Issue 73: "Sunday Mourning"
Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli
- Standalone Story, Epilogue to The Wake
- Fourth story reprinted in trade paperback The Wake
Page 1#
Panel 2
On the off-chance that anyone is reading this story without knowledge of the rest of the Sandman series, let me note that the man here is recurring character Robert "Hob" Gadling. He was born in the 14th century, and allowed by a whim of Dream and Death to live to the present day.
Page 4#
- The view shown is the entrance to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival held in Shakopee, Minnesota. According to report, Zulli visited it specifically to gather visual reference.
Page 5#
Panel 1-3
Of course, we know about all these other historical members of the Gadling "family".
Page 6#
- On the theme of "People must change", he we see Hob really has had plenty of time to reconsider his part in the past.
Page 9#
Panel 7
Milton Keynes: a "New City" in England built in the 1960s. Best known for having numerous (traffic circles) and Concrete Cows.
Page 11#
Panel 1
Gadling is punning on a line from Andrew Marvell's poem "To His Coy Mistress". The original has "love" rather than "lamb".
Panel 2-3
The bearded man seen in these two panels is noted fantasy writer (and friend of Gaiman's) Steven Brust. He was last seen at the Worlds' End Inn -- 56:9.7.
Page 12#
Panel 6
English beer is commonly served warm. English people commonly look down upon American beer.
Page 16#
Panel 1
According to report, Wild West shows are in fact quite popular in England, and have about the same degree of realism to them.
Page 18#
Panel 3
This is the ending of Kipling's poem "The Sack of the Gods". We know, of course, that at least some souls do reincarnate; Nada did at the end of "The Season of Mists", and if Gaiman follows Alan Moore's theology in Swamp Thing Annual #2, then it's an option for blessed souls in Heaven.
Page 22#
Panel 5
The two women at the foreground right are The Fabulous Lorraine Garland and Emma Bull. The Fab. Lorraine is Gaiman's personal secretary; Emma Bull is a noted SF and fantasy writer. The two of them together compose the Flash Girls, a singing duo who have recorded several of Gaiman's songs.
Page 24#
Panel 5
Possibly echoing 6:4.1 -- "If you keep [stories] going long enough, they always end in death."
Credits
- Greg "elmo" Morrow (morrow@physics.rice.edu) created the Sandman Annotations.
- Originally collated and edited by David Goldfarb.
- Jeremy Kulow (Jeremy.J.Kulow@uwrf.edu) confirmed the specific Renaissance festival used in the story, and its location.
- Richard Munn updated the entry on Milton Keynes.
Last modified by Richard Munn on 2023-08-15 - Updated issue inclusion blocks, adding extra trades, and audible/netflix episodes
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