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Originally published January 1989 - Collected in Preludes and Nocturnes and The Absolute Sandman Volume One |
General notes on the issue
- As is standard for a first issue, this is significantly longer than a 'normal' release
- When The Absolute Sandman was issued all of the stories had their colours remastered, but early stories were so inconsistently, and in some cases, just plain badly, coloured that Vertigo had the first 18 issues completely recoloured from the ground up. This causes significant visual differences between the two versions, and although they are never plot relevant, I have noted especially egregious or interesting touch up work.
- It is generally accepted that this first plot arc is a prototype for the series. Therefore the style is considerably more dark, gothic and violent, and the story as a whole leans towards themes of Satanism and occultism as opposed the high fantasy that characterised later tales.
Page 1
- "Wych Cross, England." - It's mentioned in issue #65 that the manor itself used to be called Wych Manor before being renamed to its current title of Fawney Rig
Page 2
- "His destroyer was sunk last week, off Jutland" - The Battle of Jutland, the most famous naval battle of the First World War, had indeed finished the week before, on June 1st.
- The 'Magdalene Grimoire' does not appear to be an actual book. It could be a reference to Mary Magdalene, the disciple of Christ, or to Magdalene College, Cambridge, or Magdalen College, Oxford. The book itself will not be mentioned again in The Sandman after this issue, but would later become a key plot point in the miniseries The Girl Who Would Be Death.
Page 3
- The book Ellie's mother is reading to her from is Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, a highly appropriate choice given the circumstances.
- There are genuine and tragic stories of boys as young as 13 or 14 lying about their age and enlisting in the army. Recruiters, needing soldiers, generally turned a blind eye to this.
Page 4
- Note how Rodrick Burgess insists on being called 'Magus' even by his son, rebuking him for his use of 'Father'. This is our first hint of the tempestuous relationship between them.
- 'Aleister' is of course a reference to the famous mystic and occultist Aleister Crowley(1875-1947) who would have been a genuine contemporary during this period. It seems highly likely the character of Burgess Sr. was based on the stories around Crowley.
Page 5
- The man who speaks to Burgess Sr. as he enters the chamber is almost certainly the Order's second-in-command Ruthven Sykes, identifiable by his glasses. He is named later in this issue
- The summoning does not appear to be based on any actual ritual.
Page 6
- Lots and lots of names here. Namtar is a Mesopotamian god of pestilence. Allatu is a Carthaginian goddess of death. Morax is a demon mentioned in the demonological text The Key of Solomon. Naberius is another demon, commonly associated with Cerberus. Vepar is a Duke of Hell. I cannot find any information on Klesh or Maymon, but it's reasonably safe to assume these are more demonic references.
- Ashema-Deva is a Zoroastrian form as the demon Asmodeus. Horvendile may be an incredibly obscure reference to a character in The Biography of Manuel by James Branch Cabell, though this seems dubious. I can find no references for Maborym.
Page 7
- The first appearance of the titular Sandman, Morpheus. In the original printing, he's wearing an extremely garish purple and green getup with red gloves, quite out of character with the gothic, brooding figure we meet later. This is fixed by the recolouring in the Absolute edition.
Page 8
- Among the numerous symbols scrawled around the edges of the circle, pentagrams, the traditional symbol of demonology, are clearly visible.
- The three items taken from Morpheus on the next page are clearly visible here.
Page 10
- Ellie is still holding the copy of Through the Looking Glass
Page 12
- Ruthven Sykes can again be seen here in panels 2, 3 and 4, standing to the right of Burgess Sr.
Page 13
- There is no 'Royal Museum' in England, only one in Scotland. Since this looks to be London, it's probably an amalgamation of several other museums.
- Note Hathaway uses one of the artifacts to commit suicide, presumably to escape from Burgess's clutches. This will be mentioned in the caption atop the next page.
Page 14
- In panel 2, that's Sykes again on the right, distinguishable by his darker skin and glasses (This is more obvious in the recoloured Absolute edition.). Considering this seems to be a family portrait, it implies an extremely close relationship between Sykes and Burgess.
- The newspaper reveals several interesting titbits of information. Burgess Sr, was born Morris Burgess Brocklesby in Preston, Lancashire in 1872. His wealth was inherited, based on industry. The Daily Mail would still have been a respected paper in 1920, as opposed to the tabloid it is today.
Page 15
- Note the skull in the bookcase in panel 1.
- Sykes again in panels 2, 3, 4 and 6. In panel 3 he's picking up a photo off of the mantelpiece. In panel 4 we can see it's a photo of Burgess's wife/mistress, as she appeared on the previous page. Sykes is finally named in panel 6.
- The Paginarum Fulvarum is a real book, but not in the way you might think. The name roughly translates as 'Yellow Pages' aka the famous UK telephone directory. This play on words was also used by Terry Pratchett in the Discworld novels (about the Necrotelicomnicon, itself a telelphone-based pun).
- The first mention of 'The Endless'. We don't know what they are at this point, but Burgess mentions 4 by name - Death, Destiny, Desire and Dream, who is identified as the prisoner in the cell.
Page 16
- Sykes is finally named fully, as is Burgess's mistress.
- The three artifacts taken from Morpheus can be clearly seen in panel 4.
- The hissing voice of the demon seems to indicate that this is Choronzon, who has the helmet in a later issue, although the vocal tic is considerably less exaggerated by then.
Page 17
- Note that aside from the demon's amulet, Ethel Cripps is also wearing Morpheus's ruby around her neck.
Page 18
- Both Unity's rapist and her baby will become important characters later on in the story.
- Wesley Dodds is the Golden Age Sandman, the first masked hero to bear that name in the DC Universe. Created by Gardner Fox and Bert Christman, his first appearance was in Adventure Comics #40 in July 1939. He was a founding member of the Justice Society of America, the first great superhero team. Dodds will pop up on several occasions throughout the storyline. His association with Gaiman's Sandman led to a revival of interest in the character including an ongoing series, Sandman Mystery Theatre, which ran for 70 issues and 1 annual from 1993-1998. He also plays a small but critical role in Mark Waid and Alex Ross's critically acclaimed Kingdom Come (1996).
- Dodds's costume is correct, although he later changed it.
Page 20
- Encephalitis Lethargica is a real disease, and there genuinely was a mass outbreak between about 1915 and 1926, roughly corresponding to the first years of Morpheus's capture.
Page 21
- The first appearance of Paul McGuire, Alex Burgess's friend and (as it is later revelaed) lover. He will have a large role in The Kindly Ones and also make a few appearances in The Wake.
- In the original printing, the car parked outside changes colour after just two panels. This is fixed in the Absolute edition.
Page 22
- This is the first time we actually see Morpheus's face, complete with his characteristic black eyes.
Page 23
- The quote on the guard's T-shirt is "Do What Thou Wilt, Buster!". The 'buster' is clearly meant to establish the character as Daffy Duck, but "Do what Thou Wilt" is half of a famous quote from the aforementioned Aleister Crowley ("Do what thou wilt, and that shall be the whole of the Law.")
Page 25
- The figure behind Alex Burgess who ages along with him is probably Paul McGuire. The other figures are just nameless guards.
- The book the guard is reading is Stephen King's famous horror story It, released in 1986.
Page 29
- The man in the checked shirt is Paul McGuire, as seen when wheeling Alex Burgess away on page 26.
Page 31
- The famous figures in panel 4 are those mentioned in the dialogue, (l to r) Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley (in his Blue Hawaii look) and John Wayne (nicknamed 'The Duke'). The bearded figure in panel 5 is likely Colonel Saunders of KFC fame, holding a bucket of his famous fried chicken. Ron and Nancy is probably a reference to the then current US President Ronald Reagan and his wife.
Page 36
- "Lord, what fools these mortals be..." is a quote from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream a play that we shall later see Morpheus has an especially close connection to.
Page 37
- Note that with the addition of the stars as 'eyes' the window now resembles Morpheus's helmet.
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