Missing Love Story Sandman

June 25, 2009 11:13 PM

I'm reading the Sandman comic collections for the first time. It seems to me there's a missing love story for Morpheus. Help me locate it!?

It's alluded to in Book 6, Fables and Reflections, in the story "A Parliament of Rooks," when Matthew the Raven, responding to Eve's queries about Morpheus, says, "They've been pretty inseparable for the last few weeks...going for long walks hand in hand..."

But then by the beginning of Book 7, Brief Lives, Morpheus has apparently broken up with her whoever she was (a mortal?) and is very depressed & gloomy, making it rain for weeks, etc. Part of his motivation to go hunt down his brother, supposedly.

Is there more to it than this? Am I missing a comic here or there or is all that is extant? Any information anyone has on the "missing love" story would be much appreciated.

posted by wavejumper to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

No, that's it. It's generally believed that after the events of "A Game of You" (Book 5) Morpheus had a relationship with Thessaly, which is what is referred to in the quotes you cite, but the details are left to the reader's imagination.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:26 PM on June 25, 2009

It's deliberately omitted and you'll spend a while wondering who it was. Don't worry, it's supposed to be that way. Keep reading.
posted by Zed at 11:26 PM on June 25, 2009

Oops, guess I spoiled it.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:31 PM on June 25, 2009

A lot of Sandman feels this way. You'll probably just end up reading it twice like the rest of us.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:18 AM on June 26, 2009

It does get spelled out at the end, a bit more clearly. Still, like Civil_Disobedient says, the real kick is when you go back and re-read it. You'll be shocked by how much is foreshadowed, and how early.

Myself, I actually (on a recommendation) started at A Game Of You, which is actually maybe a better starting point than the first 8 issues, because the series is kind of bumpy until Death shows up in #8. One of the things about it is that the stories are modular, in a way, and you can start from just about anyway (except the last two, the Kindly Ones, and the Wake. That would be odd)
posted by Ghidorah at 12:38 AM on June 26, 2009

Yup, it's off-screen but will become more clear as you keep reading. I'm in the midst of a re-read myself this week. I've read this series through at least a dozen times but am still finding new things this time through - it's definitely a series that doesn't spell everything out and rewards future re-reads.
posted by Stacey at 3:23 AM on June 26, 2009

I remember there being a strong sense of an almost-something with Bast, a bad breakup with Titania, and (according to Wikipedia, 'cause it's been a lot of years,) Nuala had a huge unrequited crush on him. My theory on the lack of an ongoing relationship with the King of Dreams is that there's no percentage in falling in love with a god whose nature is ephemeral and whose function is to reveal to you things about yourself. Loving him is a complicated form of (narcoleptic?) narcissism. (Note that generally his old flames tend toward deep vanity.)
posted by EnsignLunchmeat at 5:33 AM on June 26, 2009

A lot of Sandman feels this way. You'll probably just end up reading it twice like the rest of us.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:18 AM on June 26

only twice? More like yearly.
posted by ShawnString at 5:45 AM on June 26, 2009

Now that the cat is out of the bag... I remember reading it when it came out in monthly comic book format, reader column and all. There was actually a letter from a reader with the same question, and the response from Neil was "It was Thessaly, dammit!" So yeah, you're not the only one.

Part of me wonders at times how much of this was Dream's true nature, and how much of it might have been Desire screwing with him from afar. While we never actually get an omission that Desire has done anything so direct, he threatens to once (at the beginning of Season of Mists) and gets a warning from Dream in response. Desire has certainly played such games with Dream already, as seen in earlier books.
posted by GJSchaller at 6:41 AM on June 26, 2009

GJSchaller, have you read the Endless compilation? One of Desire's games with Dream is pretty explicitly spelled out in that book. It shows us when Desire went from Dream's favorite among the Endless to, well, their current relationship. Interesting read, at the very least.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:27 AM on June 26, 2009

Actually, no - Once the official series ended, and The Dreaming series began, I quickly lost interest. The written compilation had no interest to me, as the art of the comic was one of the things I enjoyed the most. I think I do have a copy, though, so I may check it out - thank you!
posted by GJSchaller at 11:16 AM on June 26, 2009