Neil Gaiman

Sandman & Beyond

Preludes and Nocturnes Issues 1-8 Captured in a 'hunt' for his sister, Death, Dream spent 72 years trapped away from his power and his realm. His capturer, one Roderick Burgess, uses and loses his objects of power: The DreamDust Pouch, his Helm and his magical ruby. After escaping the opening storyline deals with how Lord Morpheus reclaims his items. The Pouch with the help of John Constantine (See Hellblazer); the Helm he battles a demon for, but the hardest to reclaim is the ruby. Madman John Dee has it and is using it to "drive everyone in the world mad." Even after reclaiming it, it has been corruped and changed by Dee so that only he can use it. The ensuing flight, pursuit and battle takes three whole issues!	Death She is the divider of the living from all that has gone before, all that has come after. It is whispered in dreams that one day in every century she takes on mortal flesh, the better comprehend what the lives she takes must feel like, to taste the bitter tang of mortality: that this is the price she must pay for being Death.
Destiny Destiny is the oldest of The Endless: in teh beginning was the Word, and it was traced by hand on the first page of his book before it was ever spoken aloud. Walk through any path in in his garden and you will be forced to choose, not once, but many times. Some say not even Destiny himself truly knows where each fork and turn will lead. But even if he could tell you, he would not: Destiny holds his secrets.	The Doll's House Issues 9-16 Dream returning to the Dreaming, finds several things out of place; most importantly, an anomaly called a dream vortex has manifested itself in the form of a young girl who unknowingly threatens to rip apart the Dreaming. And there's the smaller matter of a few nightmares having escaped. Among them is the Corinthian, a serial killer with a miniature set of teeth in each eye socket. Tells of Nada, Unity Kinkaid, Miranda, Jed & Rose Walker, Gilbert, Hector & Lyta Hall, Brute & Glob, Hob Gadling, a serial killers' convention and Fiddler's Green.
Dream Country Issues 17-20 Four different tales. First up tells of how Richard Madoc purchses the muse Calliope and her only hope is Morpheus. Next is the story of how a Siamese cat passes on her quest: to convince every cat that if they can all dream together of a cat-ruled world with no humans at the same time, it will come to pass. The tale of how Shakespeare debuted his finest work, A Mid-Summer Night's Dream to the host of Faerie and Titania herself. Lastly, we experience the sad dilemma of Element girl and Death's solution.	Dream We spend out days leading rational, ordered lives... but every night we lie down, close our eyes and sleep an uncertain sleep. It is then that we serve Morpheus. The Endless called Dream, whose power over his realm knows no limit, but who can never be fully perveived. Of all The Endless, save perhaps Destiny, he is the most conscious of his responsibilities, the most meticulous in their execution. He accumulated names the way other make friends, but he permits himself few friends.
Despair Despair is Desire's sister and twin. Her skin is clammy; her eyes are the color of the sky on a bleak day; her voice is little more than a whisper. Many years gone, a sect in what is now Afghanistan declared Despair a goddess and proclaimed all empty rooms her sacred places. The sect persisted for two years, until its last adherent finally killed himslef, having survived the other members by almost seven months. Despair says little, and is patient.	Season of Mists Issues 21-28 Destiny's book tells him he is going to gather his siblings together; so he does. This sets in motion the Dream Lord's return trip to Hell to rescue his old flame, Nada, from the eternal torment he cursed her to when she spurned his love. He gets there only to have Lucifer Morningstar quit, but in an attempt to destroy Morpheus, he bequeaths the key to Hell on him. This starts mythological characters coming out of the woodwork all wanting Morpheus to pass Hell on to their trust. From Norse gods, to Chinese; From Angels to Devils; from Chaos to Order. Meanwhile the dead are escaping all Hell (sorry for that pun, no lutefisk thrown at me, please) breaks loose on Earth.
Fables and Reflections Issues 29-31, 38-40, 50, Sandman Special, and "Fear of Falling" Distant Mirrors Starts the journey with Lady Johanna Constantine (see Hellblazer) emancipating Orpheus', Morpheus' son, severed head. Then detours to Augustan Rome where the doom of Rome is plotted. Next, Dream wins a Job-ian bet with Despair concerning The Emperor of the United States. Convergences tells of seemingly disconnected dreamers Vassily and Marco Polo, then introduced Daniel Hall, Lyta's son and hints at future powers again. Ramadan focuses on Dream's removal and storage of the magic of Baghdad. The Sandman Special, Orpheus re-tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in Hades.	Delirium Delirium smells of sweat, sour wines, late nights, old leather. Her realm is close, and can be visited: however, human minds were not meant to comprehend her domain, and those few who have made the journey could merely report the tiniest fragments. Some say Delirium's tragedy is her knowledge that despite being older than suns, she is forever the youngest of The Endless, who do not measure time as we do. Delirium was once Delight, but that was long ago.
Destruction He built a cathedral in New York. He worked as a pavement artist in London and as a street artist in Paris. He spent a month forging cave paintings for a Spanish town that needed tourists, and a decade digging the Panama Canal. Are these the right pursuits of a being called Destruction? Indeed not, for he abdicated his position three centuries ago and broke contact with the other Endless. Things, he reasoned, will still be destroyed on their own.	A Game of You Issues 32-37 Tells of how Barbie abandoned her dream-world as a child and now it is in danger and needs her. Hazel & Foxglove, Wanda and George and Thessaly, who is more than she seems, start having troubles with things from their dreams but it is Barbie who won't wake. Meanwhile, dream-Barbie, princess of her realm, meets and adventure with denizens of her dream realm and ara captured by the cuckoo, whose goal is to destroy Barbie's dream-realm so she can experience others. Wanda, left guarding Barbie's sleeping self is killed when a hurricane caused by Thessaly's tampering with mother nature collapses the builing. Barbie goes to Wanda's funeral and gives tribute to "her" 'true-self.'
Brief Lives Issues 41-49 Delirium decides to find Destruction and decides that Dream will help her, whether he wants to or not; surprisingly he agrees to assist. Immediately any contacts who might bo of help start to experience horrible 'accidents': Bernie Capax is crushed; Etain is nearly blown up; The AlderMan goes into hiding; Ruby dies in a fire; Ishtar erupts, destroying a strip club. Dream catches a clue and quits looking, but can't quit thinking. So he visits Bast who tells him the only chance of finding his wayward brother is to visit his cursed son, Orpheus, the oracle. Orpheus' price for the information they seek is his death. Dream & Delirium dine with Destruction and his dog, Barnabus. Destruction refuses to return; explaining that he will have to hide better next time, and disappears. Dream pays his debt to his son.	Desire Desire of The Endless smiles in brief flashes, like sunlight glinting from a knife-edge, and much else is razor-sharp about it. There is only one thing to see in its twilight realm: it is its fortress, a sculpute of DesireDeisre lives in the heart.
Delight Delight was the youngest of The Endless. Then Delight was visited by dancing men from a far world, bringing tribute, of birds and flowers and fine gems. Sometime after, the youngest Endless was no longer Delight, but not yet Delirium, and was visited by Destruction to help her through the change. At one point, Delight may have been married, and something relating to this may have caused the change. Then, Delight became Delirium.	Worlds' End Issues 51-56 Heading cross-country on a warm June night, business assoicates Brant Tucker and Charlene Mooney somehow found themselves inside a raging snowstorm. When something huge and alive appeared in the road, Tucker crashed their car into a tree. Dazed, they followed a disembodied voice to a nearby inn. There, they found shelter, assistance and the fellowship of other travellers who lost their way... Between worlds. A faerie, a centaur, and several others who should not exist, all were waiting out the storm that swept them to this inn from their own times and places. And all had stories to tell. Dreaming Cities, Sea Monsters, A Necropolis, and witness to the funeral cortege of Delight of the Endless.
The Kindly Ones Issues 57-69 Daniel Hall disappears; Lyta believes Dream is the culprit, so she calls on the Furies for their assistance, which they proffer because of his boon to his son (he spilled family blood, thus making him vulnerable to them). Loki and Puck are killing the mortality in the child, which distresses Dream; he sends a 'new' Cornthian and Matthew to rescue the boy. Meanwhile, Lyta and the Furies start destroying the Dreaming and its denizens. Finally, Dream goes to Death and Daniel becomes the new Dream.	Daniel Daniel Hall, child of Lyta & Hector Hall who gestated over years in the Dreaming, was only born when Morpheus freed his parents, though Hector remained dead. As a baby Daniel would physically disappear into his Dreams. When he was kidnapped by Loki & Puck, Lyta went a little nuts and brought about the destruction of Dream, thus losing her child in truth, as Daniel is now the new Dream-Lord.
Denizens of Dream: Cain & Abel; Lucien the Librarian, Eve, Mervyn Pumpkinhead; The Corinthian; Fiddler's Green; Matthew the Raven; Brute & Glob; Wyver, Gryphon & Hippogriff.	The Wake Issues 70-75 The final Sandman arc brings together all of Morpheus' friends, family, enemies and acquaintances for a final farewell, and a last smattering of stories: Hob puts the past behind him in "Sunday Morning"; Sandman turns to an older hand for wisdom in "Exiles"; and Shakespeare writes his last play in "The Tempest".
Endless Nights After leaving all us fans in a Sandman-jonesing welter for several years, Gaiman has returned to the title! This book consists of seven stories; one for each member of The Endless. "What I've Tasted of Desire"; "Death and Venice"; "Fifteen Portraits of Despair"; "The Heart of a Star" (Dream); "Endless Nights" (Destiny)"; "Going Inside" (Delirium); and "Destruction on the Peninsula". Yeehaaaa@!!!	Other characters: Nuala the Elf; The Three Witches; Cluracan the Elf; Ishtar; Duma & Remiel; Lucifer & Mazikeen; Azazel & Choronzon; Thessaly; Mad Hettie; Emperor Norton; Alex & Roderick Burgess; Puck, Loki & Cuckoo; The Wise old Siamese; John Dee; Richard Madoc; Rose Walker; Unity Kinkaid; Barbie & Wanda; Hector-n-Lyta Hall & Garrett Sanford; Hazel & Foxglove; William Shakespeare; Lady Johanna Constantine; Rowland & Paine; Calliope, Nada, Hob Gadling; and Orpheus

Other Sandman and Gaiman Comics	Other Non-Sandman Gaiman prose/verse:
Batman Black and White (he did issue #2: "A Black & White World")	Snow Glass Apples (NYR)
Dustcovers: Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers 1989-1996
Adventures In The Dreamtrade	Wolves In The Walls
The Quotable Sandman, 2000	Coraline
The Sandman Companion, 1999	A Walking Tour Of The Shambles
The Sandman Book Of Dreams	Murder Mysteries
Angela's Hunt, 1998 Go See the ANGELA page	American Gods
Spawn 2nd TPB	Stardust
Spawn 6th TPB	Smoke And Mirrors
	Day Of The Dead, 1998
	The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish
	Neverwhere
Breakthrough, 1990 "27 comics artists & writes celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall" "Vier Mauern" (four blocks)	The Weerde Book 2: The Book Of The Ancients with Mary Gentle & Roz Kaveney, 1993
	Angels & Visitations, 1993
	The Weerde Book 1 With Mary Gentle, 1992
	Villains! with Mary Gentle, 1992
	Euro Temps
	Temps, with Alex Stewart, 1992
	Now We Are Sick, 1986
	Good Omens: The Nice And Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch
	Don't Panic: The Official Hitch-hiker's Guide To The Galaxy Companion
	Ghastly Beyond Belief, 1985
	Duran Duran: The First Four Years Of The Fab Five

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The Darkside: Images of Death & Sandman
Sandman annotations
The Dreaming
Merv Punpkinhead's Big Night Out
(The story behind the story ...)

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The images on this page are copyright Rick Berry, Colleen Doran, Linda Bergkvist and DC/Vertigo Comics respectively. No copyright infringement is intended. I make absolutely no profit from this page except the profit gained from sharing a great comic and good art with other fans and potential fans.

Sources used were some other fan sites, the books themselves, Sandman & Vertigo card sets by Skybox,