With Morpheus holding the literal and figurative key to hell, everyone from the spiritual plane descends on the Dreaming to gain audience with him and determine if he will keep Hell to himself or turn it over to a new leader.
Written by Neil Gaiman
Penciled by Kelley Jones
Inked by P. Craig Russell
Colored by Daniel Vozzo
Lettered by Todd KleinReturning home to his realm of The Dreaming with the Key to Hell in his possession, Morpheus finds himself approached by gods, deities and entities from across the whole of existence, all of whom hope to lay their hands on the former realm of the damned for one purpose or another…
Written by Neil Gaiman
Penciled by Matt Wagner
Inked by Malcolm Jones III
Colored by Daniel Vozzo
Lettered by Todd KleinWith Hell now closed for business, the dead are rising all over the world, and this stand-alone issue focuses on one boy’s lone fight against a boarding school full of evil spirits. Features art by fan-favorite illustrator Matt Wagner (Grendel)!
Written by Neil Gaiman
Penciled by Kelley Jones
Inked by George Pratt
Colored by Dan Vozzo
Lettered by Todd KleinMorpheus meets with the visitors who have come to claim the key to Hell. Some threaten his existence, some offer trade, and others hope to bribe the Dream King with items and info he’s been chasing for untold time. But who can bear the responsibility?
Lucifer knew just what he was doing when he locked up Hell and threw Morpheus the key. He knew that it was a prize desired by many, old gods and new, faeries and demons. And so, in these issues the spiritual and otherworldly beings make their journey to the Dreaming to plead their case, each hoping to offer something that will entice Morpheus to make his decision in their favor.
Naturally, this is a very significant decision for Morpheus to make and one he will not make lightly. Nor is he without his manners and dignities, inviting his various guests – – from Odin and Loki to Order and Chaos to Anubis and Bast – – to stay in his home, providing dinner, lodging, and entertainment. (The latter comes from Cain and Abel, and it’s fun to see the bickering brothers once again.) It does delay Morpheus from having to make that final decision, but also gives him time to observe his guests as they are, without pretense or politics. One of the early rules of dating I learned was to watch how your date treated wait staff at a restaurant or a cab driver – – people providing a service, people they did not know intimately – – for insight into their true character. That’s Morpheus’s goal here with his evening: to judge of character.
Of course, each of these creatures does get a private audience with him to make their case as to why they should have the key to Hell. Some offer gifts, some offer threats. All are told the same thing: thanks for your time, the final decision will come in the next day. (Anyone who’s ever been on the corporate job search can certainly relate to this narrative!) One of those gifts (for lack of a better word) comes from Azazel, emissary of the Demons of Hell: Nada, the woman that is the reason Morpheus traveled to Hell in the first place. Here is Hell, offering Morpheus his mission on a silver platter – – and yet, Morpheus offers the same answer: thank you for your time, I will make a decision in the morning. He has a larger game at play here, and not even his greatest love will tip his hand.
The same can be said about issue #25, which breaks up the two part dinner party in issues #24 and #26. This issue is the story of Charles Rowland, a young boy at boarding school over school holidays since his father is overseas in Kuwait (captured by Iraqi forces in the months up to Operation Desert Storm). He wanders the halls of his school lonely but not alone. Long before Haley Joel Osment proclaimed he saw dead people, Charles Rowland saw dead people: the headmaster’s mother, bullies, and even a new friend in Edwin Paine. All what Charles longs for is to go home, and he expresses as much in a letter to his absent father never sent. And he finds that home . . . in death. In death he gets the life he never had and always wanted.
Continued belowOn the surface, it’s an odd narrative choice to break up the main storyline with this one shot tale of a lonely teenager. But this is Neil Gaiman, who does not introduce elements and characters simply for their sake. If we do not see Charlie and Edwin again in the main Sandman series, there’s enough characterization to develop their own spinoff, or appear in other stories. (In fact, both of these happen.) Keep that in the back of your head to keep any frustrations you have at these narrative left turns at bay.
There’s quite the changes in penciliers and inkers across these three issues, but they all keep their style consistent. In each case, they’re paired with someone who has experience on the main story, which helps with that consistency. With the cast of characters that’s introduced, from all the gods and demons to the world of Charles’s boarding school, there’s a lot of artistic heavy lifting, and everyone comes together to give the new folks on the series the support they need. (Though those new folks are certainly not new to comics – – Matt Wagner created the series “Grendel,” and P. Craig Russell’s works include “Elric: The Dreaming City,” and “Killraven.”)
I love some of these character designs for the gods. Shivering Jemmy looks all innocent, but the Pennywise designs suggests something even more sinister at play. The faeries Cluracan and Nuala drip with delicate opulence. And Azazel’s shapeless and jagged look is chaos personified (and that’s even with a characters named Order and Chaos). As for Morpheus himself, the ageless character starts to show the weight of being immortal, as well as the weight of the current situation, on his face.
As much as Morpheus does not want to make a decision, even throwing away the key to Hell as his decision. But the return of the key means he does have a decision to make. We’ll see what that is – – whatever it is – – next week.
Next week we finish ‘Season of Mists’ with issues #27 and #28.
If you want to read along with me this summer, single issues and trades are available through comiXology. As of this writing, the first eight issues of the comic are also available on DC Universe Infinite. You can also check your local library for trade and collected editions of the series.