The Sandman Volume 2: The Doll's House Part 1

'The Doll’s House (Volume 2)' was so rewarding when I went back for seconds! We see so many characters from ‘Preludes and Nocturnes’ that are more developed in The Doll's House. We get a sense of closure for Unity Kincaid. We learn more about Lyta Hall and the fate of her son. We understand why Nada was condemned to Hell (remember Dream’s conversation with her in ‘A Hope in Hell’?). We also see more of Morpheus’ rogue creations, Corinthian, Brute & Glob, and Fiddler’s Green. We are formally introduced to more of The Endless, Desire and his/her twin sister, Despair.  In the layers of this surreal reality and dream vortexes things are ancient, things are modern, things are mystical, and things are mythological. Most of the time, all at once.

Clive Barker wrote an incredible intro to ‘The Doll’s House’ that sums up my feelings after reading it far better than I ever could.  He writes: “Mr. Gaiman is one of those adventurous creators who sees no reason why his tales shouldn’t embrace slapstick comedy, mystical musings, and the grimmest collection of serial killers on this side of Death Row. He makes this combination work because he has a comprehensive knowledge of the medium and knows where its strengths lie. He also—and this is infinitely more important than being a Comic Brat—a point of view about the world which he uses the anarchic possibilities of the medium to express. After all, where can the glorious, the goofy, and the godlike stand shoulder to shoulder? If the sheer profusion of these inventions and the apt absurdity of the juxtapositions puts you in the minds of your more heated dreams, then surely that’s what Mr. Gaiman intends. Forget what’s written on the title page. Hero and author are here synonomys. For the time you spend in these pages, Mr. Gaiman is the Sandman. And look, he just brought you a Dream.”


Tales in the Sand
A boy goes into the desert with an elder for a rite of passage ritual. The boy finds a piece of glass that was once a part of an ancient empire. The elder tells the story of Queen Nada and her doomed relationship with Kai’ckul, an African manifestation of Morpheus. She seeks him out through a Weaverbird who brings her a berry from a Sun-tree which is rumored to bring one to the side of their true love if ingested. This brings her to the Dreamworld. She confessed her love and learns he loves her too but also understands to be with him is the destruction of her kingdom, its people. She tries to stop him from wanting her by destroying her maidenhead with a rock. He is not deterred by this saying he isn’t a mortal and her virtue means nothing. He heals her and they give in to each other in a lovely,  yet melancholy way, Gaiman writes: ‘Then he took her hand and drew her into the darkness of his robe, and there, in the flames and the darkness, they made Love. All that night they stayed together, and every living thing that dreamed, dreamed that night of her face, and of her body, and of the warm, salt taste of her sweat and her skin...and every living thing that could dream dreamed of Love.’ Nada knows that this union was not meant to be so when the Sun sent a flare that destroyed her glass city, she takes this as punishment for their union and rejects the Dream-Lord’s offer of love and marriage by throwing herself off a cliff. Morpheus condemns her to Hell for this rebuke and this sheds light on their history when he sees her again in ‘A Hope in Hell’ and tells her he still loves her but does not forgive her.

The Doll's House
We open with the introduction to Dream's younger brother/sister Desire and his twin sister Despair. We learn that Desire tried to bring Morpheus down using Nada which backfired. Now Desire learns that a dream vortex has been discovered and that it is a woman. A dream vortex is when a mortal has the ability to bring dreams together which breaks down minds of dreamers and threatens the entire Dreaming and the universe. Killing a vortex is a necessary evil and it is the only time Morpheus is permitted to spill human blood.  Remember Unity Kincaid? She was supposed to be the next dream vortex but never got the chance because she was effected by the 'Sleepy Sickness' that swept the world during Dream's imprisonment. She essentially slept her life away and while she was sleeping Desire raped her and impregnated her. Since she didn't become the vortex the gene was passed to her lost daughter Miranda. Miranda's daughter and Unity's granddaughter, Rose Walker, became the dream vortex. This was an attempt by Desire to provoke Morpheus into spilling family blood which would cause the Furies to kill him. It is unclear why Desire has such a vendetta against Dream but it could be related to the fickle foundation of desire itself.

Moving In
Miranda stays with her mother Unity while Rose goes home to find her brother Jed who she has not seen since he was five years old. When their parent's split up their father took Jed and they became estranged. When their father died Jed was sent to live with his grandfather and when he died, he was sent to live with his abusive and cruel aunt and uncle, where he is locked in a basement like an animal. Rose Walker moves into an apartment complex and lives with a variety of colorful tenants that include a 'too normal' couple called  who seem strange to her at first. This is where she meets Gilbert, a kindly overweight man who takes a liking to Rose and becomes protective over her. We later learn this is Fiddlers Green, one of the 4 rogue creations that left the Dreaming during Dream's imprisonment. Meanwhile, we learn Jed loses his mind in the horror of his situation and his mind is vulnerable and becomes occupied by two other of Dream's rogue creations, Brute and Glob.

Playing House
Jed's mind is occupied by two of Dream's rogue creations, Brute and Glob. Jed prefers this fantasy dream world since he can fly and is part of a better family with Hector and Lyta Hall. Brute and Glob are the "assistants" to Hector Hall who they have created into their version of the 'Sandman'.  Lyta Hall who is pregnant, is not exactly aware that she is trapped in a dream walled inside Jed's mind. She is the wife of the 'Sandman' and while he is out fighting nightmares, she lives her life unable to explain how strange her current situation is or why she hasn't had her baby yet. She feels as though she has been 6 months pregnant for so long. Dream arrives to confront Hector and Brute and Glob.  He admires B&G's efforts to cut Jed from the dream world in an effort to create a powerful dream capable of destroying the Dreaming. B&G are condemned to an unlimited sentence that promises to punish them for centuries. While Dream finds the other 'Sandman' amusing he destroys him. This battle with Hector causes the death of Jed's cruel Aunt and Uncle, frees Jed from the occupants of his mind, and frees Lyta Hall who is then able to have her baby. Dream announces that the child is of the Dreaming and someday he will be back to claim it. This naturally infuriates Lyta, who vows it will never happen.

Men of Good Fortune
I imagine that when this came out as a single issue, readers may have been like WTF!?!?, especially after the strong finish and potential continuum of Playing House. Reading it as part of a volume though was fantastic and quite possibly, one of my favorite issues overall. Hob Galding, is at a tavern called Inn at the White Horse. It is the late 14th century England; Hob has recently fought in the 100 Years War and has seen many of his people die of the Plague yet he doesn't believe in death. He says it is a habit that people do because they have always done it. Death herself is amused by this and brings Dream to hear Hob talk about it his views about death. They agree to give Hob eternal life with the condition they meet at that tavern every 100 years to check in. Over the centuries, Hob has suffered horrible losses and has made choices that were morally questionable but every time Dream asks him if he wants to die, Hob exclaims jovially, "No, there is too much to live for!"