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The book where Neil Gaiman "found his voice" and inspired a generation
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artists: Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli,
Steve Parkhouse Colorist: Robbie Busch
Letterers: Todd Klein, John Costanza
Trade paperback
Published by DC Vertigo 1990
$19.95
Reviewed by Ben Peek
Being the second collection in Neil Gaiman's now legendary SANDMAN series, it might seem odd that 'The Doll's House' has been chosen as this months Retro.
It isn't. 'The Doll's House' introduces two of SANDMAN's major supporting characters: Dream's sister, Death, and the Man-Who-Death-Will-Not-Touch, Hob Gadling. It also introduces us to the protagonist of SANDMAN: Desire, another of Dream's siblings.
Let's start with why the introduction of Death is so significant to the series. The most important reason is that with issue 8 -- Death's introduction, in an issue called 'The Sound of Her Wings' -- Gaiman finally makes the series his own.
The first seven issues are, to be brutally honest, forgetful: had I been reading comics back then, I would have given up on it somewhere around the second or third issue. And, again, had I not read the later issues of the series and my first purchase had been the first trade, I would have been somewhat dubious about buying the rest of the series, despite the fact that this same issue appears in PRELUDES AND NOCTURNES as well.
The first seven issues showed no real character development of Dream, and were in very real danger of becoming a series of forgettable horror/dark fantasy stories that would occasionally feature guest appearances by other Vertigo characters, such as John Constantine.
The arrival of Death changed this. While it might seem strange to give this much credit to one character (Death does not appear in every issue, and never becomes the central character of the series) and the series is certainly not without flaw from this point onwards, it is nevertheless here that the SANDMAN saga really begins, eight issues in.
| "It is here that the SANDMAN saga really begins, eight issues in" |
Another reason Death is important to the series is her persona of an attractive, smiling, pleased to meet everyone and everything-is-peachy-keen goth girl. She is the perfect foil to Dream; it is through Death that we begin to see his brittle, failed mortality. Indeed, the argument could be made that throughout the whole Sandman series, it is Death who brings the humanity.
For all the serial killers, love stories, funerals and scenes of Lucifer playing the piano that are interwoven into the massive tale of a dysfunctional family that SANDMAN can be summed up as, it is Death who brings the lightness. Death who brings the warmth, the much-needed reminder that there is, ironically, more to life.
The SANDMAN saga is essentially a dark fantasy that is fuelled by a collection of things from myths, gothic romance and horror -- all aptly demonstrated within 'The Doll's House'. But Death is removed from the horror of the series, so much so that she is very rarely associated with those elements. It is interesting to note that when Gaiman wants to give the death of a character more resonance within the storyline, more often than not Death is not featured.
(There are, of course, exceptions to this. But where Gaiman wants the death of a character to be final, we do not see her at all. One example occurs in 'Brief Lives', when falling bricks crush Bernie. Death is shown smiling, with a hand out to him, and the advice that he got a lifetime. No more, no less. But this somewhat dilutes the act, as it is hard to mourn for someone who is experiencing a form of life after death.)
If Death is the foil to Dream and is perhaps the single most important character of the series, then what is Hob Gadling, the man who Death will not touch until he truly desires it? Hob is Dream's friend -- perhaps his only one -- which makes him also one of the most important characters. But beyond this, Gaiman twists the romantic notion of an immortal and the result is fantastic. In the issue he is introduced, we see Hob rise, become rich, love, suffer the loss of his wife and make decisions that will haunt him for the rest of his considerable life. We also see Hob and Dream become friends, and through Hob, we see Dream's character evolve a little with each of their meetings. Make no mistake; the influence of Hob on the series is not as dramatic as that of Death, but his first appearance here in 'The Doll's House' must be noted.
| "In a medium where villains are all too often megalomaniacs who want to take over the world, Desire is entirely different " |
'The Doll's House' also introduces Desire into the story, placing it as the main antagonist. This, I think, is one of the best things that 'The Doll's House' has to offer to a new reader. In a medium where villains are all too often megalomaniacs who want to take over the world, or use other minor characters as sexual playthings (thus fuelling the wrath of the hero), Desire is entirely different. Neither evil, nor good, I found myself liking the appearances of Desire further on in the series, simply because as a protagonist, this bored member of the Endless proved to be one of the most rounded enemies of Dream.
Now, what about the rest of the trade paperback?
While the main story of 'The Doll's House' is concerned with the rise of Desire as Dream's main antagonist, it is told through the eyes a young woman, Rose, as she looks for her brother Jed. During this, Dream is reclaiming the lost portions of his kingdom after being imprisoned (covered in 'Preludes and Nocturnes', the first collection).
Rose is a "dream vortex", and as 'The Doll's House' progresses Dream has his minions, most notably the raven Matthew, watch over her. But the story is Rose's, showing Gaiman's first steps at structuring the stories so that Dream is in them, but not the central character. (Dream's final words in the series, to William Shakespeare, are: "I am Prince of stories, Will, but I have no story of my own. Nor shall I ever. But I thank you.") This theme continued throughout much of the series, and it is in 'The Doll's House' that is begins. This collection is a coming of age story, both for the character Rose, the series itself, and Gaiman's abilities as a writer.
Within 'The Doll's House' you will also find the early work of Michael Zulli and Chris Bachalo. For people interested in seeing how much the pair of them have changed -- and in Zulli's case, improved dramatically -- this is a nice addition. Of course, I couldn't finish a review of SANDMAN without mentioning Gaiman himself. As with Bachalo and Zulli, this is an early work of his, far from the polished perfection that you will find in the final SANDMAN collection, 'The Wake'. . But it is nonetheless the beginning of his style, and with the talents of Mike Dringenberg for a large part of the trade, it is certainly confident enough to hold a reader's attention.
| ""SANDMAN proved that comics could be intelligent and creative, and sustain this level " |
SANDMAN as a whole had an enormous initial impact on the comics industry, and no other comic series has been so wildly embraced by mainstream culture. This is both SANDMAN's blessing and curse. At the height of SANDMAN's popularity, posters related to the comic were appearing in sitcoms like ROSEANNE, and SANDMAN t-shirts were even being worn by TV wrestlers. Writers from Harlan Ellison to Norman Mailer praised the series. Gaiman wisely drifted with their praise from the world of comics into that of prose and movies, returning only briefly with works such as the wonderful STARDUST and SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS.
The series proved to a mainstream society that comics could be intelligent and creative, and sustain this level for 75 issues, a threshold which many other series have followed. Take two other Vertigo books: both PREACHER and TRANSMETROPOLITIAN will end at around the 70-issue mark, and have been praised in mainstream culture.
But, like all good things, SANDMAN is also responsible for its fair share of industry rip-offs and spin-offs. Dave McKean's wonderful covers were a big influence for many, though most arrived without the creativity that McKean himself shows. And there have been at least two spin-off series: one directly, THE DREAMING, and another slightly less directly, THE BOOKS OF MAGIC.
There have also been one limited series of Destiny and two of Death, the latter also written by Gaiman and equal to the best of SANDMAN. (I am aware there is a third Death series written by Caitlin R. Kiernan, but since to my knowledge it doesn't actually deal with Death I will ignore it here.)
SANDMAN may have finished its run four years ago, but the comics industry is still weighed down by the praise and mainstream embrace that it bought, still trying to find a way to duplicate it.
Recommended
Final Note: It seems that 'The Doll's House' central story of Rose, as well as that of Dream being imprisoned in 'Preludes and Nocturnes', forms the rumoured movie scripts for SANDMAN. One draft is reprinted here.
Ben Peek is Online Comics Editor of PopImage
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