"Fables and Reflections" is a collection from the SANDMAN comic book series as developed by Neil Gaiman.

Within this book are seven short stories and one story arc which I will handle in sequential order (two short stories, story arc with three short story interludes, two short stories).

First off is the story of a man who is afraid of failing, in this case at being a stage actor. He disappoints a good friend when he tells her that he cannot go through with a rehearsal and that he has packed his bags to leave town. She leaves very disappointed and he is troubled at that, but it is late at night and he falls asleep. Perchance to dream. To dream of clinging to a rock and meeting a strange man interested in dreams. To tell this man of his dreams as a child, dreams of falling and the fear of death at the end of the long drop. And the stranger points out there is a third alternative between clinging, being trapped on a precipice and falling and dying. At least in dreams. And with that the man finds himself atop the precipice and unbelieving he stomps on it and it falls apart. And he falls and finds the third way of the dream.

The next story is an anti-chronological story arc of Morpheus' son, Orpheus (famed in Greek mythology). It starts in San Francisco Despair challenging Morpheus to save a human who has entered into her realm by being in despair. Morpheus at first refuses, but finally acceeds to her wish to redeem this man. She feels that dreams are as nothing compared to despair and wishes to finally prove that to Morpheus. He finally acceeds to the challenge and gives the man a dream. The man is Joshua Abraham Norton and Morpheus cannot stop his oldest sister from coming for this man at some point, but he can give the man a dream. And the dream is that of royalty: a sovereign to protect the United States. Thus Joshua Abraham Norton becomes the first Emperor of the United States, at least in his own mind and in his dreams. And with that he finds a better perspective on the people around him and they come to like and respect him, even going so far as recognizing his money in all establishments in the city of San Francisco. And even when Desire tempts him from the true dream, he does not give in as he has found a better world free from despair. (As a historical note this figure was a REAL person in our world and much of the description and portrayal of him ring true in the story. Thank you, Mr. Gaiman, for bringing history to life!)

From the modern, to the turn of 19th century we now travel back to France during the revolution and the problems of Morpheus in that time. He needs a task to be done, but cannot do it himself. That being the case he contacts a mortal who is willing to do the job for the favor that Dream can give. The woman is Johanna Constantine (one of the forebearers of John Constantine in the DC Universe) whose family has been mixed up in the exotic and strange powers not normally known to mankind. She must travel through France to find the object that Morpheus needs moved to a new place and she must overcome all sorts of obstacles including the Committee for the Public Safety. By and by she is caught out as an Englishwoman who has noble lineage and is thus imprisoned in the same jail as one Tom Paine. She confronts Morpheus in the Dreaming and he is able to tell her what to do in the waking world that will give her a chance against her foes, even Robespierre. With that information she is able to find the head of Orpheus and commands it to sing of freedom. And with the power of that song she is off to finally put the head with people who will tend and guard it from there onwards.

The interval story is interesting in that it is a story that a grandfather is telling his granddaughter, about the old country and a young man named Vassily. It was long ago and Vassily was hunting in the woods when he ran across an old gypsy woman who was hungry. He brought her a rabbit to eat and she offered him a gift out of her backpack, but Vassily's father intervened to say that she was not of the people. Later Vassily went back to the old woman and killed her for her belongings and the picture of a Duke's daughter in a locket. Vassily would travel far and wide to find that woman, but to no avail. Then Vassily met up with a thin librarian who would be willing to deal for a book the young man had in his backpack, but the young man would only do that if he could meet the woman. Vexed the man left Vassily. Soon Vassily met up with another old woman whose hut walked on chicken legs, and she was willing to bring the man to the castle of the Duke for one of the possessions in the pack. Vassily agreed and was transported there quickly, and for that he gave her an emerald heart. Vassily was imprisoned, however since he was a nobody and only the thin man came back to bargain for the book. Vassily stood by his price, even if he was dying, thus the librarian took him to the house of his master where Vassily could present his case directly. That master is Morpheus and he was in a position to give Vassily what he wanted for his price. Vassily met up with the woman, gave her the locket and left with Morpheus because he realized that the woman was not of the people, unlike a girl he had met up with in his travels. And so it goes.

The next interlude is a recounting of the Roman Emperor Octavius and his life and times in Rome. And those times are troubled as he is trying to keep an empire together while assaying that those who would succeed him are not of the highest capability. He knows that the empire will crumble unless something is done, but he does not know what to do. The story is told from the recountings of one of the court who knew that Octavius would spend a day a year as a beggar in the streets of Rome. He did that at the behest of Dream who in turn was sent by Terminus. The answer to the dilemma was to hold the empire in stasis and learn of it by first hand experience. This story holds nothing barred from its telling and is quite graphic in some scenes and is definitely not fit for younger readers.

Next up is the story of the wanderer Marco Polo in 1273 and how he came to encounter the dreaming on a trek through the Gobi desert. Wandering alone he falls in one of the soft places of time and space, there to meet up with some dreams and others. They are there to celebrate the joining of their lord with another woman and the fact that this soft place will soon be gone due to Marco Polo's adventures. A soft place is a place that isn't well defined in place or time, where anything can happen and dreams can obtrude into reality, where the famous and infamous can meet. Finally the others leave Marco alone, and Morpheus shows up. Due to the fact that this is a soft place this is the Morpheus who has just been freed from captivity and he is quite weak. But for the kindness of Marco to give him water and knowing that Marco has a destiny he expends no little of his remaining energy to send Marco Polo back to reality.

End of interludes. Part two of the story arc is set in ancient Greece with Orpheus being whole and young and able to freely talk with his father Morpheus. The recounting of this story is a highly stylized version of Orpheus and Eurydice as told by Neil Gaiman set in the DC Universe continuity. It is very much like our version of the story, but it is through the lens of the ENDLESS and how they fit into the mythos of that era. We get to see Dream, Death, Destruction and the host of the underworld in this retelling and the classic loss of a loved one by not being able to resist temptation. Orpheus loses Eurydice to a rape by Pan and as she flees she is bitten by a poisonous snake and dies. Thereafter he seeks out Death for a way to the underworld which she grants him, but only under the greatest protest. And so in the winter of his discontent the famous singer Orpheus seeks to find his love in the Hades. To bring her back he need only sing and never look back until they both reach the world of the living again. He finally falters near the end and looks back, thus losing his love in finality. A disconsolate Orpheus will not leave the wilderness and is finally ravaged by the Bacchanae, who tear his body to shreds and leave his living head behind. Morpheus finally finds the living head and sets it to look out over water. Orpheus learns that his life and death are his own choosing and that Morpheus will not see him again. With that Morpheus leaves the lonely head of his son behind.

Next is the story of the prodigal baby Daniel and his ability to move between the worlds and meet up with all sorts of strange people. Many stories are told about Adam and Lilith, Cain and Abel, the young Endless and so forth. This story is used to introduce us to a panoply of characters who live in the Dreaming and have an impact on dreams of all sorts through their residence. It foreshadows future events that will happen many stories further along and so I won't go into extreme detail except to say it is a story that makes much better sense when the series is seen as a whole.

Finally the quick story of an Arab King who would make his city an eternal city of wisdom. He seeks out the how and whys of making a city like that, but can only find it in his dreams. A city of perfect praise to Allah is what he wants to make, an Eternal city. In his dreams he wants to bargain its existence with Dream. How long will a city of culture and learning and wisdom last? Can it be made Eternal? For that Dream points to the sand as his answer. Fast forward to Baghdad during decimation after a war with Iran and then the Alliance and see how low a city of learning and wisdom can go.

All of these stories are told with the wonderful artwork that has come to represent the SANDMAN series. In addition the characters are, without exception, the best presented and portrayed of those in any media that I can think of! While a story may give the reader a picture, here the pictures give off so much more that can't easily be said. When we see an overjoyed Emperor of the United States it enlivens us to see the world afresh from his viewpoint. A downcast Orpheus gives us a real show of despair mixed with hope and fear that he will never be able to reconcile. We see Death in her many guises (and a few hats) as she is different from era to era and culture to culture yet ever the same woman. And Morpheus is inscrutable beyond telling.

That is the point of these graphic works: these stories have so much added depth because what is shown cannot be told only seen. Each picture gives more than a thousand words of description, from the largest two page spread to the tiniest inset box, all of it is formed to make a story that cannot be easily told by type alone. My congratulations to Mr. Gaiman for taking this art form beyond the complex depths seen in Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and Alan Moore's WATCHMEN. The mystical element is not easily shown or demonstrated in graphic works and going beyond it to make the mystical a living realm is something that I never expected in comic books until the SANDMAN series broke all of my expectations for the media.

These stories are a joy to read and a marvel to behold and I believe that they are the highest representation of the graphic art of comic books yet created. I recommend this collection along with all of the other SANDMAN collections as a MUST read for all fans of comic books, fantasy and story telling. To see some of the other depths in the comic book area, do check out THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, THE WATCHMEN and KINGDOM COME all of which are collections available in trade paperback and each showing a type and style of storytelling that just isn't possible except in the graphic media of comic books.



Recommended: Yes