The Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll’s House (1989-1990)

By volume 2, I’d say The Sandman still isn’t precisely cohesive, but things are coming together.  Or rather, its worlds – past and present, reality and dreaming, mortal and Endless – are starting to unfold, to stretch toward the horizon in all directions.  It’s clear that Neil Gaiman is setting all sorts of wheels in motion, and by the time I reached the end of the volume, I was definitely interested to see where it was going to go next (a few spoilers.)

Dream is still setting his kingdom to rights after his long capture.  Several of his creations escaped his domain during his absence, and a once-in-a-generation calamity has occurred.  Though she doesn’t yet know it, a young woman, Rose Walker, is a vortex – an unstoppable force that will unify minds across the dreamscape before disintegrating the barriers between dream and reality, ultimately destroying both.  As Dream prepares for the grim necessity of stopping the vortex, Rose is intruded upon by his runaway dreams, who press in on her life and family for both good and ill.

I’m starting to see how the series intends to take its time.  A number of chapters look like diversions but feel like groundwork, establishing a story that sprawls out across centuries, continents, and existences.  There’s some really neat stuff going on here.  I love how the “cereal convention” is executed, the opening legend is beautifully rendered, and I enjoy the passage on Dream’s periodic visits to a man who defies Death.  To be honest, the main arc with Rose and the vortex is a little less interesting to me.  Not to say that it’s boring or badly-written – I just really love the high-concept nature of these on-the-surface “detour chapters.”

My other main gripe would be that, after having met Death at the end of volume 1, I was hoping for a lot more of her here.  Unfortunately, we get barely a glimpse of her.  That said, we do start to get a look at others in the family of the Endless – namely Desire, Dream’s nonbinary sibling with a lust for satisfaction and a strong sense of entitlement regarding mortals.  Desire only appears in a couple of chapters, but I like its look, its presentation, and the obviously-charged interactions it has with Dream, who feels much more beholden to serve humans, not treat them as his playthings. 

Other members of the Endless are hinted at as well, and I’m particularly intrigued by mentions of a lost brother (not Dream.)  All the Endless mentioned so far have ‘D’ names – Dream, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destiny – and I’m curious about just how much ground they’ll be able to cover keeping with that theme.  Like with the gradually-unfolding plot, I can tell that we’re just starting to build everything Gaiman has planned for the family, and I’m interested to see what he has in store.

Warnings

Sexual content, violence, drinking/smoking/drugs, thematic elements, and disturbing images.