Issue 64: "The Kindly Ones: 8"
Neil Gaiman, Teddy Kristiansen
- Eighth part of storyline, The Kindly Ones
- Ninth story reprinted in trade paperback The Kindly Ones
Page 1#
Panel 1
For the first time, the recurring strings are replaced with a literal string, and one not part of the surrounding scene. And a string very close to being cut...
Panel 2
These children are reminiscent of the stories of E. Nesbit. No specific reference, though.
Panel 3
Arabic(?) myth gives the name "salamander" to elemental fire spirits, reptilian in form.
Page 2#
Panel 1
"The snows of yesterday" is a reference to the French poet Francois Villon, who wrote, "Where are the snows of yesteryear?".
Panel 2
At the end of "The Season of Mists", Dream's old love Nada was reborn into the body of a boy in Hong Kong. This may be the same boy.
The art style here is much more Japanese than Chinese.
Panel 5
Presumably Dream is the standing figure, looking much as he did in issue #9. Note an Afrikaner tribal god as well as a native one... and note that the actual decision is left quite ambiguous.
Page 3#
Panel 1
Dream is in the process of creating this nightmare in 11:10.
Panel 4
"Via lacrimae" is Latin for "road of tears". Quite what the significance is I'm not sure.
Page 4#
Panel 1
Continuing the pattern of having a dwelling place in the panel with the title and credits.
Panel 3
As seen in 63: 5-8, of course.
Page 5#
Panel 2
A fairy-tale has seven princes transformed into swans. They are restored using jackets made of nettles; but there aren't enough nettles to complete all of the jackets, so the youngest brother is left with a swan's wing instead of an arm.
Page 6#
Panel 1
It is of course impossible to tell whether this young woman is Foxglove, of "A Game of You" and the "Death" miniseries.
Panel 3
The sign's language is unidentified. It is similar to Hungarian, but not identical. (Hungarian for "Do not feed the pigeons" is "Ne etesd a galambokat".)
Panel 6
This house seems similar to the one in Florida where Rose stayed during "The Doll's House". It doesn't seem to be identical, however.
Page 9#
Panel 5
Domesday Book: A census of British holdings taken by the Normans shortly after their conquest in 1066.
Page 10#
Panel 1
This snow is awfully deep considering that the ground was bare only a few days ago...
Page 11#
Panel 3
An echo of "Brief Lives" part 4 -- 44:20.
Page 13#
Panel 2
Ruby's death in "Brief Lives", of course, and the destruction of Nada's city.
Page 15#
Panel 2
Note, again, the claws of brass.
Panel 3
Interesting that it is the Maiden who delivers death by age.
Page 18#
- According to report, Hecate was shown in statues as a trio of women; one holding a whip, one holding a sword, and the center holding a torch.
Page 21#
Panel 2
Tony Curtis delivered Matthew's quote in the movie, "The Black Shield of Falworth" (1954).
Page 22#
Panel 2
Lamb stew, eh? Well, once you've let the animal's spirit free, no sense in wasting its body, I suppose. "John Bauer" is most likely the artist from around the turn of the century, known for illustrating Swedish fairy tales such as "In the Troll Wood".
Page 23#
Panel 2
And then again, perhaps it was that she was heartless.
Credits
- Greg "elmo" Morrow (morrow@physics.rice.edu) created the Sandman Annotations.
- Originally collated and edited by David Goldfarb.
- Lance "Squiddie" Smith (lsmith@cs.umn.edu) identified Matthew's quote and John Bauer.
- Jane Carlton (Jane@tortshel.demon.co.uk) gave the Hungarian.
- Katie Schwarz (katie@physics.berkeley.edu) noted the inconsistent weather.
- Medusa (avongvis@nmsu.edu) mentioned the Hecate statues.
Last modified by Richard Munn on 2023-08-15 - Updated issue inclusion blocks, adding extra trades, and audible/netflix episodes
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