Sandman - Preludes and Notturni
Preludes and Nocturnes (original title Preludes and Nocturnes ) is the first graphic novel -set of comic series Sandman by Neil Gaiman , published by DC Comics . It contains booklets 1 to 8.
The episodes were illustrated by Sam Kieth , Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III , while the lettering was done by Todd Klein . The collection was first published as a paperback in 1991 and as a hardcover in 1995.
Gaiman says in the foreword to the anthology that Preludes and Notturni are less mature than the later episodes of the series. It was only with the epilogue of the volume, The Rushing of Their Wings , that he found his own language in the comic medium.
Sandman was originally created by Gaiman, Kieth and Dringenberg, but Kieth left the series with issue 5 because he felt "like Jimi Hendrix with the Beatles ".
The title refers to two forms of music, the prelude and the nocturne . The former indicates that this first collection represents an exposition , the latter establishes the connection to the night and thus to dreams.
action
The sleep of the just ( Sleep of the Just )
In 1916, Dream, one of the Seven Eternals, is captured by the magician Roderick Burgess (who is based on Aleister Crowley ) and held in a glass ball surrounded by a spell. Burgess had actually tried to catch Death in order to extort eternal life for himself. Dream refuses to respond to Burgess' blackmail attempts and remains in the magically protected glass container until Burgess dies and his son Alexander takes over the prisoner. In 1988, when Alexander's guards became inattentive and Alexander was already an old man, Dream finally managed to escape. He curses Alex to an eternal, rapid awakening from an endless series of nightmares, each awakening throwing him into the next horror dream.
Hosts with small errors ( imperfect hosts )
In his realm, dreaming, Dream finds that almost everything has fallen into disrepair during his absence. In order to restore it, he needs the three insignia of his power: a bag of dream sand, a helmet and a ruby. These were stolen from Burgess and are now scattered around the world. The three or three women who are one and sometimes represent Moiren , sometimes Erinyes , give him clues as to the whereabouts of the insignia.
Dream a dream of me ( Dream a Little Dream of Me )
The sack of dream sand ended up with Rachel, a former friend of John Constantine . She has become addicted to the sand, so Dream lets her die peacefully. In thanks for his help, Dream Constantine takes the nightmares that have accompanied him for ten years.
Hope in Hell ( A Hope in Hell )
After recovering the dream sand, Dream makes his way to Hell after learning that a demon has taken the helmet. He gets the helmet back through a competition, but incurs the wrath of Lucifer , who vows to kill Dream one day.
Passengers ( Passengers )
Dream tries to get the ruby back from the Justice League that they have stored in a warehouse. John Dee, known as Doctor Destiny, has since broken out of his cell at Arkham Asylum, an asylum for the mentally ill, to also get the ruby that he had in his possession during Dreams imprisonment and changed so that only he can use it. So he can overwhelm Dream in the warehouse and take the stone.
24 hours ( 24 hours )
In a diner , Dee misuses the ruby to manipulate people's dreams around the world. He drives the guests who happen to be present at the diner to mutilations, murder and suicide for his entertainment. When Dream finally appears, only Dee is still alive.
Sound and the Fury ( Sound and Fury )
There is a duel between Dream and Dee in dreams. Dee destroys the ruby in the hope of destroying Dream, but in fact he frees part of Dream himself, which Dream had worked into the ruby. Dream is now as powerful again as it used to be. He punishes Dee by waking him up in his cell at Arkham Asylum. The title is a quote from William Shakespeare's Macbeth : "Life ... is nothing more than a fable, told by an idiot, full of sound and madness that means nothing."
The sound of their wings ( The Sound of Her Wings )
After regaining his insignia, Dream feels empty. His older sister, Death, invites him to go to the dying with her. Dream remembers his own obligations, which he wants to meet again.