Sandman: Dream Country – TPB #3
Author: Neil Gaiman
Art: Colleen Doran and Kelley Jones 

I’m actually kind of cheating because I’ve read this before, but I just got back from vacation and would rather visit the comic book store on Wednesday (for obvious reasons), so instead I’m going to rely on one of my favorite issues ever. The issue I am talking about is where Neil Gaiman performs A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Sandman Universe. For its novelty and classic appeal, it is understandable why this is often heralded as one of the greatest comic moments and why it won the World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction (an award not actually designed for comics). Gaiman seems to be an expert at placing his universes in settings from our world (see also: 1604), but I must ask why other authors don’t attempt the same.

I love the concept of tributes and historical events of our world applied to comic universes. I’m not going to lie; my first reaction to hearing about Marvel Civil War was that it would literally be the Marvel characters in the American Civil War. I absolutely loved Civil War, but how cool would it have been to do that? Are you listening, Marvel? It might be time to do some Revolutionary War research . . .

This is one of the amazing abilities of comics. They have a variability that far surpasses many other mediums. When an entire universe is created, it becomes a world that can be tinkered around with and plot lines can change as long as characters and locations are mimicked. This allows for great creativity that I wish many writers would take greater advantage of.

Speaking of dreams, The Hulk made a brief appearance in a dream last night. It was really weird, but I was talking to someone about the movie Cloverfield last night, so of course my dream takes place like I’m in NYC while it’s being attacked by a giant monster. It was complete with random ex-girlfriends, best friends, and obnoxious family members. But the strangest / funniest part about it was that the Cloverfield monster was actually The Hulk. I really don’t know what else to say because I can’t remember much more of it, but I thought you all may get a kick out of that.

By the way, has anyone ever watched the channel Noggin? It’s for preschoolers, so I don’t expect you to have, but while I was on vacation visiting family, my niece watched it every day. Well, if you watch it, then I have a question for you: Isn’t that Moose that performs, sings, and talks in between shows about as annoying of a TV personality as TV personalities get? Or am I the only one with that opinion?