Issue 67: "The Kindly Ones: 11"
Neil Gaiman, Marc Hempel, Richard Case
- Eleventh part of storyline, The Kindly Ones
- Twelfth story reprinted in trade paperback The Kindly Ones
Cover: Most of the things on this cover seem to be symbols of Delirium: the music-stand, very angular and linear, dissolving and twisting; the crayoned rainbow -- Del is frequently very colorful, both in speech balloons and in hairstyle, while the crayons represent her childishness; the fish, which she was being when we first saw her this arc; a picture of women being moonstruck (a traditional symbol of insanity). The cord is not a symbol of Delirium directly, but there have been a number of hints that Delirium is important to Dream's fate, which would explain why the fish is tangled up in it.
Page 1#
Panel 1
And for the first time we see an opening panel without a cord of some kind. Maybe it migrated to the cover out of pique at having been broken last issue.
Panel 6
In issue 40, "The Parliament of Rooks".
Page 2#
Panel 3
This statement about time seems a bit odd: in 64:20.2 Dream says it has been five days, and defeating Loki took only a short time after that. On the other hand, quite a bit more time has passed in the waking world since then. We don't know how long it took the Corinthian and Daniel to come from Swartalfheim to the Dreaming.
Panel 5
In "The Parliament of Rooks" Matthew accused Cain of sounding like Vincent Price. (40:9.4) It's undeniable that this image of Cain is based on the way Vincent Price looks.
Panel 6
This story is based on a creation myth of the Chukchi people of Alaska. Originally, it concerned only Raven (a hero of their culture); Noah and the Ark were added on due to the influence of Christian missionaries.
Page 3#
Panel 2
Along with some of his brother's stories, Cain seems to have acquired a slight stutter.
Page 5#
Panel 1
Here again we see a dwelling-place (Titania's castle) in the panel with the credits -- if only in the background.
Page 6#
Panel 7
Dream's statement here is rather curious; on the one occasion that he spoke with Ishtar (issue #45 -- "Brief Lives" part 5) the subject of change did not arise. He told Destruction that he had not changed, and a little bit later, Orpheus.
Page 6#
Panel 1
"...as has been recently pointed out to me..." see #65:21.4
Page 9#
Panel 1
The image on Rose's t-shirt is television comedian Phil Silvers in his best-known role of Sgt. Bilko.
Panel 2
Given the time difference, Zelda would have died right about when Rose was meeting with Desire.
Page 10#
Panel 1
Rose, the receptionist from page 9, and Mrs. Burrows seem to be another maiden-mother-crone triad.
Page 11#
Panel 2
Note the "Gregory the Movie" sign. And another multiple of three in the other sign.
Panel 5
"Hostess" does not make mints, as far as I know -- only pastries of one sort or another. The thin green package resembles that of Nabisco Thin Mints.
Panel 6
It's the return of Barnabas, last seen in issue #49. Note also the "57 Flavors" that Lyta, Carla, and Daniel went to at the start of the story.
Page 13#
Panel 4
Most likely this is the orb that Dream used to communicate with Matthew and the Corinthian back in 64:20.1.
Page 16#
Panel 2
This may well be the same train that took Robert from his city into his city's dream, in the story told in issue #51. If nothing else, it is certainly an echo thereof.
Page 18#
Panel 6
Dream and Lucien turn and look directly at the reader, but are actually looking at a female observer; this would seem to be an echo of the end of Rose's dream in "The Doll's House" part 1 (10:14.6).
Page 19#
Panel 4
Note that Dream is struck on the same cheek, in roughly the same place, where Nuala kissed him.
Panel 5
Several people commented that this bloodstain is shaped a little bit like a heart.
Page 23#
- Panels 1-3 echo in layout, form, and action, page 23 of issue #11 (part 2 of "The Doll's House").
Page 24#
This page similarly echoes 11:24.
Panel 2
As we know from the annotations to issue #17, "Eagle Stones" were found in eagle's nests and were required for the hatching of their eggs. The main character in that story, Ric Madoc, wrote a novel with that title.
Credits
- Greg "elmo" Morrow (morrow@physics.rice.edu) created the Sandman Annotations.
- Originally collated and edited by David Goldfarb.
- Katie Schwarz (katie@physics.berkeley.edu) referenced the creation myth; Matthew F. Johnson (ac867@Freenet.carleton.ca) added detail.
- "Raven" (pl11@cornell.edu) identified the crystal ball.
- Joe Brenner (doom@kzsu.Stanford.EDU) identified Phil Silvers.
- Dexter Peterson (petersod@river.it.gvsu.edu) noted the echo of Rose's dream.
Last modified by Richard Munn on 2023-08-15 - Updated issue inclusion blocks, adding extra trades, and audible/netflix episodes
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