Dream Country (Sandman, Book 3)

The stories in Dream Country are important in the development of the series because the Sandman himself, Morpheus, Lord of Dreams, plays in them only a background role. That was the foundation for one of the elements that made the series great - that its not just the story of one hero; the hero can be himself, an active character, but just as often he is simply the essence of something bigger. That is precisely the role Morpheus plays in Calliope and Dream of a Thousand Cats, both with splendid dark artwork by Kelley Jones. Calliope is a splendid philosophical tale of urban mythology that shows Gaimans unique and original attitude towards storytelling and inspiration.

Dream of a Thousand Cats Is my favorite in this collection and probably the most underrated story in the Sandman catalogue; though A Midsummer Nights Dream is the celebrated story that made history by being the first comic book to win the World Fantasy Award (for best short story of the year), I personally find Dream of a Thousand Cats to be superior by far. Though it tells a very small tale, and one that is without significance in the greater continuity of the Sandman saga, its gorgeously written and has a great atmosphere about it. It also gets across Neils ideas about the importance of dreams and stories better than any of the others. The artwork, to, is brilliant.

Facade, finally, is probably the weakest story in the collection. Its important, if nothing else, for being the first story in the Sandman series in which Morpheus does not appear at all, even as a guest. Instead, it features his older sister, Death - one of the Endless and one of the most lovable characters in Gaimans universe, as well as does a great job in resurrecting a forgotten character from DCs history, Element Girl; Neil does as amazingly in rasterizing her as he did with other old comics characters like Lyta Hall AKA The Fury, or the absurd Sandman character from the 60s.