Reading Comics #96 "The Annotated Sandman Volume 1 #5"

(via vertigocomics.com)

The Sandman #5 is a lot more of Neil Gaiman's take on mainstream DC lore, heavily featuring Doctor Destiny as well as Mister Miracle and Martian Manhunter.  Morpheus, alias Dream alias Sandman, is once again a supporting player in his own book.

Interestingly, based on the way Gaiman writes, Leslie Klinger's first notes for the issue actually reference Alfred Hitchcock, from his TV shows.  Hitchcock has resurfaced in pop culture recently, from the clear visual cues of Despicable Me to a few movies based on the director himself, one starring Anthony Hopkins.  Chances are in generations hence readers will still know who he is.

Doctor Destiny has so far played a surprisingly large role in Sandman, a bogeyman who came into possession of the last totem on Dream's list, a ruby that allows him to manipulate reality.  By "him" I refer to John Dee, the last best representation of the corrupting human appropriations of Dream's responsibilities for the last seventy years, an arc begun in the first issue.  Artist Sam Keith, Gaiman's main collaborator in this opening arc, has perhaps his signature visual in Doctor Destiny's warped and horrific visage, very much a nightmare itself, although in a twist of dark humor the woman he steals a ride from upon breaking free from Arkham Asylum seems to take everything about him in stride.  It may be Gaiman's way of saying that we can rationalize just about anything.

Before his escape, Dee runs into Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow, a more traditional superhero villain and known inmate of Arkham (Doctor Destiny is by comparison pretty obscure).  Dee's mother has just died, and that's his main motivation.  Gaiman takes the opportunity to reflect on the true patterns of villain behavior, as well as the conversation Dee has with the woman in the car.  A note to deconstructionist writers out there: this is your cue as to a better approach, your target being the villain rather than the hero.

Mister Miracle makes an appearance mostly because he's at this point a member of the Justice League. His dreams are disturbed by his origins, a child of New Genesis swapped with a child of Apokolips, the good and evil homes of Jack Kirby's New Gods in the Fourth World.  Too often writers who depict characters from this setting don't have a clue what to do with them.  Sometimes it's enough to meditate on the setup, because that alone resonates like the myths Kirby always meant to reflect.  Mister Miracle, alias Scott Free, is an escape artist, but his dreams lock him back into his worst memories.  Gaiman later did The Eternals for Marvel, based on a similar concept created by Kirby, although I would much prefer his New Gods.  It's worth noting again that he did write the brilliant American Gods, as well as Good Omens.  The dude does the macabre, but he's also clearly fascinated by thoughts of divinity.

The odd thing is that Mister Miracle can't help Morpheus, but he can redirect him to Martian Manhunter, one of the most fascinating, underutilized characters in comics.  And yet that sequence is brief in comparison.

By the way, if you're struggling to keep track of everyone's multiple names in this post, just know that this is something Klinger certainly appreciates.  It's a constant refrain in his notes, as it is a theme for Gaiman, and perhaps the true relevance of Doctor Destiny, John Dee, who at one point this issue says "D" could stand for anything.  The entire family of The Endless, of which Dream is a part, is named with that letter.  The next most famous member of this family is Death, who's even more quintessentially goth than Dream.  Though they make a good match.

If there's any surprise in Klinger's notes for this issue, it's that he takes the task of cataloging the contents of the Justice League storage unit lightly.  Or Gaiman and Keith generalized most of its contents.  When Morpheus finally reclaims his ruby, it's the end of the issue.  Dee has tampered with it, and thus marks the first cliffhanger of the series.