14
votes
Why does Morpheus look like Neil Gaiman?
Because he doesn't.
Or maybe he does, just a little bit, because Gaiman sort of looks like a whole bunch of other dudes (and dudettes) who influenced Morpheus' looks.
Well, at least his face hasn't ...
- 8,504
11
votes
Accepted
What's up with the colors of Delirium's speech bubbles?
It was a decision by the letterer, Todd Klein. As he explains in The Sandman Companion, it was supposed to reflect her fluent, shifting nature:
Delirium was a different challenge. "Her lettering ...
- 8,504
10
votes
Accepted
Is the story of "Tales in the Sand" (or its form) faithful to traditional African stories?
Quite conveniently, Neil Gaiman answered this in his interview with Hy Bender for The Sandman Companion. In chapter 4, which is devoted to Doll's House, Hy asks Neil whether he was inspired by ...
- 8,504
9
votes
Accepted
Was Neil Gaiman influenced by Heinrich Heine?
There is no indication in various sources found online that Gaiman was influenced by Heinrich Heine.
In short, these are the authors Gaiman said he was influenced by:
Michail Bulgakov, Master and ...
- 8,504
8
votes
Accepted
What does Dream's ruby represent?
You have seen that the viewers' perception of Endless is based on individual expectations.
For instance, Dream appears as a black short-haired man to Nada, while he usually looks like a pale white ...
- 8,504
7
votes
Why does Morpheus look like Neil Gaiman?
Take my word for it or not, but I'm the writer of the article "Mytho-Auto-Bio: Neil Gaiman's Sandman, the Romantics, and Shakespeare's The Tempest." The study focuses the reasons why Gaiman ...
- 71
7
votes
Did young Dream and Death really look like this?
Cain is most probably right in blaming Abel for "sanitising".
When was "that time"?
When The Dreaming was first established, Dream was its only inhabitant for millions of years - ...
- 8,504
7
votes
Why does Morpheus look like Neil Gaiman?
It seems it is because many people believe that Dream is Neil's alter ego, probably because at least in some panels Morpheus DOES look like Gaiman: Empire's "50 greatest comic characters" states that
...
- 2,170
7
votes
Why are the magicians who captured Morpheus "rubbish"?
As already linked, Neil Gaiman—the guy who created the series and created its backstory—is of the opinion that these guys are complete rubbish. Your rebuttal, as far as I can make out, is ...
- 385
6
votes
What's up with the colors of Delirium's speech bubbles?
Her Wikia page says this about the colors of the speech bubbles:
Todd Klein, the series' letterer, draws her speech as a scrawl, against a multi-colored background, sometimes the background color ...
- 6,010
6
votes
In "The Sandman", what are nightmares for?
The Dreaming is supposed to be a reflection of the real world... or maybe vice versa? In any case, The Dreaming (and Dream), in a sense, define the real world - by defining the things that are not ...
- 8,504
6
votes
In Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman", what do the Three Sisters represent?
The three women is a recurring motif in stories and mythology. The fates, the graces, the furies in Greek mythology, the norns in Norse mythology, Shakespeare's weird sisters, etc.
In The Sandman, ...
- 161
6
votes
What's the significance of the witches' name change in Sandman?
The Three Witches appear multiple times in the Sandman series, often showing a penchant for trickery and subtle jokes. Here, they are giving Dream a hard time about their names, comparing several ...
- 161
6
votes
Which traits of Milton's Lucifer from "Paradise Lost" did Neil Gaiman carry to "The Sandman"?
Neil Gaiman described his concept for Season of Mists, the Sandman story which introduces Lucifer as a major character, in these terms:
The story was inspired loosely by something the Abbé Mugnier ...
- 61
6
votes
What is the origin of Dream's helm in Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman"?
Dream explains the story of the helmet and the Gates of Horn and Ivory on The Sandman: Overture #3.
What is now the Helm of Dream was once the skull of a god. Said god, along with another one, once ...
- 8,504
5
votes
Why does Ishtar insist on being called "Ishtar"?
I think @Shokhet is probably correct in that it's likely a form of teasing/light antagonism, but, on further reflection, it probably goes deeper than that.
It is an older, less known name for Ishtar....
- 4,283
5
votes
Do "The Sandman" and "Lucifer" deliberately share the number of published issues?
There's not much evidence I could find, but it would be one hell of a coincidence
The number 75 is pretty specific. For two comics to stop on that number would be some coincidence, especially because ...
- 6,338
5
votes
Does part four of Doll's House add to the narrative of the volume?
I think it's important to remember in this case that The Sandman was originally published in monthly issues; they were connected by overarching stories, but weren't collected in volumes. Thus I ...
- 8,504
4
votes
What is the reason for partial highlighting in "The Sandman"?
What @Emrakul said, but also because Todd Klein did the lettering.
Letterers don't get much notice or respect, but Klein is something of a rockstar in his field.
I believe Will Eisner was the first ...
- 4,283
4
votes
Why is The Dreaming a simple place compared to Hell?
In the Sandman universe:
Hell involved real souls. The Dreaming is purely phantasmic.
Lucifer has two rivals for rule of Hell (Azazel & Beelzebub).
Forgive me if details are sparse, as It's been ...
- 4,283
4
votes
What is the story behind the hierogram on the Isle of Thorns in A Game of You?
Greg Morrow's very early Annotated Sandman for Issue 36 (v2, 14 February 1992) includes the information:
Page 19 panel 1: The Hierogram (Holy-Writing) is marked with Japanese
katakana (one of the ...
- 385
3
votes
What is the origin of Endless' lettering styles in "The Sandman"?
Well, you already sourced everything so this seems kind of needless, but I'm still under 125 rep... so sure:
Per this blog post, Mr Gaiman had ideas about how the characters' voices sounded and Mr ...
- 385
3
votes
Why does Ishtar insist on being called "Ishtar"?
You're overthinking it. As the 'great mother goddess', Ishtar is literally the 'many-named', the 'thousand-named', the 'myriad-named' and—while you can guess at why the character Morpheus goaded her ...
- 385
3
votes
Why are Delirium's eyes of two colors?
We can start by remembering the occasion when her eyes aren't of two colours:
Brief Lives, chapter 7.
For a moment in Destiny's garden Delirium regains her sanity, reminding Destiny of the days ...
- 8,504
2
votes
Why does Night say Desire and Morpheus are alike?
Dream and Desire are the most humanized of the Endless, especially in that they commit so heavily to a specific identity that pervades any and all given manifestation of themselves. All of the Endless ...
- 283
2
votes
Does part four of Doll's House add to the narrative of the volume?
While discussing this question in chat, Gallifreyan mentioned that he had wondered about the significance of Hob Gadling, arguably the protagonist of "Men of Good Fortune." We both mentioned ...
- 6,010
2
votes
Why are the magicians who captured Morpheus "rubbish"?
Gaiman is speaking in relative terms. Burgess may have some ability, but compared to whom? Crowley, in real life, was a charlatan. In his eyes, someone who could call up a stiff breeze on a summer day ...
- 1,267
2
votes
Is the heart in "The Hunt" associated with Desire?
Hearts are certainly important, and were planted throughout the series intentionally:
If you leaf through the series, you'll find either an image of a heart or the word heart in virtually evert issue....
- 8,504
2
votes
Why does Ishtar insist on being called "Ishtar"?
The reason for her insistence on the name Ishtar could be quite simple.
Belili is the name applied by the Canaanites (1) who were Hebrew, and had their own God. Astarte is the Hellenised form (2), ...
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