Neil Gaiman’s Sandman brings to light a great comic hero from the depths of our minds. The Sandman comes with unique artistry, personification, and the stuff that to make dreams come true. Unfortunately, Neil Gaiman did not come with consistency, as “Dream Country” and “Preludes and Nocturnes” could not be further from each other. Fortunately, “Preludes and Nocturnes” portrayed such a beautiful, epic story that I maintain a hope for the remaining volumes.
“Preludes and Nocturnes” displays focus, solidarity, and an open-ended yet finite conclusion to a singular story. Although volume one contains numerous chapters, each chapter serves in the progression of the Sandman’s story. This singular progression is vital to maintaining the reader’s steady attention which is necessary to ensure the reader interprets and steady, methodical, and intelligent hero.
Gaiman’s “Dream Country” all but shatters this form; volume three contains four chapters, each of which maintains an independent relation from the next. This is not to say that the chapters are without purpose; each chapter illustrates pieces of the Sandman’s character and moral fiber which assist in the understanding of the Sandman’s character. However, I did not feel any great revelations in the Sandman’s character which were not obtained in volume one. The Sandman’s assistance with John Constantine showed us his kindness, which was further supported in Calliope’s story. The only knowledge newly revealed was another name “Oneiros” and the knowledge of a deceased son. We also learned that the Sandman is a great leader and shepherd, and he is very fond of his fairy tales. But the independence of each story prohibited the feel of a true drive in the work, leaving me with no sense of purpose, no fair desire for knowledge of the coming chapter.
Gaiman’s first volume shines above to provide the reader with a full purpose, a drive to engage our intrigue. Perhaps the only consistency Gaiman affords us, comes in the finality with Death. Death is at the conclusion of each volume, almost as the summation of our new-found knowledge and the instrument for which we learn a little life’s lesson.
2 thoughts on “The Matter of Consistency”
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I actually really appreciate this fact about Gaiman’s Sandman. One of my primary annoyances with comics, and one of the central problems with an undefined serialized storyline, is the deliberate attempts at making mere plot events addicting. Readers come back to find out what absurd and daft occurances befall Spider-man or the X-men (I say that with a profound affection for both series). But Gaiman’s series relies on an immersion in the horrifying and delicately beautiful world, and the intricate characterizations of his humans and personifications alike to keep us returning.
There’s something to be said for a discursive structure and the value of the short story format which Gaiman champions here. Though I find his meandering tedious in some of his longer prose works (American Gods in particular, despite its power), in Sandman I relax and enjoy the gentle revelation of character and worldbuilding.
I think we’re, at this point, programmed to look for a plot, for those consistencies, and when we can’t find them–a continuous plot line where everything is happening to go to a specific end point, it can be slightly off-putting. On one hand we can appreciate the break from this tradition, as Ian seems to, but on the other hand, some of us will always be asking “And what was the point of this?” even if it does add more depth to the Dream character.