Reading Comics #98 "The Annotated Sandman Volume 1 #7"

The conclusion of the Doctor Destiny arc finally comes to pass in this latest issue from The Annotated Sandman Volume 1 from Neil Gaiman and Leslie S. Klinger.

Since the start of the series six issues ago, Dream has been attempting to reclaim his lost totems of power from a period where he was held captive for seventy years.  The last totem is a gem that manipulated by classic Justice League villain Doctor Destiny, who escaped from Arkham Asylum by the time we caught up with him.

When Dream gets his hands on the gem, he discovers that Doctor Destiny's manipulation has completely warped it.  Thus a confrontation in this issue that would be akin to a true superhero experience, if Gaiman were writing any other series.

Instead we get something very similar to what he's done previously, suggesting the lives being influenced by Dream's experiences, this time by way of Doctor Destiny's nightmares.  Rather than some knock-down drag-out fight, Dream does a lot of talking, trying to figure out his foe verbally rather than physically.

One of Klinger's first notes is about matters that aren't particularly relevant to a black-and-white reprint, while there are some others that make it clear how the original presentation of the issue has been altered over the years in the various collected editions.  (It may be worth noting that in addition to these Annotated volumes, DC is also releasing giant omnibus editions at present.)

The notes for page 10 are particularly relevant, as they explain Gaiman's references to Shakespeare, including the one particularly relevant to today's date, the Ides of March, 3/15.  Just for the record!

The next page also talks about Bride of Frankenstein, which may still be one of the most fascinating developments of the early Hollywood horror era.  Has anyone ever written a book with this character?

It should be noted that within the story itself Dream wears his helm, one of the totems that he's reclaimed, which makes him look like the original superhero Sandman, which probably won't happen too many more times in the series.  Or I could be wrong.  I've read very little of Sandman, so that's why I hope I can continue with the rest of the Annotated volumes.  I don't know about you, but I enjoy this process.

Destiny, the non-Doctor Destiny version of Destiny, makes his first appearance in the series on the sixteenth page.

It's just interesting that so much of this issue, if it were illustrated differently, could just as easily be an event issue from a typical superhero comic, the way the pages are laid out and the big climax is reached.

By the end, Doctor Destiny is brought back to Arkham, where he is greeted by Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane, who saw him off, while Klinger notes how Gaiman cleverly guided the artist to reference The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the last panel.

Page 24 does make a strong case for an even weirder look at DC lore, Arkham as seen by the inmates as they live there, which Gaiman suggests probably is not very pretty.

I guess most people don't really consider the Doctor Destiny arc part of the true Sandman experience, but to me it certainly feels like an essential way to present what it will be all about, how it will be different from what you may have read before.  The Vertigo line can sometimes be a little deliberate and singular in the way it's presented, almost embarrassed to be associated with the rest of DC.  This is one example that this really doesn't have to be the case.  You can be different yet strangely familiar at the same time.