the Devil was David Bowie. He just said, 'He is. You must draw David Bowie. Find David Bowie, or I'll send you David Bowie. Because if it isn't David Bowie, you're going to have to redo it until it is David Bowie.' So I said, 'Okay, it's David Bowie.'..."
Lucifer made at least three previous appearances in DC Comics (Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #65, Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
#4, and DC Special Series/The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold is the title shared by many comic book series published by DC Comics. The first of these was published as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983...
Special #8), but his appearance was more traditional. Lucifer as he appeared in The Sandman also appeared in stories of Etrigan the Demon, The Spectre, and Stanley and His Monster
Stanley and His Monster
Stanley and His Monster was an American comic-book humor feature and later series from DC Comics, about a boy who has a monster as his companion instead of a dog. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Winslow Mortimer as a backup feature the funny-animal comic The Fox and the Crow #95 Stanley...
.
Mazikeen
Mazikeen is a fictional characterFictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's Sandman mythos
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. The name "Mazikeen
Mazikeen
In Jewish mythology, Mazikeen are invisible demons which can create minor annoyances or greater dangers....
" comes from that of a shapeshifting demon of Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion, whereas Jewish folklore consists of the folk tales and legends that existed in the general Jewish culture. There is very little early folklore distinct from the aggadah literature...
.
In The Sandman
Mazikeen first appeared in The Sandman, where she was Lucifer's
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
consort while he reigned in Hell. At the time, half of her face was normal, but the other half was horribly misshapen and skeletal, causing her speech to be nearly unintelligible. (Gaiman wrote Mazikeen's dialogue by trying to speak using only half of his mouth, and writing down phonetically what came out.)
When Lucifer resigned, Mazikeen left Hell and ended up following her master, becoming part of the staff at the "Lux" (Latin for light, and the first root word in "Lucifer"), an elite Los Angeles bar that Lucifer had opened and played piano at. To conceal her demonic nature, she covered the deformed half of her face with a white mask and rarely spoke.
After The Sandman
In the ongoing comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
, Mazikeen is a devoted ally of Lucifer Morningstar and the war leader of the Lilin
Lilin
Lilin or lilim are demonic legendary creatures in Akkadian mythology and shedim in Jewish folklore.-Etymology:The following is disputed:* The masculine of lili is lilu...
, a race descended from Lilith
Lilith
Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...
. A fearsome warrior and a respected leader, Mazikeen is a prominent character in the Lucifer comics. She has the appearance of a human female with long black hair.
In Lucifer, Mazikeen's face was turned fully human when she was resuscitated by the Basanos following the destruction of the Lux in a fire. This was because the vessel of the Basanos, Jill Presto, did not realize that Mazikeen's face was naturally deformed, and assumed that it was burned in the fire.
When Lucifer refused to assist her in restoring her face to its former state, she defected to her family, the Lilim-in-Exile. As their war leader, she led their army against Lucifer's cosmos, allying herself briefly with the Basanos. However, this was a ruse; after a desperate gamble, she bought Lucifer enough time to destroy the Basanos and regain control of his creation. Lucifer then accepted her into his service once more and made the Lilim-in-Exile the standing army of his universe.
Lucifer ultimately restores Mazikeen's half-skeletal face shortly before departing the known universes, gifting Mazikeen with his celestial fire.
Remiel
Remiel is an angelAngel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
ic character in the comic book series The Sandman based on the angel Remiel. He first appears in Season of Mists
The Sandman: Season of Mists
Season of Mists is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman.It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, and P...
.
In The Sandman
Remiel, along with Duma, is sent to observe when Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
is given the key to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. Dream ends up offering the key to Remiel and Duma, making them the new rulers of Hell, but Remiel refuses to accept it, wishing to return to the Silver City
Silver City (comics)
The Silver City is a fictional location in stories published DC Universe. It is the home of beings known as Angels and of the The Presence, the primary deity of Judeo-Christian theology in the DC Universe...
. In doing so, Remiel disobeys the Creator, and as a result can never return to the Silver City anyway. Duma accepts the key, however, and the two angels descend to Hell to rule over the countless sinners and demons there. Whether Remiel is a fallen angel or not (he is described as having tripped or stumbled more than fallen), and whether he truly has the free will to ultimately disobey the Creator's wishes, is left somewhat ambiguous.
While reigning in Hell, Remiel attempts to organize the domain into a great soul-cleansing machine. However Remiel never fully gets over his fall from the Silver City and tries to return the keys to Lucifer, in The Kindly Ones.
After The Sandman
Following the end of the Sandman series, Remiel and Duma lose ownership of Hell in a complex sequence of events in the Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
spin-off series. At the end of the series, Remiel tries to rebel against Elaine Belloc
Elaine Belloc
Elaine Belloc is a fictional character in the DC/Vertigo Comics series Lucifer created by Mike Carey. Elaine was created by Carey specifically for the Lucifer series, and her character is that of a young girl with special powers who encounters Lucifer and takes part in the adventures and battles...
, refusing to accept her as God's successor. When he tries to kill Gaudium and Spera, friends of Elaine's, she steps in and puts him in his own Hell until he gets his act together.
Minor angels and demons
- Merkin, Mother of Spiders: First appeared in Season of Mists, as an envoy with Azazel. A lumpen, hideous, vaguely feminine figure, whose womb produces spiders.
- Squatterbloat: Squatterbloat was a demon of Hell and guardian of the Gates of Hell. He was short, stooped, with a battle-axe in place of his left hand and no discernible bottom jaw. Squatterbloat was a rhyming demon and addressed as a demon Lord by the disembodied heads that decorated the front gates. Whether Squatterbloat was a true Lord of Hell or whether this was just an honorarium bestowed upon him by lesser denizens is unknown. In March 1989, Dream of the Endless approached the Gates of Hell in search of his missing helm. Squatterbloat proved difficult, referring to the Dream Lord as a clown. Regardless, he opened the gates, and Dream repaid the demon's rudeness by flipping him onto his back.
- Etrigan: The demon/superheroSuperheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
appears in a cameo in Preludes and Nocturnes (specifically in Sandman #4: "A Hope in Hell"), escorting DreamDream (comics)Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
from the front gate of HellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
to meet LuciferLucifer (DC Comics)Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
. During their journey, Dream comments on Etrigan speaking in rhyme as a result of a promotion (see Etrigan - Character History). In Season of Mists episode 1, Lucifer makes a passing reference to a recent event where "one of the minor demons—some little yellow rhymer—thought to declare himself a king of hell." This is a reference to vol. 3 Issues #6 and #7 of The Demon.
Cluracan
The Cluracan is a courtier of the Queen of Faerie and the brother to Nuala, the Dream King's fairy servant. An amoral, gay (in both the literal and modern sense of the word) rogue, Cluracan features in Season of MistsThe Sandman: Season of Mists
Season of Mists is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman.It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, and P...
, Worlds' End
The Sandman: Worlds' End
Worlds' End is the eighth collection of issues in the DC Comics series The Sandman. It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Michael Allred, Gary Amaro, Mark Buckingham, Dick Giordano, Tony Harris, Steve Leialoha, Vince Locke, Shea Anton Pensa, Alec Stevens, Bryan Talbot, John Watkiss, and...
, The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
, and The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
. He is strongly reminiscent of the "trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
" archetype also associated with Loki. Following the events of The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is a euphemistic reference to the Furies in Greek mythology.The phrase has been used as the title of:...
, Cluracan manages to offend his queen so badly that she sends him to the court of Llinor, where tradition demands that he marry a lady of the royal house. Fortunately, Cluracan's nemesis
Archenemy
An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy .- Etymology :The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated...
- who is identical to the faerie in every way except his sexual orientation - had grown weary enough of solitude to take Cluracan's place.
The Cluracan is based on a drunken leprechaun
Leprechaun
A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...
of Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
, the Cluricaun.
Nuala
Nuala is a faerie gift to DreamDream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
at the end of Season of Mists
The Sandman: Season of Mists
Season of Mists is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman.It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, and P...
. She appears initially as a beautiful woman, but this is the result of her faerie glamour. When Dream removes the glamour, her true appearance—a small, brown-haired, plain-looking girl—is revealed.
From this point on, Nuala takes on the housekeeping duties of the Dreaming, only stopping when her brother Cluracan brings her back to Faerie in The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
. When she leaves, Dream grants her with a boon as a reward for her years of servitude, allowing her to call on him if she needs to. Nuala had been nursing a crush on Dream for some time, so she finally calls him, asking him to love her. Dream is unable to do this, but he says that he can at least "send you a dream of my love." Nuala responds, "I already have that, my lord."
She subsequently appears in the Sandman spinoff series, The Dreaming.
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
Auberon
Auberon is a character in the comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series The Sandman and The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
. He is seen for the first time in Sandman#19 as Auberon of Dom-Daniel, and again in several issues of The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
and in the Books of Faerie
The Books of Faerie
The Books of Faerie was a series of three mini-series spun off from Vertigo Comics' series The Books of Magic written by Bronwyn Carlton and John Ney Rieber...
miniseries.
The character was inspired by Oberon of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
.
Titania
Titania is a character in Neil GaimanNeil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series The Sandman.
In The Sandman
Titania is the queen of the fay
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
; she first appears in issue#19.
The character was inspired by Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Titania (Fairy Queen) in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
. There is some speculation that she in the past was a lover of Dream's, although this is never explicitly stated.
After The Sandman
Titania is also a major character in the comic book The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
, of which the first four issues were written by Gaiman, and its spin-off series The Books of Faerie
The Books of Faerie
The Books of Faerie was a series of three mini-series spun off from Vertigo Comics' series The Books of Magic written by Bronwyn Carlton and John Ney Rieber...
.
In the latter series, it is revealed that she is not a fay, but a human girl who crossed over into the fay realm and was then adopted by the current queen of the fay. She appears to be a fay due to an enchanted circlet she stole when the last queen was transformed into a tree by her husband. She is also the most powerful human sorceress alive, which simply aids in her deception. Despite this arcane power, it was revealed that she is illiterate
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, and so regularly uses Dream's library because its special properties allow its users to read books in any language, including those they cannot speak. There are conflicting accounts that she may be the mother of the series' main protagonist, Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter, is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in The Books of Magic vol. 1 #1 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.-Publication history:...
.
Puck
Puck is a brown-furred tricksterTrickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
and hobgoblin
Hobgoblin
Hobgoblin is a term typically applied in folktales to describe a friendly but troublesome creature of the Seelie Court.The most commonly known hobgoblin is the character Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck, however, is only another name given to a much older character named Robin...
also called Robin Goodfellow who appears several times in The Sandman. Puck aids the Norse God Loki in kidnapping Daniel
Daniel Hall
Daniel Hall is a fictional character in the Sandman comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. An infant for the majority of the Sandman series, he is the son of Hippolyta 'Lyta' Hall and Hector Hall, borne for two years in the Dreaming Daniel Hall is a fictional character...
, playing a small role in the death of the Sandman and Daniel's subsequent assuming of the title. Puck later appeared in an issue of The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
, hiding as a gangster called Mr Robbins in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
whose true nature is discovered—but not exposed—by Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter, is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in The Books of Magic vol. 1 #1 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.-Publication history:...
.
The character was inspired by Puck
Puck (Shakespeare)
Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream that was based on the ancient figure in English mythology, also called Puck. Puck is a clever and mischievous elf and personifies the trickster or the wise knave...
of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
.
Hob Gadling
Robert "Hob" Gadling is a human who was granted immortality and meets with DreamDream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
once every hundred years.
Hob's was granted immortality in a pub named the White Horse in 1389 when he simply declared that he "had decided never to die." Death agrees, at Dream's request, to forego her responsibilities in Gadling's case, so that Dream can meet him every century to hear about his experiences. At their 20th Century meeting, Dream finally admits - after initially rejecting the idea violently - that the purpose of the exercise was simply for him to have a friend.
Hob is originally a callous man, a soldier of fortune with no respect for anyone else's well-being. He takes to a variety of occupations over the centuries, including slaving, and periodically reinvents himself as a descendant of his previous persona. Gradually, he acquires a conscience, and by the 20th Century has become a thoughtful and caring man, full of remorse at his past deeds.
In The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
, Death meets Gadling at a Renaissance Fair; out of respect for her late brother Dream she offers to end his six-hundred-year life, but Gadling refuses.
Orpheus
Orpheus is the son of DreamDream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
and the muse Calliope. He is based on Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
of Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
In "The Song of Orpheus", the Endless attend Orpheus's wedding to Eurydice. Eurydice dies on the same night, and Orpheus asks his father retrieve her from Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
. Dream refuses, but Orpheus gets help from Destruction and Death. As in the legend, Orpheus travels to Hades, plays his sad music, loses Eurydice again, and gets torn apart by the Bacchanae
Maenad
In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus , the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones"...
(the beloved madwomen of Dionysos) but because of his immortality survives as a disembodied head. Dream establishes a priesthood to take care of his son, saying that they will never meet again.
In "Thermidor
The Sandman: Fables and Reflections
Fables & Reflections is the sixth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. It was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Bryan Talbot, Stan Woch, P...
", Johanna Constantine is asked by Dream to rescue Orpheus from Revolutionary France. Orpheus's singing stuns Robespierre and Louis de Saint-Just
Louis de Saint-Just
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just , usually known as Saint-Just, was a military and political leader during the French Revolution. The youngest of the deputies elected to the National Convention in 1792, Saint-Just rose quickly in their ranks and became a major leader of the government of the French...
, leading to the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
. Orpheus misses his father, who still has not visited him.
In Brief Lives
The Sandman: Brief Lives
Brief Lives is the seventh collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Jill Thompson, inked by Vince Locke and Dick Giordano, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein....
, Dream has to talk to Orpheus in order to find Destruction. In return, Orpheus is granted his wish of death.
Thessaly
Thessaly is the last of the millennia-old witches of Thessaly. She makes her first appearance in A Game of YouThe Sandman: A Game of You
A Game of You is the fifth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch and Dick Giordano, and lettered by Todd Klein....
. She has a bookish appearance with straight hair and thick glasses that belies her personality; amoral, cold-blooded, proud, and ruthless, though not malicious. She will kill people who are potential threats with no hesitation or remorse.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
named this character after the land of witches, Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Later in the series, Thessaly changes her name to Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
, which is the capital of Thessaly. Larissa was actually the local fountain nymph, after whom the town was named. It is suggested however that Thessaly is even older than this civilization and may date from Neolithic times.
Thessaly returns in the later volumes, where she is Dream's lover for a time, but this relationship ends unhappily for both and is never actually shown in the series. When it is alluded to in Brief Lives
The Sandman: Brief Lives
Brief Lives is the seventh collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Jill Thompson, inked by Vince Locke and Dick Giordano, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein....
Thessaly is never mentioned by name, so only in The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
is this romance revealed. Also in The Kindly Ones, Thessaly provides Lyta Hall
Fury (DC Comics)
Fury is the codename shared by three DC Comics superheroes, two of whom are mother and daughter, both of whom directly connected with the Furies of mythology, and the third who is an altogether different character.-Pre-Crisis:...
with protection and sanctuary from Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
, who is being targeted for death by the Furies, using Hall as a vessel.
When Lyta wakes up after Dream's death, Thessaly calmly advises her to leave. Thessaly suggests that many people, including herself, would be more than happy to murder Lyta for her part in Morpheus' destruction.
Thessaly also is the star of two spin-off comic series, The Thessaliad and Thessaly, Witch for Hire written by Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
. In the spin-offs, Thessaly (under that name) and her companion, a ghost named Fetch, first set out to tackle various gods of the underworld who want her dead. Later she is unwillingly pressured into a monster-killing contract.
She is alluded to in the Faction Paradox
Faction Paradox
Faction Paradox is a fictional time travelling cult/rebel group/organized crime syndicate, originally created by the author Lawrence Miles. The Faction's belief-system as portrayed has some similarities to voodoo, and is sometimes described as such...
series, in the character Thessalia and her protege Larissa.
Mad Hettie
A London tramp born in 1741. At the time of Sandman #3, she was 247 years old. She appears frequently in other DC comics such as Hellblazer, first appearing in #9. She also had a large role in Death: The High Cost of Living, where she is shown to be rude, miserly and constantly complains about the lack of knowledge that present day youths have. She has been accused of being a witch, and also appears to have abilities as a haruspexHaruspex
In Roman and Etruscan religious practice, a haruspex was a man trained to practice a form of divination called haruspicy, hepatoscopy or hepatomancy. Haruspicy is the inspection of the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the livers of sacrificed sheep and poultry...
, however she merely states that "you don't get to your two hundred and fiftieth without learning a few tricks".
Later, Hettie worked in the series The Dreaming, in which it was discovered that she had dealings with Destiny
Destiny (DC Comics)
Destiny is a DC Comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Bernie Wrightson, first appearing in Weird Mystery Tales #1 , and was regular host of that series for the first fourteen issues, after which he hosted Secrets of Haunted House. He is one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's comic book series,...
, Johanna Constantine and President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
.
The Silk Man
Appearing for the first time in Lucifer: Nirvana, The Silk Man is an immortal sorcerer, described by LuciferLucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
as "..a fossil remnant from an earlier, cruder creation. His body is a weaving that has to be renewed constantly. His spirit too, come to that. A messy form of immortality, but it seems to do the job." In earlier days he was the leader of the Arao Jinn. He appears as a mercenary, hired by the angel Perdissa to kill Lucifer. He seems to need to consume living things to stay alive, weaving them into himself. He is severely damaged by Perdissa and eventually killed by Lucifer.
Vassily
In The HuntThe Sandman: Fables and Reflections
Fables & Reflections is the sixth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. It was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Bryan Talbot, Stan Woch, P...
, Vassily appears as an old man telling his teen-aged granddaughter a tale from "the old country", medieval Russia. A youth raised in a remote forest has a series of adventures, including meeting with Lucien (to whom he gives a book) and Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
, and marrying a fellow shape-changing wolf. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the grandfather is the youth in his own story.
Alex Burgess
Alex Burgess is the son of Roderick Burgess, mother unknown (but probably Ethel Cripps, and therefore half-brother of Doctor DestinyDoctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America Vol. 1 #5 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.- Fictional character biography :...
). He is taught by his father, and takes part in his rituals. Upon Roderick Burgess' death, Alex inherits his estate, including his magical order. He keeps Dream imprisoned, as his father did, trying to bargain for power and immortality in exchange for Dream's release.
The Order of the Ancient Mysteries enjoys a resurgence in popularity in the 1960s, but by the 1970s it is in decline again. Alex passes ownership of the Order on to his boyfriend, Paul McGuire, and becomes obsessed with his prisoner and with his father. Finally, in 1988, Dream escapes and puts Alex into a nightmare of "eternal waking," in which he is forever dreaming he is waking up, and each waking degenerates into another horrible nightmare. This nightmare lasts for years, ending only with Dream's death in The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
.
Alex is quite tall and near-sighted. He has brown hair which he wears in a variety of styles throughout his life, but by old age he is bald and has come to resemble his father very closely. His relationship with McGuire is deep and heartfelt, but his obsessions with his father and with Dream eventually come to rule his life. In The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
, he appears again as the child that we see in his first appearance.
Alex is in many ways a tragic figure, perhaps the first statement of the theme that Desire
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
explores in The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
: "The bonds of family bind both ways". Had Alex not been born the son of his father, inheriting the imprisoned Dream, his life might have been much happier. However, he is finally able to find some measure of fulfillment in his old age, following Dream's death.
His name almost certainly derives from Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess
John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
's A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....
, the protagonist of which is named Alex, but could also be a nod to Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
, whose original middle name was Alexander and who was mentioned in the first issue.
Roderick Burgess
Roderick Burgess (1863–1947) was the Lord Magus of The Order of the Ancient Mysteries. Born Morris Burgess Brocklesby and known also as The Daemon King, his magical fraternity was based in "Fawney Rig" in SussexSussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and was initially funded by his inherited industrial wealth. Burgess is a magician rather in the vein of the real Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
, and within the DC world
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
is Crowley's rival.
The series begins with Burgess' attempt to capture and bind Death
Death (DC Comics)
Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg....
, which fails, capturing Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
instead. Burgess keeps Dream trapped in a glass globe for the rest of his (Burgess') life, attempting to bargain with Dream, but Dream remains silent. Burgess dies of old age still attempting to get a response out of Dream. His order passes on to his son Alex.
Burgess is a bald-headed, slightly pot-bellied man with a large hook nose and something of the look of a gypsy about him. He is ultimately self-centred; his sole purpose for the Order is to bring money and power to himself, and he is consumed by his desire to achieve immortality. His relationship with his son is only briefly touched on, though it is implied that it is unhealthy, with Burgess pushing his son to spend his life pursuing his father's dreams.
Johanna Constantine
Lady Johanna Constantine is an 18th century supernatural adventuress. DreamDream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
encounters her several times, once to ask her to recover the head of his son, Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
— a mission she performed so successfully that part of its after-effects was the ending of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror.
In the Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine graphic novel, an ancient evil refers to Johanna Constantine as 'the Constantine', the 'laughing magician', and the 'constant one', all titles that have been used (usually by other ancient evils) to describe John Constantine
John Constantine
John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
. The evil taunts her, saying "did you think to trick us with a new form?" There is the implication that throughout all times there have been recurring incarnations of Constantine who contain the spark of magic. In the story Johanna Constantine learns that "the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
and the Wandering Jew
Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew is a figure from medieval Christian folklore whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming...
" meet once every hundred years in a London pub; this meeting is actually between Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
and Hob Gadling
Hob Gadling
Hob Gadling is a fictional character from the Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman. Gadling first appears in the story "Men of Good Fortune" in The Sandman #13 as a soldier of the Hundred Years' War, arguing with friends in an inn somewhere inside the modern borders of London.-Background:We...
, as she discovers when she interrupts the meeting. The story's conclusion shows Johanna Constantine inheriting a property she calls "Fawney Rig", after the con job wherein a gilded ring is sold as though it were solid gold... the implication being that she attained the property through trickery. This property was later owned by Roderick Burgess, the mage who captured Dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
in the beginning of The Sandman story.
After The Sandman
In her middle age, Johanna Constantine is charged by persons unknown with the key to a box containing the sigil of America, allegedly created by Destiny. This is stolen and hidden in the future by the wanderer, Mad Hettie. Hettie both blackmails ('I knows about you and the little Corsican') and bribes Johanna for her silence, promising her that she would live to age 99. This promise proves true, with Johanna dying at age 99 while getting out of her wheelchair when she hears the song of her old companion, Orpheus.
Johanna is presumably intended as an ancestor of John Constantine
John Constantine
John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
, although this has not been explicitly stated.
She is also mentioned in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
novel The Man in the Velvet Mask
The Man in the Velvet Mask
The Man in the Velvet Mask is an original novel written by Daniel O'Mahony and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The novel features the First Doctor and Dodo....
, set in an alternate post-Revolutionary France.
John Constantine
John Constantine is a con manConfidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
and magician who accompanies Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
on a quest to find his pouch of sand.
John Constantine
John Constantine
John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
has his own series, John Constantine: Hellblazer, which occasionally has guest appearances by Cain and Abel. He is also prominently featured in another series, Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...
, from which he originated.
Ethel Cripps
Ethel Cripps, also known as Ethel Dee, is the mother of John DeeDoctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America Vol. 1 #5 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.- Fictional character biography :...
. She was the mistress of Roderick Burgess until she fled with Ruthven Sykes.
Her last joy was her son, John Dee, whom she sought for 10 years. She discovered that he had become a living corpse, which happened because of his use of the Sandman's Ruby.
At this time, she was 90 years old, and it was alluded that she had been kept alive by an amulet in the shape of an eye which granted its user protection, the amulet that Ruthven Sykes had been given by the demon Choronzon in exchange for Dream's helmet. Sykes, who had been second in command in The Order of Ancient Mysteries, needed protection from Roderick Burgess who was seeking retribution for Sykes' treachery of the theft of the ₤200,000 and Dream's magical items, which were in possession of the Order at the time he fled with Ethel Cripps to San Francisco in 1930. "Magical War" was declared upon them, and Ruthven knew he would need a way to protect himself from the hexes Burgess sought to put upon him.
In 1936, Ethel walked out on Ruthven, taking with her the amulet of protection and Dream's Ruby. While in his possession, the amulet protected Sykes from Burgess' hex, but without it, he died a messy and painful death, with his insides exploding out of him. The amulet continued to protect Ethel while Choronzon was still in possession of Dream's helmet.
After Dream escaped and sought to regain his items, he descended down to hell to find his helmet. He had to battle Choronzon to regain it, and after his victory, the compact was withdrawn and the power of protection the amulet possessed ended, which also ended the life of Ethel Dee.
Doctor Dee
John Dee, also known as Doctor Destiny, is a DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
villain whose powers were derived from his use of Dream's Ruby. His name is almost certainly a reference to the real-life John Dee
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....
. He was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum
The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to simply as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital in the DC Comics Universe, usually appearing in stories featuring Batman...
, with other Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
villains such as The Scarecrow
Scarecrow (comics)
The Scarecrow is a fictional character, a supervillain, that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane...
and The Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
, until freed by the amulet given to him by his mother, Ethel Dee, former mistress to Roderick Burgess. He had previously fought the Sandman (Garrett Sanford) alongside the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
.
John originally named himself 'Doctor Destiny' to protect his mother's surname, but after her death changed it back. The Ruby had drained away his mental and physical state until he was no longer able to sleep or dream without it. This had the unpleasant effect of turning him into a browned, living corpse.
Being able to control dreams, he used the ruby to bring out the 'darkness' and 'bestiality' of many people across the world. He originally sought power, money and mostly the restoration of his human body, but the madness brought about by overuse of the relic drove him to savage, monstruous acts of depravity using the ruby. To quote: 'I think I'll dismember the world and then I'll dance in the wreckage.'
While doing this, over a period of 24 hours he focused the energy of the ruby on several people in a cafe, one of them a friend of Rose Walker and an ex-lover of Foxglove. He used them as puppets, horribly having them murder and degrade each other as if toys, until all were dead.
Dream double-bluffed him into destroying the ruby, which Dee believed to be Dream's life. It actually only stored some of his energy, and with it released Dream instead became even more powerful than before. Easily overpowering Dee, Dream decided not to destroy him, and instead returned him to Arkham. Dee was finally able to sleep, and his sadism and depravity faded as he now could again dream.
He has since appeared in Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
and Justice Society stories, having retained some residual power from the ruby. Even worse, since he has managed to replicate its power perfectly, though the second ruby is now out of his grasp. However, since the new Ruby is attuned to him, he has since not regressed to his previous vicious persona, mostly seeking the dominion of dreams or the waking world through dreams.
Wesley Dodds
Wesley Dodds, also known as Sandman, is the original costumed crimefighter who used the name. According to Gaiman, he was merely filling a hole in the universe in a similar way to a process of evolution, in which animals fill up a niche—for instance, what should fly. He is first seen in The Sandman series in a two-panel cameo in issue #1, and another cameo in issue #26. Dream occasionally appeared in dream sequences in Dodds's own series, Sandman Mystery TheatreSandman Mystery Theatre
Sandman Mystery Theatre is a comic book series published by Vertigo, the mature-readers imprint of DC Comics. It ran for 70 issues between 1993 and 1999 and retells the adventures of the Sandman, a vigilante whose main weapon is a gun that fires sleeping gas, originally created by DC in the Golden...
. The two finally met for real in Gaiman's Sandman Midnight Theatre
Sandman Midnight Theatre
Sandman Midnight Theatre is the title of a comic book in which two DC comics characters called the Sandman, Dream and Wesley Dodds, encounter each other....
. Dodds appeared out of costume during The Sandman: The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
(#72). The reason for his prophetic visions is explained as him being embodied with a small portion of Dream's essence. His reasoning for assuming his role as The Sandman is given as nightmares of Dream in his helmet that plague him, until he begins his career as a crimefighter after which; "Wesley Dodds sleeps the sleep of the Just."
Foxglove
Foxglove (Donna Cavanagh) is a lesbianLesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
who first appears in A Game of You
The Sandman: A Game of You
A Game of You is the fifth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch and Dick Giordano, and lettered by Todd Klein....
.
She is mentioned in Preludes and Nocturnes
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #1-8...
as the girlfriend of Judy, one of the patrons at the diner who dies in the story concerning John Dee, titled "24 Hours." In A Game of You, Foxglove is going out with Hazel McNamara, and the two help Thessaly rescue Barbie.
After The Sandman
In Death: The Time of Your Life
Death: The Time of Your Life
Death: The Time of Your Life is a three-issue American comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, one of many spinoffs from his series The Sandman. It was illustrated by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham, and features an introduction by Claire Danes...
, Foxglove has become a pop superstar
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
after being seen by a promoter in Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living is an American comic book miniseries, written by Neil Gaiman with art by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham. It is a spin-off from Gaiman's best-selling Vertigo Comics series The Sandman, featuring the Sandman 's elder sister, Death of the Endless in a self-contained...
. She is raising a child with Hazel named Alvie. Alvie dies of cot death
Sudden infant death syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome is marked by the sudden death of an infant that is unexpected by medical history, and remains unexplained after a thorough forensic autopsy and a detailed death scene investigation. An infant is at the highest risk for SIDS during sleep, which is why it is sometimes...
, leading Hazel to make a deal with Death
Death (DC Comics)
Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg....
. However, even in the world of the Endless there's no such thing as a free lunch, and another character's life has to be sacrificed for the child's.
Daniel Hall
Daniel Hall is the son of Lyta HallFury (DC Comics)
Fury is the codename shared by three DC Comics superheroes, two of whom are mother and daughter, both of whom directly connected with the Furies of mythology, and the third who is an altogether different character.-Pre-Crisis:...
, and the successor to the role of Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
of the Endless
Endless (comics)
The Endless are a group of beings who embody powerful forces or aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. They have existed since the dawn of time and are thought to be among the most powerful beings in the universe...
.
Lyta Hall
Hippolyta "Lyta" Hall is a major character, the mother of Daniel.John Hathaway
John Hathaway is the senior curator of the Royal Museum. He steals the MagdaleneMagdalene
Magdalene or Magdalen may refer to:*Mary Magdalene, a disciple of Jesus*Magdalene , a feminine given name *Magdalene , a character in Marvel Comics...
Grimoire
Grimoire
A grimoire is a textbook of magic. Such books typically include instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination and also how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, and demons...
from the museum's collection to aid Roderick Burgess in his attempt to gain immortality after his son, Edmund, dies. He commits suicide in 1920 using a dagger from the museum after a stock taking reveals his theft. His suicide note, implicating Roderick Burgess in a multitude of crimes, is never found.
Hazel McNamara
Hazel McNamara is FoxgloveFoxglove (DC Comics)
Foxglove is a fictional character from the Sandman graphic novels, written by Neil Gaiman. She first appears in Sandman #32 , though she is first mentioned by her real name in Sandman #6 ....
's lover. She appears in
A Game of You
The Sandman: A Game of You
A Game of You is the fifth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch and Dick Giordano, and lettered by Todd Klein....
and Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living is an American comic book miniseries, written by Neil Gaiman with art by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham. It is a spin-off from Gaiman's best-selling Vertigo Comics series The Sandman, featuring the Sandman 's elder sister, Death of the Endless in a self-contained...
.
She has a son, Alvie, from her one heterosexual encounter. It is likely that Alvie is named after Wanda (see below). In Death: The Time of Your Life
Death: The Time of Your Life
Death: The Time of Your Life is a three-issue American comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, one of many spinoffs from his series The Sandman. It was illustrated by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham, and features an introduction by Claire Danes...
Alvie dies of cot death and Hazel makes a deal with Death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
to bring him back.
Unity Kinkaid
Unity Kinkaid first appears as one of the victims of the sleepy sickness that follows Dream'sDream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
capture in the first collection of issues in the series, Preludes and Nocturnes
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #1-8...
. Following his capture, she sleeps until he escapes. While asleep, she is raped and gives birth to a daughter, Miranda Walker.
It is later learned that the father of this child was Desire
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
. Unity was supposed to be a "vortex of Dream," a special entity that appears only very rarely, with the ability to connect the dreams of other beings, a dangerous ability that can eventually cause the destruction of The Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
. The only time Dream is allowed to take a human life is to kill a vortex. Desire's intervention confuses the issue, and eventually Unity's granddaughter, Rose Walker
Rose Walker
Rose Walker is a fictional character from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House story arc. She is a beautiful young girl, a blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair...
, becomes the vortex. Desire does this so that Dream will be forced to kill a person of family blood, thus bringing the vengeance of the Furies
Erinyes
In Greek mythology the Erinyes from Greek ἐρίνειν " pursue, persecute"--sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses" -- were female chthonic deities of vengeance. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath"...
on him.
However, just before Dream can kill Rose, Unity appears, explaining that she should have been the vortex, and asks for Rose's heart. The heart is a red glass one (remniscient of the green heart-shaped piece of glass that appears in the opening tale of this series). Taking the heart, Unity becomes the vortex, and dies.
Unity is of medium height, with reddish-brown hair that she wears long and loose in the self-image she uses in the final dream-meeting between herself, Rose, and Dream; as the old woman we meet at the start of The Doll's House, she has grey hair and wears a curiously old-fashioned dress. She seems kind, and smiles a lot.
Prez Rickard
Prez Rickard is a fictional character who first appeared in Prez #1 (December 1973). He is the subject of the story "The Golden Boy", in Sandman #54, where he is the first 18-year-old to be elected President of the United States.Ruthven Sykes
Ruthven Sykes is a bespectacled Afro-Caribbean man with short hair.He is Roderick Burgess' second-in-command of the Order of the Ancient Mysteries until November 1930, when he steals a number of treasures (including Dream's helmet, ruby and pouch of sand) and £200,000 in cash from the order and flees to San Francisco with Roderick's mistress, Ethel Cripps. In December 1930, he trades the helmet to the demon Choronzon for an amulet that looks like an eyeball on a chain. This amulet protects him from the magics of Burgess until 1936, when Ethel Cripps leaves him, taking the amulet with her. He is then killed.
Jed Walker
Jed Walker, created by Joe SimonJoe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, first appeared in The Sandman
Sandman (DC Comics)
Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...
, vol. 1, #1, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. In Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, he was revealed to be the Earth-1 equivalent of Kirby's Kamandi
Kamandi
Kamandi is an American comic book character, created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which ran from 1972 to 1978....
. In Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's revisionist
Historical revisionism (negationism)
Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...
version of The Sandman, Jed is the brother of Rose Walker
Rose Walker
Rose Walker is a fictional character from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House story arc. She is a beautiful young girl, a blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair...
and the grandson of Unity Kinkaid and Desire
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
. He was raised by his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, then taken and imprisoned by his aunt and uncle at the behest of Desire. Once Rose rescues him, he is revealed in The Wake to have become close to her.
Rose Walker
Rose Walker is a fictional characterFictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House
The Sandman: The Doll's House
The Doll's House is the second trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #9-16. It is written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli and Steve Parkhouse, coloured by Robbie...
story arc. She is a young blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair. In later issues, she is shown as having red hair with a blonde streak. In The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is a euphemistic reference to the Furies in Greek mythology.The phrase has been used as the title of:...
, several characters remark that Rose looks much younger than her actual age; Rose's responses to these comments imply that while she may not be a true immortal, she is aware that she is aging more slowly than normal.
Clarice and Barnaby
Clarice and Barnaby, aunt and uncle of Jed and Rose, were introduced in The Sandman vol. 1, #5, created by Michael FleisherMichael Fleisher
Michael L. "Mike" Fleisher is an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters the Spectre and Jonah Hex.-Early life and career:...
and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
. The pair mysteriously show up on Dolphin Island a few hours after the drowning death of Jed's grandfather, fisherman Ezra Paulsen. They take him to live with their own children, Bruce and Susie. They treat him as a personal slave not unlike Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
, with minimal food even as he does all the cooking. Eventually, their treatment of him is revealed to have become much more abusive—after he runs away from home, they place him in a basement dungeon with no toilet. This is told in issues 5 and 6 of the first series, The Best of DC #22, and recapped in Rose's diary in issue #11 of the Gaiman series. In issue #12, their mysterious appearance is revealed to have been because they were being paid an $800 monthly stipend by social services. In issue #14, they are revealed to have been killed.
Historical figures
- Haroun al-RaschidHarun al-RashidHārūn al-Rashīd was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq. He was born in Rey, Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766)....
: The King of BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
during the time that Sindbad the Sailor was written/set. Worrying about his beloved city, he sells the city to Dream to keep it alive forever, but with a catch; the city lives only in dreams, and never existed except in the famous stories, the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. - Zubayda bint Ja`far: The wife of Haroun al-Raschid.
- Jafar the BarmakidJa'far ibn YahyaJa'far bin Yahya Barmaki, Jafar al-Barmaki was the son of a Persian Vizier of the Arab Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, from whom he inherited that position. He was a member of the influential Barmakids family...
: The VizierVizierA vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
of Haroun al-Raschid. - Caesar Augustus: The first emperor of RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. In The Sandman he is revealed to carry psychological scars from being continually raped by his uncle, Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. Dream gives him a way to deal with it without the gods ('The Divine Julius' is suspected to be one of their number after his death) finding out. - LiviaLiviaLivia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
: The aloof wife of Augustus. - Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
: The last DictatorRoman dictatorIn the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
of the Roman RepublicRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. - Lycius: A dwarf, born of the Roman nobility, who lived in the time of Caesar Augustus. Augustus had banned the nobility from working as actors upon the stage, but he made an exception for Lycius, who had few other opportunities.
- TiberiusTiberiusTiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
, CaligulaCaligulaCaligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
, ClaudiusClaudiusClaudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
, and NeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
, the other emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynastyJulio-Claudian DynastyThe Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...
, appear briefly in the memories of the dwarf Lycius. - Joshua A. NortonJoshua A. NortonJoshua Abraham Norton , the self-proclaimed Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, was a celebrated citizen of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States" and subsequently "Protector of Mexico".Born in England, Norton spent most of his early life in South...
: An English-American believing himself to be Emperor of the United States in "Three Septembers and a January." Dream gives him his delusion as part of a challenge issued by his three younger siblings: Despair, who tries to make him fall into her realm by making his life increasingly difficult; Delirium, who makes a half-attempt to actually send him into insanity, but is refuted by the fact that 'his madness keeps him sane'; and Desire, who uses The King of Pain to tempt him with a real palace and a Queen. In the end, however, Joshua Norton remains delusional, but lives a happy and dignified life. He is so well-liked and respected that, when he dies, thousands come to see him off. - The King of Pain:The King of Pain was a itinerant healer and, liniment salesman in 19th century San Francisco who made a fortune peddling his "medicine" (An aconite liniment) from a pitch at Third, and Mission streets. A habitue of Martin, and Horton's (An old San Francisco saloon), and an occasional visitor at the Cobweb Palace, was probably the most ornate personage in the San Francisco of his time. He told those who bought the liniment he sold outside the Pacific Clinical Infirmary that if they covered their bodies with the ointment as he did, they would have no need for clothes. As he grew wealthier from the sales of his aconite ointment, he bought himself a coal-black coach and six snow-white horses to draw it. He himself wore a bright red union suit, a heavy velour robe, a ostrich-feathered plug hat, and a heavy sword. He once gave the Emperor Norton a new suit. He lost it all at the gaming tables, and ended his life a suicide. In the comic book The Sandman, issue 31 ("Three Septembers and a January", reprinted in Fables and Reflections), the King of Pain is one of Desire's undead minions. He tried to tempt Emperor Norton into betraying his dignity for his desires (in the form of Worldly Power, Wealth, An Estate, and Noble Wife). Norton retains his dignity, and refuses the offers, saying he is content ruling his city, that he has all he needs.
- Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
: American writer who shares his story about a jumping frogThe Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain, his first great success as a writer, bringing him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"...
with Emperor Norton. - Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
: American radical who, after participating in the French RevolutionFrench RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, is imprisoned in the Luxembourg PalaceLuxembourg PalaceThe Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden , is the seat of the French Senate.The formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model...
and briefly encounters Johanna Constantine. - Louis de Saint-JustLouis de Saint-JustLouis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just , usually known as Saint-Just, was a military and political leader during the French Revolution. The youngest of the deputies elected to the National Convention in 1792, Saint-Just rose quickly in their ranks and became a major leader of the government of the French...
: Orator of the French Revolution and supporter of the Terror, he is deposed after Orpheus sings a song that saps his ability to articulate. - Maximilien RobespierreMaximilien RobespierreMaximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
: Leader of the Committee of Public SafetyCommittee of Public SafetyThe Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
and instigator of the Reign of TerrorReign of TerrorThe Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. An extreme dreamer, he seeks to destroy the head of Orpheus due to his wish to destroy all myths, but is in turn destroyed by it. - Marco PoloMarco PoloMarco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
: The famous 13th-century explorer and trader. He is lost in a part of the Dreaming that connects to the real world, and encounters Rusticello, a friend of his future self, Fiddler's Green, and Dream, shortly after he had escaped from his prison. Marco offers him water. In return, Dream uses up the last of his energy in granting an otherwise forbidden passage home (explaining why he collapsed upon entering the House of Secrets). Upon waking Marco is unable to remember any of his encounters. - Rustichello da PisaRustichello da PisaRustichello da Pisa, also known as Rusticiano and Rustigielo , was an Italian romance writer best known for cowriting Marco Polo's autobiography while they were in prison together in Genoa. A native Pisan, he may have been captured by the Genoese at the Battle of Meloria in 1284, amid a conflict...
: The publisher of Marco, he encounters a younger self of his friend in a dream in the Desert of Lop. - William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
: The famous 16/17th-century English playwright. Dream gives him the inspiration for many of his plays in exchange for Shakespeare writing two plays for him: A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
and The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
. - Hamnet ShakespeareHamnet ShakespeareHamnet Shakespeare was the only son of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the fraternal twin of Judith Shakespeare. He died at age 11 of unknown causes. There are several theories on the relationship, if any, between Hamnet and his father's later play Hamlet...
: The son of William, he is often overlooked by his father. It is implied that Titania may have taken him into the realm of Faerie (this is confirmed in a brief cameo in The Books of MagicThe Books of MagicThe Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
). - Christopher MarloweChristopher MarloweChristopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
: A famous 16th-century playwright who is depicted discussing Shakespeare's terrible writing and Marlowe's Faust. Shakespeare tells Marlowe, "God's wounds! If only I could write like you!" - Geoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
: The famous 14th century poet and author of The Canterbury Tales is seen in the White Horse Tavern in 1389 A.D. in part four of The Doll's House, where Dream first meets Hob GadlingHob GadlingHob Gadling is a fictional character from the Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman. Gadling first appears in the story "Men of Good Fortune" in The Sandman #13 as a soldier of the Hundred Years' War, arguing with friends in an inn somewhere inside the modern borders of London.-Background:We...
. It is mentioned in the tavern that people don't want, "filthy tales in rhyme about pilgrims" a reference to The Canterbury Tales. - John BelushiJohn BelushiJohn Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
: Appears briefly in the Samurai DelicatessenSaturday Night Live SamuraiIn the early years of Saturday Night Live, John Belushi portrayed a samurai -- he had a dedicated concept of honor, spoke only Japanese, and wielded a katana...
skit when PrezPrez (DC Comics)Prez: First Teen President was a four issue comic series by writer Joe Simon and artist Jerry Grandenetti, released by DC Comics in 1973 and 1974...
hosts Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. In this timeline, the encounter so affects him that he stops doing drugs and lives to old age. - Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
: Visits Prez in his sleep to give him advice on the Presidency. - Rod SerlingRod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
: Appears on the TV when Lyta Hall watches reruns of The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
. - Montel WilliamsMontel WilliamsMontel Brian Anthony Williams is an American television personality, radio talk show host and actor. He is best known as host of the long-running The Montel Williams Show, and more recently as a spokesperson for the Partnership for Prescription Assistance...
: Appears on TV when Rose Walker watches The Montel Williams ShowThe Montel Williams ShowThe Montel Williams Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by Montel Williams. On January 30, 2008 it was announced that The Montel Williams Show would stop production on new episodes at the end of the 2007-2008 television season after seventeen years...
. - Anne HathawayAnne Hathaway (Shakespeare)Anne Hathaway was the wife of William Shakespeare. They were married in 1582. She outlived her husband by seven years...
: The wife of William Shakespeare. - Susanna ShakespeareSusanna HallSusanna Hall , née Shakespeare, was the eldest child of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the older sister of Judith Quiney and Hamnet Shakespeare...
: Older daughter of William and Anne Shakespeare. - Judith ShakespeareJudith QuineyJudith Quiney , née Shakespeare, was the youngest daughter of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. She married Thomas Quiney, a vintner of Stratford-upon-Avon. The circumstances of the marriage, including Quiney's misconduct, may have prompted the rewriting of Shakespeare's will...
: Younger daughter of William and Anne Shakespeare. - Thomas QuineyThomas QuineyThomas Quiney was the husband of William Shakespeare's daughter Judith Shakespeare, and a vintner and tobacconist in Stratford-upon-Avon. Quiney held several municipal offices in the corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon, the highest being chamberlain in 1621 and 1622, but was also fined for various...
: Pub waiter and future husband of Judith. - Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
: Poet and friend of William Shakespeare. - David LettermanDavid LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
: Appears briefly in Death: The Time of Your LifeDeath: The Time of Your LifeDeath: The Time of Your Life is a three-issue American comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, one of many spinoffs from his series The Sandman. It was illustrated by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham, and features an introduction by Claire Danes...
.
Minor mortals
- Daniel Bustamonte: A victim of the 'sleepy sickness'Encephalitis lethargicaEncephalitis lethargica or von Economo disease is an atypical form of encephalitis. Also known as "sleepy sickness" , it was first described by the neurologist Constantin von Economo in 1917. The disease attacks the brain, leaving some victims in a statue-like condition, speechless and motionless...
that results from Dream's capture. He falls asleep in 1926, then wakes up sometime before 1955, staying awake much of the time but unable to speak. He recovers fully on September 14, 1988 when Dream escapes. - Chantal and Zelda: Apparently lesbian roommates in the house Rose Walker was staying at in The Doll's House. They dress in white and collect dead spiders. Of the two, Zelda relies on Chantal for strength, and she rarely if ever speaks. In The Doll's House, it was unknown if they were lovers, friends, or related because they hardly ever socialized. When they dream, Zelda dreams of her childhood, where it is implied that she collected bones. Chantal's dreams are self-repeating loops, trying to explain something of nothing. In a later issue Zelda is dying from AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
which she contracted from Chantal, who has already died, having originally contracted it from an organ transplant. - Francis "Chas" Chandler: a cab driver and friend of John Constantine's, who drives him and Dream to Rachel's father's house so that Dream can retrieve his pouch. Chas takes his nickname from Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
's manager, and is a recurring character in the comic HellblazerHellblazerHellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
. - Compton: Roderick Burgess' butler.
- Nurse Edwards: Alex Burgess' caretaker at the time he is put under Dream's curse.
- Ernie and Frederick: Two of the men guarding Dream when he escapes from his imprisonment.
- Doctor "Piggy" Huntoon: a doctor in Arkham AsylumArkham AsylumThe Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to simply as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital in the DC Comics Universe, usually appearing in stories featuring Batman...
and former schoolmate of Constantine's. He used to perform electro-shock therapy on Constantine, back when he was institutionalized. - Leigh: A man who works in "Easy Diner," an American-style diner in London.
- Richard Madoc: An author, director and playwright who imprisoned Dream's ex-lover Calliope, a Muse, as a source of inspiration for his works. When Dream punishes Madoc for his treatment of Calliope he destroys his fingers to record in his own blood the innumerable ideas foisted upon him, only to have his imagination go blank entirely the moment Calliope is released from imprisonment. In The Wake he is seen attending Morpheus' funeral whilst dreaming, and it is inferred that after Morpheus' death, Madoc's blank mind is slowly healing.
- Ellie Marsten: A victim of the 'sleepy sickness'Encephalitis lethargicaEncephalitis lethargica or von Economo disease is an atypical form of encephalitis. Also known as "sleepy sickness" , it was first described by the neurologist Constantin von Economo in 1917. The disease attacks the brain, leaving some victims in a statue-like condition, speechless and motionless...
that occurs during Dream's capture. She sleeps continuously for decades, awaking only four or five times a year, and recovers in an insane asylum on September 14, 1988 when Morpheus escapes. Her waking memory is basically founded on the book Through the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
by Lewis CarrollLewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
. Present whereabouts unknown. - Paul McGuire: Good friend and lover of Alex Burgess. Originally a gardener at the estate, Paul eventually takes over the Order of Ancient Mysteries.
- Rachel: An ex-girlfriend of Constantine'sJohn ConstantineJohn Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
who stole Dream'sDream (comics)Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
pouch of sand from Constantine and became addicted to its effects. - Stefan Wasserman: A victim of the 'sleepy sickness'Encephalitis lethargicaEncephalitis lethargica or von Economo disease is an atypical form of encephalitis. Also known as "sleepy sickness" , it was first described by the neurologist Constantin von Economo in 1917. The disease attacks the brain, leaving some victims in a statue-like condition, speechless and motionless...
that results from Dream's capture. Joins the army during the First World War at 14, and goes over the trenches shortly before he catches the sickness. Commits suicide in 1918 at age 16 because he cannot sleep. He was inhabited by the dormant spirit of the CorinthianCorinthian (comics)The Corinthian is a fictional character in Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman. He can first be seen in The Sandman #10 , which is part of the second story arc, The Doll's House. The Corinthian is a nightmare created by Dream, who destroys him in the same collection for going rogue and...
. - The ScarecrowScarecrow (comics)The Scarecrow is a fictional character, a supervillain, that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane...
(Dr. Jonathan Crane): In a cameo, the ArkhamArkham AsylumThe Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to simply as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital in the DC Comics Universe, usually appearing in stories featuring Batman...
inmate attempts to dissuade his friend Doctor DestinyDoctor DestinyDoctor Destiny is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America Vol. 1 #5 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.- Fictional character biography :...
from escaping (albeit not forcefully), saying Arkham is a better home for their kind than the outside world. Unlike other incarnations, he is portrayed as a nervous, paranoid, babbling academic, trying to make April fools jokes to psychologically test his prison guards, and unable to sleep for fear of rats. - Wanda: A transsexual woman featured in A Game of YouThe Sandman: A Game of YouA Game of You is the fifth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch and Dick Giordano, and lettered by Todd Klein....
who is Barbie's best friend. She dies in the freak storm caused by Thessaly's magic and is buried as Alvin (her parents dress her as a man), though Barbie rectifies this by crossing out Alvin on her gravestone with lipstick and writing Wanda. Wanda is later seen in Barbie's dream, now apparently with a biologically female body, and waves goodbye to Barbie with DeathDeath (DC Comics)Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg....
. - Nada: A beautiful African queen, Nada is cast into hell by the Dream King (known to her as Kai'ckul) when she refuses to stay with him and become his queen because "It is not for mortals to love the Endless". She was asked three times, but refused each time. Nada first appears in "Preludes and Nocturnes" when Dream is escorted to Dis. Her story is revealed in the beginning of "A Doll's House". An argument over her unfair punishment prompts Dream's initial actions in "Seasons of Mist," and eventually Dream begs her forgiveness and lets her choose her own fate. Nada chooses to be reincarnated as a baby boy in Hong Kong, and Dream comes to her cradle, holds her new form, and promises that she will always be welcome in the Dreaming, no matter what form or body her soul is in.
Superheroes
- BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
(Bruce Wayne) and Green LanternGreen LanternThe Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
(Hal JordanHal JordanHarold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
) are shown briefly in a flashback in issue #2 (Preludes and Nocturnes) capturing Doctor DestinyDoctor DestinyDoctor Destiny is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America Vol. 1 #5 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.- Fictional character biography :...
, representing the Justice LeagueJustice LeagueThe Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
, who defeated him. In issue #8, a comedian tells a joke about Batman that is clearly in-universe, as the comedian makes speculations about Batman's out of costume life that are far from correct. He also makes a brief appearance in issue #71 (The WakeThe Sandman: The WakeThe Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
). - Phantom StrangerPhantom StrangerThe Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...
and Doctor OccultDoctor OccultDoctor Occult is a fictional character, a magic user in the . Created by Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Doctor Occult is the earliest character created by DC Comics still currently in use in its shared universe fiction....
appear briefly in The Wake, chatting with John Constantine. Constantine says "Nice trench coat", a reference to the similar design of the three characters, who are unofficially known as The Trenchcoat Brigade and initially appeared together in Gaiman's The Books of MagicThe Books of MagicThe Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
, which occurred before Brief Lives and had Rose PsychicRose PsychicRose Psychic is a DC Comics heroine affiliated with the company's first superhero, Doctor Occult. They were created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman. She first appeared in More Fun Comics #6 . She appeared in Dr. Occult's first story, and then disappears from the story...
introducing Timothy HunterTimothy HunterTimothy Hunter, is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in The Books of Magic vol. 1 #1 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.-Publication history:...
to Dream. - Mister MiracleMister MiracleMister Miracle is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Mister Miracle #1 and was created by Jack Kirby.-Publication history:...
(Scott Free) informs Dream that his ruby is no longer kept at Justice League headquarters. (#7, Preludes and Nocturnes) - Martian ManhunterMartian ManhunterThe Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
(J'onn J'onnz), last member of the original Justice League lineup, gives Dream the details of the storage unitSelf storageSelf storage is an industry in which storage space is rented to tenants, usually on a monthly basis. A self storage business provides rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor space in which tenants can store and access their goods. Self storage tenants include businesses and individuals...
where the JLA's old trophies, including the ruby, are kept. (#7, Preludes and Nocturnes). Also makes an appearance alongside Batman, as does Clark KentClark KentClark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
, in issue #71 (The WakeThe Sandman: The WakeThe Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
). DarkseidDarkseidDarkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
is also seen at the wake. - The SandmanSandman (DC Comics)Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...
(Hector HallHector HallHector Hall was a superhero who appeared in DC Comics's Infinity, Inc., Sandman and JSA. He has gone by the names Silver Scarab, Sandman and, before his death, Dr. Fate.-Childhood:...
): The walking dead father of Daniel HallDaniel HallDaniel Hall is a fictional character in the Sandman comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. An infant for the majority of the Sandman series, he is the son of Hippolyta 'Lyta' Hall and Hector Hall, borne for two years in the Dreaming Daniel Hall is a fictional character...
and successor to Garrett Sanford, whose death is noted. Hall's only previous appearances as The Sandman were in Infinity Inc.Infinity Inc.Infinity, Inc. is a team of superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The team is mostly composed of the children and heirs of the Justice Society of America, making them the Society's analogue to the Teen Titans, which is composed of sidekicks of Justice League members...
#49–51. (#11–12, The Doll's House) - Element GirlElement GirlElement Girl is a fictional DC Comics superhero who first appeared in Metamorpho #10 . The character's death was featured in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series in issue #20, "Façade."-Fictional character biography:...
(Urania Blackwell): Death, coming for an upstairs neighbour who has fallen off a ladder, visits her, sensing her longing to die, but is unable to take her, though she informs her that RaRaRa is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...
(the sunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
) can take her power back so she can die. (#20, Dream Country) - Hawkman (Carter Hall): Along with Wesley Dodds (The Sandman), he is offered to Dream by Odin in a repeating RagnarokRagnarökIn Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...
in which the Justice Society of AmericaJustice Society of AmericaThe Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
is trapped (Crisis on Infinite Earths Special "Last Days of the Justice Society"). Odin says that one of them contains some of his essence. As Hall is the grandfather of Daniel, it is deliberately obscure just which of the two he means. (#26, Season of Mists) - Wildcat (Ted Grant)Wildcat (comics)Wildcat is the name of several fictional characters, all DC Comics superheroes. The first and most famous of these is Ted Grant, a long-time member of the Justice Society of America...
, appears in #54, "The Golden Boy;" however, in Prez Rickard's world, he is merely a professional wrestler rather than a member of the Justice Society of America.